1 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: Hey, I'm Doug gottlie Man. Welcome in to All Ball, 2 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:12,800 Speaker 1: the All Basketball podcast that you need to download, subscribe 3 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: and rate too. Hope you've really enjoyed previous All Balls. 4 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 1: We're getting ready for the NBA Finals. They tip off, 5 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:23,759 Speaker 1: not kickoff, They tip off tomorrow at the time of 6 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:25,919 Speaker 1: this recording, so today at the time of the strops. 7 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: So tonight you have the NBA Finals and I'm fascinated, 8 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:34,919 Speaker 1: just fascinated, um by how this matchup is gonna shake out. 9 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,320 Speaker 1: You know, you have the rap the Raptors now have 10 00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: finals experience with the former m v P and Kawhi 11 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: Leonard and a former big shot maker in Danny Green, 12 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 1: although he hasn't made a shot yet in the playoffs. Um. 13 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:48,840 Speaker 1: They have Kyle Lowry, who is a former All Star 14 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,519 Speaker 1: but up until late in that last series did not 15 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 1: appear to be of All Star form, and now he'll 16 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: have to play against Steph Curry and Clay Thompson. Um, 17 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: although there are guys to hide him when k D 18 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: is out of the game. That's a that's a big 19 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: change for them. But the finals should be really interesting. 20 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:09,200 Speaker 1: I'll get to my breakdown in a second. I want 21 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: to tell you Henry Abbott from True Hoop, we'll join 22 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:16,479 Speaker 1: me in today's pod. We'll talk about all things Lakers, Celtics, 23 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: potential break up of the Rockets? Is that smart um 24 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:24,120 Speaker 1: and uh and I'll get his thoughts on the NBA Finals. 25 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: Be sure to catch live editions of the Doug dot 26 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:30,319 Speaker 1: Leap Show week days at noon Eastern three pm Pacific 27 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,760 Speaker 1: on Fox Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app. 28 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: All right, so here's just a kind of quick take 29 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 1: on the matchups. O Giannibo coming back, you know he's 30 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 1: coming back from an appendicitis now, obviously he could give 31 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: them a massive, massive boost even coming off the bench. 32 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: I will tell you that when you haven't played in 33 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: a while, going from zero you're not playing, you know, 34 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: being in a hospital to the d miles an hour 35 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,520 Speaker 1: of playing in the NBA Finals is really, really difficult. 36 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: The question for the Warriors is how much can they 37 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:08,799 Speaker 1: sustain time without Clay or staff on the floor. Right. 38 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 1: There's a reason that they came from seventeen, eighteen and 39 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: seventeen down against the Potland Trailblazers because their depth, which 40 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:17,959 Speaker 1: is already in question. Remember your two guys deeper into 41 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 1: the bench than you initially wanted to be. In terms 42 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:21,519 Speaker 1: of the construct of this team. You don't have to 43 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 1: Marcus Cousins. That means you're starting Kavan Luning you're starting, 44 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: Andregodali you don't have Kevin Durant. I means you're starting 45 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: both of them, which greatly depletes your bench. Now, the 46 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:34,799 Speaker 1: first gay off your bench is you know, Sean Livingstone 47 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: who can only play twenty minutes and can't physically match 48 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:41,639 Speaker 1: up with Kawhi Leonard. Now you have to play Queen 49 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: Cook off the bench, which you know Fred van Bleet 50 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: can struggle athletically and obviously was unbelievable with shot making 51 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 1: games fourth through six, making of three pointers. But but 52 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:56,840 Speaker 1: the point is that Toronto's bench becomes an unbelievable strength 53 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 1: and their starters aren't terrible. In addition to which, if 54 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: you match up big for big and they put Marcusol 55 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 1: out there without DeMarcus Cousins, Marcusol is gonna be really 56 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 1: really effective. Um So, if if both teams were at 57 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 1: full strength, I don't think it's crazy competitive. I think 58 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,320 Speaker 1: the Warriors win. But the Warriors are not at full strength. 59 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: They're not close. It's interesting. You'll hear lots of people 60 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:25,840 Speaker 1: mentioned Kevin Durant. Nobody mentions DeMarcus Cousins, although they may 61 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:28,639 Speaker 1: both come back and play. Now if DeMarcus Cousins does 62 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: come back and play, the other part about Cousins that 63 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:35,280 Speaker 1: has always given me issues in terms of how good 64 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 1: would they actually be is that Cousins is a guy 65 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: that hurts them defensively that they can't they can't switch five, 66 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: and they can't just hide Cousins because they also have 67 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: to hide Steph Curry, who plays hard defensively but is 68 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:52,000 Speaker 1: fairly ineffective on the basketball against bigger, stronger, more athletic players. 69 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: So I think the Warriors they gotta they'll have a 70 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: shooters chance to win steal one of these games in Toronto, 71 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: but I think this is going to be one of those. 72 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: You understand the value to Kevin Durant, just like the 73 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 1: Raptors understand the value to Kauai Leonard all those other guys. 74 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: The ball movement is great, but at some point you 75 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: need a guy to just go get you a bucket. 76 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:16,680 Speaker 1: You do, you just need a guy to go get 77 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:20,279 Speaker 1: you a bucket. And you look at every championship team 78 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 1: and they've always had a guy who's a bucket getter, 79 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 1: and I know you're sitting there going like, well, isn't 80 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,039 Speaker 1: Steph Curry. He is, but a lot of times he 81 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,360 Speaker 1: needed to mismatch. Now what's gonna be interesting is well, 82 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:33,600 Speaker 1: when the boy to be back and if he's healthy 83 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:35,640 Speaker 1: enough now of a sudden, they can go a lot smaller, 84 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:37,800 Speaker 1: a lot more athletic. But that doesn't appear to be 85 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: until Game two or maybe far beyond. I think the 86 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: Warriors win this series, but I think there's going to 87 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:47,480 Speaker 1: be some really, really hard fought games. Maybe they can 88 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: steal one in Toronto early, or maybe they wait for 89 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:52,240 Speaker 1: for Kadie to ride in on the White Horse, maybe 90 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:54,240 Speaker 1: in a Game three. But I think they're gonna need 91 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:56,320 Speaker 1: Kevin Durant to win this thing. And I think by 92 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: the end of it, much like when we saw Kevin 93 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:01,159 Speaker 1: Durand against Clippers or against the Pockets, people start to 94 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:04,360 Speaker 1: understand just how talented he is. To match up with 95 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:08,280 Speaker 1: Kawai Leonard, who's playing at the peak of his NBA career, well, 96 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: let's welcome him in. He's the one and only Henry 97 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,240 Speaker 1: Abbott from True Hoop. He joins us here on the 98 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 1: All Ball Podcast. Henry how are you great, Doug? How 99 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:19,640 Speaker 1: are you good? Man? Um? I want to get to 100 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:22,360 Speaker 1: that we could have k d and we do have 101 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:24,039 Speaker 1: Kawai in the finals. I want to get some of 102 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,719 Speaker 1: your thoughts on the Lakers and on the Baxter homes piece. Um. 103 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:31,719 Speaker 1: But but and and even the possible breakup of the Rockets, 104 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:35,160 Speaker 1: which um isn't as surprising to me as it may 105 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 1: be to some. But first for you, uh, like, look, 106 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:41,360 Speaker 1: you become a major kind of player in the coverage 107 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: of the NBA. I'm fascinated, Like, how did you grow 108 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: up around basketball? How did basketball become such an incredible 109 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: passion of yours? Oh that's simple, man. I just grew 110 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:53,960 Speaker 1: up in Portland, Oregon, where we don't have football and baseball. 111 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 1: That's like, that's the deal. And when I was in 112 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 1: seventh grade, we had a lot of home work. I 113 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 1: was supposed to be you're doing my homework. But that's 114 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: the same year that I got my first Sony Walkman, 115 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: and so I could look like the waterproof Sonny Walkman 116 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 1: because so many of those were submerged. Right, the yellow Yeah, 117 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 1: the yellow ones. Right. I recently brought up the yellow 118 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:19,160 Speaker 1: one and everyone, no one in the room knew what 119 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: I was talking. I'm so glad you said that, because 120 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,000 Speaker 1: it's of course the yellow one that was the best one. 121 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:25,680 Speaker 1: I was so excited to have that. But yeah, I 122 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:27,600 Speaker 1: could look like I was doing my homework. I sat 123 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:30,320 Speaker 1: in my room with the book open, and I just 124 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 1: listened to Bill strongly called the Blazers games. And uh 125 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:37,719 Speaker 1: that's how I became an NBA fan. And then eventually 126 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: my family's English, so they don't know anything about basketball, 127 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:44,000 Speaker 1: and it's it was kind of cute. But eventually my 128 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 1: dad was really nice and realized that I liked this, 129 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:48,560 Speaker 1: and he got some tickets to the Blazer game and 130 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:50,600 Speaker 1: we were late because he was leaving work, and he 131 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: drove really fast and he drove me straight to the 132 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 1: baseball stadium because I'm like, Dad, no, they played basketball inside. 133 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 1: We've got to go to the other state. Like, no, way, 134 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: that's amazing that that's that those are your parents. That's 135 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: so funny, because uh so this is in a in 136 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 1: a kind of related way. Right, So I coach my son. 137 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:18,200 Speaker 1: I have like an AU program, and my wife, who 138 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 1: she grew up in a small town, it played kind 139 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:21,600 Speaker 1: of every sport she tells me about, like some of 140 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 1: the parents on how they have literally have no idea 141 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:26,640 Speaker 1: what they're looking for. They don't they don't understand, they 142 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: don't understand anything about the games. Like you got to 143 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:31,560 Speaker 1: hear the comments of some of these people. And then 144 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: a coaching in baseball, Uh, we had we had a 145 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:38,119 Speaker 1: kid who never played before and the mom, like last 146 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:40,080 Speaker 1: game in the season, comes up to my wife and 147 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: she's like, hey, it's they have other gloves if you're 148 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: left handed. She's like, yeah, well because my son left handed. Yeah, 149 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 1: and she goes because actually, actually my son is left 150 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 1: handed and everything else, but he's been playing right handed 151 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:56,480 Speaker 1: here in his first year in baseball. So he shows 152 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:58,400 Speaker 1: up to the playoffs with like a left hand, admit 153 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:01,600 Speaker 1: trying to throw and swing, you know. And I was like, well, 154 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: wait till next year on it. But anyway, those though, 155 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 1: that's amazing that those are your parents. UM, okay, So 156 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 1: then you went that kid, I'm not kid, I played 157 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: the wrong gloves. I'm exactly that kid. So you went 158 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:14,440 Speaker 1: to college where and why you baby? So you go 159 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 1: from Portland, Oregon, which um I'm sure you've been back. 160 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:22,360 Speaker 1: Is you know, bustling and it's a it's a really 161 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: cool but very pack northwest city. Right, it's sprawling, it's 162 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 1: on the water, but it is a big city. Um 163 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:33,080 Speaker 1: in a port city, but it's it's a different What 164 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:36,680 Speaker 1: was the vibe like going from Portland to New York? 165 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:41,439 Speaker 1: Oh shocking? Um. And I wasn't one of these people. 166 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:45,320 Speaker 1: And I had traveled a lot of places. I mentioned 167 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:48,720 Speaker 1: I found was from Europe, whatever, but but I hadn't 168 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 1: spent time in New York City and it wasn't This 169 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 1: was nice in any one when it was pretty harsh. 170 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 1: You know now it's all baby strollers and stuff right 171 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 1: from a story, but any one, it was it was alarming, 172 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 1: eye opening. Um. And ultimately I learned to love it 173 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:05,679 Speaker 1: so very much that I don't ever want to live 174 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:08,240 Speaker 1: far from it. I feel like New York is kind 175 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:14,640 Speaker 1: of more honest than any other place, more multicultural, more something. Um, 176 00:09:14,679 --> 00:09:17,320 Speaker 1: it's kind of addictive to me. But but yeah, then 177 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,080 Speaker 1: I I literally after my first year, I applied to 178 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:22,079 Speaker 1: transfer because it was just two intense. I couldn't take it. 179 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:27,000 Speaker 1: Your first job out of college is where CBS News 180 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:32,560 Speaker 1: I was. I was a network radio desk assistant, which 181 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 1: was a really cool job, very intense. Were on the 182 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,880 Speaker 1: our top of the news every hour, and we had 183 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:40,320 Speaker 1: to beat the whole world. And I literally would make 184 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 1: phone calls. I mean the whole time. It was just 185 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: like intense, intense, intense, but literally I would make phone 186 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:46,240 Speaker 1: calls routinely, like you know, ma'am, did the plane hit 187 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:48,680 Speaker 1: your house? It's like, no, do you have to know 188 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:50,720 Speaker 1: the name of the number of the people who live 189 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:53,240 Speaker 1: over there? Okay, I'm just trying to you know, trying 190 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: to get the people on the phone who can tell 191 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:57,040 Speaker 1: the story of your senator to motto can you hold please? 192 00:09:57,080 --> 00:09:58,280 Speaker 1: Like it was a lot of that kind of stuff. 193 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:02,720 Speaker 1: So how did you make your way to sports? I 194 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:06,920 Speaker 1: worked in like real news for several years and they 195 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:10,440 Speaker 1: started finishing from magazines. And then I went to a 196 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:14,080 Speaker 1: high school reunion thing from my Oregon high school, but 197 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:18,000 Speaker 1: it was in New York City. People there. I went 198 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:23,200 Speaker 1: to Oregon Episcopal School Conny Place, graduate in class like fifty. 199 00:10:23,559 --> 00:10:27,280 Speaker 1: And then I was at this thing and one of 200 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 1: the other people there who I sort of knew in 201 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:33,560 Speaker 1: high school but not well, was named Anna Geby, And 202 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:38,119 Speaker 1: I noticed that in the math had of Slam magazine 203 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:41,079 Speaker 1: there was the managing editor's name was Anna Gevey and 204 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:42,320 Speaker 1: I was like, oh, to high school and many game 205 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:44,240 Speaker 1: wonder if it's her. And so when she walked in, 206 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:47,040 Speaker 1: I was like, are you man Slam magazine? And she 207 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:49,840 Speaker 1: was just delighted in amaze that anyone would have noticed that. 208 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:53,080 Speaker 1: And un six months later she was asking me if 209 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:54,760 Speaker 1: I would do like this one if Simon or this 210 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 1: other one, and the next thing, you know, I was 211 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:59,720 Speaker 1: like doing pretty much all basketball. I didn't even honestly, 212 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,560 Speaker 1: it didn't occur to me that you were allowed to 213 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:04,400 Speaker 1: have a career to that fun. Like I thought that 214 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:07,160 Speaker 1: you just had to do like, you know, murder stories 215 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:09,360 Speaker 1: and stuff, because that's just what work was like, and 216 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:12,120 Speaker 1: you would follow the NBA and your spare time, right, 217 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:15,000 Speaker 1: But I was like, you can actually, of course I 218 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:17,520 Speaker 1: want to do this. If you're actually allowed to write 219 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:19,840 Speaker 1: about the NBA all day? Yeah, of course, why would 220 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:22,040 Speaker 1: we not do that? Yeah? I I a lot of 221 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:24,280 Speaker 1: times that when I go speak to little kids, I uh, 222 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 1: and sometimes high school kids as well, I'll have him 223 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:30,080 Speaker 1: I'll say like, how many guys love basketball? Haven't raised 224 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,439 Speaker 1: your hands? How many guys talk basketball? I raise your hands? 225 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:35,680 Speaker 1: How many guys get paid to love and talk about 226 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:38,600 Speaker 1: basketball and none of them raise your hands like see 227 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:41,640 Speaker 1: set like that. It's all you always a moment where 228 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,400 Speaker 1: I'm like, as kind of a cool gig I got 229 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:47,720 Speaker 1: going here? Okay, So, um, I think it was two 230 00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:50,160 Speaker 1: thousand five you started. That was back when the blogs 231 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:53,240 Speaker 1: two thousand five, now two thousand nine, everybody runs for president. 232 00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 1: Back in two thousand five, everybody started a blog. Right, 233 00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:59,040 Speaker 1: Uh what was the run for presidents? But I forget 234 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:01,120 Speaker 1: that me to you forgot mentioned that. You forgot to 235 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:04,720 Speaker 1: mention that joined the join the club. Um okay, so 236 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:08,520 Speaker 1: two thousand five you start true hoop right, yes, correct, 237 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:11,120 Speaker 1: you've done your homework. How did that start? Like how 238 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:13,840 Speaker 1: it was just like I'm hacking away, I'm emailing a 239 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:15,920 Speaker 1: buddy on a o L and all of a sudden, 240 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:17,520 Speaker 1: I go like, you know, I should start a blog. 241 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 1: Um it was kind of like that. Yeah, I um. 242 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:24,360 Speaker 1: I was writing for magazines about the NBA, and magazines 243 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:28,040 Speaker 1: have this tremendously long hangover, right, So you that's a 244 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:30,000 Speaker 1: weird way to put that. You're working on a story, 245 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:32,160 Speaker 1: you sent it to the editors and it's in print, 246 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:35,840 Speaker 1: Like eight weeks is fast, sometimes twelve weeks, sometimes a 247 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:39,440 Speaker 1: year later, which means in the meantime, you've had to 248 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:42,240 Speaker 1: develop a lot of sources and contacts and insight that 249 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 1: you just can't put anywhere because a lot of stories 250 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: just won't last that long. So I was kind of 251 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:50,800 Speaker 1: sitting on this like surplus of insight um. At the 252 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:54,920 Speaker 1: same time, an English guy, uh who was a friend 253 00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:58,360 Speaker 1: of mine Brooklyn, Alex. He was an ardent fan of 254 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 1: the soccer team North City, and blogs were happening and 255 00:13:02,559 --> 00:13:06,080 Speaker 1: he was suddenly able to follow North City like never 256 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:09,360 Speaker 1: before from Brooklyn, and he bugged me. He bugged me, 257 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:12,320 Speaker 1: at whatever someone's backyard barbecue or whatever, you just started blog, 258 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:15,640 Speaker 1: your sports writer, you said, a blog. And I was like, basically, Alex, 259 00:13:15,679 --> 00:13:17,360 Speaker 1: I'm not a dork, so I shouldn't have a blog. 260 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:19,760 Speaker 1: I was literally like, I said that some ten times, 261 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:22,960 Speaker 1: and then finally, at a Christmas party, he started it 262 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:24,719 Speaker 1: for me. He hauled me over to the corner of 263 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:28,160 Speaker 1: the room. He started, I've asked a free blogger blog 264 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 1: for me, Like, just do some stuff on here, just 265 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:32,960 Speaker 1: write some things here. And within like a few weeks 266 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 1: I had learned I could tell that it was like 267 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:38,160 Speaker 1: a much more vibrant and interesting way to relate than 268 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:41,200 Speaker 1: like normal website stuff and that I put myself to 269 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:44,480 Speaker 1: like put the research had on. I really learned about 270 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:46,440 Speaker 1: blogs and how they work, and I went to meetings 271 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:50,080 Speaker 1: and and I've read all of the latest thing about 272 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:52,120 Speaker 1: it and read books on it everything and um, and 273 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:53,240 Speaker 1: then I was like, I think I'm gonna try to 274 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:55,840 Speaker 1: make my career by a blog. I think it's just 275 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:58,000 Speaker 1: gonna be a better use of my time than what 276 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:00,959 Speaker 1: I'm doing now. So I started through you start true 277 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:04,199 Speaker 1: hoop and then oh nine you came to Oh no, 278 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:07,199 Speaker 1: when did you come to ESPN? Was it? Oh nine 279 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:11,200 Speaker 1: oh seven? And that was that was you were in 280 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:13,280 Speaker 1: with a digital group, right, that was like down in 281 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:15,880 Speaker 1: the basement. O were you with the mag in New York? 282 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:20,200 Speaker 1: I was. I never was in the office, Um, I 283 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:25,400 Speaker 1: was mostly here. Um. The the group that I worked 284 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,640 Speaker 1: for was on the fourth floor, um, building four, I 285 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:32,360 Speaker 1: think for the entire time. Um. So that was, like 286 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 1: I reported to Chris Ramsey when I first got that 287 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:41,480 Speaker 1: m Jack Ramsey's son, by the way, it was good son. Yeah. Um. 288 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:45,560 Speaker 1: And actually I I spent one whole final that Celtics 289 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:49,920 Speaker 1: Lakers Finals, the two thousand ten. Maybe I forget what 290 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:52,840 Speaker 1: year was U. I spent the whole finals with Dr Jack. 291 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:55,160 Speaker 1: We we sat the other every game and we did 292 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:59,000 Speaker 1: like kind of a called the game live on the internet, um, 293 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:02,120 Speaker 1: with me typing his word basically, Uh, what a treat 294 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:05,160 Speaker 1: that was amazing, man. Um. Yeah, so I was one 295 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:07,800 Speaker 1: of I was maybe ESPN dot com is like eight 296 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:10,840 Speaker 1: NBA writer at the time, something like that, working with 297 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:13,840 Speaker 1: all Mark Stein and Day, Dawn Day and Chris Sheridan, 298 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:20,440 Speaker 1: et cetera, John Hollinger, Um, Chad Ford and then I 299 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:22,440 Speaker 1: took over that group. They asked to be the editor 300 00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:27,240 Speaker 1: of it starting in two thousand four keen and I 301 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:30,080 Speaker 1: was like the boss for a few years and then 302 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:33,680 Speaker 1: left ESPN amid all those changes. Um a couple of 303 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:36,040 Speaker 1: years ago. What was it like to go out in 304 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 1: your own great? I mean, I had twenty two months 305 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:44,480 Speaker 1: left than my contract, so um, I did a lot 306 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:46,360 Speaker 1: of stuff that I would never have time to do. 307 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:49,920 Speaker 1: I became like, um uh dad of the year. I 308 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:53,000 Speaker 1: think I built a lot of things with my hands, um, 309 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:56,520 Speaker 1: and I put in it's just an immense amount of 310 00:15:56,520 --> 00:16:00,240 Speaker 1: research into this passion of mine, which is kind of weird. 311 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:04,200 Speaker 1: So Bloogs called true hoop the Hoop part is pretty obvious, 312 00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 1: but the true part got me really thinking over the 313 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:12,040 Speaker 1: last decade or so, like there's a lot of things 314 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:14,920 Speaker 1: that people don't believe, just even if you tell them 315 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:16,960 Speaker 1: the truth or we do ourselves right, Like, what is 316 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 1: that all about? Why am I fascinated by the truth? 317 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: Why is it hard for people to see the truth? 318 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:24,120 Speaker 1: How do our brains work? How do I'll buyas all 319 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:26,840 Speaker 1: this stuff? So I just did tons of work really 320 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:30,000 Speaker 1: kind of background for future projects. I was just like, 321 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:32,680 Speaker 1: what's the deal with us and our struggle with the truth. 322 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:35,360 Speaker 1: Of course, all this is happening. Donald Trump becomes president 323 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:38,600 Speaker 1: and it became a bigger, hotter topic. Right So, but 324 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:40,240 Speaker 1: I feel like right now I'm sitting on a lot 325 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:43,920 Speaker 1: of insight into you know, well, I could talk about this, 326 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:45,760 Speaker 1: don't get me started on this one. I could talk 327 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 1: about this all day. But I I am looking. I'm 328 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:50,400 Speaker 1: standing here in my oppolsiecking all of these books that 329 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:52,720 Speaker 1: are like kind of what I got to dig into 330 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: in the middle of my career. And now relaunched True 331 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: Hoop as an independent new media company. It's a subscription 332 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 1: news Latyter is my buddy David Thorpe, who I know, 333 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:05,360 Speaker 1: you know, and we're kind of diving into some new 334 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:08,280 Speaker 1: products to add to that podcast and digital video that 335 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:11,520 Speaker 1: kind of stuff. So we're trying to apply these lessons, 336 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:13,639 Speaker 1: you know, trying to apply all the things that that 337 00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:15,280 Speaker 1: I learned here in the attic end of the ESPN. 338 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:19,200 Speaker 1: Give me one thing that is true, Like, just give me, 339 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:21,720 Speaker 1: like like a little teaser, give me something that's true 340 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:27,160 Speaker 1: that people don't believe that fascinates you. Look, for most 341 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:33,480 Speaker 1: of my career, it's been you know, the Lakers aren't magical, right. 342 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:36,480 Speaker 1: It started with Kobe and Crunchtein for me, right, um, 343 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:39,840 Speaker 1: people just wanted to stop thinking and stop doing basketball 344 00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:43,320 Speaker 1: and just say, looks like he has it, right, Like, 345 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:45,800 Speaker 1: so it's gonna be a good shot. But you know, 346 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: once we had the ability to look at his field 347 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:52,120 Speaker 1: goal percentage of crunch Tein, he was shooting. So then 348 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:58,040 Speaker 1: I write that he's shooting repercent and the primary reaction is, yeah, 349 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:00,480 Speaker 1: but he's amazing, right, And it's like, I just I 350 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:03,600 Speaker 1: don't know what to say that, you know, like suck. 351 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:06,399 Speaker 1: You can't win games with that strategy, right, Like he 352 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:09,720 Speaker 1: might be really good skill wise, but that's not good 353 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:11,960 Speaker 1: strategy for sure. Right, the choices that lead to that 354 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:15,600 Speaker 1: are you know, you could do better running a regular 355 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:18,800 Speaker 1: play and letting whoever gets open take the shot right 356 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:21,560 Speaker 1: like you can a lot of ways. So that's one. 357 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:24,120 Speaker 1: That's a big one for me. But it's a it's 358 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:25,760 Speaker 1: a great it's a great one because we do this 359 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:30,560 Speaker 1: thing on TV, which is I mean, it's super super silly. 360 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:33,400 Speaker 1: We do this this clutch this thing, right, everybody has 361 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:36,360 Speaker 1: a he's clutch, he's a choker, and there's so much 362 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,719 Speaker 1: that goes into it. And obviously, you know, numbers can 363 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:42,920 Speaker 1: support things. I would also I would only push back 364 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:47,200 Speaker 1: from this perspective that like I saw Nick Wright broke 365 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:51,040 Speaker 1: out of stat um about you know, like last ten seconds. 366 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:54,240 Speaker 1: I don't even know what the games are like Lebron's numbers, 367 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:57,159 Speaker 1: you know, shooting as opposed to Kobe or Kauai or 368 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 1: k D or whatever and or or maybe it's it's 369 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:05,159 Speaker 1: Jordan's and Kobe. But like the defense is so different 370 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:08,919 Speaker 1: that the whole sport has has been turned completely on 371 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:12,560 Speaker 1: its head where there's no one in the lane and 372 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:15,080 Speaker 1: if there is, you know, it's a pogo stick, which 373 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:18,480 Speaker 1: there's not. When Jordan played there's a power forward and 374 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:20,600 Speaker 1: a center in the lane, and the small forwards were 375 00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:23,800 Speaker 1: Scottie Pippen. Right. I heard ron Ard test talking about, 376 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:27,120 Speaker 1: you know, earlier today, about how you know he likes 377 00:19:27,119 --> 00:19:29,000 Speaker 1: big guys and they just have no place. You know, 378 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:31,080 Speaker 1: power forwards have no place in this sport. As a 379 00:19:31,119 --> 00:19:33,040 Speaker 1: true power forward, they have to be able to be 380 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:36,480 Speaker 1: a small ball five if anything, and and cover one 381 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:40,720 Speaker 1: through four. But like, there is something to the fact that, yes, 382 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:42,600 Speaker 1: Kobe's numbers are bad. And I agree with you on 383 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:44,600 Speaker 1: the premise because the numbers supported that you're better off 384 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,280 Speaker 1: running offense and letting the defense determine who's open, as 385 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:49,600 Speaker 1: opposed to let's just give one guy the ball and 386 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:52,000 Speaker 1: let him bail us out. That that sounds like a 387 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:54,720 Speaker 1: very smart argument from your perspective. But the sport is 388 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:58,040 Speaker 1: so different now, the quality of shot is so different 389 00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:01,840 Speaker 1: now than it was going back five years ago, ten 390 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:05,120 Speaker 1: years ago, fifteen years ago. It's really hard to compare. 391 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:09,920 Speaker 1: Even with the statistical data trying to show parallels. There's 392 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:11,800 Speaker 1: just there can't be a control group within the two. 393 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:16,240 Speaker 1: It's all um what Kevin Pelton called a small samplified 394 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:19,120 Speaker 1: theater anyway, right, like once you confine it to game 395 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:21,040 Speaker 1: on the line or crunch time, like the numbers just 396 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:24,200 Speaker 1: aren't big enough to be valid, right So um and 397 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:26,600 Speaker 1: even like you know, baseball, where the numbers are easier 398 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:32,240 Speaker 1: to manage. Bill James spent decades basically trying to find 399 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:36,640 Speaker 1: if clutchness even was a real thing, right, Like, are 400 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:40,879 Speaker 1: there people who really demonstrate, you know, more than randomness 401 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:44,040 Speaker 1: in crunch time? Right? And couldn't really find an answer, 402 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:47,439 Speaker 1: So I don't assume that there even is this, right, Well, 403 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:51,199 Speaker 1: we're just arguing about is what happened? Not do they 404 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:55,719 Speaker 1: have some human quality imbued into them? Right? But who 405 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:58,560 Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure about is Okay, a lot of my 406 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:01,240 Speaker 1: career I'm now realizing I didn't really know what was 407 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:03,439 Speaker 1: going on until now I've figured out better how to 408 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:06,520 Speaker 1: phrase it. But like I want to separate out talent 409 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:10,800 Speaker 1: and strategy, right, So, like talent is what we're used 410 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:13,960 Speaker 1: to talking about, and thankfully, talent solves the problem of 411 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,520 Speaker 1: bad strategy very often, right, So you can, I tell 412 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:21,199 Speaker 1: Kobe you can, and you'll win plenty of games that way, like, 413 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:25,800 Speaker 1: because his talent just overwhelmed your crappy strategy, right, I 414 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:27,760 Speaker 1: guess The article that I was trying to write was 415 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 1: but that's a bad strategy and we can do better 416 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:34,200 Speaker 1: with that, right, Like, um, I know everybody wants to say, like, oh, 417 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:36,280 Speaker 1: Derek Fuster silks or whatever. It's like, yeah, but you 418 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:38,760 Speaker 1: know what, he doesn't suck that bad right, Like give 419 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:41,040 Speaker 1: the ball to wide open Derek Fisher, who you can 420 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:44,360 Speaker 1: see on video is all alone, Like you will win 421 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:50,240 Speaker 1: more games, John John Paxson, Steve Kerr, These aren't Steve Kurt. 422 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 1: Steve Kurt never averaged double digits in his career, was 423 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:54,919 Speaker 1: a bench player. But you know, whether it's with the 424 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:57,560 Speaker 1: Spurs filling in for Tony Parker laid against the nets, 425 00:21:57,760 --> 00:21:59,520 Speaker 1: or whether it's during time with the Bulls, you know, 426 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:03,040 Speaker 1: open at the right moment in time, in range and rhythm, 427 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:06,080 Speaker 1: like that guy's a bucket, right, it's you know, when 428 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:08,919 Speaker 1: you give them the ball and clear out. No, but 429 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:13,399 Speaker 1: again in the in the context of end of game. UM, 430 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:17,800 Speaker 1: I understand, I agree, that's fasting. Um. Okay, So let's 431 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:21,760 Speaker 1: let's get to the Lakers. Because Baxter Holmes is a 432 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:26,199 Speaker 1: guy that you hired, you brought to ESPN, and um, 433 00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:29,600 Speaker 1: it was long rumored that this piece was out there 434 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:33,120 Speaker 1: that and it was when Magic resigned. I had friends 435 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:35,320 Speaker 1: within the Lakers who were like, you know, I heard 436 00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:38,120 Speaker 1: there's a slam piece coming out and it's not good 437 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:42,639 Speaker 1: towards Magic. And then it came out, and I'll just 438 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:44,880 Speaker 1: give you my kind of quick perspective I talked about 439 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:48,800 Speaker 1: a little bit earlier in the pod, is that there 440 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:52,960 Speaker 1: wasn't that many wow moments to me. Maybe it's because 441 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:56,040 Speaker 1: I know too much. Maybe it's because I talked to 442 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:58,320 Speaker 1: other people in professional sports are like, yeah, well you 443 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:02,320 Speaker 1: find former employee and of course they're gonna be better. Um. 444 00:23:02,359 --> 00:23:06,600 Speaker 1: With the exception of Rob Polinka and his two bizarre lies, 445 00:23:07,119 --> 00:23:10,760 Speaker 1: one which there is a possibility of the Heath Ledger 446 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:13,160 Speaker 1: thing is a little is a little more truthful than 447 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:16,040 Speaker 1: the Bob Meyers thing, which you seemed to make up. Um, 448 00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:19,199 Speaker 1: but it's pretty much what you thought, right, Like Magic 449 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 1: didn't show up to work and then and then you know, 450 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:25,679 Speaker 1: wanted to want to, you know, crack some skulls because 451 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:28,399 Speaker 1: he thought the people that were at work weren't weren't 452 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:31,320 Speaker 1: good enough, right, and weren't listening to him. Rob Polinka 453 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:33,320 Speaker 1: didn't really know what he was doing and kind of 454 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:36,600 Speaker 1: bullshitted his way through it like an agent would. UM. 455 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:38,919 Speaker 1: On the other hand, at least he was totally in 456 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:43,639 Speaker 1: on the job. So, UM, I don't know. You know, 457 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:47,080 Speaker 1: Genie's trying to figure out how to not lose control 458 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:50,359 Speaker 1: of her dad's franchise, you know, because if you let him, 459 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:53,320 Speaker 1: Lebron and his guys they'll take over. They almost infest 460 00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:55,439 Speaker 1: the place. And they almost pulled off a kudata with 461 00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:58,399 Speaker 1: coach and player and essentially being the active GM Like 462 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:03,720 Speaker 1: when when you read the piece, what do you think? Um? So, 463 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 1: on the one hand, I'm with you, like, not that's surprising. Um. 464 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 1: There have been a lot of signals from Laker Land 465 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:12,680 Speaker 1: that it's not a well run team for a long time, 466 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:15,639 Speaker 1: and I did, like, you know, I've heard from you know, 467 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:20,000 Speaker 1: people who live and breathe and working in the NBA, 468 00:24:20,359 --> 00:24:22,200 Speaker 1: and most of them are like, oh yeah, like this 469 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:26,359 Speaker 1: is why, Like I wouldn't have my player go there, right, 470 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:28,160 Speaker 1: because the wee stuff we've known for years and get 471 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:30,199 Speaker 1: on back start for getting it in print. Right, So 472 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:33,040 Speaker 1: it's not as surprising, you know, it's it is surprising 473 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:36,000 Speaker 1: to Laker hands, I think, right, So to me, the 474 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:41,840 Speaker 1: way the Lakers have been managed is like it's very Hollywood, right, 475 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:44,840 Speaker 1: So I think there was a time like when you 476 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:48,160 Speaker 1: would sign up whatever you have Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny 477 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:50,000 Speaker 1: DeVito and they're going to start in your movie. It's 478 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,679 Speaker 1: gonna be called Twins, and it'll succeed because it has 479 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:56,719 Speaker 1: Anold Schwartzenegger and Gangy Divito. Right. Well, that was the 480 00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:59,239 Speaker 1: NBA that Dr Bus ran, where you're like, you get 481 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:01,200 Speaker 1: Magic Johnson Kareem and it will be good because maas 482 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:05,040 Speaker 1: Johnson cream. Right. And since then, remember the whole talent 483 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:08,000 Speaker 1: strategy thing. I was just thinking, like, now there are 484 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 1: teams like the Warriors who don't just have really good talent, 485 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:16,000 Speaker 1: but they also have particularly good strategy. Right, Like the 486 00:25:16,119 --> 00:25:19,320 Speaker 1: way that they move on the court makes Draymond Green 487 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:24,760 Speaker 1: from a guy who barely made the NBA into you know, 488 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:28,399 Speaker 1: setting all time records for the greatest real plus minus ever, right, Like, 489 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:31,720 Speaker 1: they're figuring out better strategies to get more out of people. 490 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:35,640 Speaker 1: And so now it's no longer enough to just have 491 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:37,800 Speaker 1: stars and I can make a plug and play, Like 492 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:39,919 Speaker 1: all the pieces have to work together. You have to 493 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:42,840 Speaker 1: make a thousand great decisions a week and just keep 494 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:45,760 Speaker 1: going and be better than everybody at a million different things. 495 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:49,080 Speaker 1: And that's where all these books that have in the 496 00:25:49,119 --> 00:25:52,760 Speaker 1: attic about you know the truth and how things work best. 497 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:56,080 Speaker 1: Like there's a very alarming part of that Liquor story, 498 00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:58,880 Speaker 1: which is nobody listens to anybody. They have all these 499 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:01,479 Speaker 1: people on staff several and work there, and who they 500 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:04,080 Speaker 1: draft or they signed free agency, and what the team's 501 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:07,440 Speaker 1: strategy is is made off the cuff by one or 502 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:10,199 Speaker 1: two people like you just can't be smart enough. You 503 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:13,440 Speaker 1: can't outsmart the warriors without doing like that thing where 504 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:16,800 Speaker 1: everyone sitfalls their best ideas and you create an environment 505 00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:20,560 Speaker 1: feel safety, being vulnerable and you you know what about 506 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:22,040 Speaker 1: this I want to what about this little cat move 507 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:24,040 Speaker 1: we could do? What about maybe this traff picker? How 508 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:26,320 Speaker 1: about this trade? Or here's no commitional things. You want 509 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,080 Speaker 1: to get all the best ideas together. But instead of 510 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:31,359 Speaker 1: not doing that, they're they're operating based on the idea 511 00:26:31,359 --> 00:26:33,840 Speaker 1: that like Lebron is gonna be Schwarzenegger and we just 512 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:36,199 Speaker 1: gotta go find the veto and then boom, that's the magic. 513 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:39,760 Speaker 1: It's all gonna happen in magic stars filled ways. But 514 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:42,879 Speaker 1: the reality that's hard work. You gotta climb evers, right, 515 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:44,280 Speaker 1: you gotta do all every day. You gotta be a 516 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:47,280 Speaker 1: little better, work, a little harder, a little smarter, and 517 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:49,160 Speaker 1: and then you might beat the Warriors. But this thing 518 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:51,639 Speaker 1: where you're just kind of like, get a big name GM, 519 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:55,280 Speaker 1: a big name president, a big name superstar, Like it's 520 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:57,400 Speaker 1: not enough, it's not smart enough. Well I I it's 521 00:26:57,400 --> 00:26:59,719 Speaker 1: a great point you make. Let me, let me give 522 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,680 Speaker 1: you another. They're kind of um hypotheses, and you tell 523 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:06,560 Speaker 1: me if you like it. Magic Johnson he hit the 524 00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:08,800 Speaker 1: genetic lottery, right, he's six ft nine. Wh you're six 525 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:13,360 Speaker 1: ft nine, you're only competing against you know, point one 526 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:15,960 Speaker 1: percent of the population. Then he was a six ft 527 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:18,360 Speaker 1: nine point guard. How many six ft nine point cards 528 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:21,680 Speaker 1: were there when he was playing? You're talking about none? Right? None? 529 00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:24,879 Speaker 1: So did he did? He hone some god given skills 530 00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:27,800 Speaker 1: of vision and athleticism. Sure, Remember he actually wasn't a 531 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:31,800 Speaker 1: great great athlete like he wasn't. He was just very 532 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:35,240 Speaker 1: very bright as a basketball player, had a magnet magnet 533 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:40,719 Speaker 1: magnetic kind of personality, had great vision, leadership, and and 534 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:42,960 Speaker 1: he wasn't afraid of the big moment. But he also 535 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:46,199 Speaker 1: was six ft nine at a time in which there 536 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:47,960 Speaker 1: was nobody six ft nine that could handle the ball 537 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:52,720 Speaker 1: like him. So you're talking about actually competing against let's 538 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:55,400 Speaker 1: get at best one percent of the population. And you're 539 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:58,000 Speaker 1: born into the United States, you win the geographic lottery 540 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:00,359 Speaker 1: as well. Right, Like if you're born in something world 541 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:02,800 Speaker 1: country back then the chances you get out and get 542 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:06,960 Speaker 1: the training to play basketball slim and none. Right, So 543 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:09,919 Speaker 1: now you become the president, think of the things, the 544 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:13,320 Speaker 1: times in which she's had to compete against one of 545 00:28:13,359 --> 00:28:16,960 Speaker 1: the population, right, the eight billion people, talk show host, 546 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:21,400 Speaker 1: coach uh and now a president. Like literally, anybody can 547 00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:25,520 Speaker 1: be a president, anybody of a basketball operations and maybe 548 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:27,480 Speaker 1: not anybody. You have to have basketball commune, have to 549 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:29,800 Speaker 1: have a passion, you have all the other stuff, but 550 00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:33,119 Speaker 1: you're competing against a much larger pool of people, and 551 00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:36,640 Speaker 1: so hard work is more rewarded. Whereas like, look, I'll 552 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:38,720 Speaker 1: say he is a former basketball player, all of us think, man, 553 00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:40,400 Speaker 1: I bust up my ass. And I was like, I 554 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:43,560 Speaker 1: remember summers. You get up in the morning and you 555 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:46,040 Speaker 1: go get shots up, then you go lift or maybe 556 00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:48,240 Speaker 1: meet with your trainer. Right then you go and you 557 00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:50,360 Speaker 1: get protein shakes and you hang out and then you 558 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:51,960 Speaker 1: go work out again in the afternoon and play some 559 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:54,640 Speaker 1: ball like that was a good day. That's not what 560 00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:56,680 Speaker 1: in the real world. Like you get up and you 561 00:28:56,720 --> 00:28:58,960 Speaker 1: work and you make calls and you watch film, you 562 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:00,960 Speaker 1: do this, you do that. He talked to people, and 563 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:03,920 Speaker 1: you know, it's like, I think that part of it 564 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:07,880 Speaker 1: is he's not actually used to having that advantage of 565 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:10,640 Speaker 1: being Magic Johnson. When you're president of basketball operations, you 566 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:14,040 Speaker 1: don't have the same advantage to just show up and 567 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:16,280 Speaker 1: you know, tip the cap and be Jimmy Dugan at 568 00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:20,600 Speaker 1: at at the league of their own baseball games. It's 569 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:24,120 Speaker 1: an amazing point. And you know, I in magic defense. 570 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:28,800 Speaker 1: I think the way he reportedly did the job used 571 00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:30,880 Speaker 1: to be very common in the NBA. That's how a 572 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:33,400 Speaker 1: lot of people did. I know, like when you know, 573 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:36,080 Speaker 1: when they started the Timberwolve, they asked Kevin McHale to 574 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:38,440 Speaker 1: run the team because he was the local basketball hero. 575 00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:40,560 Speaker 1: And he was like, oh, no, no, no, I'm paraphrasing. 576 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:42,000 Speaker 1: He's like, no, no no, no, I just want to go 577 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:44,040 Speaker 1: hunting and fishing a lot. And they're like that's okay, 578 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:46,320 Speaker 1: you can do that, right, And he's like, oh okay, 579 00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:48,400 Speaker 1: you know. So then he ran the team in a 580 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:51,800 Speaker 1: spare time. Um as as I was told, um so 581 00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:55,240 Speaker 1: who did that? And Kevin Kevin McHale in the early 582 00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:57,400 Speaker 1: years the Timberwolve, he just he told them he didn't 583 00:29:57,400 --> 00:29:58,800 Speaker 1: have a lot of time. It wasn't that passionate about it. 584 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:01,200 Speaker 1: And they were like, okay, that's fine, um I want 585 00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:04,160 Speaker 1: but if you hire people around you that can do 586 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:08,320 Speaker 1: what you don't do, that can work, right, hire people 587 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:11,080 Speaker 1: who know what you don't know. The real flaw to 588 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:13,880 Speaker 1: the Lakers is you had an inexperienced head coach, You 589 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:16,320 Speaker 1: had an inexperienced president who is never around. You had 590 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:18,360 Speaker 1: an inexperience Gennel manager. And they're the only team in 591 00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:20,560 Speaker 1: the NBA they didn't have an assistant general manager and 592 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:23,200 Speaker 1: they have a very slim scouting department in comparison to 593 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:25,280 Speaker 1: some of the other teams. Like they didn't have the 594 00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:28,720 Speaker 1: infrastructure for that type of leadership. Well, and why would 595 00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:30,280 Speaker 1: I and they and the people who did work there, 596 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:32,200 Speaker 1: they didn't even have in them meeting right, so like 597 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:35,120 Speaker 1: why would you go there? So so the flip side 598 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:36,760 Speaker 1: of it, then, I think that's one of the point, 599 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:39,400 Speaker 1: which is you know, you can do things in a 600 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:41,840 Speaker 1: dumb way if twenty and other teams also do things 601 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:43,960 Speaker 1: in a dumb way. Right, But there were the time 602 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:46,520 Speaker 1: every act like there were the time of players smoke cigarettes, 603 00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:49,480 Speaker 1: right like that was okay if the guy you guarded 604 00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:52,240 Speaker 1: smoke cigarettes or didn't train well. But now like that's 605 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:54,760 Speaker 1: much harder. Everyone runs faster, jumps higher, same in the 606 00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:57,600 Speaker 1: front office. Right, So across the hall from the Lakers 607 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:01,680 Speaker 1: is the Lord's Frank, Right, that's the president of the Clippers. 608 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:07,440 Speaker 1: And he's I don't know, five eight and was the 609 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:10,720 Speaker 1: guy who um, David Thorpe used to call him canteen 610 00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:13,280 Speaker 1: guy because he ran the canteen the five star camp, 611 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:16,520 Speaker 1: right like, um, you know he was lucky to find 612 00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:18,440 Speaker 1: a place to sleep as five star camp because there 613 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:21,400 Speaker 1: were the bunks were all taken, right, Like he that 614 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:23,160 Speaker 1: hard work thing you're talking about. This is the opposite 615 00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:25,160 Speaker 1: of mass Johnson, right like lawn Spring had the scrap 616 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:27,040 Speaker 1: and scrap and scrap and scrap and scrap. And I 617 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:29,160 Speaker 1: remember I used to cover the next team here when 618 00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:30,760 Speaker 1: he was the head coach there and they were not 619 00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:32,720 Speaker 1: a good team when he started coaching the team and 620 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:35,520 Speaker 1: get to like figure out how to connect with Jason Kidd, 621 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:38,880 Speaker 1: and eventually they became good and Lawrence got a career 622 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:42,080 Speaker 1: out of the deal. But you know, he knows every 623 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:46,960 Speaker 1: back alley of NBA scrap right and every little thing 624 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:48,479 Speaker 1: you can do to be a little better. And they 625 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:51,560 Speaker 1: made a bunch of trades that didn't win them season 626 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:54,480 Speaker 1: ticket holders that day, but long term are going to 627 00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:58,239 Speaker 1: make it so that four reel now this summer, the 628 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:00,960 Speaker 1: free agent that whichever free age the Lakers thought would 629 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:03,040 Speaker 1: be their savior, is it pretty good that to go 630 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:06,720 Speaker 1: to the Clippers instead, because that whole operation is just 631 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:09,200 Speaker 1: very professionally run. And that's why the Lakers have to 632 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:11,640 Speaker 1: be competing with now, which is a new thing in 633 00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:13,960 Speaker 1: the NBA, and they're just burning an old play. Like 634 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:17,440 Speaker 1: I actually I said this yesterday. Something else. The Lakers 635 00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:19,920 Speaker 1: are a Cadillac, which used to be considered a great car, 636 00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:22,160 Speaker 1: like now you gotta be better than a Tesla, right 637 00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:24,280 Speaker 1: like that, you just gotta resign the whole Cadillac. It's 638 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:28,360 Speaker 1: just it doesn't work anymore. It's a great, great point. Okay, 639 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:31,320 Speaker 1: So what do you think that? What what do you 640 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:33,960 Speaker 1: think happens? Forecast? For me? What happens end of the 641 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:42,440 Speaker 1: season in the lakership. I mean, I've been sniffing around 642 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:45,080 Speaker 1: all of these, like where all the free agents gonna land, 643 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:48,040 Speaker 1: and um, the word Lakers has never said. Right, there's 644 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:50,680 Speaker 1: a lot of excitement about the Clippers and the Nets 645 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:53,880 Speaker 1: and whatever. I mean, uns you believe on the next front. 646 00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:57,560 Speaker 1: But um, there aren't enough top tier free agents to 647 00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:01,280 Speaker 1: go around. I think they're gonna have to try to 648 00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:04,040 Speaker 1: get Anthony to try that they might have the best 649 00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:09,600 Speaker 1: possible offer for Francony Davis. Right. Um, I could be wrong, 650 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:11,880 Speaker 1: but I don't think the Lakes gonna get a top 651 00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:13,720 Speaker 1: tier free agent. I think that or you know then 652 00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:15,600 Speaker 1: of course, the worst thing you can do is like 653 00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:18,680 Speaker 1: with the with the nixt did in Lebron's free agency, right, 654 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:21,120 Speaker 1: which is where your marshall art of your frageant money 655 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:23,560 Speaker 1: you really hope to get a certain player, you don't 656 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:26,440 Speaker 1: get the players give all that money to somebody who's 657 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:28,400 Speaker 1: not anything like is good. Right. That's when they got 658 00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:30,880 Speaker 1: Marstdomier in New York. I could see them doing that. 659 00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:36,920 Speaker 1: But with the possible exception of Jimmy Butler. Um, I 660 00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:38,800 Speaker 1: I think that the Lakers will not get a top 661 00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:42,120 Speaker 1: tier free agent. Um, and I'll have to try to 662 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:43,880 Speaker 1: get Anthony Davis, And then I don't know how good 663 00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:47,120 Speaker 1: they'll be without all the supporting casts they would mean. 664 00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:49,680 Speaker 1: And then how does Anthony Davis actually fit with Lebron 665 00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:51,800 Speaker 1: James is one of my questions. Like I get that 666 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:56,400 Speaker 1: he can he can make up for mistakes defensively, Um, 667 00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:57,840 Speaker 1: and there'll be a lot There'll be a lot more 668 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:00,080 Speaker 1: as Lebron can exerts himself the way he used to 669 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:02,880 Speaker 1: and be the racer defensive league a guard four positions. 670 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:07,600 Speaker 1: But I just like all of his centers have either 671 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:11,560 Speaker 1: been solely rim protectors, rim protectors or you know, he 672 00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:13,560 Speaker 1: really wants a power for to be a stretch five. 673 00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:16,400 Speaker 1: And Anthony Davis can shoot, but he's not a shooter. 674 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:18,959 Speaker 1: That's not what he does. Like I kind of feel 675 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:21,000 Speaker 1: like it's a weird pursuit of a guy that's not 676 00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:23,120 Speaker 1: as good of a fit. Like there's been a lot 677 00:34:23,160 --> 00:34:25,120 Speaker 1: of talk about Brad Beal, Like Brad Bell feels like 678 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:30,839 Speaker 1: a better fit then than Anthony Davis does. Both will 679 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:34,839 Speaker 1: be good both, sure, sure, but I mean, like how 680 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:36,440 Speaker 1: do you how are you going to get how are 681 00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:39,360 Speaker 1: you going to get them both? I mean no, I 682 00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:42,640 Speaker 1: don't think you can't. You know, it's a real problem, right, 683 00:34:42,680 --> 00:34:47,520 Speaker 1: I mean Lebron has signed up the first time. He 684 00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:50,160 Speaker 1: doesn't have real leverage over the team. Right. Um, he 685 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:55,240 Speaker 1: signed a contract for four years and and I think 686 00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:57,120 Speaker 1: at the time he signed it had every reason to 687 00:34:57,160 --> 00:34:59,440 Speaker 1: believe with his own knowledge and behind the scenes, how 688 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:03,040 Speaker 1: will be works? He could attract stars a number of ways. Right, 689 00:35:03,080 --> 00:35:06,480 Speaker 1: But it just looks worse now, you know, other their 690 00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:09,840 Speaker 1: competitors look better. They didn't get Anthony Davis. Um, the 691 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:12,399 Speaker 1: free agency game has changed. The Lakers for an office 692 00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:16,359 Speaker 1: has a terrible opputation now. Um, I see a little 693 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:19,279 Speaker 1: bit of desperation, right, So, yeah, I can see that 694 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:21,640 Speaker 1: you'd worry about the said Anthony Davis. But gosh, like, 695 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:23,880 Speaker 1: if he's the only story you have a chance of getting, 696 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:25,320 Speaker 1: I think you know, and you have a couple of 697 00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:28,440 Speaker 1: years after your prime, don't you just have to get him? Yeah? 698 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:31,560 Speaker 1: I think you. I think you do. Okay, So you said, 699 00:35:31,719 --> 00:35:35,280 Speaker 1: so you're in New York. The talk is that now 700 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:38,560 Speaker 1: the Nets are a destination the Knicks, I mean, the 701 00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:42,120 Speaker 1: only thing. There's two things holding you back from the Knicks. One. 702 00:35:42,560 --> 00:35:44,600 Speaker 1: I still think a lot of these guys would would 703 00:35:44,640 --> 00:35:48,120 Speaker 1: be seen as uncool. And that's the thing. It's seen 704 00:35:48,120 --> 00:35:50,920 Speaker 1: as uncool for taking James Dolan's money, regardless to the 705 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:53,160 Speaker 1: fact that anybody who pays attention knows he has nothing 706 00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:55,000 Speaker 1: to do with basketball, with exception of every once in 707 00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:57,600 Speaker 1: a while showing up a Knicks game and being an asshole. 708 00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:01,400 Speaker 1: Um right, like he has no he has the unique 709 00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:03,840 Speaker 1: ability to like once a year going like, oh yeah, 710 00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:08,600 Speaker 1: that asshole owns the team. That's right. You know, outside 711 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:10,320 Speaker 1: of that, he really doesn't have much to do with basketball. 712 00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:12,960 Speaker 1: But guys, don't you know you don't you feel like 713 00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:14,399 Speaker 1: you won't be at the cool table if you're taking 714 00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:19,080 Speaker 1: his money. Um. And then the Nets, it's like, look, 715 00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:21,799 Speaker 1: I get Brooklyn is a super cool place to live. 716 00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:24,399 Speaker 1: J J. Reddick didn't even move. He still lives there. 717 00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:28,720 Speaker 1: Unbelievable place to live, unbelievable arena, new ownership, huge money. 718 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:32,080 Speaker 1: But it's still the Nets, right, Like, It's just it's 719 00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:34,680 Speaker 1: not the it's not even on the island of Manhattan. 720 00:36:35,239 --> 00:36:40,160 Speaker 1: So who do they get? Well, I think they're the 721 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:43,000 Speaker 1: possible appeal for the Clippers and the Nets. I think 722 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:44,880 Speaker 1: it is similar, right, the Clippers and the Clippers. Right. 723 00:36:44,960 --> 00:36:47,359 Speaker 1: The Clippers are to l a as the next are 724 00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:50,880 Speaker 1: of New York. Right. There teams on the upswing that 725 00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:59,360 Speaker 1: are fighting reputations. Um. The appeal is, I think players 726 00:36:59,440 --> 00:37:03,000 Speaker 1: are art and have this anxiety that wetting themselves to 727 00:37:03,080 --> 00:37:06,520 Speaker 1: a dumb team could be doomed. Right, We've seen it before. 728 00:37:07,239 --> 00:37:10,120 Speaker 1: Um So there's a little sense that, you know, the 729 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:14,320 Speaker 1: Nets just achieved big improvements, right, they took a player 730 00:37:14,320 --> 00:37:16,319 Speaker 1: the Lakers couldn't make sense of and made him a 731 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:22,040 Speaker 1: productive All Star. Um M, however that works is a 732 00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:24,799 Speaker 1: little weird. Whatever the team dynamic is a little hard 733 00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:28,040 Speaker 1: to fathom exactly. But you want to be what David 734 00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:30,080 Speaker 1: Thorpe calls rolling, and you want to be rolling your 735 00:37:30,080 --> 00:37:32,680 Speaker 1: boat in the faster river, right like you know, you 736 00:37:32,680 --> 00:37:35,680 Speaker 1: can row your boat. Man. If Diesel Ussell can improve 737 00:37:35,719 --> 00:37:37,400 Speaker 1: like that, and you're a team that doesn't know how 738 00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:40,319 Speaker 1: to do that, that sucks, right. So I just think 739 00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:43,200 Speaker 1: that they have a little bit of team culture. Yeah. 740 00:37:43,239 --> 00:37:44,480 Speaker 1: I mean I grew up in Borlands, you know, and 741 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:46,600 Speaker 1: I probably sound like a Blazer's homer, but you know 742 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:51,280 Speaker 1: when Rodney Hood and and It's Cancer and Seth Curry 743 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:55,200 Speaker 1: all play it, you know, who were all kind of 744 00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:58,880 Speaker 1: off the NBA scrap heap all play really important and 745 00:37:58,920 --> 00:38:01,000 Speaker 1: productive minutes. I think it's a little bit of the 746 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:04,200 Speaker 1: signal that, like maybe the organization knows how to do 747 00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:06,200 Speaker 1: something that everybody doesn't know how to do, and you 748 00:38:06,239 --> 00:38:07,759 Speaker 1: kind of want to get some of that's use, you know. 749 00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:11,360 Speaker 1: So I think that's so. I think that's that's the 750 00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:16,919 Speaker 1: potential draw, right, So maybe, um, well, let's talk about 751 00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:19,799 Speaker 1: Kevin Durant in particular. There's one more huge problem with 752 00:38:19,880 --> 00:38:23,680 Speaker 1: him on the Knicks, which is he's the most pensitive 753 00:38:23,719 --> 00:38:27,719 Speaker 1: guy in the world. Yeah. I mean that's he's on 754 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:31,680 Speaker 1: Twitter all the time, burner accounts, um defending himself against 755 00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:36,239 Speaker 1: every accusation, right, like lots of very thick Skins people 756 00:38:36,360 --> 00:38:38,200 Speaker 1: don't like the New York media right then, and it's 757 00:38:38,239 --> 00:38:40,520 Speaker 1: particularly the Knicks media, right, that's where the expectations are 758 00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:44,400 Speaker 1: crazy high. Um, I should like to date him alive, right. 759 00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:47,120 Speaker 1: I feel like this would then really ugly. There's no 760 00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:49,520 Speaker 1: way in my mind they're going to go from the 761 00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:53,600 Speaker 1: worst team in the NBA to fulfilling the expectations of 762 00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:56,680 Speaker 1: Knicks fans with one free Asian signing, right, So there 763 00:38:56,680 --> 00:39:00,600 Speaker 1: will be disappointment and it will be a long process. 764 00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:03,600 Speaker 1: And you know, Kevin rely getting younger, and I think 765 00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:06,760 Speaker 1: there's gonna be this weird gap that's just gonna fry 766 00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:09,759 Speaker 1: him and uh in the end. I think that's why 767 00:39:09,840 --> 00:39:12,000 Speaker 1: if you were honestly advising Kevin Tran, I think you 768 00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:14,560 Speaker 1: tell him to go alwhere plus how many times? How 769 00:39:14,600 --> 00:39:16,160 Speaker 1: many times? How many other people have tried to climb 770 00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:18,120 Speaker 1: Everest in New York? I mean we could kind of 771 00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:21,359 Speaker 1: go through the Um. It reminds me of Goonies, one 772 00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:25,080 Speaker 1: of my favorite movies as Goonies when right when when 773 00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:28,399 Speaker 1: they're when they're like, uh, like they have all these 774 00:39:28,800 --> 00:39:31,360 Speaker 1: there was I forget the name of the explorer who died, 775 00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:34,640 Speaker 1: right like, guys he could like this is this was 776 00:39:34,719 --> 00:39:37,200 Speaker 1: his quest to get past One Eyed Willie. And we've 777 00:39:37,239 --> 00:39:39,719 Speaker 1: gone further than It's like yeah, but like look at 778 00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:42,280 Speaker 1: all the people, the explorers that died trying to find 779 00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:45,560 Speaker 1: one Eyed Willie. Um, how many people have tried to 780 00:39:45,719 --> 00:39:51,640 Speaker 1: like Larry Coaches, Larry Brown, Phil Jackson, obviously his management, Um, 781 00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:54,440 Speaker 1: you know, Mike D'Antoni, dude, I could I like I 782 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:59,040 Speaker 1: could go through him. Rick Pettino, pat Riley and then 783 00:39:59,120 --> 00:40:02,040 Speaker 1: players from you ing they did get to the finals, 784 00:40:02,040 --> 00:40:05,960 Speaker 1: granted Jordan didn't play, ing to Penny a Hardaway a 785 00:40:06,040 --> 00:40:09,680 Speaker 1: Mari Stodamyer, Carmelo Anthony. At various times they're career Jason 786 00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:14,080 Speaker 1: kid Like, there's a ridiculous number. They've had some unbelievable 787 00:40:14,200 --> 00:40:17,200 Speaker 1: names as players that haven't been able to find one 788 00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:19,799 Speaker 1: eyed Willie or to climb Everest if you will, And like, 789 00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:21,480 Speaker 1: I get it. I think Kevin Rant is the best 790 00:40:21,480 --> 00:40:25,280 Speaker 1: player in the game, but um, there's been other dudes 791 00:40:25,280 --> 00:40:28,399 Speaker 1: that are close to that peak and they haven't gotten there, 792 00:40:28,560 --> 00:40:31,279 Speaker 1: and they're not as sensitive as you. And there was 793 00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:34,400 Speaker 1: better infrastructure then than there is now. And at a 794 00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:36,400 Speaker 1: dust you're gonna be an NBA chan that that. I 795 00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:39,440 Speaker 1: find that hard to believe. You said better than me. 796 00:40:39,480 --> 00:40:43,520 Speaker 1: I feel exactly the same way. Um, the only way 797 00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:46,080 Speaker 1: is if you're like the gambler who takes all your 798 00:40:46,120 --> 00:40:48,120 Speaker 1: money and puts it all on like Red thirty two 799 00:40:48,200 --> 00:40:51,279 Speaker 1: or whatever, and you you know, like, like, because of 800 00:40:51,320 --> 00:40:53,560 Speaker 1: what you said, heaven forbid, Kevin Ryan does lead them 801 00:40:53,560 --> 00:40:56,040 Speaker 1: to the phone, and then it might be his only chance. 802 00:40:56,560 --> 00:40:58,520 Speaker 1: You know, he is openly said in the past and 803 00:40:58,520 --> 00:41:01,480 Speaker 1: in anger your moments. He thinks he's the best ever 804 00:41:01,680 --> 00:41:04,040 Speaker 1: you know better, Lebron doesn't all that, and he wants 805 00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:06,200 Speaker 1: to if he wants to prove that. You know, he's 806 00:41:06,280 --> 00:41:08,359 Speaker 1: running out of ways to do with the conventional way, 807 00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:10,480 Speaker 1: you know what I mean, Like he's not gonna have 808 00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:13,920 Speaker 1: more championships, he's not gonna have better overall career stats 809 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:17,520 Speaker 1: or whatever. Um, but I guess if you, if you, 810 00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:20,440 Speaker 1: if you do climb that particular every where everyone else failed, 811 00:41:21,040 --> 00:41:23,200 Speaker 1: maybe maybe that's the argument I could make, even though 812 00:41:23,239 --> 00:41:25,840 Speaker 1: I don't know what like it. Um, I think what 813 00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:28,960 Speaker 1: you just said is the same. This is exactly what 814 00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:32,720 Speaker 1: I'm saying about the Lakers. Just thinking that magic people, 815 00:41:32,840 --> 00:41:35,319 Speaker 1: magical people will solve it, right, like that you have 816 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:41,960 Speaker 1: to actually have better run front office, like to actually 817 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:45,840 Speaker 1: make smarter decisions habitually, and that's where the makes and 818 00:41:45,880 --> 00:41:47,040 Speaker 1: be like no, no no, no, well just like and I 819 00:41:47,040 --> 00:41:49,480 Speaker 1: didn't work great Phil, get Phil, you know, like I 820 00:41:49,520 --> 00:41:52,240 Speaker 1: didn't work I'll get you know, I'm sorry, Cramlo whatever. 821 00:41:52,320 --> 00:41:57,560 Speaker 1: Just someone with a big name solve it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 822 00:41:57,640 --> 00:41:59,680 Speaker 1: I mean we've seen that with TV shows before, right 823 00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:01,040 Speaker 1: or move East, where you just you try and put 824 00:42:01,040 --> 00:42:02,560 Speaker 1: a big game in with a bad it's a bad script. 825 00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:05,960 Speaker 1: It's a bad script, right, you know, you know, and 826 00:42:06,120 --> 00:42:08,920 Speaker 1: it doesn't does that might might look good in the 827 00:42:08,920 --> 00:42:10,719 Speaker 1: press clippings or whatever, but once you watch the movie 828 00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:14,640 Speaker 1: like O water World, perfect example, right, spend a bunch 829 00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:17,000 Speaker 1: of money, put Kevin Costner, pique Kevin Costner, You're like 830 00:42:17,320 --> 00:42:20,439 Speaker 1: that movie sucked, and you can't fool you can't can't 831 00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:23,239 Speaker 1: fool people. Um My dad's a doctor. And there's like 832 00:42:23,239 --> 00:42:26,920 Speaker 1: a there's a diagnosis component of this, right, which is like, 833 00:42:27,480 --> 00:42:30,640 Speaker 1: if you're really brilliant, you want to you'll be able 834 00:42:30,640 --> 00:42:34,439 Speaker 1: to figure out what's actually causing the disease, right, which 835 00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:39,879 Speaker 1: is totally different from like give them the famous medicine, right, Like, yeah, 836 00:42:39,880 --> 00:42:42,520 Speaker 1: the famous medicine is a miraculous if applied in the 837 00:42:42,640 --> 00:42:44,560 Speaker 1: right place, in the right way the end, to give 838 00:42:44,560 --> 00:42:46,719 Speaker 1: it for sick people, you get the bagnosis. Right. It's 839 00:42:47,120 --> 00:42:50,120 Speaker 1: really understand the game, which I think is why this 840 00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:52,520 Speaker 1: is why a lot of these guys hated analytics. But 841 00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:55,120 Speaker 1: these guys, I mean g ms of a generation ago, 842 00:42:55,440 --> 00:42:58,200 Speaker 1: because analytics are are coming with their message of like, 843 00:42:58,840 --> 00:43:02,000 Speaker 1: oh this is hard, this is hard work. You have 844 00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:04,480 Speaker 1: to really understand how these things all fit together. And 845 00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:07,000 Speaker 1: it's not eye tests, and it's not fun and easy, 846 00:43:07,080 --> 00:43:08,880 Speaker 1: and it's not one flight to the Saraevo when you 847 00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:10,439 Speaker 1: watch a guy in the gym said, that's my guy 848 00:43:10,760 --> 00:43:14,480 Speaker 1: gets a really understand the dynamics of the game and 849 00:43:14,520 --> 00:43:17,279 Speaker 1: what matters, like is is leach more important than height? 850 00:43:17,480 --> 00:43:21,440 Speaker 1: Like you get to know the answer to that, right, Um, 851 00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:23,640 Speaker 1: and on and on times of millions, And I think 852 00:43:23,719 --> 00:43:26,200 Speaker 1: that's where you know this, this job of running an 853 00:43:26,239 --> 00:43:28,759 Speaker 1: NBA team, like running a lot of businesses these days, 854 00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:32,400 Speaker 1: has become way more demanding than it used to be. Um, 855 00:43:32,480 --> 00:43:35,040 Speaker 1: just to keep up and the world's more competitive when 856 00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:41,279 Speaker 1: it's just hard job. What I mean, obviously he's amazing. Um, 857 00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:43,640 Speaker 1: I'm a little a little it feels like a little 858 00:43:43,680 --> 00:43:47,240 Speaker 1: bit of a you know, best player in the world 859 00:43:47,560 --> 00:43:49,680 Speaker 1: like this week, you know, I just feel like, oh, 860 00:43:49,719 --> 00:43:51,560 Speaker 1: we've had the best player in the world every different 861 00:43:51,600 --> 00:43:54,120 Speaker 1: week in the playoffs has been different persons, you know. Um, 862 00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:59,880 Speaker 1: but yeah, I he he's got some Michael Jordan. Right. 863 00:43:59,880 --> 00:44:02,960 Speaker 1: It does feel a lot of time that whatever problem 864 00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:04,800 Speaker 1: there is in the basketball court, Kauai has a solution 865 00:44:04,880 --> 00:44:08,360 Speaker 1: to it, including that four bouncing shot will beat the 866 00:44:08,360 --> 00:44:12,360 Speaker 1: Sixers like it does. Feel like he can do anything, 867 00:44:12,719 --> 00:44:16,080 Speaker 1: and you know, pass off tone for that and one 868 00:44:16,120 --> 00:44:21,279 Speaker 1: other things. Shout out to load management. Right, that guy Alicmattchen, 869 00:44:21,360 --> 00:44:25,080 Speaker 1: he used to be used to run everything for the Lakers, 870 00:44:25,120 --> 00:44:29,000 Speaker 1: and they let him go during the lockout. This is 871 00:44:29,040 --> 00:44:31,719 Speaker 1: exactly the kind of thing, right, This is exactly the 872 00:44:31,760 --> 00:44:34,840 Speaker 1: players the Lakers would like to have. And I predict 873 00:44:34,840 --> 00:44:37,200 Speaker 1: to stay with the Raptors in part because of that 874 00:44:37,239 --> 00:44:41,239 Speaker 1: guy who the Lakers already let go. Do you think 875 00:44:41,280 --> 00:44:44,480 Speaker 1: you'll stay with the Raptors. I think now now that 876 00:44:44,560 --> 00:44:47,359 Speaker 1: in the finals, I think he'll take this short deal, right. 877 00:44:47,400 --> 00:44:49,560 Speaker 1: I think I'll just be too harsh to leave right now. 878 00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:51,920 Speaker 1: I think I'll do like a one plus one or something. 879 00:44:52,080 --> 00:44:54,279 Speaker 1: I just feel like, I don't know. I just feel 880 00:44:54,280 --> 00:44:57,239 Speaker 1: like he's say, you can't apply to Kawhi Leonard, you 881 00:44:57,280 --> 00:45:00,359 Speaker 1: can't apply anything from anyone. He's just a different cats 882 00:45:00,440 --> 00:45:04,040 Speaker 1: Like all these guys are kind of different cats um, 883 00:45:04,080 --> 00:45:07,040 Speaker 1: and he's just a different like anybody else. You get 884 00:45:07,080 --> 00:45:08,920 Speaker 1: to the finals in Toronto, you get that kind of 885 00:45:09,239 --> 00:45:13,120 Speaker 1: love and this kind of team, and you go like, oh, 886 00:45:13,160 --> 00:45:16,440 Speaker 1: no way he leaves except Cowhi Leonard like, but it 887 00:45:16,560 --> 00:45:19,439 Speaker 1: just feels it feels like he's gonna do his own 888 00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:21,960 Speaker 1: thing how he wants to do his own thing, and 889 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:27,680 Speaker 1: that's how he's going to do his thing. Um. Yes, 890 00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:32,279 Speaker 1: the the Jordan thing is interesting because I guess I 891 00:45:32,320 --> 00:45:35,359 Speaker 1: take it too literally, right, Like Jordan was a a 892 00:45:35,400 --> 00:45:38,960 Speaker 1: wing who became a great post player, whereas why I 893 00:45:39,040 --> 00:45:42,160 Speaker 1: was a post player who has become a great wing. Um, 894 00:45:42,239 --> 00:45:44,560 Speaker 1: But I do understand that. And he's also a guy. 895 00:45:44,640 --> 00:45:49,360 Speaker 1: George was a guy who who wasn't always a willing 896 00:45:49,400 --> 00:45:53,719 Speaker 1: passer early in his career. But when people remember they 897 00:45:53,760 --> 00:45:55,520 Speaker 1: when they finally went a championship against the Lakers, the 898 00:45:55,600 --> 00:45:57,640 Speaker 1: average eleven assist the game in the in his first 899 00:45:57,719 --> 00:45:59,759 Speaker 1: NBA Finals because the Lakers want to make somebody else 900 00:45:59,800 --> 00:46:01,799 Speaker 1: beat still average thirty one, but he ever just like 901 00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:04,360 Speaker 1: almost like a trouble double. It's like eleven assists because 902 00:46:04,440 --> 00:46:06,799 Speaker 1: the second they helped, he was a willing passer. And 903 00:46:06,840 --> 00:46:09,480 Speaker 1: if we watched as that series evolved with the Bucks, 904 00:46:10,160 --> 00:46:13,120 Speaker 1: some of his teammates one started making shots that was 905 00:46:13,160 --> 00:46:15,839 Speaker 1: more cists and then two, Um, he kind of started 906 00:46:15,880 --> 00:46:18,360 Speaker 1: to figure out what they were doing defensively and where 907 00:46:18,480 --> 00:46:19,880 Speaker 1: who was going to be open and where they were 908 00:46:19,880 --> 00:46:22,480 Speaker 1: gonna be open, and he became a more willing passer. 909 00:46:22,560 --> 00:46:26,000 Speaker 1: So I I got it there. Um, I still think 910 00:46:26,040 --> 00:46:29,319 Speaker 1: that k D is more the best player. I was 911 00:46:29,360 --> 00:46:33,280 Speaker 1: impressed by his desire and ability to shut down James 912 00:46:33,280 --> 00:46:36,880 Speaker 1: Harden in the in the in the playoffs, I was 913 00:46:36,960 --> 00:46:40,000 Speaker 1: also I mean, I just feel like, I don't know, 914 00:46:40,480 --> 00:46:42,920 Speaker 1: we're so we have no memory at all. Like first 915 00:46:42,920 --> 00:46:45,200 Speaker 1: two games of the playoffs, he was he was trying 916 00:46:45,239 --> 00:46:46,799 Speaker 1: to be a good teammate and people are like, hey, 917 00:46:46,920 --> 00:46:48,879 Speaker 1: why aren't you just killing them? And he's like, all right, 918 00:46:49,360 --> 00:46:51,880 Speaker 1: fuck it, I'll just go score score forty five. And 919 00:46:51,880 --> 00:46:54,040 Speaker 1: then he goes and scores forty five and like, oh, 920 00:46:54,120 --> 00:46:56,080 Speaker 1: he's the best player on Earth and he's the only 921 00:46:56,080 --> 00:46:58,719 Speaker 1: one doing anything consistently against the Rockets. Then he gets 922 00:46:58,800 --> 00:47:01,440 Speaker 1: hurt and the other guys pick get up and like, ah, 923 00:47:01,480 --> 00:47:04,240 Speaker 1: they didn't need him, Like what what? Like we're making 924 00:47:04,280 --> 00:47:07,200 Speaker 1: it like some impossible journey for Kevin Durant because he 925 00:47:07,280 --> 00:47:09,680 Speaker 1: left the Thunder went uh to a team that had 926 00:47:09,680 --> 00:47:13,120 Speaker 1: previously won seventy three games. Um, but if I had 927 00:47:13,120 --> 00:47:16,560 Speaker 1: to have one guy, I've added one guy. I would 928 00:47:16,600 --> 00:47:19,359 Speaker 1: probably have Kauai, even though I think Katie's better only 929 00:47:19,400 --> 00:47:22,200 Speaker 1: because well, Kauai is younger and he hasn't been as 930 00:47:22,239 --> 00:47:25,239 Speaker 1: injury prone. Right, let me did Okay, we did this 931 00:47:25,280 --> 00:47:28,600 Speaker 1: little internal exercise here, true hoop, and I'm just opening 932 00:47:28,640 --> 00:47:30,920 Speaker 1: the Google doc um. All right, So this is just 933 00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:35,160 Speaker 1: over the last few weeks. Janna popular pick for m 934 00:47:35,200 --> 00:47:37,799 Speaker 1: VP likely to be named the BPS two. Right. His 935 00:47:37,960 --> 00:47:41,400 Speaker 1: only rival in that debate was James Harden. Kevin Durant 936 00:47:41,400 --> 00:47:44,000 Speaker 1: you just discussed. Uh, there was a time early the 937 00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:47,600 Speaker 1: playoffs where Nicola Yokich was seen as like maybe that 938 00:47:47,719 --> 00:47:50,400 Speaker 1: guy who was having the best playoffs. Um, I'm here 939 00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:52,919 Speaker 1: to tell you that of everybody with a big name 940 00:47:53,560 --> 00:47:56,440 Speaker 1: in the NBA, the one with the best plus minus 941 00:47:56,440 --> 00:47:58,760 Speaker 1: in the playoffs, and it's not closed, is Joel Embiid. 942 00:47:59,080 --> 00:48:02,720 Speaker 1: He was more than twenty through the whole playoffs. And 943 00:48:02,719 --> 00:48:05,200 Speaker 1: and I guess the Raptors in that series, which you 944 00:48:05,239 --> 00:48:10,280 Speaker 1: know they almost won, uh plus twenty literally a blowout. 945 00:48:10,320 --> 00:48:12,239 Speaker 1: Every second Nb's on the court, whether quis on the 946 00:48:12,280 --> 00:48:16,080 Speaker 1: quarter or not. Um, don't forget Lebron James right. Uh, 947 00:48:16,160 --> 00:48:17,680 Speaker 1: we recently did a little thing about if you were 948 00:48:17,719 --> 00:48:21,320 Speaker 1: to trade Lebron for Zion, Um, don't get me started 949 00:48:21,320 --> 00:48:24,839 Speaker 1: on that. But it's the Lakers who'd have to add 950 00:48:24,840 --> 00:48:27,000 Speaker 1: as sweetener because Lebron isn't good enough. So that's an 951 00:48:27,080 --> 00:48:30,319 Speaker 1: argument for Zion. Anthony Davis, then maybe the conversation when 952 00:48:30,320 --> 00:48:32,560 Speaker 1: he's healthy. Paul George led the league in real plus 953 00:48:32,560 --> 00:48:34,680 Speaker 1: minus this year. Then there's Kauai and of course we haven't. 954 00:48:34,719 --> 00:48:37,040 Speaker 1: Then Steff Curry like, I think you could make a 955 00:48:37,040 --> 00:48:39,920 Speaker 1: case for all of them and more. And so to 956 00:48:40,000 --> 00:48:43,920 Speaker 1: me with all of that in this this like like 957 00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:47,719 Speaker 1: you're saying about the short memories, like, look, it depends, 958 00:48:48,200 --> 00:48:50,040 Speaker 1: you know, there's a lot of good arguments you can make. 959 00:48:50,239 --> 00:48:53,719 Speaker 1: The noting that's clearly Kauai. To me, now it's like, 960 00:48:53,840 --> 00:48:56,480 Speaker 1: come on, but that's just because they won the last series. 961 00:48:56,640 --> 00:48:58,560 Speaker 1: I dare anyone to make that case if the Raptors 962 00:48:58,560 --> 00:49:01,320 Speaker 1: happen to lose against the Box or the Sixers or that, 963 00:49:01,520 --> 00:49:03,240 Speaker 1: or that that ball doesn't go in against the Sixers 964 00:49:03,280 --> 00:49:05,760 Speaker 1: and they go to overtime, right like a fade away, 965 00:49:05,800 --> 00:49:08,359 Speaker 1: a fade away, a deep two that hits the front 966 00:49:08,440 --> 00:49:11,080 Speaker 1: room twice, the back room twice, and then and then 967 00:49:11,239 --> 00:49:13,480 Speaker 1: the side room twice, and then goes in like that 968 00:49:13,480 --> 00:49:16,160 Speaker 1: shot does go in And now now what are we 969 00:49:16,200 --> 00:49:18,640 Speaker 1: saying about Kawhi Leonard? And we we do become result 970 00:49:18,680 --> 00:49:22,799 Speaker 1: oriented this instead of process oriented. Oh like crazy and 971 00:49:23,000 --> 00:49:27,120 Speaker 1: tiny results. You know. Um, somebody I sort of tweet 972 00:49:27,200 --> 00:49:29,960 Speaker 1: or something about this and somebody replied like recncy bias 973 00:49:30,080 --> 00:49:36,000 Speaker 1: is the best bias. That's that's uh, that's that's very 974 00:49:36,120 --> 00:49:41,760 Speaker 1: very funny. Um. Okay, last thing, Um, there are people 975 00:49:41,840 --> 00:49:45,560 Speaker 1: that so so the team that supposedly had become team 976 00:49:45,600 --> 00:49:49,000 Speaker 1: analytics was the Rockets, right like, they're the ones we 977 00:49:49,120 --> 00:49:51,600 Speaker 1: fully we got smart people are in the front office, 978 00:49:52,160 --> 00:49:55,040 Speaker 1: and we went and got James Harden. Then we slowly 979 00:49:55,080 --> 00:49:57,640 Speaker 1: kind of figured it out. And last year they were 980 00:49:57,680 --> 00:50:00,080 Speaker 1: close and then they lose Thereza lose a couple of 981 00:50:00,120 --> 00:50:03,160 Speaker 1: the pieces, and but they didn't have Chris Paul. Now 982 00:50:03,239 --> 00:50:06,200 Speaker 1: they have Chris Paul, they come up short. And then 983 00:50:06,520 --> 00:50:09,920 Speaker 1: at the time of this recording, Um, this is on Wednesday, 984 00:50:09,960 --> 00:50:13,520 Speaker 1: the NBA Final start on Thursday, Adrian Warznowski said, Hey, basically, 985 00:50:13,520 --> 00:50:15,960 Speaker 1: the Rockets you can have anybody you want, although the 986 00:50:16,000 --> 00:50:19,160 Speaker 1: hardened you you probably have to move, you know, everest 987 00:50:19,200 --> 00:50:21,719 Speaker 1: in order to get hardened. So that means Chris Paul, 988 00:50:21,719 --> 00:50:24,600 Speaker 1: but you gotta take Chris Paul's contract um. And I 989 00:50:24,640 --> 00:50:26,520 Speaker 1: also think that some of this has overblown. Lots of 990 00:50:26,560 --> 00:50:28,600 Speaker 1: teams have lots of good teams would say like, yeah, 991 00:50:28,600 --> 00:50:30,000 Speaker 1: you can trade for anybody, but you're gonna have to 992 00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:32,480 Speaker 1: take all our crummy contracts as well, right, Like, yes, 993 00:50:32,520 --> 00:50:34,520 Speaker 1: you're gonna PJ Tucker, you gotta take Chris Paul's deal 994 00:50:34,520 --> 00:50:36,239 Speaker 1: as well and give us something you know, give it, 995 00:50:36,239 --> 00:50:38,640 Speaker 1: give us a give us the pirates ransom in return. 996 00:50:39,680 --> 00:50:43,640 Speaker 1: I would make the case that I actually understand this. 997 00:50:43,800 --> 00:50:47,560 Speaker 1: If you can't beat the Golden State Warriors down two starters, 998 00:50:47,600 --> 00:50:50,960 Speaker 1: theydn't have to Marcus Cousins didn't have uh, didn't have 999 00:50:51,040 --> 00:50:53,759 Speaker 1: Kevin Durant. If you can't beat them at home in 1000 00:50:53,800 --> 00:50:56,600 Speaker 1: a game six, when Chris Paul is healthy and James 1001 00:50:56,680 --> 00:50:58,600 Speaker 1: Harden's healthy, you can't beat him, then you are never 1002 00:50:58,680 --> 00:51:02,120 Speaker 1: going to beat them. Chain strategies, don't don't don't keep 1003 00:51:02,120 --> 00:51:04,160 Speaker 1: pounding your head against the wall and be like, at 1004 00:51:04,200 --> 00:51:07,279 Speaker 1: some point it's not going to hurt. I actually understand this. 1005 00:51:07,360 --> 00:51:09,600 Speaker 1: I don't know if it makes them better, but I 1006 00:51:09,640 --> 00:51:12,080 Speaker 1: do think that kind of bailing on this current group 1007 00:51:12,520 --> 00:51:15,000 Speaker 1: might be the smartest and most pertinent thing in order 1008 00:51:15,040 --> 00:51:18,200 Speaker 1: to continue trying different ways to get to the top 1009 00:51:18,239 --> 00:51:22,440 Speaker 1: of the mountain. I hear you, Um, it sounds like disagree. 1010 00:51:24,880 --> 00:51:28,759 Speaker 1: I I mean, look, the the not there always bring 1011 00:51:28,800 --> 00:51:31,120 Speaker 1: up the Blazers, but they were swept for by the 1012 00:51:31,120 --> 00:51:33,799 Speaker 1: Pelicans a year ago and didn't really change anything and 1013 00:51:33,920 --> 00:51:36,160 Speaker 1: made us the Western Conference finals. Like there was dramatic 1014 00:51:36,200 --> 00:51:40,200 Speaker 1: improvement from maybe luck or you know, maybe those guys 1015 00:51:40,640 --> 00:51:42,720 Speaker 1: building a little more trust together, right, Like my Leonard 1016 00:51:42,719 --> 00:51:48,919 Speaker 1: has been not a great NBA player, but um had 1017 00:51:49,000 --> 00:51:52,319 Speaker 1: something special from his teammates trusting him in a certain way. 1018 00:51:52,360 --> 00:51:54,520 Speaker 1: And you know I have the best game is this 1019 00:51:54,600 --> 00:51:58,239 Speaker 1: kind of stuff. Though arguably, you know you you can 1020 00:51:59,239 --> 00:52:02,040 Speaker 1: build more for us, so like Eric Gordon feels more 1021 00:52:02,040 --> 00:52:04,640 Speaker 1: empowered to do more stuff, right or yeah, I could 1022 00:52:04,680 --> 00:52:05,960 Speaker 1: keep that art. That's what I would say if I 1023 00:52:06,080 --> 00:52:08,920 Speaker 1: bring them all back. I don't think the rockets and 1024 00:52:08,920 --> 00:52:11,640 Speaker 1: and they're more will admit this, right, they're not particularly 1025 00:52:11,680 --> 00:52:14,440 Speaker 1: good at that right there. They be like arbitrage. They're like, 1026 00:52:14,480 --> 00:52:17,279 Speaker 1: we're gonna purchase this asset and increase its value and 1027 00:52:17,280 --> 00:52:20,839 Speaker 1: then moving right, Um, that's what That's how they got 1028 00:52:20,920 --> 00:52:23,680 Speaker 1: James Harden, That's how they got good. But this whole 1029 00:52:23,760 --> 00:52:25,680 Speaker 1: kind of how do you blend these personalities and how 1030 00:52:25,680 --> 00:52:27,320 Speaker 1: do you build trust? All this stuff? That's not what 1031 00:52:27,400 --> 00:52:30,839 Speaker 1: they're best at. So if you're not good at that, 1032 00:52:30,920 --> 00:52:33,279 Speaker 1: and you're gonna need to win by just having more 1033 00:52:33,320 --> 00:52:36,480 Speaker 1: talent than hell, yeah, I guess shake it up? Um? 1034 00:52:36,480 --> 00:52:39,239 Speaker 1: Why not? Um? And I think it looks we were 1035 00:52:39,320 --> 00:52:41,840 Speaker 1: talking about the Lakers and the Knicks, who have tons 1036 00:52:41,840 --> 00:52:44,719 Speaker 1: of money and the poor ability to get talent for 1037 00:52:44,760 --> 00:52:50,080 Speaker 1: that money. That's your Chris Paul match, right with the Lakers? 1038 00:52:51,320 --> 00:52:53,000 Speaker 1: Where are the next either one right there? The one 1039 00:52:53,040 --> 00:52:55,480 Speaker 1: who just are dying to throw dollars at somebody and 1040 00:52:55,520 --> 00:52:57,080 Speaker 1: they can and they can, they can take on those 1041 00:52:57,120 --> 00:52:58,799 Speaker 1: take on those deals. I don't know how it works 1042 00:52:58,800 --> 00:53:01,400 Speaker 1: with the workers, right, does it? I mean, I mean 1043 00:53:01,400 --> 00:53:02,840 Speaker 1: you probably have to find a third team for a 1044 00:53:02,840 --> 00:53:06,400 Speaker 1: Lonzo ball and then god, how did they what do 1045 00:53:06,440 --> 00:53:07,840 Speaker 1: they look? I mean, I guess you get the Banana 1046 00:53:07,840 --> 00:53:11,279 Speaker 1: boat crew back together again. Health Carmela wants to sign 1047 00:53:11,360 --> 00:53:16,239 Speaker 1: sign him off the scrap heap. I know I can't play. 1048 00:53:16,680 --> 00:53:20,799 Speaker 1: I can't play. I mean, be amazing, Dwayne wade out 1049 00:53:20,800 --> 00:53:26,279 Speaker 1: of retirement, right, get him back together? Yeah? Yeah, what 1050 00:53:26,400 --> 00:53:29,000 Speaker 1: is that? What is that movie with what is that 1051 00:53:29,040 --> 00:53:31,920 Speaker 1: movie with Semester Stallone and some of those old cats? 1052 00:53:32,800 --> 00:53:39,279 Speaker 1: Uh that when they're oh man, they're uh, they're like, um, 1053 00:53:39,360 --> 00:53:42,719 Speaker 1: they're all like over the hill. Oh man, I'll have 1054 00:53:42,760 --> 00:53:45,839 Speaker 1: to I'll look it up as as we're speaking. Yeah, 1055 00:53:45,880 --> 00:53:47,480 Speaker 1: I don't. I don't know what you do there. I 1056 00:53:48,000 --> 00:53:51,160 Speaker 1: do think they get huh. I was thinking more about 1057 00:53:52,280 --> 00:53:58,680 Speaker 1: Gung Ho. Yeah, with Michael Keaton. Yeah, well they're like, 1058 00:53:58,719 --> 00:54:00,839 Speaker 1: you know, the plants close, but all the old guys 1059 00:54:00,840 --> 00:54:04,040 Speaker 1: have to like overform for a short test, right, It's 1060 00:54:04,080 --> 00:54:09,759 Speaker 1: like that, um, the one I don't know what the 1061 00:54:09,800 --> 00:54:15,560 Speaker 1: expense there's the expendables. Yeah yeah, that's yeah, expendable. So 1062 00:54:15,640 --> 00:54:18,359 Speaker 1: you got like all these old has beens all kind 1063 00:54:18,360 --> 00:54:23,479 Speaker 1: of together, right, like the Expendables had sliced alone, Um, 1064 00:54:23,640 --> 00:54:31,760 Speaker 1: slice alone, Dolph Londgren, Steve Austin, Jason Stadium, Dolph Londren, 1065 00:54:31,880 --> 00:54:35,719 Speaker 1: Jet Lee, Right, Um, who else did it have? I 1066 00:54:35,719 --> 00:54:40,600 Speaker 1: think I think Mickey Rourke, like dude, just a bunch 1067 00:54:40,640 --> 00:54:43,960 Speaker 1: of guys collecting checks. I think Arnables even in the 1068 00:54:44,000 --> 00:54:46,160 Speaker 1: movie a little bit as well. You just have a 1069 00:54:46,160 --> 00:54:48,480 Speaker 1: bunch of dudes that have all had plastic surgeries and 1070 00:54:48,560 --> 00:54:50,960 Speaker 1: royd Up just to be in one last movie just 1071 00:54:51,000 --> 00:54:52,880 Speaker 1: reminds me of what that like your team would look like. 1072 00:54:53,719 --> 00:54:57,520 Speaker 1: I dare you to share that idea with Lebron James 1073 00:54:57,600 --> 00:55:03,600 Speaker 1: the Expendables this yeah, uh, you guys could be like 1074 00:55:03,600 --> 00:55:07,600 Speaker 1: retired slice along you you did, you had a Zion Williams. 1075 00:55:07,719 --> 00:55:10,839 Speaker 1: You did have a Zion Williams in opinion, Um, there 1076 00:55:10,840 --> 00:55:14,160 Speaker 1: are some, there are some. There are some people and 1077 00:55:14,440 --> 00:55:16,919 Speaker 1: I kind of get it, Like, hey, isn't John Moran, 1078 00:55:17,040 --> 00:55:18,840 Speaker 1: don't you have a chance to affect your wins and 1079 00:55:18,880 --> 00:55:23,400 Speaker 1: losses more than then you you might not affect your 1080 00:55:23,400 --> 00:55:26,160 Speaker 1: bottom line as as as Zion Williams, Like, Zion Williamson 1081 00:55:26,200 --> 00:55:29,000 Speaker 1: feels like a small ball five. John Morant feels like 1082 00:55:29,080 --> 00:55:32,160 Speaker 1: kind of a game changing ball screen point guard, you know, 1083 00:55:32,200 --> 00:55:35,280 Speaker 1: playing downhill. What is your opinion of a Zion Williams 1084 00:55:35,360 --> 00:55:40,720 Speaker 1: in the impact of having the NBA? Oh? I would 1085 00:55:42,440 --> 00:55:45,319 Speaker 1: I think he because of his body type right like 1086 00:55:45,400 --> 00:55:48,520 Speaker 1: and the and how hard he plays. Um, all you're 1087 00:55:48,560 --> 00:55:51,200 Speaker 1: counting on is some continued skill development for a very 1088 00:55:51,239 --> 00:55:53,680 Speaker 1: young guy to have someone who has a real chance 1089 00:55:53,719 --> 00:55:58,480 Speaker 1: of being you know, as good as anyone ever, which 1090 00:55:59,040 --> 00:56:01,880 Speaker 1: isn't true of anyone in the draft most years. Right, 1091 00:56:01,920 --> 00:56:06,080 Speaker 1: maybe it's not likelyhood, but it's not a zero percent, right, 1092 00:56:06,080 --> 00:56:10,440 Speaker 1: it's a five likelihood that he becomes just the best 1093 00:56:10,480 --> 00:56:13,560 Speaker 1: player on the team that riels up championships. So just 1094 00:56:13,680 --> 00:56:15,880 Speaker 1: for that possibility, I would I would take him hundred 1095 00:56:15,920 --> 00:56:18,719 Speaker 1: times out of a hundred. But also looking, i mean 1096 00:56:18,719 --> 00:56:22,439 Speaker 1: maybe Westbrook is a bad example right now for John 1097 00:56:22,480 --> 00:56:25,160 Speaker 1: more him right, like, how are you going to be 1098 00:56:25,160 --> 00:56:27,319 Speaker 1: better at that shot than most of Westbrook was? And 1099 00:56:27,480 --> 00:56:31,640 Speaker 1: it's been a tricky road for him, Yeah, no question, 1100 00:56:31,880 --> 00:56:34,520 Speaker 1: because that that style of basketball. You know, you have 1101 00:56:34,600 --> 00:56:36,319 Speaker 1: to get to the to the rim at some point 1102 00:56:36,320 --> 00:56:39,279 Speaker 1: your athleticism does fail you and you've got to be 1103 00:56:39,320 --> 00:56:41,279 Speaker 1: able to You've got to be able to do what 1104 00:56:41,480 --> 00:56:45,440 Speaker 1: Lillard can do, what Steph can do, uh, you know, 1105 00:56:45,560 --> 00:56:46,759 Speaker 1: and what some of the you have. You just have 1106 00:56:46,840 --> 00:56:48,120 Speaker 1: to be able to shoot the ball. More like it's 1107 00:56:48,160 --> 00:56:50,200 Speaker 1: become a shooters game. It's it's kind of annoying to 1108 00:56:50,239 --> 00:56:52,440 Speaker 1: me as a guy who wasn't a shooter. It's like 1109 00:56:52,480 --> 00:56:54,160 Speaker 1: when you go to play pick up and instead of 1110 00:56:54,200 --> 00:56:56,680 Speaker 1: had picking up teams or doing I hate next five. 1111 00:56:57,040 --> 00:56:58,560 Speaker 1: But instead of doing that, it's like, all right, we're 1112 00:56:58,560 --> 00:57:01,319 Speaker 1: gonna shoot three point shot to see who plays. It 1113 00:57:01,400 --> 00:57:04,960 Speaker 1: always favors the shooter, right, always favors the shooter. But 1114 00:57:05,080 --> 00:57:06,920 Speaker 1: that's the way the NBA has kind of trended. It 1115 00:57:07,000 --> 00:57:10,000 Speaker 1: always favors the shooter. And I don't think that's who jaw, 1116 00:57:10,520 --> 00:57:13,880 Speaker 1: that's that, that's who job Murant is the zion thing 1117 00:57:13,920 --> 00:57:15,680 Speaker 1: that the fascinating thing is going to be the weight 1118 00:57:16,160 --> 00:57:18,840 Speaker 1: can you play? What weight? Can you play at for 1119 00:57:18,920 --> 00:57:22,600 Speaker 1: eighty two games not hurt yourself? And yet does he 1120 00:57:22,680 --> 00:57:25,680 Speaker 1: maintain his explosive ives? Does he become more explosive? Is 1121 00:57:25,720 --> 00:57:27,520 Speaker 1: he a different guy? Some people are different guys when 1122 00:57:27,520 --> 00:57:31,600 Speaker 1: they lose all that weight. Um, but I do I yeah, 1123 00:57:31,640 --> 00:57:35,800 Speaker 1: I think, uh, I think worst case scenario, worst case scenario, 1124 00:57:36,560 --> 00:57:40,600 Speaker 1: he's a tremendous small ball five. Who's who's a Who's 1125 00:57:40,600 --> 00:57:43,440 Speaker 1: an all star? Borderline all star? Best case scenario. Yeah, 1126 00:57:43,440 --> 00:57:45,320 Speaker 1: I mean he's a if he starts where he can 1127 00:57:45,560 --> 00:57:48,400 Speaker 1: really make jump shots, got a high basketball like you, 1128 00:57:48,720 --> 00:57:52,400 Speaker 1: he can post up. He's crazy explosive already. And I 1129 00:57:52,440 --> 00:57:55,680 Speaker 1: would think if he loses twenty five pounds, like we 1130 00:57:55,720 --> 00:57:57,560 Speaker 1: haven't even begin to see the freak show because he 1131 00:57:57,560 --> 00:58:01,440 Speaker 1: hasn't he hasn't heard that second yet of like like 1132 00:58:01,600 --> 00:58:03,919 Speaker 1: his his body shaped up in one year a duke. 1133 00:58:04,240 --> 00:58:07,000 Speaker 1: But it's totally different when you change your diet and 1134 00:58:07,040 --> 00:58:09,800 Speaker 1: you play a two games and you've got a real strength. 1135 00:58:10,080 --> 00:58:12,720 Speaker 1: If he hires a body guy and a you know, 1136 00:58:12,720 --> 00:58:16,000 Speaker 1: a dietitian and he gets really after it, like I'm 1137 00:58:16,000 --> 00:58:18,000 Speaker 1: with you, he could be a freak show if he 1138 00:58:18,040 --> 00:58:20,680 Speaker 1: stays healthy. My my fear is what happened to that shoe? 1139 00:58:21,120 --> 00:58:22,840 Speaker 1: Is what's going to happen to his knees and hips 1140 00:58:22,840 --> 00:58:26,360 Speaker 1: and back. There's just so much torque there, oh so much. 1141 00:58:26,360 --> 00:58:29,080 Speaker 1: Of course I am I'll tell you what most tites 1142 00:58:29,080 --> 00:58:30,520 Speaker 1: to me about the most and I'll be honest. I 1143 00:58:30,560 --> 00:58:32,480 Speaker 1: don't watch the time in college basketball like I just 1144 00:58:32,600 --> 00:58:36,560 Speaker 1: it's such a the season is so busy. So I'm 1145 00:58:36,600 --> 00:58:39,160 Speaker 1: I'm not an expert on any of these players. I'll 1146 00:58:39,160 --> 00:58:41,240 Speaker 1: just say that up front. But um, but I'll tell 1147 00:58:41,240 --> 00:58:44,840 Speaker 1: you what watching vilms and gives me this certain excitement, 1148 00:58:44,880 --> 00:58:49,160 Speaker 1: which is when Draymond Green is at his best, there's 1149 00:58:49,280 --> 00:58:53,160 Speaker 1: a pace of like physical play mixed with decision making 1150 00:58:53,240 --> 00:58:57,320 Speaker 1: where both end. He's just performing at a level that 1151 00:58:57,440 --> 00:58:59,160 Speaker 1: like David Thorpe and I have been jokingly calling it 1152 00:58:59,240 --> 00:59:02,160 Speaker 1: the Queensen r, like the Warriors are running in this 1153 00:59:02,200 --> 00:59:05,360 Speaker 1: way where I literally just it doesn't feel like the 1154 00:59:05,440 --> 00:59:08,760 Speaker 1: same game anymore. It just feels like, you know, it 1155 00:59:08,840 --> 00:59:10,960 Speaker 1: ends up in an Alphonso McKinney lay up or step 1156 00:59:11,080 --> 00:59:13,640 Speaker 1: three or some other crazy thing. But everything is so 1157 00:59:13,720 --> 00:59:16,840 Speaker 1: forceful but also precise all the same time. And to me, like, 1158 00:59:17,800 --> 00:59:19,640 Speaker 1: I guess that's gonna be what you have to be 1159 00:59:19,840 --> 00:59:21,840 Speaker 1: to win in the future. And not a lot of 1160 00:59:21,840 --> 00:59:24,080 Speaker 1: players are cut out for that, but this guy might be. 1161 00:59:26,240 --> 00:59:34,720 Speaker 1: Um when I say Steph Curry, what do you think, miracle? Um, yeah, 1162 00:59:34,720 --> 00:59:37,000 Speaker 1: I'm delighted. I mean, I just it's good for basketball, 1163 00:59:37,080 --> 00:59:39,320 Speaker 1: right I my favorite thing about it. I'm sure you've 1164 00:59:39,360 --> 00:59:42,600 Speaker 1: seen this and maybe it annoyed you, but you know, 1165 00:59:42,640 --> 00:59:46,040 Speaker 1: when he made that shot to the game winner against 1166 00:59:46,120 --> 00:59:49,760 Speaker 1: the Thunder in Oklahoma City a few years ago, Um, 1167 00:59:49,800 --> 00:59:52,120 Speaker 1: I ended up interviewing a guy who supervised his recess, 1168 00:59:52,240 --> 00:59:55,400 Speaker 1: an elementary school, and you know, every kid like the 1169 00:59:55,440 --> 00:59:58,160 Speaker 1: bell went off and then they would not go back in. Like, 1170 00:59:58,240 --> 01:00:00,040 Speaker 1: we have a real problem in America with people not 1171 01:00:00,160 --> 01:00:03,160 Speaker 1: wanting to play sports, right, kids are playing video games, 1172 01:00:03,280 --> 01:00:06,360 Speaker 1: and you know, I don't know what the solution is, 1173 01:00:06,440 --> 01:00:08,760 Speaker 1: but it might be Steph Curry, right, because you can 1174 01:00:08,920 --> 01:00:11,920 Speaker 1: imagine every fourth grader can imagine that they might be 1175 01:00:12,080 --> 01:00:15,040 Speaker 1: that five, right, and if you can win a game 1176 01:00:15,120 --> 01:00:20,080 Speaker 1: from seven, um, you might want to play basketball. And 1177 01:00:20,320 --> 01:00:23,120 Speaker 1: so to me, that's a super valuable thing that his 1178 01:00:23,200 --> 01:00:28,800 Speaker 1: ability to deliver the light is ridiculous and and very 1179 01:00:28,840 --> 01:00:31,840 Speaker 1: valuable to the NBA. I completely agree. I mean, he's 1180 01:00:32,440 --> 01:00:35,200 Speaker 1: it is the combination of It's like, you know, what 1181 01:00:35,560 --> 01:00:37,920 Speaker 1: is the definition of luck is when timing and preparation 1182 01:00:38,400 --> 01:00:41,080 Speaker 1: come together. But like I'm in the NBA kind of 1183 01:00:41,120 --> 01:00:43,240 Speaker 1: lucked Indohm right where he have? You have a guy 1184 01:00:43,280 --> 01:00:49,760 Speaker 1: who you know, two parent home two athletes, um, humbled 1185 01:00:49,800 --> 01:00:53,680 Speaker 1: because people passed on him going into college, humbled some 1186 01:00:53,800 --> 01:00:57,080 Speaker 1: even by his you know, early reputation in the NBA, 1187 01:00:57,800 --> 01:01:00,200 Speaker 1: and just humbled basically by his his upbringing. On the 1188 01:01:00,200 --> 01:01:03,440 Speaker 1: other hand, so ridiculously skilled and the type of skill 1189 01:01:04,040 --> 01:01:09,440 Speaker 1: which like the new NBA uh thrives on you know, 1190 01:01:09,520 --> 01:01:11,480 Speaker 1: at just the right moment in time, Like if he 1191 01:01:11,520 --> 01:01:13,880 Speaker 1: doesn't if he comes along at any other moment in 1192 01:01:13,920 --> 01:01:16,680 Speaker 1: the NBA's history. He doesn't have this kind of career 1193 01:01:17,360 --> 01:01:19,560 Speaker 1: or if if the Bucks, remember the Bucks were offered 1194 01:01:19,560 --> 01:01:21,880 Speaker 1: he and or Monte Ellis. You know, like imagine what 1195 01:01:21,920 --> 01:01:23,640 Speaker 1: would happened at the Bucks, Like you know, we'll take 1196 01:01:23,840 --> 01:01:26,000 Speaker 1: we'll take a shot of stuff, Like imagine if that, 1197 01:01:26,080 --> 01:01:30,680 Speaker 1: if that happens. Um, oh for sure there's Thorpe. And 1198 01:01:30,680 --> 01:01:37,520 Speaker 1: I used to joke about Germo Diaz, Germo Garmo Diaz. Yes, yes, 1199 01:01:37,840 --> 01:01:41,440 Speaker 1: just wrong, right, right guy, wrong time right, Yeah, I mean, 1200 01:01:41,600 --> 01:01:43,800 Speaker 1: but it wasn't that long before Steps came along, right like, 1201 01:01:43,800 --> 01:01:45,800 Speaker 1: and everyone's like, oh, well, he's kind of small. He 1202 01:01:45,800 --> 01:01:47,000 Speaker 1: doesn't have a position. I don't know if he's a 1203 01:01:47,000 --> 01:01:48,840 Speaker 1: point guard shooting guard, but you know he could shoot 1204 01:01:48,840 --> 01:01:52,760 Speaker 1: like crazy, super athlete and literally couldn't make the NBA. 1205 01:01:52,920 --> 01:01:54,680 Speaker 1: Not saying he was Step, but it was a kind 1206 01:01:54,720 --> 01:01:57,640 Speaker 1: of player that, you know, it just it took some 1207 01:01:58,600 --> 01:02:00,600 Speaker 1: you know, and stuff wouldn't have been stuff. I don't 1208 01:02:00,600 --> 01:02:04,440 Speaker 1: think without Steve Kerr there. Um, they both have this 1209 01:02:04,560 --> 01:02:08,360 Speaker 1: similar kind of Yeah, it all matters like crazy, but 1210 01:02:08,400 --> 01:02:09,720 Speaker 1: that's not the end of the world. You know, We'll 1211 01:02:09,760 --> 01:02:12,160 Speaker 1: let it's a little bit of shrugging, which I think 1212 01:02:12,720 --> 01:02:17,880 Speaker 1: is it super important because it lets other people fries, right, 1213 01:02:17,960 --> 01:02:19,800 Speaker 1: Like Jomalen Green has been kind of a hot mess 1214 01:02:19,800 --> 01:02:21,480 Speaker 1: in a lot of ways. A lot of teams wouldn't 1215 01:02:21,520 --> 01:02:24,640 Speaker 1: have put up with, you know, snapchatting a spedometer and 1216 01:02:24,920 --> 01:02:26,560 Speaker 1: d in sixteen miles an now are going into the 1217 01:02:26,560 --> 01:02:29,320 Speaker 1: Oakland Tunnel or various things that have happened on social 1218 01:02:29,320 --> 01:02:33,240 Speaker 1: media with strippers or whatever, and um, things in nightclubs 1219 01:02:33,280 --> 01:02:35,680 Speaker 1: late at night. And but there's a little bit of 1220 01:02:35,720 --> 01:02:39,040 Speaker 1: like whatever, you know, crap happens that the lebron doesn't 1221 01:02:39,040 --> 01:02:42,080 Speaker 1: put up with that, um but stuff does and and 1222 01:02:42,320 --> 01:02:44,680 Speaker 1: you know, and Kevin Drantha touch you guys who talked 1223 01:02:44,720 --> 01:02:48,800 Speaker 1: about earlier. I think that it's no coincidence that Kurr 1224 01:02:48,800 --> 01:02:50,880 Speaker 1: and Curry are the ones who keeps saying that that 1225 01:02:50,960 --> 01:02:52,800 Speaker 1: Kevin is the best player in the world because they 1226 01:02:52,800 --> 01:02:55,920 Speaker 1: know that he needs to hear that, which is important. 1227 01:02:56,160 --> 01:02:59,400 Speaker 1: Curry doesn't need to hear that, right, and that's important 1228 01:02:59,400 --> 01:03:02,760 Speaker 1: because that was having beyond that team. Yeah, I also 1229 01:03:02,800 --> 01:03:05,280 Speaker 1: think that I also think that Kerr is not He's 1230 01:03:05,280 --> 01:03:07,480 Speaker 1: not as hard driving about turnovers right like steps a 1231 01:03:07,520 --> 01:03:11,440 Speaker 1: high turnover um you mentioned style of play like everybody. 1232 01:03:11,680 --> 01:03:14,280 Speaker 1: You know, we all point out, we all point out, 1233 01:03:14,280 --> 01:03:16,880 Speaker 1: like what he does off a ball screen, but it's 1234 01:03:16,920 --> 01:03:19,880 Speaker 1: what he it's his ability to within that system with Draymond, 1235 01:03:20,280 --> 01:03:23,440 Speaker 1: with KD, with Andre Goodala, to play without the basketball 1236 01:03:23,440 --> 01:03:24,959 Speaker 1: as well, so he can play both. He's not really 1237 01:03:25,000 --> 01:03:27,360 Speaker 1: a point guard, but he's not. He also gets a 1238 01:03:27,400 --> 01:03:29,680 Speaker 1: chance to do some point guard stuff like it's it's 1239 01:03:29,800 --> 01:03:32,240 Speaker 1: it's it's the all the planets being aligned at the 1240 01:03:32,320 --> 01:03:35,280 Speaker 1: right moment. And then he's for the most part, had 1241 01:03:35,280 --> 01:03:37,720 Speaker 1: the goods to deliver. I'll be interested to see if 1242 01:03:37,720 --> 01:03:40,280 Speaker 1: he's able to consistently deliver in the finals, something that 1243 01:03:40,600 --> 01:03:42,640 Speaker 1: in the past he struggled to do. But he's had 1244 01:03:43,120 --> 01:03:48,280 Speaker 1: I think reasonable explanations, maybe not excuses injuries, fatigue where 1245 01:03:48,360 --> 01:03:50,640 Speaker 1: he's not hurt and he can't be tired after that 1246 01:03:50,680 --> 01:03:55,959 Speaker 1: time out. Yeah, I'm worried. Um, I mean, I guess 1247 01:03:55,960 --> 01:03:58,200 Speaker 1: this is the value of durant is. I think steps 1248 01:03:58,600 --> 01:04:02,120 Speaker 1: landing in the final. Um Brett Brown has this phrase 1249 01:04:02,200 --> 01:04:05,800 Speaker 1: delivered the players to April right, which comes from um 1250 01:04:06,000 --> 01:04:09,040 Speaker 1: Spurs where you know you want to like like Tim 1251 01:04:09,120 --> 01:04:11,440 Speaker 1: Dolton would arrive at the beginning of the playoffs and 1252 01:04:11,520 --> 01:04:14,680 Speaker 1: played eight minutes in years that like James Harden had 1253 01:04:14,680 --> 01:04:18,120 Speaker 1: played three thousands, and that would make him less injured, faster, 1254 01:04:18,360 --> 01:04:21,440 Speaker 1: higher jumping, all these things, right, and let's let's let 1255 01:04:21,520 --> 01:04:26,000 Speaker 1: me get hurt too. Um. You know, I think Steph's 1256 01:04:26,080 --> 01:04:29,160 Speaker 1: arriving a little fresher than most years, but I did that. 1257 01:04:29,280 --> 01:04:32,080 Speaker 1: I do think that games in November totally matter how 1258 01:04:32,080 --> 01:04:34,160 Speaker 1: tired you are in June if you don't have meaningful 1259 01:04:34,200 --> 01:04:37,000 Speaker 1: breaks in between. Um, I've done all the sports science 1260 01:04:37,040 --> 01:04:42,640 Speaker 1: research you need, Like you know, three, like five efforts 1261 01:04:42,680 --> 01:04:45,520 Speaker 1: in two weeks is the maximum your body can susteen. 1262 01:04:45,600 --> 01:04:48,040 Speaker 1: And then these five max efforts in two weeks without 1263 01:04:48,280 --> 01:04:52,640 Speaker 1: it degrading your performance and increasing your injury risk. So 1264 01:04:53,040 --> 01:04:55,840 Speaker 1: these top maybe players do that every two weeks. They 1265 01:04:55,960 --> 01:04:59,200 Speaker 1: they break that rule, right, Um, Kauai is the only 1266 01:04:59,200 --> 01:05:02,680 Speaker 1: example we have someone who's really been friendly, investly managed 1267 01:05:02,680 --> 01:05:05,960 Speaker 1: recently to reduce that and is now we're all thinking 1268 01:05:06,080 --> 01:05:08,840 Speaker 1: the MVP the playoffs, right, So, like you know, they're 1269 01:05:08,880 --> 01:05:10,600 Speaker 1: all a little beat up, they're all a little degraded. 1270 01:05:11,520 --> 01:05:15,080 Speaker 1: But maybe because KD handled so many of the plays 1271 01:05:15,080 --> 01:05:18,720 Speaker 1: where step would have been the high exertion guy. You know, 1272 01:05:18,800 --> 01:05:21,520 Speaker 1: all that driven around and beat people and recognized with 1273 01:05:21,560 --> 01:05:24,520 Speaker 1: the defense is and that's all super high exertion. Um. 1274 01:05:24,560 --> 01:05:26,200 Speaker 1: So I think he probably is a little bounced here 1275 01:05:26,320 --> 01:05:28,520 Speaker 1: then um most of years at the time. And so 1276 01:05:28,560 --> 01:05:31,880 Speaker 1: that's why I think the Wards are gonna win. Um. 1277 01:05:31,920 --> 01:05:36,840 Speaker 1: But yeah, if they get hurt, it steps hurt, Like 1278 01:05:37,000 --> 01:05:40,160 Speaker 1: that's scary, right, and you know this Worrist team without 1279 01:05:40,320 --> 01:05:44,640 Speaker 1: without he and step Is, I have to think it's bad. No, 1280 01:05:44,840 --> 01:05:47,280 Speaker 1: I would agree, yes, yes, but I mean, but he's 1281 01:05:47,440 --> 01:05:49,880 Speaker 1: but he's he's not. He's the healthiest he's ever been, 1282 01:05:50,000 --> 01:05:52,120 Speaker 1: I think at this point in time, and the least 1283 01:05:52,440 --> 01:05:54,840 Speaker 1: he's had the least tread worn off his tires because 1284 01:05:54,840 --> 01:05:57,600 Speaker 1: they've had this long break and getting ready. And the 1285 01:05:57,600 --> 01:05:59,200 Speaker 1: one thing that he's done a great job of is 1286 01:05:59,720 --> 01:06:01,680 Speaker 1: when he has time off and he comes back, he's 1287 01:06:01,720 --> 01:06:05,720 Speaker 1: usually pretty sharp right away. Hey listen, go ahead one 1288 01:06:05,720 --> 01:06:09,280 Speaker 1: more time. Oh you know, I will think he's freaking strong. Yeah. 1289 01:06:10,200 --> 01:06:11,920 Speaker 1: I think it was the same bachtor Homes once to 1290 01:06:12,000 --> 01:06:15,040 Speaker 1: the story about how he worked out, and they said, 1291 01:06:15,040 --> 01:06:17,480 Speaker 1: I think that like there was a movement. It might 1292 01:06:17,480 --> 01:06:20,400 Speaker 1: have been like a weighted lunge or some kind of 1293 01:06:20,400 --> 01:06:24,640 Speaker 1: squad where Steph could lift the most on the team, 1294 01:06:24,640 --> 01:06:26,480 Speaker 1: and I think you can see that sometimes where he 1295 01:06:26,480 --> 01:06:28,480 Speaker 1: has to takes contact in the air and he just 1296 01:06:28,520 --> 01:06:31,480 Speaker 1: dissolved it very well with good balance. I think it's 1297 01:06:31,880 --> 01:06:34,120 Speaker 1: he's a little but he's not weak. No. I think 1298 01:06:34,400 --> 01:06:36,400 Speaker 1: some of that is the Steve Nash balance stuff that 1299 01:06:36,400 --> 01:06:38,640 Speaker 1: they do as well. That when Steve was a kind 1300 01:06:38,640 --> 01:06:41,160 Speaker 1: of consultant to them, I think he worked out as well. Henry, 1301 01:06:41,160 --> 01:06:44,520 Speaker 1: this has been awesome, awesome. How can people how can 1302 01:06:44,520 --> 01:06:47,840 Speaker 1: people get download your pod and get all of your stuff? 1303 01:06:48,760 --> 01:06:51,080 Speaker 1: It's true Hoop dot com, that's always that's where I live. 1304 01:06:51,520 --> 01:06:54,320 Speaker 1: Hop dot com. Thanks for thanks for coming on so 1305 01:06:54,360 --> 01:06:56,760 Speaker 1: I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. Super fun. 1306 01:06:57,440 --> 01:06:59,640 Speaker 1: Be sure to catch live editions. So the Doug got 1307 01:06:59,720 --> 01:07:03,560 Speaker 1: Leaps Show weekdays in noon eastern three pm Pacific. All right, 1308 01:07:03,640 --> 01:07:06,080 Speaker 1: that's it for all ball. My thanks to Henry Abbott 1309 01:07:06,520 --> 01:07:08,720 Speaker 1: and a reminder to listen to The Doug Gotlieb Show 1310 01:07:08,760 --> 01:07:11,280 Speaker 1: every day three to six Eastern time, twelve and three Pacific. 1311 01:07:11,680 --> 01:07:14,160 Speaker 1: It is on XM series with two oh three and 1312 01:07:14,160 --> 01:07:18,080 Speaker 1: to seventeen. You go to Fox Sports Radio dot com 1313 01:07:18,120 --> 01:07:21,280 Speaker 1: and you can either listen to it streaming or you 1314 01:07:21,320 --> 01:07:25,040 Speaker 1: can find a local affiliate, so we've got plenty of ways. 1315 01:07:25,120 --> 01:07:29,040 Speaker 1: Or you can download the daily or weekly or best 1316 01:07:29,080 --> 01:07:33,120 Speaker 1: of podcast wherever you download this podcast, Thanks so much 1317 01:07:33,160 --> 01:07:36,040 Speaker 1: for listening. Don't forget to download subscribing right. I'm Doug 1318 01:07:36,080 --> 01:07:37,680 Speaker 1: Gottlieb and this is all ball