WEBVTT - Caitlin Clark, Early NFL Win Totals, & Brock Purdy’s Extension 0:00:01.720 --> 0:00:04.480 This episode is brought to you by Unstoppable. Discover the 0:00:04.519 --> 0:00:07.880 inspiring true story about Anthony Robliss, who defined every expectation 0:00:07.960 --> 0:00:10.840 to become a national wrestling champion, and Unstoppable, a new 0:00:10.880 --> 0:00:14.480 original movie from Amazon MGM Studios and director William Goldenberg, 0:00:14.560 --> 0:00:17.720 evoking the excitement and camaraderie of classic sports dramas and 0:00:17.760 --> 0:00:21.160 thrilling wrestling matches. Unstoppable features an all star ensemble cast 0:00:21.239 --> 0:00:24.759 including Jerrel Jerome, Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheatle, Michael Panya, and 0:00:24.760 --> 0:00:40.680 Bobby Canavali. Watch Unstoppable now exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. 0:00:42.600 --> 0:00:45.560 Welcome in What's Driving the Great? Episode two twenty five 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:48.280 ton to Do Today? Fun Show, Great night in the 0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:52.959 NBA last night, the first time in a while, Producer 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:56.640 Daniel didn't have any you know, quippy NBA comments for 0:00:56.760 --> 0:01:00.200 me because his Nuggets got blasted by the Suns. By 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:03.280 the way, that kind of annoyed me. I would like 0:01:03.400 --> 0:01:06.200 to I would have liked the Nuggets actually show up 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:09.800 last night, beat the Suns, help the Lakers move out 0:01:09.800 --> 0:01:11.600 of that ninth spot. We'll get to all of that. 0:01:12.040 --> 0:01:15.120 Draymond Green could barely be bothered to show up for 0:01:15.200 --> 0:01:18.480 work all of that demands here wearing new shades. I 0:01:18.640 --> 0:01:21.320 liked the ones last time. More, I'm gonna send you 0:01:21.360 --> 0:01:25.080 a pair of nice shades. Now you're gonna lose them, 0:01:25.280 --> 0:01:28.160 which is unfortunate, but I'm gonna send them to you anyway. 0:01:28.560 --> 0:01:30.880 And I don't say that demonse is an indictment on you. 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:33.760 It's just because sunglasses are like the number one thing 0:01:33.880 --> 0:01:37.000 people lose, which is why people tend not to want 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:38.399 to spend a lot of money on them. But I'll 0:01:38.440 --> 0:01:41.480 send you some nice shades. I like the look. I 0:01:41.560 --> 0:01:44.039 just think the white framestone shar as good as the 0:01:44.040 --> 0:01:44.960 ones last week. 0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:46.800 Howr And I'm pretty good. 0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:48.880 I think I think I'll be able to hold on 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:51.480 to them, though, Well we can take out. 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:53.720 If I send you some nice ones, you'll hold on 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:56.320 to them, Okay, all right, good, So I'll send you 0:01:56.360 --> 0:01:58.200 some nice ones, or I'll just give them to you 0:01:58.240 --> 0:01:59.680 in person when I see you in a couple of weeks. 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:02.480 All right, Here's what missed the cut for today's show, 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:06.320 Jade and Daniel's elbow. Everyone's freaking out because everyone uses 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:11.920 the internet to see fake memes and stupid prank videos, 0:02:12.160 --> 0:02:15.440 and no one could take three seconds to Google a 0:02:15.480 --> 0:02:18.680 Bursa sack. Like guys, Yes, the elbow looks funny. No, 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:21.400 there's nothing wrong with him. He does. It's just fluid 0:02:21.480 --> 0:02:23.679 at the bottom of his arm. It's all it is. 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:26.680 You know how I figured that out? I googled it, 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:30.000 good old let me see which one I went to yesterday. 0:02:31.639 --> 0:02:35.480 Com It did look photoshot. But then you're just like, hey, 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:38.639 why would someone have that on the bottom of their arm, 0:02:38.639 --> 0:02:40.840 And the answer is it's a bursa sack. It happens 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:46.280 to athletes. The I am fortunate that I am. I'm 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:48.640 gonna be one of the you know, in thirty years, 0:02:49.160 --> 0:02:51.000 I'm gonna be one of the only people left that 0:02:51.120 --> 0:02:54.520 remembers how people what the Internet was created for, to 0:02:54.800 --> 0:03:01.040 find actual, accurate knowledge and information rather than nonsense conspiracy theories. 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:04.959 Jim Harbaugh says he's living in an RV and classic 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:10.040 category one by me instantly correct. The NCAA president heard 0:03:10.080 --> 0:03:14.880 our brilliant deposition on gambling on Tuesday. It was like, yeah, 0:03:14.919 --> 0:03:18.359 player props, we maybe need to take another look at those. 0:03:18.400 --> 0:03:21.480 So all of that missed. The cut. Demons were starting 0:03:21.560 --> 0:03:25.960 last night. I was locked into the NBA last night 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:30.760 from about seven thirty Eastern until almost one in the morning. 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:35.200 I was the league pass was popping last night, but 0:03:35.320 --> 0:03:38.440 I started at seven point thirty, which means I started 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:42.280 about ten minutes after the early games tipped, which means 0:03:42.280 --> 0:03:46.400 I missed the entirety of Draymond Green's performance yesterday. 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:50.120 Explained to the audience, all Right, yeah, so, on a 0:03:50.200 --> 0:03:53.640 must game win for the Warriors, Traymond Green got ejected 0:03:53.720 --> 0:03:55.240 less than five minutes into the game. 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:57.480 Steph Curry seemed. 0:03:57.160 --> 0:04:01.280 To be visibly distraught about this, but thanks his late 0:04:01.320 --> 0:04:03.360 game heroics, the Warriors still got the win. 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:05.080 All right, So what's the. 0:04:05.040 --> 0:04:07.520 Story here with Draymond? Or not what's the story here? 0:04:07.720 --> 0:04:08.960 But yeah, what's the story here? 0:04:09.800 --> 0:04:17.080 Yeah, what's the story with Draymond? I mean, this was 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:21.080 a game the Warriors had to have, right, playing a 0:04:21.120 --> 0:04:25.720 magic team that makes everyone experience forty eight minutes of 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:30.280 hell on the offensive end because of how great they 0:04:30.320 --> 0:04:33.600 are defensively, a magic team that has been better than 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:39.160 Golden State, and Steph late game heroics is the right 0:04:39.160 --> 0:04:41.200 way to put it, because he started four for sixteen 0:04:41.279 --> 0:04:44.160 but then hit two huge made two huge plays late. 0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:52.039 They end up getting the win despite Draymond's nonsense, and 0:04:54.720 --> 0:05:00.400 we are now to a place where the Warriors don't 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:05.680 defend him. The Warriors aren't like, oh, it's unfair. And 0:05:05.760 --> 0:05:09.560 if you didn't watch what happened last night, We're three 0:05:09.760 --> 0:05:15.040 minutes into a game, a foul is called on someone 0:05:15.320 --> 0:05:23.440 else and Draymond freaks out, get a technical and then 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:28.000 does the old dramon. So Draymond has now crossed the 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:33.520 rubicon in this regard. Not that long ago, Draymond getting 0:05:33.560 --> 0:05:37.080 an early technical was kind of the best thing that 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:41.279 could happen to the Warriors because refs were afraid to 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:44.679 throw him out. He then could act like a total 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:49.240 unhinged lunatic intimidate. The refs scream at him do all 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:52.840 these things at without risk of getting another technical because 0:05:52.839 --> 0:05:55.760 they didn't want to throw them out. I think around 0:05:55.800 --> 0:05:58.960 the time, I don't know if it was the elbow 0:05:59.040 --> 0:06:03.080 to Nurkic or the choke of go Bear or what 0:06:03.240 --> 0:06:07.280 win it was. But sometime this year that has changed 0:06:07.839 --> 0:06:10.200 to where now folks are no longer afraid to throw 0:06:10.279 --> 0:06:16.120 Draymond out and he gets the first technical, the Warriors 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:21.400 call time out. The entire team is trying to get 0:06:21.480 --> 0:06:27.200 Draymond to stop the referee is walking away, Draymond won't stop, 0:06:28.040 --> 0:06:32.440 and then he it could have been over, and he 0:06:32.600 --> 0:06:35.800 calls him the P word, the A word, and then 0:06:35.839 --> 0:06:37.479 either the B word or the N word. I'm not 0:06:37.480 --> 0:06:41.360 sure which, but in quick succession, bleep, bleep, bleep, and 0:06:41.400 --> 0:06:43.520 he's and the ref throws him out and Draymond didn't 0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:46.040 even react. It's like he knew it. Okay, yeah, I'm 0:06:46.040 --> 0:06:49.279 getting thrown out here three minutes into a must win 0:06:49.400 --> 0:06:55.160 game and Steph. The reason this is such a story 0:06:55.360 --> 0:07:01.320 is Steph appeared to be brought to tears, and that 0:07:01.560 --> 0:07:04.479 is I mean, Kerr like consoled him, put his hand 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:08.160 on his back, and that is multi layered. I think 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:11.440 part of it is God dog it, we need this 0:07:11.520 --> 0:07:17.840 game and now we're without our second most important player. 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:20.680 But I don't think that's enough to bring Steph to tears. 0:07:21.720 --> 0:07:28.120 I think that it was bigger picture that Steph is 0:07:28.160 --> 0:07:36.680 realizing this is well, that's yeah, that's part of it. 0:07:36.720 --> 0:07:40.120 Here's another part of it. That's the like empathetic piece 0:07:40.160 --> 0:07:43.560 of it. And I don't say this with any judgment 0:07:43.920 --> 0:07:47.520 that's quote selfish, not in a negative way. Piece of 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:50.640 it is this is just what the rest of my 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:55.760 career is going to be like Clay. My guy is 0:07:55.800 --> 0:08:00.640 either going to be here as a far less version 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:06.040 of himself, or he's going to be gone. Draymond, my 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:13.640 other guy, has lost the thread entirely and is has 0:08:13.760 --> 0:08:20.000 less control over his emotions than any player in modern 0:08:20.120 --> 0:08:27.239 NBA history. And this is how my career is going 0:08:27.320 --> 0:08:32.880 to go. I'm thirty six years old. I am Whether 0:08:32.960 --> 0:08:36.120 Steph will admit this or not, he knows he is 0:08:36.840 --> 0:08:40.960 starting for the first time to show some real signs 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:45.600 of agent. He's still a very good player. He is 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:51.760 still a top ten player, but he's far closer to 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:57.520 ten than number one. He no longer can just by 0:08:57.559 --> 0:09:00.920 the power of his own gravity and play Harriet team 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:04.120 to contention, might not be able to even carry the 0:09:04.160 --> 0:09:07.680 team to the postseason. I mean, steps missed less than 0:09:07.720 --> 0:09:10.440 a half a dozen games and the Warriors are one 0:09:10.559 --> 0:09:15.080 game up on the eleven seed Rockets. And he's looking 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:18.840 at it and saying, this is what the rest of 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:25.840 my career is going to be. Mediocre teams, young players 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:30.880 that aren't yet ready to win. My wingman Clay as 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:34.280 a compromised version of himself through. 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:36.760 Has he not. 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:40.719 No Clay's played better lately, and he was coming off 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:43.320 the bench. Now he's not, but he is. It is 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:48.520 to me in Stone now that Klay Thompson will never 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:51.599 be a great player again. That the you know what 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:56.160 I mean? The Klay Thompson was a great player and 0:09:56.200 --> 0:10:00.360 the injuries made him. Now now he vacillates but between 0:10:00.400 --> 0:10:06.240 a average player to pretty good. But he's never like 0:10:06.320 --> 0:10:09.280 he might have a great night. But so my wingman 0:10:10.280 --> 0:10:15.800 is not the same guy, and my other wingman is 0:10:16.000 --> 0:10:19.960 actively working against us. And so this is Steph's just 0:10:20.080 --> 0:10:27.680 staring at his basketball mortality with no reinforcements. And Steph 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:34.800 now is going to I it is a weird spot, Demons. 0:10:35.840 --> 0:10:40.360 But Steph is now going to be forced to make 0:10:40.400 --> 0:10:45.840 a decision, and that decision he could be forced like 0:10:46.040 --> 0:10:53.400 it comes starting this offseason. And that is what is. 0:10:54.480 --> 0:10:56.360 And I, by the way, I want to say this 0:10:56.520 --> 0:10:59.840 on the front end, I would not judge him at 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:05.280 all for either decision here. He has obviously more than 0:11:05.320 --> 0:11:08.400 earned the right to do whatever he wants. He is 0:11:08.520 --> 0:11:11.520 as Steve as Steph. As Steve Kerr put it, he 0:11:11.600 --> 0:11:14.800 has carried the weight of the franchise on his shoulder 0:11:15.120 --> 0:11:21.960 shoulders for fifteen years, but he now thanks to some 0:11:22.040 --> 0:11:27.920 Warriors miss draft picks, thanks to Clay's injuries, and thanks 0:11:28.000 --> 0:11:36.079 to Draymond's total unpredictability, volatility, and regression as a player. 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:44.640 Steph staying with the Warriors and competing for anything close 0:11:46.280 --> 0:11:50.920 to a championship or deep playoff run, those two things 0:11:51.640 --> 0:11:57.880 are mutually exclusive. Say that is it is no different 0:11:58.400 --> 0:12:02.319 than if I were to say I want to retire 0:12:02.440 --> 0:12:06.160 in my hometown of Kansas City and live on the ocean. 0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:14.240 Gotta choose. Impossible to do both, and so Steph Curry 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:20.640 now thanks to a lot of factors. But I would 0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:25.920 argue the biggest of which is Draymond's total inability to 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:31.600 control his emotions and the Warriors decision to reward him 0:12:32.120 --> 0:12:37.400 with a hundred million dollar extension. Right, Steph now has 0:12:37.440 --> 0:12:38.520 to choose. Go ahead. 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:40.679 I get, I get it's not bawling out over there, 0:12:40.880 --> 0:12:43.880 uh in Washington. But do you think the Warriors still 0:12:43.880 --> 0:12:45.960 made the right move keeping Draymond green and getting rid 0:12:46.000 --> 0:12:46.640 of Jordan Poole. 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:49.160 I think the Jordan Poole with. 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:51.439 The Warriors, there was something there before, and I think 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:53.000 it was because he was with the Warriors. 0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:56.280 I think that could have been unlocked, and he probably not. 0:12:56.400 --> 0:12:59.240 I don't think I listen, I don't think Jordan Poole 0:12:59.320 --> 0:13:02.600 would be a day frinch maker for this Warriors team. Uh. 0:13:02.600 --> 0:13:05.400 But it's the you. You could have. You could have 0:13:05.440 --> 0:13:09.080 made the decision do a hard reboot on everything. You 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:11.560 could have made the decision to try to reboot on 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:16.079 the fly around Steph, and they they made another decision. 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:21.640 And so now Steph Curry has to choose what is 0:13:21.760 --> 0:13:28.960 most important to me, retiring a Warrior or competing for 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:33.920 championships and or even for it, even if it's like, 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:36.040 all right, I don't even I've got four rings, I've 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:40.720 been to six finals, I've won two MVPs, I got 0:13:40.720 --> 0:13:43.479 my finals MVP. I don't have to compete for a championship. 0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:46.120 It'd be one thing if like, okay, the Warriors were 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:49.680 capped out at the second round of the playoff, that 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:55.040 they are gonna fight for their lives to make the 0:13:55.120 --> 0:14:00.520 play in. They are not one of the fifteen best 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:05.800 teams in a thirty team league, and a lot of 0:14:05.840 --> 0:14:10.920 people have to wear that. But everyone else here's I 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:14.480 guess my last piece of it. Everyone else is at 0:14:14.600 --> 0:14:18.720 least doing their best. The front off has made some mistakes, 0:14:19.360 --> 0:14:23.360 but they're doing their best. Klay Thompson wants to be 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:27.120 great again more than anything in the world. His body 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:32.000 won't allow him, but he's doing his best. Draymond Green 0:14:32.160 --> 0:14:37.960 has the easiest job of everybody, just don't be an asshole, 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:46.000 and he can't do it, and so it's. 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:48.000 And it's crazy. 0:14:48.280 --> 0:14:52.360 Put his guy Steph Curry and seeing that, Seeing that, Draymond, 0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:54.880 seeing that reaction from Steph Curry, I feel like she 0:14:55.320 --> 0:14:59.840 should hit a switch, Like I think if you go ahead, 0:15:00.160 --> 0:15:02.200 you know how I know it didn't. Did you see 0:15:02.280 --> 0:15:07.120 after the game what happened? So Steph, Steph hits the 0:15:07.200 --> 0:15:13.480 three and then does a very emphatic Night Night that 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:17.600 It felt weird that he was doing it as long 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:20.040 as he did it and as angrily as he did 0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:23.880 to Orlando. I understand Orlando is good this year, but 0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:26.600 it's like, give me a like. Steph doesn't typically do 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:29.480 that in a regular season game against the Magic, right, 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:32.640 Like the night Night celebration is kind of reserved for 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:35.800 bigger moments. Right, he did that, then he went over 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:42.400 to the bench and angrily kicked his chair in the tunnel. 0:15:43.680 --> 0:15:48.240 Draymond is waiting for him smiling doing the night night 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:53.640 like we're good buddy, good job. That is not the 0:15:53.760 --> 0:16:00.000 disposition of someone that realizes the gravity of their actions. Yeah, 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:05.280 so I feel for Steph. I do know that the 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:10.560 two iconic guys of this era are obviously the two 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:14.480 most iconic, Lebron and Steph. I know. I'll tell you 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:18.680 this much right now. Lebron wouldn't be waiting around now 0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:23.360 and again, that's not a value judgment, but Lebron would 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:25.640 not be like, Okay, yeah, so I just can't compete 0:16:25.680 --> 0:16:28.840 for titles for the next two years, so be it 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:35.360 like and again on his team, Well, you know, that's 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:41.840 very interesting. They're very close friends. Uh, don't put this 0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:44.360 part on social media if people are watching, and they 0:16:44.400 --> 0:16:46.440 can do it like, I haven't talked about this publicly 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:52.720 at all. Lebron, to his credit, and I'm probably hurting 0:16:52.760 --> 0:16:56.000 it here, attempted. The producers don't even know this. You're 0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:59.640 the only one that knows this. Lebron, to his credit. 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:10.080 A tempted to personally reconcile Draymond in my relationship, trying 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:15.560 to kind of bring people together, and he loves Draymond 0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:21.360 and a lot of a lot of folks love Draymond 0:17:21.400 --> 0:17:27.000 Green the person, but Draymond on the court, his lack 0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:36.120 of impulse control is historic, and this story you can 0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:45.119 there is a I understand that the Warriors don't become 0:17:45.160 --> 0:17:47.640 the Warriors without Draymond Green. There's no question about that. 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:51.520 He is an all time legendary player. But a lot 0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:54.720 of people believe they would have won the championship in 0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:57.879 twenty sixteen if he doesn't hit Lebron in the groin 0:17:58.880 --> 0:18:01.399 and get suspended. I don't believe that a lot of 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:08.440 people do. I think everyone agrees their title defense would 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:14.040 have gone differently had he not punched Jordan Poole right 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:20.240 before the season started. And everyone must acknowledge this year 0:18:21.000 --> 0:18:26.080 would have gone differently if he wasn't suspended for a 0:18:26.200 --> 0:18:30.080 quarter of the season due to on court violent X 0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:34.679 that after which when he said, I'm I'm changed, I'm this, 0:18:34.880 --> 0:18:37.600 I'm that he now last night's getting thrown out of 0:18:37.640 --> 0:18:40.240 a game three minutes in? All right? Next? 0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:44.399 But quick, where do you put Draymond Green up against 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:48.840 ron our tests Like as far as crazy Hypeness, I'm 0:18:48.840 --> 0:18:50.800 not saying met a world peace because he was Rona 0:18:50.920 --> 0:18:52.320 Tessa when those things were going on. 0:18:52.840 --> 0:18:59.919 So Ron was. It's an interesting question. Ron to me, 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:05.760 was more dangerous. The stuff Ron did could could really 0:19:05.840 --> 0:19:11.480 really hurt people. And I know Draymond's little spinning backfist 0:19:11.520 --> 0:19:14.880 into Nurkics could have really hurt him. But Draymond's stuff 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:19.480 is dirty but not dangerous typically, right, even the choke 0:19:19.560 --> 0:19:23.399 of Gobert wasn't dangerous. The the flailing his legs up 0:19:23.440 --> 0:19:28.639 aren't dangerous. But the two most dangerous things Draymond has 0:19:28.720 --> 0:19:32.239 done have happened in the last year. The stomp on 0:19:32.320 --> 0:19:37.120 some bonus's chest and the spinning backfist into nirk Those 0:19:37.119 --> 0:19:40.359 are those are dangerous. But Ron, I mean, Ron had 0:19:40.400 --> 0:19:43.200 some of the most vicious elbows you've ever seen. Ron 0:19:43.280 --> 0:19:48.040 also famously, you know, kind of incited a riot, you so, 0:19:48.160 --> 0:19:51.639 But but Ron didn't have as much beef with the 0:19:51.720 --> 0:19:56.160 officials as Draymond does. So it's like a different there. 0:19:56.520 --> 0:20:02.960 It's it's day, right, Draymond's closer to Rodman in that regard. 0:20:03.000 --> 0:20:03.960 All right, let's move on. 0:20:04.920 --> 0:20:07.639 All right, So Monday, Anthony Davis went off carrying the 0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:09.720 Lakers to the win with that end of the game 0:20:09.800 --> 0:20:13.560 block in double overtime. With Davis on the bench last 0:20:13.640 --> 0:20:16.080 night Lebron had a triple double, he got a dub. 0:20:16.640 --> 0:20:19.640 So they've had very healthy seasons from their star players. 0:20:20.080 --> 0:20:22.520 So would anything short of a finals appearance be a 0:20:22.560 --> 0:20:25.240 waste of a season time sticking Lebron. 0:20:25.320 --> 0:20:33.359 So here's the thing. I I don't think that you 0:20:33.680 --> 0:20:42.920 judge the Lakers as finals appearance or bust because they're 0:20:43.000 --> 0:20:45.720 not the best team and they don't have the best player. 0:20:47.320 --> 0:20:50.679 If you're the best team, Boston right now is claimed 0:20:50.680 --> 0:20:53.600 to be the best team. If they don't make the finals, 0:20:53.720 --> 0:20:59.840 it's a massive disappointment. The Nuggets have the best player. 0:21:01.520 --> 0:21:04.720 If they don't make the finals, it's a massive disappointment. 0:21:05.320 --> 0:21:08.520 You can say if you want ad Milwaukee to that list, 0:21:08.520 --> 0:21:11.200 because Milwaukee has an argument that they have the best 0:21:11.200 --> 0:21:14.560 player and they made massive moves off season. If they 0:21:14.560 --> 0:21:18.200 don't make the finals, it's a massive disappointment. Everyone else 0:21:18.280 --> 0:21:24.320 is graded on a different scale, which is it depends 0:21:24.359 --> 0:21:26.880 on how it looks and how it goes, and so 0:21:27.080 --> 0:21:30.520 I don't I thought last year was excellent. I thought 0:21:30.520 --> 0:21:33.560 the Lakers last year went as far as they could 0:21:33.560 --> 0:21:36.800 have gone. Maybe they could have gone one or two 0:21:37.040 --> 0:21:41.080 games against Denver further, but they weren't beating Denver last year. 0:21:41.280 --> 0:21:45.040 They just weren't and you have now that further verified 0:21:45.040 --> 0:21:48.119 by their performance against Denver this year. So no, I 0:21:48.440 --> 0:21:52.800 think Lebron and the Laker I think Ad being healthy. 0:21:53.359 --> 0:21:57.800 I think Lebron having another phenomenal season. As the oldest 0:21:57.840 --> 0:22:01.360 guy in the league. Lebron now has scored more points 0:22:01.359 --> 0:22:04.560 in year twenty one than the rest of NBA history 0:22:04.680 --> 0:22:08.960 put together. I think all and the Lakers are if 0:22:09.000 --> 0:22:12.359 you if you were to say the Lakers are the 0:22:12.440 --> 0:22:16.040 second best team in the Western Conference, you could make 0:22:16.040 --> 0:22:21.040 that argument. You absolutely could. What they've been after the 0:22:21.080 --> 0:22:26.719 first fifty games, they're like seventeen and seven there that 0:22:27.160 --> 0:22:30.720 is that right? Seven to sixteen and seven something like that, regardless, 0:22:30.760 --> 0:22:35.040 like there's there's real argument to be made. This is 0:22:35.080 --> 0:22:38.680 a very good team having you know that after some 0:22:38.720 --> 0:22:41.800 fits and starts and dealing with some rotational injuries, is 0:22:41.840 --> 0:22:46.840 getting better. I this I have now said this specific 0:22:46.920 --> 0:22:49.919 take on multiple platforms. I'm gonna say it again here. 0:22:50.800 --> 0:22:56.200 And I'm curious what producer Daniel. I don't know if 0:22:56.240 --> 0:22:59.280 we can get producer Daniel or resident Nuggets fan his 0:22:59.440 --> 0:23:01.280 mic up or him on the air. I don't know 0:23:01.320 --> 0:23:04.360 if that's possible. I should have asked them beforehand. Daniel. 0:23:04.359 --> 0:23:09.680 Can the audience hear you? Okay? Yeah, I can hear you. Good, 0:23:10.680 --> 0:23:15.399 here's my question. Okay, so the audience maybe can't hear you, Daniel, 0:23:15.440 --> 0:23:17.040 So don't worry about that. This is I should have 0:23:17.119 --> 0:23:20.080 I should have prepped this earlier. Uh So, I'm just 0:23:20.119 --> 0:23:24.440 gonna I'm just going to uh give my take on this, 0:23:24.560 --> 0:23:27.720 and we'll see how Daniel feels about it. Oh, the 0:23:27.760 --> 0:23:31.480 audience can hear you? All right? Great? If I were 0:23:31.520 --> 0:23:36.879 to tell you the Lakers and Nuggets are guaranteed to 0:23:37.119 --> 0:23:43.080 play in the postseason, as a Nuggets fan, what round 0:23:43.840 --> 0:23:48.119 do you want that to happen in? The Lakers and 0:23:48.160 --> 0:23:52.680 Nuggets are definitely gonna play, and let's just assume neither 0:23:52.800 --> 0:23:56.080 team suffers a significant injury. I understand that's not a 0:23:56.119 --> 0:23:58.120 fair assumption, but let's just for the sake of this 0:23:58.520 --> 0:24:01.639 thought exercise, the Lakers and Nuggets are gonna play. What 0:24:01.840 --> 0:24:03.200 round do you want it to happen? 0:24:03.840 --> 0:24:06.720 Oh, the later the better, because if Ady and or 0:24:06.800 --> 0:24:09.440 Lebron are tired at the end of the series, I'll 0:24:09.480 --> 0:24:12.200 take that versus round one with there's extra rest. 0:24:13.240 --> 0:24:16.560 Okay, So, that's that I think is the exact correct take. 0:24:17.359 --> 0:24:21.440 And so here is thank you, Daniel, and I can 0:24:21.520 --> 0:24:24.880 I can hear you still the Here's why I bring 0:24:24.920 --> 0:24:28.639 that up. The Nuggets are better than the Lakers, and 0:24:28.680 --> 0:24:30.800 if the Nuggets were to play the Lakers in a series, 0:24:30.840 --> 0:24:35.359 they would be the heavy favor I said on Cowherd's pod. 0:24:35.920 --> 0:24:41.800 And then one of those absolutely worthless basketball aggregation Twitter 0:24:41.840 --> 0:24:46.240 accounts took seven words I said on the pod, put 0:24:46.280 --> 0:24:50.560 it out there, and now it's just it's one of 0:24:50.600 --> 0:24:55.440 those viral sensations that is a literal quote, but it's 0:24:55.480 --> 0:24:58.960 the same account demands that when we were talking on 0:24:59.000 --> 0:25:03.320 this show about uh going, when I said to you 0:25:03.760 --> 0:25:07.680 exactly right when I said to you, guess the three 0:25:07.800 --> 0:25:10.560 teams I would like Lebron to go to. This is 0:25:10.560 --> 0:25:13.199 a little quick story and you know, getting tricked on 0:25:13.240 --> 0:25:16.200 the internet, I said on this pod. And then we'll 0:25:16.200 --> 0:25:19.399 get back to the Lakers, Nuggets, thck to Demonse, there's 0:25:19.440 --> 0:25:23.040 three teams I want Lebron, I personally would like to 0:25:23.080 --> 0:25:27.160 see Lebron go to. And we said like the Calves, 0:25:27.680 --> 0:25:32.080 we said the Sixers, And then I said, Demonse, can 0:25:32.119 --> 0:25:36.440 you guess the next team? And demand said the Heat, 0:25:36.680 --> 0:25:42.399 and I said, quote exactly, the Heat are absolutely the 0:25:42.440 --> 0:25:49.480 next team. And these these these worthless Twitter accounts tweeted 0:25:49.520 --> 0:25:54.440 out the quote the Heater the next team nick right 0:25:54.520 --> 0:25:59.879 on Lebron James, which is technically accurate and wildly misle 0:26:00.400 --> 0:26:02.879 right because I was saying the next team on my 0:26:03.040 --> 0:26:06.000 wish list, and they presented it as if I were 0:26:06.119 --> 0:26:10.159 reporting that Lebron's next team is gonna be Miami. So 0:26:12.040 --> 0:26:16.800 this same account took the quote of me saying the 0:26:16.920 --> 0:26:22.719 Lakers should want Denver and round one contextless, and folks 0:26:22.840 --> 0:26:29.080 understandably are like, oh my god, this this this fool yeah, 0:26:29.440 --> 0:26:33.119 this guy. When my take on this to me is 0:26:33.160 --> 0:26:39.600 to me very logical and common sense. If we operate 0:26:39.720 --> 0:26:43.240 under the assumption that the Lakers, in order to make 0:26:43.280 --> 0:26:47.720 the Finals are going to have to beat the Nuggets, 0:26:48.920 --> 0:26:52.000 the round they have the best chance of beating them 0:26:52.160 --> 0:26:56.240 is round one. The games are not every other day, 0:26:57.080 --> 0:27:00.560 you have more rest and Lebron and they will be 0:27:00.600 --> 0:27:03.520 the freshest they will be at any point in the postseason. 0:27:04.520 --> 0:27:09.280 So if you're the question is, if you're a Laker fan, 0:27:10.560 --> 0:27:16.679 would you rather what is more valuable to you? A 0:27:16.720 --> 0:27:21.280 greater chance at a deep playoff run with a lower 0:27:21.400 --> 0:27:26.400 chance of making the finals, or a greater chance of 0:27:26.440 --> 0:27:30.919 being bounced in round one with a greater chance of 0:27:30.960 --> 0:27:35.000 making the finals. Because I think that if they play 0:27:35.000 --> 0:27:39.040 the Nuggets in round one, they probably lose. But I 0:27:39.080 --> 0:27:42.320 also think the only round they would have a realistic 0:27:42.440 --> 0:27:45.720 chance of beating the Nuggets is round one. And if 0:27:45.720 --> 0:27:48.000 you were to get past the Nuggets in round one, 0:27:48.520 --> 0:27:53.000 all of a sudden, you now you can start talking 0:27:53.200 --> 0:27:57.800 thinking big things because Lebron can't play forty four minutes 0:27:57.840 --> 0:28:00.520 every night every other day, but he might be able 0:28:00.560 --> 0:28:03.640 to in round one, where you have two days sometimes 0:28:03.680 --> 0:28:06.880 three days between games. Round two and round three, you're 0:28:06.920 --> 0:28:11.920