Speaker 1: We're back. Wow, we're getting into the final stretch. Teams
Speaker 1: like the Sun's, Knicks and Lakers seem to be hitting
Speaker 1: their strides at just the right time, especially the Lakers.
Speaker 1: I oh my, I wanted to give up so bad,
Speaker 1: but now I'm right back and I'm I'm weirder than ever.
Speaker 1: The Western Conference playoff race continues to be just a
Speaker 1: nightly roller coaster. You're up, You're down, You're up, You're down,
Speaker 1: And we'll discuss that in plentymore with I mean, we
Speaker 1: are so honored to be the Emmy Award winning Okay
Speaker 1: sports journalist with twelve News Lena Washington on today's episode,
Speaker 1: I'm Miles Great and I'm Jibori Davis, and this is Miles, Miles,
Speaker 1: j Barie sometimes Jaria. There were we go three Davis
Speaker 1: driving spinning Curry a three quarters stuff Curry from downtown
Speaker 1: again to do what Lena Washington, the twelve Sports asy
Speaker 1: sports Lady, how are you welcome back? I'm great, Thank
Speaker 1: you guys for having me back. I guess I didn't
Speaker 1: screw up too much last time, so you know we're
Speaker 1: back in better than ever. Look, when you're collecting statues
Speaker 1: like that, you know what I mean, we gotta have
Speaker 1: you back, you know, we gotta we just we we
Speaker 1: knew how great you were, and we're like, now, she
Speaker 1: could really class up the joint, because you know, I don't.
Speaker 1: The closest I can get is to this dude I
Speaker 1: know named Demi that is an Emmy. So you know,
Speaker 1: that's that's the best I'm doing right now. But yes,
Speaker 1: m yeah, it's really great to have you back, really
Speaker 1: good to have you back. Anything going on with you?
Speaker 1: Oh well, you know, I am finally recovered from the
Speaker 1: entire month of February where we had this uh this game.
Speaker 1: I don't know if you guys have heard of it,
Speaker 1: the super Bowl that happened here along with the biggest
Speaker 1: party in golf, and then in the middle of all that,
Speaker 1: this blockbuster trade actually favored the Suns in a way
Speaker 1: that I'm still trying to believe actually happened. Um. And
Speaker 1: so yeah, we have Kevin Durant, we have the hottest
Speaker 1: team in the league right now in Phoenix six and
Speaker 1: Ozo with Katie in the lineup, and right now it's
Speaker 1: it's feeling and looking a lot like Finals or Bust.
Speaker 1: But at this point I'll be happy if we can
Speaker 1: make it beyond the second round because I'm still recovering
Speaker 1: from Game seven of last year. Yeah, oh man, yeah,
Speaker 1: I still like feel like my eyes are adjusting. When
Speaker 1: I see Kevin Durant on a Sun's jersey, I'm like wow,
Speaker 1: and in that purple Starburst or Sunburst jersey, like that
Speaker 1: is Chef's kids to this Phoenetian right here, I'm gonna lie.
Speaker 1: I get it. I get it. Lena, we were talking
Speaker 1: before the show. You're a Phoenix die Hard right like
Speaker 1: you grew up a Phoenix Suns fan, right, Yes, for
Speaker 1: better for worst my formative and it's it's actually funny.
Speaker 1: I actually got to tell Charles Barkley in person, as
Speaker 1: he had his arms on my shoulder, I showed him
Speaker 1: a picture of me and my dad. He My dadd
Speaker 1: used to work at what it was then called America
Speaker 1: West Arena West. There is only America West Arena on
Speaker 1: this show. I will just say so they don't have
Speaker 1: to say anything else. It's always bank One Ballpark in
Speaker 1: America West Arena, so you know, real ones. No, if
Speaker 1: Lena's daddy called it America West, we gonna call it America.
Speaker 1: We don't call it America West. Absolutely. So I actually
Speaker 1: have to show Chuck a picture of me and my little,
Speaker 1: you know, nineties hot pink polyester sweatsuit on my way
Speaker 1: to work with my dad, which, thinking back, I'm like,
Speaker 1: that's pretty cool that they allowed him to do that.
Speaker 1: But those were my formative years watching Chuck, watching kJ
Speaker 1: watching Dan Marley. Yeah. So I actually got to show
Speaker 1: Chuck that picture and he said it was awesome. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm a Phoenix die Hard. Those were the golden years,
Speaker 1: and now it feels like they're coming back. I was
Speaker 1: gonna say those were the golden years. I'm like, how
Speaker 1: how good are you feeling now? Right now? Because right
Speaker 1: now now is I'm even like, Wow, I'm part of
Speaker 1: me is jealous. I'm like, that's seem pretty cool over there.
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, I mean again, it's only like what six
Speaker 1: years ago, we were like right there with the Kings
Speaker 1: in terms of the level of misery that we were
Speaker 1: feeling as a fan base. And now where the cool
Speaker 1: kids back again. You know, I always thought this was
Speaker 1: a great market, an attractive market for players, and now
Speaker 1: we actually have the organization from top to bottom to
Speaker 1: back that up, and we have a new owner in
Speaker 1: Matt Ishbia that I think a lot of people are
Speaker 1: excited about. And of course, by the end of his
Speaker 1: first day in power, he gets the trade done to
Speaker 1: bring a baby here and change the entire trajectory of
Speaker 1: the season and the NBA at large. Yeah. Truely, that's
Speaker 1: a grand opening right there. That's how you want to
Speaker 1: walk in the door. You mentioned the market. Just in
Speaker 1: terms of the excitement in the buzz, how does it
Speaker 1: compare to say seven seconds or less or even back
Speaker 1: in the day when Barkley, you know, joined the team. Man,
Speaker 1: it's hard. It's hard to equate it because I think
Speaker 1: from like, you know, the thirty thousand foot view, Charles
Speaker 1: Barkley is still one of the most beloved athletes to
Speaker 1: ever play for a team in Arizona. But I will
Speaker 1: again say this, halfway through our week of coverage of
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl and the waste management and all the
Speaker 1: red carpets and all the NFL honors, the question that
Speaker 1: they wanted me to ask people was what do you
Speaker 1: think of Katie coming in Phoenix. I was the first
Speaker 1: first past rock Coty, that asking DeAndre eight and that
Speaker 1: asking Jalen Rose that you know at the Fanatics party.
Speaker 1: But that just goes to show how much of a
Speaker 1: headline and how big of a deal that really was.
Speaker 1: When all eyes were on Phoenix, it was all about
Speaker 1: Katie still and he hadn't put on a jersey, he
Speaker 1: hadn't been with the team yet, and then it was
Speaker 1: a seven week wait to see him actually take the
Speaker 1: court at Footprint Center. So I think America America West Arena, yeah,
Speaker 1: formerly known as of course we gotta keep it O.
Speaker 1: But I think that's just still something that even players
Speaker 1: in the locker room are trying to absorb. I mean,
Speaker 1: Das still trying to accept the fact that when he
Speaker 1: was drafted here, like again, this was considered widely throughout
Speaker 1: the league a dumpster fire of an organization, and now
Speaker 1: again they're contenders. So yeah, I mean, right now, you've
Speaker 1: got a five game winning streak going as of this recording,
Speaker 1: probably looking good in that for the four spot um,
Speaker 1: which could mean okay, so this could be a number
Speaker 1: of matchups here, could be the Clippers, the Warriors, the Pelicans,
Speaker 1: maybe even the Lakers possibly if things went you know,
Speaker 1: obviously the things have to go very well for the Pelicans,
Speaker 1: But if you had your pick, is there a preferred
Speaker 1: matchup that you have or are you just kind of
Speaker 1: you're fine, You're like, just get everybody healthy and we're good.
Speaker 1: I'm ready for I'm we're ready to eat. I'm not
Speaker 1: gonna pull a John say we're good in the West
Speaker 1: because and even though the Warriors can't really win on
Speaker 1: the road, I don't want to see them in the
Speaker 1: first round. And you know what, I want to give
Speaker 1: Kings fans what they want, which is to have Warriors
Speaker 1: fans in their building and maybe be able to talk
Speaker 1: trash to them in the first round of their first
Speaker 1: playoff series in nearly two decades. So I personally would
Speaker 1: prefer traveling to LA for the first round. For which
Speaker 1: team it is, Yeah, yeah, let's let's link up, Let's
Speaker 1: go to Roscoes or something like that. Yeah, abolutely, But
Speaker 1: that's what I would prefer because I think those two
Speaker 1: teams have weaknesses that the Suns can exploit. And again,
Speaker 1: with Katie in the lineup, I don't think there's a
Speaker 1: question that they can get through the Clippers or the
Speaker 1: Lakers easier than a team with staff or Clay on it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean it's I mean, you know, we would love
Speaker 1: to have you and to your point, yes, we do
Speaker 1: have a bit of history. Yeah, I could understand how
Speaker 1: you feel about that. The Lakers actually finally snapped there.
Speaker 1: What what was it? Two year long losing streak to
Speaker 1: the Sun, I mean, going back to the twenty twenty
Speaker 1: one playoffs. That was that? Yeah, no, I heard that.
Speaker 1: I heard that. I heard you know, it's tough. It's
Speaker 1: tough when you lose to the eventual champion. Oh no,
Speaker 1: you're right, they didn't know to the eventual champions on
Speaker 1: the back jersey, on the back of your jersey, right
Speaker 1: above the logo. What's that number above there on yours
Speaker 1: on your Yeah, well we have Mercury, we got we
Speaker 1: got yeah, yeah, yeah, no I'm not I'm not moving
Speaker 1: for them. Yes, absolutely absolutely. Um. But yeah, currently got
Speaker 1: the seventh best team defensive rating, eighth in opponents points
Speaker 1: in the paint, twelfth and the opponents three point percentage.
Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, you got the Spurs, Nuggets, Lakers, and
Speaker 1: Clippers still on the schedules. This is gonna be Yeah.
Speaker 1: These are thigh rubbers, as they say over in the
Speaker 1: in the UK. Yeah, you can start rubbing your thighs
Speaker 1: because it's exciting. Are you are you guys? Ask exciting.
Speaker 1: I mean, this is one of those where it's like
Speaker 1: asking an obvious question, but I mean, I'm so excited
Speaker 1: about what Katie and Booker can look like as a
Speaker 1: scoring duo in the series. Like the defense, we'll talk
Speaker 1: about that later on down the road, but just as
Speaker 1: a scoring threat that tandem. To me, it's potentially one
Speaker 1: of the better scoring duos in recent history. Absolutely. I mean,
Speaker 1: I think the first three games Katie and Booker were
Speaker 1: playing together, book was averaging thirty points and you know,
Speaker 1: Katie on a bad night was still getting twenty. I
Speaker 1: love seeing them too on the floor together because you
Speaker 1: can tell that they not only respect one another, but
Speaker 1: are willing to sacrifice and be unselfish and play to
Speaker 1: each other's strengths. And I'm glad that Katie is here
Speaker 1: to take some pressure off of CP three when it
Speaker 1: comes to trying to be the floor general or be
Speaker 1: the guy that says, get on my back up. We're
Speaker 1: winning this game of mentality. So I love seeing them
Speaker 1: play together. I'm happy that they finally got to play
Speaker 1: together at this level, and for me, it's also been
Speaker 1: interesting hear Katie say, you know, he was nervous before
Speaker 1: taking the floor for in both Charlotte and at home.
Speaker 1: He feels the pressure of being who he is every
Speaker 1: game and he doesn't want to let his teammates down.
Speaker 1: And for someone of his caliber to say that what
Speaker 1: he doesn't have to I thought was really telling and
Speaker 1: exciting for a fan to hear. Yeah, And just when
Speaker 1: you brought up CP three, how does he factor into it? Because,
Speaker 1: like to your point, all we're talking about, like I
Speaker 1: feel like I have not mentioned mister Christopher Paul. How
Speaker 1: do you see him factoring into all this, like the
Speaker 1: in the best possible way in terms of how you
Speaker 1: see you know, making a deep run. Yeah. Again, I
Speaker 1: think having Katie there to relieve some of the pressure
Speaker 1: of him and having to be as aggressive as we
Speaker 1: saw him maybe last year in the Pelicans series, which will,
Speaker 1: of course, I think help him stay healthy for the
Speaker 1: long term. I think that's where the Suns will have
Speaker 1: a bit of trouble. And of course this can be
Speaker 1: said for every team, but when you have a Booker
Speaker 1: going down with a hamstring or CP missing time with
Speaker 1: some kind of or heel or ankle or something like that,
Speaker 1: and if you know, Katie's knee starts to flare up, again.
Speaker 1: You know that's going to be a big challenge for
Speaker 1: this team to overcome because they don't have the depth
Speaker 1: of having Mhaal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, and Jay crowd are
Speaker 1: all to kind of be that spark plug. But I
Speaker 1: think CP does have another run, especially considering the window
Speaker 1: that they've enjoyed so far. I don't know how much
Speaker 1: longer he has in his mind that he wants to play,
Speaker 1: but I think with this kind of firepower in Katie
Speaker 1: that he can go have another Pelicans like three thirty
Speaker 1: eighth birthday CP three performance in the first round, for sure.
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm always rooting for people my age in
Speaker 1: the league, so you know, I'm like, show we were
Speaker 1: now all we still got it, We still got it.
Speaker 1: Come on, Broun. We graduated the same year in high school.
Speaker 1: Look at us, Look at us, look at us, you
Speaker 1: being one of the most historical athletes ever. And you know,
Speaker 1: I got these pots cast. But you know, we'll talk
Speaker 1: about it later. We got to move on to some
Speaker 1: listener questions because you know, we had to let people
Speaker 1: know we've got we got Emmy Award winning journalists coming on,
Speaker 1: you know, what are your questions? And I believe at
Speaker 1: Blunt Doctor, who was an actual doctor, had some questions.
Speaker 1: What were some of the things that old l doctor
Speaker 1: was asking about. Yeah, it shout out the Blunt Doctor.
Speaker 1: He's actually really good guy and it based out of
Speaker 1: the Phoenix area and jactually a pretty good podcast. Shout
Speaker 1: out to him. But he did he did have a
Speaker 1: few for us. I'll set it up for you, Lena.
Speaker 1: He wants to know how many defensive problems did macal
Speaker 1: Bridges cover. And I think the obvious answer to that
Speaker 1: is a lot, all of them. You're are you not
Speaker 1: willing to sacrifice that when you have the you know,
Speaker 1: the opportunity to bring Katie in. Yeah, losing the twins
Speaker 1: was really tough, and you know, we're still emotionally missing McHale,
Speaker 1: especially when he goes off the way he has in Brooklyn.
Speaker 1: And I'm happy that they're together. But yeah, man, I
Speaker 1: mean McHale was I thought. I mean, we called him
Speaker 1: our DePoy here all respect to Marcus Smart, but over
Speaker 1: on the West Side, we thought that it belonged to
Speaker 1: McHale just because he was always given the toughest assignment
Speaker 1: and he delivered and then he was able to turn
Speaker 1: that defense into offense. I mean, if you look at
Speaker 1: just the schedule, I mean, he's on there as one
Speaker 1: of the leaders for this team throughout the first half
Speaker 1: of the season until the trade deadline. So I think defensively,
Speaker 1: Bismack Biombo has stepped up a lot. And his whole
Speaker 1: journey and story and coming back to the team when
Speaker 1: he did, he's been a great addition to this roster.
Speaker 1: I think he's stepped up, and I think Tory Craig
Speaker 1: and Josha Pogi have kind of relished the challenge of
Speaker 1: being that defensive dog. And even though you know it's
Speaker 1: a challenge for them endurance and stamina wise to do that,
Speaker 1: they're willing to do that because they know they don't
Speaker 1: have to be the guy to also score on the
Speaker 1: other end of the floor. They got three or four
Speaker 1: other options on that end. So I think they're missing mcale,
Speaker 1: but I think they've found ways to figure it out
Speaker 1: with thirty five on the floor. Yeah, you also have
Speaker 1: an abundance of riches when he comes to down, kind
Speaker 1: of aldo throughout your rotation and just quickly quickly with
Speaker 1: these other two. He noticed and he specifically mentioned that
Speaker 1: the Sun's foul too often. He wants to know if
Speaker 1: there's a fix for that, and I'll just say, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's called the playoffs. They're going to allow you to
Speaker 1: play more physically. Now, I'm not talking about the little,
Speaker 1: you know, tick tech stuff or or the you know,
Speaker 1: foolish fouls that you can certainly get better at avoiding.
Speaker 1: But when it comes to the postseason, isn't that when
Speaker 1: you're going to be able to play more physically in
Speaker 1: the style that the Suns have been playing? I hope. So.
Speaker 1: I mean, we saw if the you know, National Championship
Speaker 1: games or any indication of what we could see in
Speaker 1: the NBA in terms of reffing on the biggest stage.
Speaker 1: It might be tough, But I just if I knew
Speaker 1: how to fix their problems when it comes to fouling,
Speaker 1: I think Monty would immediately put me on his staff.
Speaker 1: But I just have to say to harken back to
Speaker 1: like a you know, Disney Channel original movie deep cut
Speaker 1: from the Classic Brink when his sister Katie comes up
Speaker 1: to him after he loses a competition, just says, skate better,
Speaker 1: just right, Just do that, just that simple. Or or
Speaker 1: get a time machine and we can go back to
Speaker 1: nineteen ninety three any because I was I remember as
Speaker 1: a child being like, that's that's basketball. Post season was
Speaker 1: a wild I love the era, but please don't take
Speaker 1: us back to the human games. No not, I'm just saying,
Speaker 1: bring back that era of postseason basketball. I like to
Speaker 1: when the whistles vanished. Yeah, you know what I mean physicality? Yes, yes, yes, yes,
Speaker 1: yes yes, Um shall we move on? Sorry? Yeah, let's
Speaker 1: go for it. I mean, because you know we're talking,
Speaker 1: We're talking a lot about the phoenix you we need
Speaker 1: to go to. And you know, I believe that they
Speaker 1: want the best for you. I want nothing but the best.
Speaker 1: But I do we just do have to Jabar and
Speaker 1: I and other Lakers fans just do need to exhale
Speaker 1: a little bit and just say, wow, Okay, Anthony Davis,
Speaker 1: you are You're coming online right at the right time.
Speaker 1: He got the Western Conference Player of the Week for
Speaker 1: the second time this season. Lakers went three and on
Speaker 1: the road, and he was putting up almost thirty nine points,
Speaker 1: almost twelve rebounds, two blocks of the week prior and yeah,
Speaker 1: it was one of those things where we needed a
Speaker 1: lot of things to go right, and boy have they
Speaker 1: gone right in a way that I remember telling Japart
Speaker 1: like with tears in eyes, and I'm like, how are
Speaker 1: we realistically even thinking about being above the six seeds somehow?
Speaker 1: And here we are, Jabari. I mean, I'll let you
Speaker 1: because you know we we we talk all the time
Speaker 1: about our love for ad. But I'll let you continue this,
Speaker 1: this love festive. Well, I was actually going to pivot
Speaker 1: this directly to lean it. And the reason why it's
Speaker 1: so valuable is because you know she's unbiased or certainly
Speaker 1: not biased in the favor of the Lakers. No, no,
Speaker 1: you have this big motive exactly, thank you. More object
Speaker 1: you have this Lakers team to start it out two
Speaker 1: and ten. Since then, they've gone thirty eight and twenty eight, Like,
Speaker 1: it's one thing for you a miles about this before
Speaker 1: the show. It's one thing to poopoo oh. They've won
Speaker 1: six out of seven, so what But if you move
Speaker 1: them out a little bit zoom, a little bit farther,
Speaker 1: thirty eight and twenty eight's nothing to sneeze that. I
Speaker 1: recognize that. You just let us know that you you're
Speaker 1: not too worried about that matchup, But can you speak
Speaker 1: from an outside perspective to what you've seen in terms
Speaker 1: of their progression over the year. Yeah. Absolutely, I think
Speaker 1: a lot of people were counting them out just about
Speaker 1: three weeks ago, even I mean, you know, at least
Speaker 1: in Phoenix, I will say, but I think they're they're
Speaker 1: doing what a Lebron led team does, which is find
Speaker 1: a way to win, find a will to win. Even
Speaker 1: without him on the floor, He's still a presence and
Speaker 1: ad getting healthy at this time and performing well. I want,
Speaker 1: you know, I want the highest level of competition in
Speaker 1: the playoffs. I want all the stars to be available. However,
Speaker 1: maybe his availability and consistency is a bad sign for
Speaker 1: you know, April May June, depending on his his bandwidth
Speaker 1: when it comes to staying healthy. But when the Lakers
Speaker 1: and the Celtics are in and the Knicks are playing
Speaker 1: at high levels, I mean basketball is better, the atmosphere
Speaker 1: is better, the trash talk is better. So I think
Speaker 1: the overall experience of postseason basketball is elevated. But I
Speaker 1: think it's exciting for any any big time team like
Speaker 1: that to be healthy and ascending at this time heading
Speaker 1: into the postseason. This is why you got Emmy's you
Speaker 1: know what I mean, Because if you are not, you're
Speaker 1: not trash consuming bacteria like Jabari and I, where we
Speaker 1: feed on past glories of the Lakers to sustain our
Speaker 1: life into the next day. You could zoom out and
Speaker 1: actually accurately describe what's going on. Yes, like you said,
Speaker 1: We're is a big team. Obviously, it's a massive franchise.
Speaker 1: We all know that, and I do like though too,
Speaker 1: part of me does you know? And look, I might
Speaker 1: regret this. I would like to play the Phoenix Suns,
Speaker 1: you know, because I feel like I remember when they
Speaker 1: let the fans back into Staples in the playoffs and
Speaker 1: I went to the first game back against the Suns.
Speaker 1: We won that one, but the rest was not great.
Speaker 1: But at the same time, the pain from that that's
Speaker 1: kind of what drives you as a fan too. You
Speaker 1: don't want to shy away from certain matchups, like you
Speaker 1: want to feel like you're confident in what the performances
Speaker 1: and you're like, yeah, you know, honestly, this is what
Speaker 1: I want to see, Like, and if we're gonna go
Speaker 1: as far as we're gonna go, we're gonna have to
Speaker 1: go through the teams that are playing really well. So
Speaker 1: I invite it because I think right now I've really
Speaker 1: adjusted my expectations and the fact that I'm even like
Speaker 1: what we oh, we're doing this right now. Okay, it's happening,
Speaker 1: Like I'm like, all right, well yeah, let's see where
Speaker 1: it goes. All right, Well, let's take a quick break
Speaker 1: so I can, you know, just take all the sweat
Speaker 1: off my prow because I've gotten so excited talking about
Speaker 1: the Lakers and the Suns. And we'll talk about some
Speaker 1: of the best performances of the week right after this,
Speaker 1: and we're back and let's check in on the Mad
Speaker 1: Boostige Great performances of the week. You know, got to
Speaker 1: highlight some of the big time performances over the past week,
Speaker 1: because you know, this isn't just talking about the West
Speaker 1: Side on this podcast. You know, we've got to look elsewhere.
Speaker 1: Let's go north of the border to Toronto, where Pascal
Speaker 1: Siakam thirty six, seven and seven, Fred van Vliet with
Speaker 1: just the fourth twenty and twenty game in Raptors history
Speaker 1: in a win over the Hornets. I was saying this earlier.
Speaker 1: I was like, oh, they are they in the They're
Speaker 1: in the picture. Oh, and that's on me for not
Speaker 1: keeping my eye over there. But I was surprised that
Speaker 1: they look like they're clawing their way back like a
Speaker 1: raptor would with their clause because very raptor light. Every
Speaker 1: time I hear Pascal Siakam's name, I just think back
Speaker 1: to my time working in Bakersfield covering in cal State
Speaker 1: Bakersfield at the Whack Tournament, and they punched their ticket
Speaker 1: to their first NCAA tournament appearance with Pedrich Bazel hitting
Speaker 1: a three over Pascal Seem and his new Mexico State
Speaker 1: team at the buzzer uh. And that's just what I
Speaker 1: what I think of when I when I just you know,
Speaker 1: that's how long I've been in this business. And that's
Speaker 1: what I love about it too, because I've seen these
Speaker 1: guys at that level and now you know, they're champions
Speaker 1: and doing great things in the NBA shout out the
Speaker 1: road and getting a boost these performance of the week
Speaker 1: shout out. But remember when you cross paths with the
Speaker 1: cow State Baker's Field road Runners and what happened then? Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, it was ugly. It was ugly. And then
Speaker 1: wester ingram Man Bingie Bingey Bingie mister ingram h thirty
Speaker 1: six and eight. Wait, okay, so should we just play
Speaker 1: this baseline jam over Norman Powell. Uh oh wow against
Speaker 1: the Clippers. Huh. Anyway, that's family. Yeah, let's just let's
Speaker 1: just check this moment out from Bingie out started. We
Speaker 1: haven't We actually haven't done a business decisions in a while,
Speaker 1: have we We haven't. That's a business decision right there.
Speaker 1: That was a mister Powell, sir, you have right, it's
Speaker 1: looking up to you. He knew right here, don't gather,
Speaker 1: don't be out here now that's where you just run
Speaker 1: over towards the ref and take the ball out exactly,
Speaker 1: just be like all right, yeah, all right, check up here,
Speaker 1: we go right back here. Yeah, I mean, what did
Speaker 1: he think? I look, the old head we were just
Speaker 1: talking about loving ninety three. So the old head in
Speaker 1: me appreciates that he tried to go up and contest
Speaker 1: that I grew up watching Georgetown Centers and George and
Speaker 1: and if y'all know anything about Georgetown Centers, they were
Speaker 1: they were either getting blocked or either either blocking someone
Speaker 1: or getting dunked on because they were going after everything.
Speaker 1: So you know, it turned out to you, Norman Powell.
Speaker 1: But I do feel for your family because that was rough. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he tried it. He tried and you know what like
Speaker 1: and again that is his own business decision, you know.
Speaker 1: And that's again this is not financial advice. But sometimes
Speaker 1: your investments can go hey wire, like it did in
Speaker 1: that instance. And this is again this is not financial advice.
Speaker 1: Just quickly shout out to the Pelicans, because when it looked,
Speaker 1: you know, much like with the Raptors, when it looked
Speaker 1: like the Pelicans were down and out and probably going
Speaker 1: to just be out, they quickly won with seven out
Speaker 1: of ten. If I'm not a sakeing seven of their
Speaker 1: last eight. Yeah, and they're and they're right there and
Speaker 1: right there in the mix. The West is just going
Speaker 1: to be so crazy down the stretch, three games separating
Speaker 1: the fourth through eleven seeds. It's insane for the last
Speaker 1: three weeks. Why has it Like, Yeah, we're kind of
Speaker 1: spoiled for how competitive it is, but not how easy
Speaker 1: it is to you know, get out. But hey, I
Speaker 1: like it. I like it because it's so tight. I mean, yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, like for teams like the Lakers and things,
Speaker 1: you know, you your fortunes can change rather quickly. I
Speaker 1: remember a lot of people complaining that I would be
Speaker 1: quick about this. I remember a lot of people complaining
Speaker 1: about the play in when it came, and I was
Speaker 1: probably one of those until I thought about it a
Speaker 1: little bit more. But I'll tell you right now, it
Speaker 1: has been exciting. It has produced exciting finishes down the
Speaker 1: stretch these last couple of seasons, and quite frankly, we
Speaker 1: wouldn't be in this situation right here. You'll let you
Speaker 1: know that we're in if you're worked for it. So
Speaker 1: because yeah, you've expanded the number of teams games that
Speaker 1: actually have something to play for. And when you have that,
Speaker 1: call me, you know, a nerd, But I think athletes
Speaker 1: and elite competitors like to be in a situation like
Speaker 1: that and we get this kind of stuff. So yeah,
Speaker 1: I was not hating on that at all. Like most
Speaker 1: of the time I've been here for the play and
Speaker 1: I love it. I saw meant to be Golden State
Speaker 1: in their first play and that was already like, okay, yeah,
Speaker 1: this is a great game, great atmosphere, high stakes, keep
Speaker 1: it going absolutely and you know, like just even like Zion,
Speaker 1: you know, he's not even factoring into this. It's still
Speaker 1: very up in the air and we will see what
Speaker 1: happens there. Speaking of the Grizz now I'm not trying
Speaker 1: to say this disrespectfully, but they cannot be destroyed. Okay.
Speaker 1: I believe them to be the cockroaches of the NBA.
Speaker 1: And I say that with respect babes kids, yes, babes
Speaker 1: kids exactly for people of a certain age in disposition.
Speaker 1: They beat the Clippers on the night where Joh triple
Speaker 1: J combined for just nineteen points on eight from twenty
Speaker 1: one on the floor, without Brandon Clark, no Steven Adams.
Speaker 1: They are surviving. They are just getting through. And that's
Speaker 1: why I'm saying. I don't mean that because I'm saying
Speaker 1: their roaches they're dirty or whatever. I'm saying that. How
Speaker 1: when they talk about if the atomic bombs and stuff
Speaker 1: went off, you know who's gonna hear it? The earth?
Speaker 1: The roaches, they will they will survive. That. That's how
Speaker 1: I feel about the Grizzlies in the most respectful way,
Speaker 1: because I'm very much looking forward to them playing. But
Speaker 1: the resilience of the team is really remarkable. You know.
Speaker 1: They have this um I think it's called grit, and
Speaker 1: they find the way to, you know, like grind out
Speaker 1: these wins. And I don't know, I think that should
Speaker 1: be their identity right, like a grit grind kind of
Speaker 1: kind of brand and basketball that they play. But yeah,
Speaker 1: they they found a way to get it together jawless
Speaker 1: or with jaw and I would be scared to see
Speaker 1: them in the playoffs with jaw and. Yeah, man, they
Speaker 1: they just won't die. They are the cock of every
Speaker 1: time and the best way possible. Yes, yes, and I
Speaker 1: don't again, this is this If anything, this is a
Speaker 1: tribute to the lowly cockroach. And because if a lot
Speaker 1: of people don't realize that they can survive a nuclear blast,
Speaker 1: I don't think people know that, and in the ecosystem
Speaker 1: that you need that, right, Like if they get rid
Speaker 1: of them, it's all thrown off, so their net and
Speaker 1: eventually they might get their own movie on MTV called
Speaker 1: Joe's Apartment if you remember. For people who are that
Speaker 1: old too. I'm sorry, I'm just here for a playoff
Speaker 1: crowd in Unison singing and performing whoop that trick? So yeah,
Speaker 1: there we are, Yeah, exactly whom We got to talk
Speaker 1: about some of our broadcast calls a week and this shot,
Speaker 1: I gotta say I really enjoyed. Call it a circus shot.
Speaker 1: I was telling you know, Jabari It's more like when
Speaker 1: you play the slam ball or something, or you playing
Speaker 1: on a rim that is like not weighted down properly
Speaker 1: in someone's driveway and someone shifts the entire backboard, So
Speaker 1: when you go to shoot from like the baseline, you're like,
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, wait, how is this oriented? Somehow mister Bridges
Speaker 1: knew exactly how to get around that. In this shot
Speaker 1: over the hawks recently Hart back to him, McCaw stopped
Speaker 1: it from going out shot clock winding down Bridges way
Speaker 1: stairs for the deuce behind the backpoorth too, and that
Speaker 1: was off his shot getting blocked and he does the
Speaker 1: one the double hop on one leg to stay in bounds.
Speaker 1: Oh man, we missed the homie clips like that, and
Speaker 1: it just it just further submits just how supremely talented
Speaker 1: all of these guys are. Whether it's you know, honestly,
Speaker 1: whether it's your top guy or your fourth option, all
Speaker 1: these guys just just ridiculously down. I'm gonna lie to
Speaker 1: you and say five okay, but off of the psychological
Speaker 1: trauma of getting rejected like he did, and he's like, nope,
Speaker 1: I'm right back at it. I'm gonna lie to you.
Speaker 1: Is still say five, but it might take twenty. I
Speaker 1: think it would take me twenty three times maybe right
Speaker 1: at least? How about how confident are you hitting a
Speaker 1: sort of fading shot over the backboard like that? I
Speaker 1: have to give myself about a dozen tries. I'll probably
Speaker 1: just give up after that and be bored with the
Speaker 1: attempt of embarrassing myself. But yeah, yeah, I'll give myself
Speaker 1: about a dozen. That should be a new segment. Jabari
Speaker 1: is we go to we go to a we go
Speaker 1: to a gym. It takes to recreate to be like,
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna windmill on somebody, but something like that
Speaker 1: off my left foot, like trying to catch a ball
Speaker 1: for keeping it from going out of bounce. Just to
Speaker 1: see how many times would really take us, because I
Speaker 1: believe it will probably take forty six if I'm really
Speaker 1: being honest, and you would need to live stream it obviously, yes,
Speaker 1: and people be so bored they'd be like, is this
Speaker 1: like a charity live stream? What is he doing? Is
Speaker 1: he trying to make it like look worse every subsequent attempt?
Speaker 1: Okay maybe not? Uh? And then also Billy Mack our
Speaker 1: boy calling this one a d You know, look, we
Speaker 1: kind of went back and forth with the Bulls. Recently again,
Speaker 1: Zach Levine. The way he absolutely just handled us like
Speaker 1: he was a postal carrier was just it was, it was,
Speaker 1: It was terrible. The young man from Chicago, Anthony Davis,
Speaker 1: just let them know there was no love lost with
Speaker 1: this wonderful alley that was thrown by my brother from
Speaker 1: another mother ry hotching world. But yeah, let's hear Billy
Speaker 1: Mack with this call the wolves. We'll keep away down
Speaker 1: lookout below. If I just love just the intention my
Speaker 1: baby came, it was pulled out of him. Love a call.
Speaker 1: I mean that painted the picture for me. If my
Speaker 1: eyes were closed, I would know that was an exciting,
Speaker 1: explosive play. And that's what you want from guy. Close
Speaker 1: your eyes out, Yeah, close your eyes and imagine all
Speaker 1: of those wonderful clips we just mentioned, Okay, or you
Speaker 1: can find them on the internet. They're definitely there. We
Speaker 1: should also shout out some of the unsung boost these
Speaker 1: ballers talent Horton Tucker his last three games forty one,
Speaker 1: twenty eight, thirty two, Who are you? What happened to you?
Speaker 1: I Love you? Come back opportunity Okay, right right on,
Speaker 1: Shaden sharp with twenty seven or more and three of
Speaker 1: his last four is really something else. And then spee,
Speaker 1: mister Spee, what happened here? Averaging five point seven points
Speaker 1: per game on the year, but with nineteen over the
Speaker 1: last five. You'd love to see it. You'd love to
Speaker 1: see it. You'd love to see it. All right, Well,
Speaker 1: let's take another quick break and we'll be right back
Speaker 1: with Emmy Award winning journalist Lena Washington to put her
Speaker 1: through the most intense and fast segment in podcast history
Speaker 1: the hot seat right after this, and we're back and
Speaker 1: Lena Washington, I hope you are ready because it's the
Speaker 1: fourth quarter, which means it is time for the fire
Speaker 1: round of questions. Okay, this is what we do. We're
Speaker 1: gonna ask you a question. Don't think about it, just
Speaker 1: give us our answer quick. You know, we'd like to
Speaker 1: keep this moving, and if Jabari and I start dragging
Speaker 1: it along, we are counting on you since you have
Speaker 1: one Emmy's, to keep this thing. Mo. Yeah, oh man,
Speaker 1: you're okay, Okay, the pressure is on. Okay. All I'm
Speaker 1: saying is this is rapp Are you ready? Are you ready?
Speaker 1: Are you ready? Is this like the pitch clock? In baseball,
Speaker 1: like do I have like to be in the have
Speaker 1: to be ready with like eight seconds. Let's imagine we're
Speaker 1: just doing some chess passing grills, but like, don't hold
Speaker 1: on to it, like fire it right back. This is
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. This is everybody playing you
Speaker 1: like on the playground and you catch the ball five
Speaker 1: four three, Yeah, boom, right back, right back, right back,
Speaker 1: right back, gotcha, gotcha. Here we go, start the start
Speaker 1: it up. Here we go. You know, Washington, is there
Speaker 1: a single NBA player you would take right now over
Speaker 1: the chance of taking wemban Yama with the first pick
Speaker 1: this summer in a hypothet? Please? Who is there? Or
Speaker 1: would you you you're ready for Wemby? Uh? Yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: ready for Wemby. Let's let's see him in action. Let's
Speaker 1: let's get him fed really really well and get the
Speaker 1: calories up. Yeah, and get him on the court. Now. Now,
Speaker 1: what is it about him, Victor wemban Yama that has
Speaker 1: everybody talking or how's you even thinking about him? I
Speaker 1: think just the hype overall about him, and I just
Speaker 1: want to see it. And sorry, Lena, I'm sorry, I'm
Speaker 1: very sorry, but this is this is the time where
Speaker 1: we need you to step up in this. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: you need to cut miles off and say it's one
Speaker 1: and done. This is the tournament. This ain't the playoffs tournament. Sorry.
Speaker 1: Yeah you know what? Actually, no follow ups, Jabari, drop
Speaker 1: your address in the chat so Lena can send you
Speaker 1: her emmy because that was fantastic what you just did.
Speaker 1: I want to yeah, meet me, meet me and Costa Grande. Yeah, yeah, y'all, y'all, yeah,
Speaker 1: two of you. Geez on, Hey there it is meet
Speaker 1: me at the Mesa College Gymnasium. Okay, abolutely right, Yeah,
Speaker 1: on Broadway or University or one of those. I gotta
Speaker 1: go to hurt Turf. Okay, here we go. Yeah all right,
Speaker 1: but I'll keep it going. Lena. You can go back
Speaker 1: and attain any single game in NBA history. Which game
Speaker 1: are you choosing? Oh my gosh, um, probably I guess
Speaker 1: Game four of the twenty twenty one finals, so I
Speaker 1: could run on the court and make the final quarter.
Speaker 1: Do not happen at game the glue on my hands
Speaker 1: in the middle of the book and never moved from
Speaker 1: fiser forum, and and make sure that game is never
Speaker 1: relived or or finalized, because I think I have the
Speaker 1: power to change the course of that entire series if
Speaker 1: I were in the building. That's a true fan. That's
Speaker 1: a true fan. I got, I got a true fan.
Speaker 1: Question for you. What is the best thing to eat
Speaker 1: at the America West Arena? Oh, my gosh, we will
Speaker 1: call it the America West Arena. Just yeah, we know.
Speaker 1: But in this home, it is the America West Arena.
Speaker 1: The president is Moroack Obama, and yes, forever, first Lady
Speaker 1: or forever Arena America West. Oh man. That is a
Speaker 1: great question, because I have not I will say the
Speaker 1: dessert spread, the dessert spread that they have at least
Speaker 1: the media center is top notch. I mean, we get cookies,
Speaker 1: we get little you know, part fake tubs. We got brownies,
Speaker 1: we got cheesecake, we got chocolate, we got part we
Speaker 1: got sweet, we got fruits, we got we got a
Speaker 1: bunch of stuff going on. And you know what I
Speaker 1: actually discovered on accident, this killer combo. They have these
Speaker 1: like fruity pebble sugar cookies. But if you kind of
Speaker 1: frum pull it up and put it in the top
Speaker 1: form bag, you get a little sweet, you get a
Speaker 1: little salty, you get a little chewy, you get a
Speaker 1: little crispy of the Colonel. So for all my Phoenix
Speaker 1: fans out there, if you're able to get a hand
Speaker 1: on the fruity pebbles, cookies and some porn, just let
Speaker 1: me know what you think about it. Wow, that's next level,
Speaker 1: because I'm in the honest Do you had me a cheesecake? Yeah?
Speaker 1: And now with the new you know, the players agreement,
Speaker 1: that sounds real good, That's what I'm saying. Next next level,
Speaker 1: keeping keeping it going. You can take any former Sons
Speaker 1: player and pair him with Booker and Kadi. Which former
Speaker 1: son is so close to your heart that you would
Speaker 1: like to see that? I mean I have to go
Speaker 1: with Charles Barkley now because I just want to see
Speaker 1: how you would be together. Wow. Good friends and you
Speaker 1: know they respect each other to the highest degree. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's that's where I would automatically go with that. And
Speaker 1: I just think that we've a fun little trash talking
Speaker 1: session among the teammates. Oh yeah, easy money Sniper and
Speaker 1: Chuck whoa, whoa, whoa whoa. Okay, how about this, Lena,
Speaker 1: what is your boldest postseason or even play in prediction
Speaker 1: for this year? Gold Bollo, are you guys. Ready, are
Speaker 1: you ready? Ahead, go ahead, go ahead? Well, you know,
Speaker 1: the Sun's fan in me, I can't, I can't fully
Speaker 1: say Okay, I get you. But the Kings will be
Speaker 1: in the Western Conference Finals, Okay, the Kings will be
Speaker 1: four wins away from a trip to the NBA Finals. Wow. Wow,
Speaker 1: Which team they'll have to get past? Yeah, I don't know, yeah, okay,
Speaker 1: but I think they the beam and the power of
Speaker 1: the beam. Yeah, the beams to the city and and
Speaker 1: Mike Brown's entire staff in a way that we will
Speaker 1: not see you again. And I'm ready for the first
Speaker 1: of all, I will say they apparently had a thirty
Speaker 1: for thirty done on the Kings many many years ago.
Speaker 1: I've seen the zip drive file. It's it's not open
Speaker 1: because they had a premiere at a local theater and
Speaker 1: then it was never released to the grand public. But
Speaker 1: I've seen it, and it needs to be either released updated.
Speaker 1: Yeah no, but now they need to bring it back.
Speaker 1: With the energy that they've got going in Sacramento and
Speaker 1: the way that Mike Brown has turned this entire franchise around,
Speaker 1: I mean, it's going to be rocking in there. And
Speaker 1: so my bold prediction is that They're going to keep
Speaker 1: this momentum going and and take it to the to
Speaker 1: the finals in the West. Could you imagine they went
Speaker 1: all the way? I can't imagine it. It It feels like
Speaker 1: they're a team of destiny. Although it feels yeah and
Speaker 1: the like, like to your point about the power of
Speaker 1: the Beam, like I believe in it, Like I've changed
Speaker 1: religions to beam because from the Laker fan, I mean,
Speaker 1: I mean, look, it is what it is, you know,
Speaker 1: be fair weather and that that was even upon the sack.
Speaker 1: I appreciate it. I appreciate that. But now I want
Speaker 1: to say, rather than start the clock, I'm like like
Speaker 1: the bee uh people I feel people say that, yeah,
Speaker 1: like that like from Austin Power's Lover the Cloud. But
Speaker 1: it's yeah, there it is, all right. Are you ready
Speaker 1: for the most important question that you've been asked today?
Speaker 1: Oh gosh, I don't know, guys, Yeah, this is it.
Speaker 1: You will be judged based upon this answer, I know,
Speaker 1: Miles or I've been thinking about this one since the
Speaker 1: last appearance. Actually so almost is it a calendar year? Almost?
Speaker 1: You know? It keeps me up at night, to be
Speaker 1: honest with you, Um, but I have to go with
Speaker 1: jar stop the Colen. We are good. I have to
Speaker 1: go with Jabari And I will say this, this is
Speaker 1: why only because Miles has a little bit of an
Speaker 1: edge on my familiarity with him, because I first heard
Speaker 1: him on another podcast that I Love an a Door,
Speaker 1: but that that kind of wrote me in. And now
Speaker 1: we've come full circle where I am a guest on
Speaker 1: this incredible podcast that I'm honored to be a part of.
Speaker 1: Shout out to Lacy Moseley bringing us together. Yeah wait really, yep,
Speaker 1: we are members of the congregation. Baby. Oh wow, hey,
Speaker 1: you know you know I'm the I'm the person who
Speaker 1: coined the name scam Goddess. Oh yeah, scamming you out
Speaker 1: of your royalties? No, no, no no. Lacy and I
Speaker 1: are cool. She's actually very like anytime she doesn't interview,
Speaker 1: she's like, yeah, my friend Miles Gray came up with
Speaker 1: the name because I refer I would nickname her that
Speaker 1: because before she even had the show, she was we
Speaker 1: were always talking about scams and how much we love scams.
Speaker 1: And then when she would come on my other podcast,
Speaker 1: I was like, the scam Goddess is in the building.
Speaker 1: Oh man. She took that and I was like, yo,
Speaker 1: let me just get a T shirt. You know what
Speaker 1: I mean, and we're good. Um, so I know it's coming.
Speaker 1: I know it's coming. Well then well then maybe I
Speaker 1: have to go with my files. And because you came
Speaker 1: up with this is how we do anymore. I'm just
Speaker 1: I'm just saying I'm trying to keep it logical. No no,
Speaker 1: no, no no no. I respect that first answer. And look,
Speaker 1: you are an Emmy winning entity, so what you say
Speaker 1: I will never push back on. We really appreciate you,
Speaker 1: Lena for coming on the show again. Um where can
Speaker 1: people find you and follow you and read you? You know,
Speaker 1: it's just support you in whatever way they can. Oh yeah, first,
Speaker 1: thank you guys so much for having me again. Love
Speaker 1: the podcast, Love you guys. If you live in the
Speaker 1: Phoenix area, you can find me on twelve News in Phoenix.
Speaker 1: I'm on Monday through pretty much every day of a
Speaker 1: week really, but our flagship show, twelve Sports Night, is
Speaker 1: on Sundays at ten thirty during the football season. You
Speaker 1: can catch me right after Sunday Night Football hosting Cardinals
Speaker 1: Locker Room and hosting Friday Night Fever, Arizona's longest running
Speaker 1: and only high school football show. You can find me
Speaker 1: on socials at l Washington TV. And hopefully I'll see
Speaker 1: y'all in the postseason at the playoff? Is that a
Speaker 1: baseball game? Who knows that Ronos when we meet up
Speaker 1: in the first round, perhaps please please would love nothing
Speaker 1: more than that. And also, yeah, if you can get
Speaker 1: me tickets the NBA, you know, that'd be great, you know,
Speaker 1: Jabarian and I would would really appreciate it. Hey, we'll
Speaker 1: go yeah, okay, Well that is going to do it
Speaker 1: for this week's edition of Mad Boosts. You can follow
Speaker 1: us on Twitter at M A. D. Bublo s T
Speaker 1: I E. S on Twitter and be sure to you know,
Speaker 1: maybe follow us maybe at us. We check our man cheese,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, So holorad us and you
Speaker 1: know we asked for your son's takes and our boost
Speaker 1: He's listener of the week was at Tyler J. McDowell says,
Speaker 1: quote Lena rules, which we obviously agree with, but also
Speaker 1: thinks book has ascended to officially being the most popular
Speaker 1: pro sports athlete in Arizona. Wow okay. Also shouts yeah
Speaker 1: yeah shouts are super listeners Erica checking in from Ireland
Speaker 1: and also you know, PG Paul Garaventa and everybody's favorite
Speaker 1: Celtics fan Alicia. We see you, ap We see you
Speaker 1: out there, always steadfast. That's why we respect you, even
Speaker 1: though we're on the wrong side of the tracks. It's
Speaker 1: all good, all right. That's gonna do it for us
Speaker 1: this week. We're gonna be back next week with who
Speaker 1: knows where the league will be at that point, but
Speaker 1: we just can't wait. And we'll see you then and
Speaker 1: Jack we'll be back too, so we'll see all that.
Speaker 1: Bye bye bye