0:00

to the brand new Zach Loh Show.

0:02

That's right. I'm back to have

0:04

the same in -depth NBA conversations you're

0:07

used to. We're going to talk about

0:09

the games, the exes, and owns

0:11

the drama. The playoffs are coming up,

0:13

and now you get to see

0:15

every episode in full on video on

0:17

Spotify and on my own YouTube

0:19

channel. Episodes drop every Monday and Thursday

0:22

with a collection of guests you're

0:24

gonna love, so make sure you follow

0:26

and subscribe to the brand new

0:28

Zach Lowe show on Spotify or wherever

0:30

you watch or listen to your

0:32

podcast. Let's go! Welcome

0:49

back to Off Guard. It's your host,

0:51

Austin Rivers, along with my co -host, Pasha

0:54

Hagigi. We are live here from Miami,

0:56

taking a little day trip. Got my

0:58

kids. Pasha, you're playing

1:00

Uncle Pasha. Yeah, the male

1:02

nanny, the manny, manny Ramirez. Yeah,

1:04

yeah. No, no, yeah. This

1:07

is unbelievable. Miami, you just always forget,

1:09

man, how pretty it is. Yeah, no. First

1:11

day on a vacation. Whenever we only

1:13

pulled up here, you just get that little

1:15

multi -lightening, that little excitement. We were humiliating

1:17

each other. Well,

1:19

it's only for a drink. Mind

1:22

you, we just drove down. You

1:26

know, we're tired. It's late, whatever. It's a

1:28

Wednesday, anywhere else in the world. But

1:30

Miami, we're just walking through the lobby. Just

1:33

energy floating about. I'm

1:35

telling you, it's like Vegas Southeast for

1:37

us. Me and you both got to the

1:39

room last night. I put the kids

1:41

down to bed. And before you went

1:43

to your room, you look at you. We

1:47

just go down the lobby Just hang

1:49

out. It's just something about it here.

1:51

Yeah, it's it's so funny when you

1:53

go to these places Vegas is another

1:55

city as soon as you enter the

1:57

lobby any plans you had of like

1:59

getting sleep or Doing things

2:01

the right way. Just go out the window.

2:03

You just you get in there and it's

2:06

just See no noises in the background people

2:08

are gambling somebody's laughing. There's drinks. They

2:10

offer you free drinks all over the place

2:12

There's no windows in that damn place.

2:14

Yeah No clocks. You don't even know

2:16

what's going on. Time

2:18

is a completely different thing. You

2:21

know, the first thing I thought about when we got here, too,

2:23

is I don't know how Miami doesn't get more free agents. Yeah.

2:26

I mean, that's good God. It's such a wonder.

2:28

They struck out so many times, especially over the

2:30

past, what, six, seven years, they've been trying to

2:32

put this team together. The whole era with Jimmy

2:34

trying to like pair him with a star. They

2:36

had to like home grow one with BAM.

2:39

But like they couldn't like go get one in the free

2:41

market. Yeah, um free agency

2:43

market that is so like I

2:45

don't know I don't know if that's

2:48

a for as much prestige as

2:50

Miami Heat has as an organization You

2:52

do wonder sometimes what what stars think because like

2:54

it's like why do why do they continually

2:56

not get one right? And even you know you

2:58

pointed this out the other day as far

3:00

even though they've been to the finals, you know

3:02

twice and then this this decade One time

3:04

was in the bubble. I think there were the

3:06

five seed and the other time there were

3:08

the eight seed Yeah, exactly putting together Great. I

3:10

know one year they were a high seed.

3:12

I think when Jimmy, when they lost to the

3:14

Celtics in 2022, Jimmy missed that three in

3:16

game seven. But overall, they haven't

3:19

really put together like this full, you know,

3:21

a dominant year, like the OKC or No,

3:23

they always like kind of

3:25

are fighting, you know,

3:27

they're always fighting from, from, from, you know,

3:29

behind the A -ball, you know what mean? They're

3:31

always crawling in, you know. It's

3:34

part of like their whole makeup. It's like the Miami

3:36

way, you know, heat culture. They just grind it

3:38

out, you know, grind it out. But a lot of

3:40

that's been at the cost

3:42

of, you know, just in

3:44

terms of home court advantage and all these other things

3:46

that I feel like come back to get them.

3:48

Again, they've put together a great run, saved the fact

3:51

that they've even, what

3:53

is it? You said a fifth seed? Yeah, I think the

3:55

fifth seed made the finals in the bubble. Yeah, so the

3:57

fact that you got a fifth seed and a seed going

3:59

to the finals at all is an incredible

4:01

story. So, you know, you got to tip your

4:04

hat to him. But yeah, again, back to

4:06

the roster that's been put in set. No, Jimmy,

4:08

it almost makes you wonder. They've

4:10

been able to have that type of success or

4:12

Jimmy had that type of success with the current roster

4:14

that was put in place with him. You start

4:16

to wonder what would it have been like if he

4:18

would have been able to kind of get paired

4:20

up with a free agency star, you know, someone out

4:22

there like he is right now, you know, you

4:24

could see it already in the interviews, how he's acting

4:26

with Steph, you know, he's, you

4:28

know, that's, that's my Batman.

4:32

Right. And then, you know, it's crazy. And just

4:34

the segue into that playing game that we

4:36

got to cover, you know, we, we talk about

4:38

playoff Jimmy and that, that playing game, him

4:40

having, you know, 30 something points and him doing

4:42

that and having that amazing first half was

4:44

just like, Oh, he's doing it again. I thought

4:46

those days were done. I thought maybe he

4:48

would be some kind of different role. And he

4:50

just snaps right back into it. Granted against

4:52

the Grizzlies team that's going through a lot. But

4:54

yeah, I was, they're going through a lot, but

4:56

they still got the same roster. Yeah. Well,

4:58

are you? So there's two ways to look at

5:01

that game, right? Are you looking at it like,

5:03

wow, the Warriors, they're going to be a problem

5:05

for the Rockets? Or are you looking at it

5:07

like they needed superhero performances from Jimmy and stuff

5:09

at home just to barely beat the Grizzlies? So

5:11

what are you looking at? I think the Grizzlies

5:13

are a good team. Yeah. I think, you know, the

5:15

Grizzlies are essentially the same team as what people

5:18

loved a couple of years ago. Yeah. At

5:20

the end of the day, they still have

5:22

those three. I mean, that's a hell of a

5:24

starting lineup when you jammer and it's well

5:26

balanced. It's a point guard, it's a shooting guard,

5:28

and it's a big. Kind of

5:30

just fill in the pieces with the rest

5:32

of the team they got there. You

5:34

got you know, some shooters canard Yeah, you

5:36

know, I like Aldama. Yeah, he's solid

5:38

I like, you know, even you know, Pippin

5:40

juniors the scrappy defender, you know, gives

5:42

you some energy there Do I think they're

5:44

a threat in any way now? So

5:48

I understand what you're what you're saying because

5:50

at the same time They thought a couple months

5:53

ago. They were like the two or three

5:55

seat in the west. So they're not too far

5:57

They're a high confidence team the fact that

5:59

if they end up If they do beat

6:01

Dallas, which, by the way, is going to be

6:03

a dog fight. Yeah. Is that a

6:05

dog fight that you're excited to watch? No.

6:10

But I will watch it though. Yeah,

6:12

of course. know, David and, you know,

6:14

John Morant, Bain, Jared Jackson, Anthony Davis,

6:16

Denwitte. And I know people who like Denwitte,

6:18

like, I respect Denwitte and some of those other guys,

6:20

especially with Kyrie out. You got a lot of opportunity

6:22

there for some of these guys that have big games.

6:24

They just, there's a lot of talented players

6:27

and, you know, It's kind of nice

6:29

watching a free -for -all team when you obviously

6:31

without they traded Luca You don't have

6:33

Kyrie obviously they're gonna play through AD They're

6:35

only gonna go as far as you

6:37

know, he takes them But yeah, there's got

6:39

to be a guard that steps up

6:41

each game It's kind of fun to watch

6:43

that as a guy who used to

6:45

be in those roles, you know I was

6:47

always a role -player what a star to

6:49

go down All of us would kind

6:51

of have a little bit more opportunity in

6:53

that game. And those are games were

6:55

fun. Someone would always step up for the

6:58

most part. So it'll be fun to

7:00

see that game. So Dallas Grizzlies, that

7:02

would be, you know, two teams that are

7:04

trying to prove something, right? Dallas, that trade,

7:06

that rock their season and they're all trying

7:08

to prove something. Yeah. Grizzlies fired their

7:10

coach a couple of weeks before the season ends. You

7:13

know, so it's just two teams fighting

7:15

to make this season worth something, right?

7:17

Yeah. I mean, and it's interesting. I

7:20

don't think in the history of the league how

7:22

we had two coaches be fired right before the

7:24

playoffs, both of them being playoff teams. I

7:26

don't think it's ever happened and

7:28

NBA history has two playoff teams

7:30

fired their coach right before the

7:33

playoffs started. Interesting

7:35

dynamic. I guess

7:37

we'll see kind of which team

7:39

is able to rally behind those decisions

7:41

because that could go either way.

7:44

A team like that either kind of

7:46

implodes, just due to lack of... Continuity

7:49

with a new head coach or

7:51

they rally behind the decision because

7:53

you know, maybe it was a

7:55

popular opinion amongst listen when a

7:57

coach gets fired right before the

7:59

playoffs It's internally it starts with

8:01

the players. Yeah That is not

8:03

a For an office decision That

8:05

is not a front office decision

8:07

a front office does not fire

8:09

a coach right before the playoffs.

8:11

It just doesn't happen a coach

8:13

only gets fired when internally a

8:15

player Has a problem and it has

8:17

to be a big one. I'm just telling

8:20

caller what it is and no one's

8:22

even I don't know why people are

8:24

talking about this Michael low getting fired

8:26

row. Yeah, I don't know what to

8:28

tell y 'all I'm not pointing fingers.

8:30

But like that's the only way of

8:32

that team a championship coach Brother that

8:34

only gets fired of some that certain

8:36

someone has a problem with what's going

8:38

on. I

8:40

Don't know what else to tell

8:42

you. Yeah, and same goes for

8:45

Memphis So

8:49

Sacramento loses to Dallas last night.

8:51

That game wasn't really close at

8:53

home. That was nasty. They fired

8:55

their GM. The

8:57

NBA is nuts right now. They couldn't wait

8:59

two weeks. Putting that team together with Zach.

9:03

What are they going to do the next two weeks with

9:05

the new GM? They couldn't have waited. They had to do

9:07

it right after the game. But also when you see the

9:09

Rosen and Levine together in Chicago and it's not working, why

9:11

are you bringing it to the West Coast? I

9:13

don't know. Get them out of here. Um,

9:18

actually no money. Um,

9:20

you know, Houston, uh,

9:22

he's a good dude.

9:24

Um, and

9:26

perhaps, you know, obviously when you're, when

9:29

you're fired, there's got to be some

9:31

self blame, but there's also a lot

9:33

of different sides to, to, to the

9:35

NBA. As I know, it's never just

9:37

a GM's fault or a president's fault

9:39

or a coach's fault or a player's

9:41

fault. It is a community. And

9:44

it takes a village to win a championship.

9:46

It starts at the top, but obviously, you

9:49

know, depending on which who that is, but

9:51

it's different for every organization, you know, at

9:53

the top in Miami, it's Pat Riley. You

9:56

know, at the top

9:59

in Denver, it's Nicole

10:01

Jokic. The power is

10:03

not the same on each team. It depends

10:05

on the organization. Up until this

10:07

year, obviously, my new is Illness. I don't

10:09

matter what player was there. The top

10:11

of the spurs is Popovich. There's a coach

10:13

that time. So we had one team, the

10:15

power was, was the president. One was the

10:17

coach. One was a gentleman. Every team's dynamic

10:19

is completely different. So when you have a

10:21

guy like Dirk who definitely during his

10:23

tenure, Mark, Mark Cuban was in power. He's

10:26

making the decisions. Tim Duncan, another

10:28

guy, we're talking about a top potentially five

10:30

player of all time, letting Popovich kind of

10:32

be the main power there. What

10:34

does that say when you have a star that

10:36

kind of lets that thing go? We talked about Steph

10:38

being a guy like that. He's very similar. These

10:40

are stars that have very little ego. These aren't like,

10:42

you know I'm saying? And as great as a

10:44

Michael is and a LeBron or a Kobe, those guys

10:46

are a little bit, you know, all these stars,

10:48

just, there's a little bit more there. There's guys like

10:50

Duncan and Dirk who are just like great and

10:52

just out the way. There's no problems. A Nikola Jokic

10:54

type guy. Although this

10:56

is a situation that's

10:58

different. Tim

11:01

Duncan had the same damn coach. You know, Dirk

11:03

had what, a few? Yeah. Yeah,

11:06

we had Avery Johnson, Avery Carlisle, but

11:08

the thing also is, you know, Tim Duncan

11:10

had the same coach because they're kept

11:13

winning. They won in the second year. You

11:15

know what I mean? They won every

11:17

year, man. Every year they win the playoffs.

11:19

winning every other year. Crazy that

11:21

the Spurs actually just didn't win back to back one time. That's

11:24

unique for a dynasty. Yeah. Yeah. But you're

11:26

getting back to the playing. So Sacramento, they

11:28

just have to gut the entire thing. I

11:30

don't know how you do it, but. Yeah,

11:32

they gotta start from scratch Crazy is a

11:34

couple of years ago. They were the three

11:36

seed they take the Warriors Yeah, yeah, you

11:39

know what man? Yeah, I have a concern

11:41

just for a variety of these teams Having

11:43

to start from scratch just just a lot

11:45

of them that might be Like I don't

11:47

know what Phoenix is gonna do. I don't

11:49

know where Atlanta is that really? Yeah, especially

11:51

after Trey because obviously they're decent now with

11:53

Trey What's trace off that team? They're really

11:55

restarting Yeah, but I like their pieces and

11:57

we talked about them Yeah, but those pieces

12:00

look good because Trey's playing. Have you seen

12:02

the Hawks play without Trey on it out

12:04

there? It's nasty. So Dyson, Daniels, Reese Hache

12:06

and Jalen Johnson. All good with Trey on

12:08

the floor because he teased them up. You

12:10

know how the whole offense, this guy touches

12:12

the ball every time. Without him out there,

12:14

I don't know what it looks like. Yeah.

12:17

So I don't know where Atlanta's going. I

12:20

don't know what the Wizards are doing. I

12:22

know. Again, I'm not questioning their front office.

12:24

I'm saying just the talent on their team

12:26

currently and like the dynamic of the direction.

12:28

I don't know where Sacramento is going. Right.

12:30

Some of these teams, man, I'm just telling you,

12:32

like, I don't know how competitive a lot of

12:34

these teams are going to be. Yeah. You know,

12:36

Charlotte is yet to kind of make jumps. You're

12:38

hopeful because you got Brandon Miller. You got Lamello.

12:41

You have a possible another top pick. The

12:45

good news is this draft is good. So

12:48

that could be the answer to a lot of these questions. It

12:50

looks like this draft and the next draft are going to be

12:52

good, just from what we've seen. But yeah, you're like, a

12:55

difference between next two years we'll have some stars, sure. Different

12:57

from some of these other teams and like Charlotte is you

12:59

get Cooper and all of a sudden you're looking at Charlotte

13:01

differently. We talked about him maybe being with Brandon Miller. And

13:03

then all of a sudden you pair Cooper up with the

13:05

Raptors and you look at their pieces. It just, you're almost

13:07

a pick away, right? I don't know what it looks like

13:09

on the Wizards. I know you said he shouldn't

13:11

go to DC and there was some people in the comments that were

13:13

like, come on, we're turning it around at the end of the

13:15

season. You know Let's

13:17

be honest if you go would

13:19

you okay, here's a great question Would

13:22

you rather see him go to

13:24

San Antonio or Philly? Cuz those are

13:26

two teams that could easily get

13:28

Cooper. I'm San Antonio. Yeah, that's just

13:30

a complete team right there That's

13:32

a dynasty. Good. God. Whatever you coach

13:34

want that Right it comes a

13:36

lot of a lot of especially in

13:38

today's NBA dynamic. It's a lot

13:40

of pressure to get that right but

13:44

Cooper and Victor on the same team was Castle

13:46

next to him and they're there and Fox

13:48

Fox is the point guard. I mean the good

13:50

God I don't know if there's a better

13:52

startup team. It's very similar to like a An

13:54

okay see no Dianne Fox isn't Shay, but

13:56

he's like the older guy who could be really

13:58

good right now obviously Shay continued just to

14:00

be better than we ever thought you remember I

14:02

think people need to remember a couple years

14:04

ago They were talking about trading him just because

14:06

he did his age didn't fit too old.

14:08

I think we didn't get rid of him, too

14:10

And that was definitely a thing. People could

14:12

say if they want to or not. People were

14:14

definitely talking about potentially Shay getting moved because

14:16

he didn't fit the age timeline. Yeah.

14:18

I remember people questioning is that's how young

14:20

NBA's got people are questioning at one point, you

14:22

know, if Shay met the dynamic or the

14:24

runtime of what they thought, Chad and Jalen and

14:26

all these other guys are going to be,

14:28

you know, hey, you know, he might be mid

14:30

twenties is too old. Like that's how crazy

14:32

it is. Obviously that decision now sounds silly. Well,

14:34

I think them getting the one seed obviously

14:36

makes that silly. Pretend that you okay see last

14:38

year and this year we're hovering around I'm

14:40

becoming an MVP also makes it. Yeah. I imagine

14:42

if they were hovering around like the five

14:44

or six, they might be like, Hey, listen, we

14:46

have these young guys. Let's let them get

14:48

the chance and get him out of the way.

14:50

I think he became so prolific. That's

14:53

a guy that took hold. I think Presti was

14:55

like, this is a guy that just, just

14:57

to get behind. Fuck the dynamics,

14:59

the timetables. We have a

15:01

possible best guard in the league where he's going

15:03

to be here as whole damn crew. We're just

15:05

going to follow. Right. Let's just, Steph's 36, man.

15:07

And he's still, they're still trying to compete for

15:10

championships. Let's get behind this guy.

15:12

Yeah. And let's just ride this wave and let's put,

15:14

we have all these picks and talent. We're just going

15:16

to surround him with talent. He's fucking mid

15:18

-20s. We've got a 10 -year run with this dude.

15:20

Shay. And the way Shay plays too, he doesn't

15:22

fall hard to the ground. He's very in control,

15:24

plays on both his feet, one foot, very,

15:26

you know, use his footwork to slow

15:29

down around the basket, plays most games,

15:31

doesn't hurt a lot, very athletic and

15:33

why are he strong? Shay

15:35

is going to be good for how

15:37

does he? He's 26. He's got like

15:39

eight years left of like elite basketball.

15:41

Yeah eight years Maybe more because that's

15:43

34. He might have nine Shit James

15:45

Harden still out there cooking. I don't

15:48

know what to make of it because

15:50

some guys fall off a cliff and

15:52

then some guys like Chris Paul played

15:54

82 games this year. I would never

15:56

What I could I can only go

15:58

off of what I've seen yeah, and

16:00

his NBA career so far that guy's

16:02

on the floor Yeah. And he's athletic

16:04

and he's strong and he's, and he's

16:07

durable. Yeah. Okay.

16:09

So he has a nine year run with this dude

16:11

as a top player. I don't think we've ever seen

16:13

a team be this good with a, has good of

16:15

a future. They still have. They still

16:17

have like 15 picks. They don't

16:19

know what to do with them. Pasha, they know.

16:21

They need an expansion draft and they need to

16:23

get some of these guys on a different team.

16:25

We need to get an O .K .C .B. team. .K

16:29

.C. Blue. O .K .C. Blue. And then there are

16:31

other top picks going that team. So they

16:33

can just homegrown. need Kason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins

16:35

and these guys to go get some runs

16:37

somewhere else. Those guys would play 30 minutes

16:39

on most teams. Yeah. You know I mean? Wiggins

16:41

on a lot of teams. Imagine Wiggins just

16:43

running around with the Warriors. Yeah, it's crazy. Adding

16:46

a shooter to that team. I do want

16:48

to talk about them. The

16:50

dynamic in them playing

16:52

against Houston. A

16:55

few times, you

16:57

know, you'll see a really

16:59

good team having really average season

17:01

due to a variety of

17:03

reasons. Obviously, they got Butler late,

17:05

blah, blah, blah. Rarely

17:08

do you see like a sixth seed, seventh

17:10

seed, eighth seed, be favored over one of

17:12

those top seeds. This is one of those

17:14

situations where even though Houston has had a

17:16

great year, you kind

17:19

of do... This is one of those series, if

17:21

you are a betting man, you don't bet on.

17:23

Like, you don't know who's gonna win this. Right.

17:25

Because OKC's... I'm sorry, if Houston wins, it's a

17:27

team that you would be... Well, they are second

17:29

seed. Yeah. Makes sense. But if they lose, then

17:31

you're going to be like, oh, they play the

17:33

Warriors or Stephanie those guys. It's like, so I

17:35

don't know which way to take it. So they

17:37

are, they are, they are deeper. I compared to

17:39

when the Kings played the Warriors first round, we

17:41

talked about a couple of years ago with, and

17:43

then the Warriors won and we were like, we

17:45

should have known that, right? The Warriors have all

17:47

the experience, the Kings now, but this King, the

17:49

Kings versus this Rockets team, the difference is this

17:51

Rockets team has a lot of dogs. And anyone

17:53

I've talked to that plays against the Rockets this

17:55

year, like a couple of our friends that are

17:57

in there, they're like, these guys are athletic. They

17:59

hide Shingoon well in defense and they just throw

18:01

a lot of bodies at you. Ah,

18:03

Amon Thompson is a, all defensive first team

18:06

or second team guy. Tari Eason, these

18:08

guys, Dylan Brooks obviously is going to go out

18:10

there like a, he's going to go, not

18:12

going to back down against anybody. Challenges LeBron every

18:14

time they play each other. This team is

18:16

different than that Kings vs. Warriors series. And that's

18:18

the only thing. If, if stuff's actually dealing

18:20

with an injury and Jimmy's, if, I don't know

18:22

if he's going to be playoff Jimmy every

18:24

single game, those two guys are going to have

18:26

to be unbelievable, I think. Four times from

18:28

the win. Yeah, you know, that's that's the thing.

18:30

The depth for the Warriors is just not

18:32

it. They I love the core of their team,

18:35

right? You got Draymond, you got Steph, you

18:37

got Jimmy. And

18:41

I like Moody and I like Pajemski

18:44

solid and then they're big, Looney. That's

18:46

that's the team because Kaminga has.

18:49

Yeah, she's just out. Right. And then you

18:51

saw him get the workout in after the game the other

18:53

day, which is always a thing where it's good to see a

18:55

guy work, but like. When you do that, it's

18:58

like, kid with the facility, and

19:00

no one would have known about it. When you do

19:02

it out there, it's letting everybody know, like, I didn't play

19:04

tonight, I'm working out. You know what I'm saying? I'm

19:06

not saying that's why he did it. I'm just saying that's

19:08

why it was a story. There's a reason why I

19:10

know, down here in Miami, that

19:12

Camino worked out after the game, because everyone

19:15

was like, man, he's working out, he didn't play

19:17

tonight. It's a

19:19

thing. So he's... He's

19:22

too good of a player and too talented

19:24

of a player to not be frustrated right

19:26

now He has to be professional in this

19:28

point because like you know you're out this

19:30

summer Jonathan either you're gonna ask for the

19:32

completely shattered his trade value and talk about

19:34

a guy whose trade value in the last

19:36

few years has gone up It's been a

19:38

wave of it started out high a little

19:40

bit because people were you know You'd see

19:43

these flashes of stuff, right? Then it went

19:45

down because people questioned whether he could play

19:47

Then he starts playing a lot more and

19:49

just dunking and doing these plays off of

19:51

these 20 point games and people like Max,

19:53

he's going to be a max player. Oh,

19:55

they're going to build around him and they're

19:57

going to trade clay and build around coming

19:59

instead. I mean, this is what people were

20:01

saying at one point. Like he was going

20:04

to be one of the future faces other

20:06

go to future. They got, they got, they

20:08

got a pool and, and, and Kaminga. You

20:10

know me like that was the big thing

20:12

when they won the title right there pull

20:14

cominga moody Weisman. I was like buddy this

20:16

replenish the whole they're okay. See now That's

20:18

what people were like kind of thinking and

20:20

then it's obviously gone the way it's gone

20:22

the whole dream on thing and everything happened

20:25

now pulls at the seed crazy Weisman didn't

20:27

work out. Yeah, and then obviously like cominga's

20:29

a guy that just Now, they're

20:31

back off. Don't you feel like you wish they would

20:33

have threw him in the Jimmy Butler trade? So

20:35

you could least be in Miami right now and see

20:37

what we can do with the whole culture thing

20:39

and stuff. It would be fantastic to see Kaminga in

20:41

Miami. Right. He would probably... The fact that they

20:43

got Butler without giving up Kaminga was already something crazy.

20:46

Just a crazy trade. That's the way

20:48

people are really mad that... The Lakers

20:50

got Luca without giving up Austin Reeves.

20:52

That's that's the thing. It's just like,

20:54

you know, we're going to get him

20:56

up. We have to get we have

20:58

to. And the Lakers wouldn't have said

21:00

no. Right. It's like when, for instance,

21:02

people always give the net shit. Yeah.

21:04

But they got Bridges. What's

21:06

his name? Cam Johnson. Cam Johnson. They

21:10

got picks, right? Yeah. I mean, they

21:12

reached, remember, they lost a lot with the

21:14

the Pierce. That set them

21:16

back. The Pierce, the Garnett, all that stuff,

21:18

because they traded their whole future for that.

21:20

Then they did it again with James Harden

21:22

and Kyrie and KD. They didn't have any

21:24

future. So they had KD, they

21:26

got hit, and they got a whole thing back. You

21:28

know what I'm saying? Like, Brooklyn's going to be back

21:30

in these lotteries now. They're going to get players, and

21:32

they're going to start to rebuild. Like, that's going to

21:34

happen. Right. I mean, they're in the Cooper Flyers. And

21:37

that's what like. If you go and trade at KD,

21:39

if you go and trade at Luca, well, we got

21:41

to get a gang. We gotta get a

21:43

gang. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, we

21:45

have to... What are we talking about here? Well,

21:47

that's why we knew that the Butler deal was

21:49

a good one, because you're essentially just adding this

21:51

guy, and Steph needs a guy like that, right?

21:53

Like a second option. And you didn't give up.

21:55

Yeah. But you pretty much got him for free.

21:57

Then you signed him to that amazing two -year

21:59

extension, which was great for both sides, I thought.

22:01

So the whole thing made sense. Then they won

22:03

20 of their next 21 games or something crazy. What

22:06

did he get? What was his extension? I

22:08

think it was two years, 120. So you got

22:10

Max... Yeah, so he had the max money,

22:12

but it wasn't for the four. Well, he looked

22:14

like he was worth it last night Yeah,

22:16

or the other night when he was incredible. So

22:18

do you have official prediction for that Warriors

22:20

Rockets? Man, bro,

22:22

it's so tough dog. I It's so

22:24

tough just because I don't know who to

22:26

pick on that I I love the

22:28

Warriors experience. It's tough to see Dreymon Jimmy

22:31

and Steph losing first round especially to

22:33

a young team I do believe the game's

22:35

gonna slow down because that's the way

22:37

the playoffs is. Everything slows down. You have

22:39

to execute. Remember, you know everyone's plays.

22:41

You're gonna play these guys, you know, five,

22:43

six, seven times. By game two

22:45

or three, you know every fucking set. Hell, you're

22:47

supposed to know game one. Going into it, you

22:50

study, you prepare, you have weeks, you know, a

22:52

week or so to, you know, just game plan

22:54

on this team. Yeah. It

22:56

becomes an execution thing. And

22:58

we're talking about a team who

23:00

executes very well in the

23:02

playoffs. The Warriors, the whole thing's

23:04

predicated on it. Versa team

23:06

who hasn't been there before So

23:08

that makes you just be

23:10

like I don't know about that

23:12

one on the flip side

23:15

The Houston Rockets are way deeper

23:17

way more athletic and defend

23:19

at a level with a variety

23:21

of guys. Yeah, I Worry

23:23

about the Warriors depth outside of

23:25

their big three Like

23:28

Looney is a big he's always

23:30

been serviceable people always play him

23:32

but he's always held it down

23:34

and held his own in a

23:36

playoff series He's just gonna be

23:38

solid. You like Looney. He's a

23:40

proven vet, too Outside of that

23:42

man, it's just moody in in

23:44

Pajemski. They got two guys They

23:46

don't play anybody else They play

23:48

like the Gary Payton he's solid

23:50

too. That's true paying a third

23:52

But it's tough man Houston's got

23:55

Right a gang of players part of me

23:57

thinks okay. I'm gonna go the Warriors.

23:59

So you need to pick I'll get I

24:01

got the Warriors in I Got the

24:04

Warriors in seven like so stuff going into

24:06

Houston and doing it again. Yeah, yeah

24:08

Part of me part of me thinks You

24:10

know are the are these young rocket

24:12

perimeter defenders gonna age these Warriors guys But

24:14

then you think they're gonna have like

24:16

two or three days between each game too,

24:18

right? So I mean you've been in

24:20

playoffs series. How much does that help? It

24:22

helps a lot. It gives you two

24:24

days of recovery. Not

24:26

to mention, man, like, I

24:28

think Steph, Jimmy and Dre also are

24:30

like, they've said it even in interviews. Like,

24:34

bro, this is it, man. We got like

24:36

two, three more years, and this is it for

24:38

us. At that point, like this father time

24:40

defeats all and these guys are getting so athletic

24:42

and talented and we're getting older. It's just

24:44

harder and harder to compete and keep up with

24:46

these dudes consistently. And

24:49

they're all in their mid -30s. This is it.

24:51

You know what I mean? They're not going

24:53

to win when they're all at 40. You know,

24:55

LeBron's a unicorn, but outside of that, you

24:57

know, these guys are, and Steph's going to age

24:59

beautifully too. Just he could shoot. That'll never

25:01

fade. I think it's a

25:03

matter of him wanting to walk away

25:05

from the game. So I

25:07

do think there's an awareness in that locker

25:10

room. So I

25:12

just think the desperation, the

25:14

experience. It's hard for me to

25:16

bet against Steph and Jimmy on the same team. We haven't

25:18

seen it yet in the playoffs, but for what I've seen

25:20

in big games, it looks good. And

25:22

I just believe the playoffs will slow down and it'll

25:25

become an execution and experience thing. And it's hard for

25:27

me to see the Warriors losing around world. Do you

25:29

think it kind of worked out for them, you know,

25:31

losing to the Clippers at the end of the season

25:33

and not having to play the Lakers in the 3

25:35

-6? For sure. I think this the best case scenario.

25:37

They get to play a young team. I think they

25:39

could feel like they could beat and have the advantage

25:41

against. Right. Playing against the Lakers are almost playing themselves.

25:43

We're playing like an older experience team, but, you know,

25:45

Luke is still young and spry. That

25:47

would be a battle too. I think they

25:49

would prefer this. What you think

25:51

about the Warriors small ball versus the Rockets?

25:53

How they they'll play Steven Adams together with

25:56

Shingoon and they're going to try to be

25:58

a lot bigger Jabari. Yeah, it'll be interesting

26:00

to see. Yeah, because, you know, that's the

26:02

Warriors do lack size. Dramon always like figures

26:04

out a way to handle it. But, you

26:06

know, I don't know, man. There's

26:08

a lot of aspects to that series that

26:10

are interesting. It's also be like, man, Steph,

26:12

dog, you are going to have five different

26:14

guys guarding you at one point. I mean,

26:17

they have a fleet of defenders. Obviously, Thompson's

26:19

going to get the assignment, right? He's going

26:21

to be chasing the majority the game. That's

26:23

already hard enough. Then when he's not

26:25

on you, they'll probably have Tori Easton on you, or

26:27

they'll throw a Dillon Brooks on you to be

26:29

physical. Yeah. Yeah. They just, they

26:31

have Jabari can slide his

26:33

feet. They're all long. They're all

26:35

athletic. And EMA teams

26:38

are from what we've seen are built

26:40

off of defense. You know I

26:42

mean? Like so it'll be the Dylan

26:44

Brooks -Dremont show I'm telling you right

26:46

now is about to start the

26:48

only reason I don't think Dylan's gonna

26:50

do that bully shit You know

26:52

how Dylan like always he loves doing

26:54

it with LeBron and some of

26:56

these guys I don't

26:58

think he does that with Jimmy. Jimmy has like

27:00

a different type of bully factor. And so

27:02

does Draymond. They really like mentally verbally will just

27:04

abuse somebody in a game. I've seen it.

27:06

And I just, I think they would just. I

27:09

know Dylan's a strong mental guy, but in

27:11

a game, it would get weird out there.

27:13

There's so many things to think about, like

27:15

so many different aspects. For example, Yudoka

27:17

playing against the Warriors a couple of years ago

27:19

in the finals when he was the coach of the

27:22

Celtics. This is maybe his revenge, right? Stephen Adams has

27:24

played against this Warriors team a bunch. So

27:26

there are so many aspects. I want to ask

27:28

you, are you more excited about this series or

27:30

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27:32

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I told you so Oh,

28:37

like your turn was is gonna be a

28:39

show Luca and Ant back at it again.

28:41

It's like Jesus. This is what we get

28:43

first round. We got I got Luca this

28:45

is where I left off I gonna play

28:48

in Luca and Kyrie is Luca and LeBron

28:50

Go baron guys got flashbacks No, you know

28:52

listen There's a lot of different aspects of

28:54

that as well Julius playing against his former

28:56

team. Yeah playing against the Lakers nonetheless They

28:58

have a lot to prove especially after the

29:00

Carl trade it seemed like you know Carl

29:02

went on to have a great year and

29:04

the Knicks are top seed in the East

29:06

and everybody kind of shitted on the Timberwolves,

29:08

you know, even ourselves, you know,

29:10

we were hard on them. I mean, we're

29:12

just reporting what we saw. They've taken a huge

29:14

drop off. I mean, they, um, they

29:17

had to squeeze in the playoffs here,

29:19

you know, to avoid the playing. That's a

29:21

team that went to the conference finals

29:23

last year. So obviously that Carl Trey kind

29:25

of set them back, but since All -Star,

29:27

you started to see this team really

29:29

kind of form. and Julius and Ann really

29:31

started to form like a chemistry, play

29:33

some decent basketball, figured out spacing where each

29:35

other's spots are, what not to get

29:37

out, you know, get out each other's way.

29:39

I think they both did a better

29:41

job being more decisive with the ball. You

29:44

know, Ann is so, you know, he's

29:46

playing with precision right now. Comes off

29:48

1 -2 dribble, gets to a shot. Everything

29:50

is precise, no waste of movement. Before

29:54

there's a lot of holding the ball. Everyone knows

29:56

Julius can score. He's a great player, but he'll get

29:58

the ball and hold it for like 10 seconds

30:00

score. Sometimes it could be draining to play with. These

30:02

are all areas I think they both have improved for

30:04

the betterment of the team. And you can start to see

30:06

a little bit more function and fluidity. So

30:08

it'll be interesting. Does Andy to be the

30:10

best player in the series for them to win?

30:12

He has to dominate because Luca and... are

30:14

going to pick them apart in the pick and

30:16

roll with Rudy. This is going to be

30:18

a weird series. I'm telling you right now because

30:20

Rudy's a, you know, a max player. He's

30:22

the guy that's very vocal when he doesn't finish

30:24

games, as we've seen. And rightfully so, he's

30:26

a Hall of Fame basketball player, one of the

30:28

greatest defensive bigs in the history the game.

30:30

You could have your opinions about that, but stats

30:32

don't lie. It'll

30:35

be weird because they are going to have him

30:37

in the pick and roll constantly. Like they did

30:39

last playoffs and that's why it was very hard

30:41

for them. They had Carl and him out there

30:43

in the drop. Luca just coming down LeBron. Oh

30:46

my goodness. I mean, you have two of the

30:48

best playmakers in the world on the same

30:50

team. Yeah. Austin Reeves,

30:53

Gabe Vincent, all these

30:55

guys, Finney Smith,

30:58

these guys have to hit shots. If

31:01

they shoot well, the series

31:03

will be, it'll be a dominant. It'll be the Lakers

31:05

in six. Dallas, I'm

31:07

sorry, Minnesota is just too talented of a

31:09

team. An answer is too good. They don't

31:11

get a couple games. This series will

31:13

go seven or six Lakers way if those

31:15

guys can hit shots other than Luca and LeBron.

31:17

Obviously, they have to be fantastic, but you

31:19

know they will. Yeah. If the other guys can

31:21

hit shots with the way they're going to

31:23

pick and, oh man, pick and roll, pick and

31:26

pop, everything. They're going to try to get

31:28

Rudy on islands. They're going to try to catch

31:30

them in drops. So,

31:33

you know, Nasred is a guy that might have to

31:35

play big minutes here because they're going to have Linus where

31:37

they're going to try to switch one through five to

31:39

kill the whole role in the backside, moving on the backside.

31:42

That's going to be a real thing. They're going

31:44

to try to switch Nas on these guys,

31:46

the slightest feet. You know I mean? And the

31:48

Lakers throw some interesting looks. You know, Luca,

31:50

LeBron, Rui and Dorian Finney -Smith, none of them

31:52

are really, really tall, but they're all pretty big

31:54

guys. So the Lakers is just

31:56

a really hard team to match up for a guy

31:58

like Rui. It is interesting to see how he's going

32:00

to play or what, you know, if he finishes games

32:02

and things like that. But you're 100

32:04

% is picking the Lakers then. So then that

32:06

makes it seem like this series is for you,

32:08

the Warriors Rockets is a little more of a

32:10

toss up. Yeah. And the Lakers, Timberwolves, you're just

32:12

kind of going all Lakers. Yeah.

32:15

I, um, uh,

32:17

it is a toss up. I'm going to go with the

32:20

Warriors. And for this

32:22

series, um, I'm

32:24

going to Lakers. Yeah. Yeah. I don't, I

32:26

don't think LeBron, James, and Luca lose. So you're

32:28

thinking the NBA is going to get exactly

32:30

what they want is Steph and LeBron in the

32:32

second round. Yeah, I do. And I also

32:34

think, in belief, this

32:36

will be a good

32:38

lesson in showing that these

32:40

young teams are very

32:42

talented. But my god, have

32:44

we pushed out so

32:47

many good older players. Because

32:49

these guys will go beat you. And

32:51

it just shows, even with all these young teams that

32:53

are having success, a lot of it is due to the

32:55

fact that they went and grabbed some vets to show

32:57

them how to play. Houston's a better team. Yes, of course.

32:59

First and foremost, they have young talent. Great.

33:02

We know that. But they have good

33:04

vets You know, I mean Van Fleet Dylan Brooks.

33:06

These are guys who have been in the

33:08

NBA for a while. Yeah, you know how to

33:10

play basketball Jeff Green who doesn't play a

33:12

lot but has been in the NBA for damn

33:14

near 20 years himself Yeah, Steven Adams also

33:16

Steven Adams and vet like these are guys who

33:18

have had you know tons of experiences in

33:20

the NBA have been in the playoffs have been

33:22

in battle seen moments highs lows You know,

33:25

they've seen everything that helps, you know, I mean,

33:27

it's like coaches on the floor I think

33:29

where these young teams see the biggest benefit having

33:31

vets on their team is the emotional state

33:33

of the team. Like managing emotions. Managing emotions. I

33:35

think the older players help these young guys

33:37

navigate their emotions throughout a game. Never too high,

33:39

never too low, going on a run. All

33:41

right, let's settle in. Let's say you got too

33:43

much time in the game. We got to

33:45

lock in. Or, hey, man, we're getting sloppy. You

33:47

know, whatever the case may be, they're

33:50

able to help navigate a team. That's

33:52

why you see the Pacers. They

33:54

have a lot of young talent, but you have

33:56

Pascal, a good vet. He was a good player. You

33:58

have James Johnson on the bench. You have all

34:00

these guys, they sprinkling on the team because... help these

34:02

guys emotionally. There's so many different

34:04

layers to having these vets. And

34:06

it's hard to bet against them as one.

34:08

So you're asking me who I have, the Warriors

34:10

or the Rockets. I'm going Warriors, the Lakers

34:12

of Minnesota. I'm going Lakers. By

34:14

the way, Minnesota has vets too, just to

34:16

be clear. Michael Connelly, Gobert, you know, Julius Randall,

34:19

hell. These guys have been in the league

34:21

for a while. So a lot of experience there,

34:23

but yeah, I'm going with... That's a great

34:25

point you make too, because it's not even in

34:27

-game managing the emotions. But even after a loss,

34:29

you've told me before, a loss in the

34:31

playoffs was like you lost for a week. Each

34:33

loss, the gravity is so much more. So you have to

34:35

be able to bounce back. And that's a

34:37

big thing. I just feel like, yeah, if the Rockets

34:39

lose game one of the Warriors in Houston, how do

34:41

you not implode? You're probably going to think, oh my

34:43

gosh, they're doing it. You know, Steph's doing it again.

34:45

So you got to be able to bounce back and

34:48

win that game. Now that vet

34:50

versus youth thing, we saw that last

34:52

night when Miami just blew out. the Bulls

34:54

in Chicago, right? That was Young vs.

34:56

Old right there. And in hindsight,

34:58

it's like, okay, obviously Miami was going to win that game.

35:00

It's easy to say now, even though the Bulls have been

35:02

hot. If you're the Cavs, who

35:04

would you rather play, Atlanta or Miami?

35:09

Atlanta. The

35:11

way Cleveland... Even though Trey Young does that

35:13

thing in the playoffs where he's good

35:15

for a win or he's... Cleveland has, again,

35:17

a lot of defense and they got

35:19

multiple guys that they'll throw at him and

35:22

the bigs that they have. and

35:24

the size they have at the rim, you

35:27

know, I would take Atlanta. Miami

35:29

is one of those teams. You just don't

35:31

want to get down there. First

35:33

off, I don't want my players down in Miami. I

35:36

don't want it. They

35:38

play way above their status. here right now. I get

35:40

it. get what you're saying. I don't want my players

35:42

here. I don't also like, there's something to that team

35:44

in the playoffs and they'd like just start playing a

35:46

different brand of basketball. It's like, I don't know what

35:48

it is, but you know what I'm talking about. Spoke

35:51

gets to there and starts getting to that pen and

35:53

starts, I don't want those problems. Take our

35:55

ass down to Atlanta, settle in.

35:57

You know, all of a sudden, Bam is Olympic

35:59

Bam and Tyler Hero's... Mind you, this is an

36:01

Atlanta team that was hit... Now, if you asked

36:03

me six months ago on that Atlanta team, I

36:05

would say Miami. But you don't have James Johnson

36:07

out there. I'm sorry, Jalen Johnson. You don't have

36:09

Jalen Johnson out there. He's hurt. Because

36:12

Jalen Johnson got hurt, you then traded Bogdanovich

36:14

and... What's it called? Yondra Hunter. Hunter, a

36:16

guy that they're probably gonna have to play

36:18

against. Like, that's... They don't have the depth

36:20

for it. They, yeah, Trey's good. He's scary,

36:22

but now with all those weapons, they're scarier

36:24

with the team that's currently construct, but like

36:26

they got pretty much your ass with. versus

36:28

a magic team that's already depleted. By the

36:30

way, can I tell you something about that

36:33

game? So I went to that game, took

36:35

my mom, she doesn't really follow basketball. You

36:37

know what she said? Cole Anthony

36:39

is the first Ballad Hall of Famer. She was

36:41

shocked. This guy's unbelievable. He has these games

36:43

where he'll just play like that. And it's just

36:45

like... Yes. I have to explain it. Like

36:47

sometimes that doesn't happen where he just comes into

36:49

the game and does it. But man, when

36:51

he was hot, he gets in the zone where

36:53

there's players like that. He's very talented. I

36:55

play pick up with him all summer. So he's

36:57

out there. I've seen pick up guys are

36:59

extra free. Yeah. So you really got to see,

37:01

I got to see how talented he was.

37:03

was like, man, this guy's figures out ways to

37:05

score and he's so athletic. Yeah.

37:08

Big game for him. Magic earn,

37:10

you know, listen, uh, they

37:12

have a good year just for getting to the playoffs,

37:14

despite all the injuries, everything they've gone through, the fact

37:16

that they are where they are, you get to go

37:18

against the Boston team. Just go compete. Everyone thinks you're

37:20

going to lose. You have nothing to lose. You're playing

37:22

with free money. Uh, two key

37:24

players are out. Just go,

37:26

let's go have some fun and see what happens. See if we can

37:28

get a game or two and make it more interesting. Who

37:31

knows it's funny because magic fans have always

37:33

compared Powell and France so hopefully they become

37:35

the Tatum and Brown they went sucks He

37:37

might be like drew holiday type in there

37:39

like well we have like the Boston blueprint

37:41

So it's funny that they're gonna, you know

37:43

play each other and you're gonna see firsthand

37:45

the real blue Magic fans were chanting we

37:47

want Boston at the end of that game,

37:49

which I just you know listen obviously Slow

37:52

down The fact that they were chanting

37:54

that I remember that I was like on

37:56

TV I go I know they're not

37:58

saying what I think there's why are the

38:00

people all year just giving Boston more

38:02

and more like incentive and motivation It's so

38:04

funny just benching Tatum not picking Brown

38:06

in the Olympic team all of these things

38:08

like do we need to already Entice

38:11

this team that's already really good, but they

38:13

have every reason to want to win

38:15

again. If they win again, it'll be like,

38:17

oh, okay They are there. Yeah,

38:19

we had you don't listen. We got to

38:21

see it twice because you don't happen. We've

38:23

done this before we kind of crown Denver

38:25

They're gonna you got to earn it. All

38:27

right. Let's stop giving like them the spurs

38:29

They didn't even repeat but still Fucking warriors

38:31

Lakers treatment like oh, they're gonna repeat. Let's

38:33

see you do it first and then we

38:35

can start to give you I guarantee you

38:38

Boston ones again. It's gonna flip They're gonna

38:40

give there. They'll be the team with I

38:42

think Tatum especially they have a tough road

38:44

last year. I think they're Such

38:46

it was such an easier road first

38:48

round bro with no with no sucks. No

38:50

Wagner We're talking that second round against

38:52

the Knicks. I think that would be second

38:54

round would be a dog fight for

38:56

sure And that's the series that good guy.

38:58

Let's take us on the floor and

39:00

the MSG are gonna be Yeah, Boston Knicks

39:02

30 30 a pop. Yeah, and you

39:04

could I mean I don't we're jumping ahead

39:06

a little bit because the next stop

39:08

to be Detroit By the way,

39:10

which will be a great series. I think they'll

39:12

win, but it'll be good. When you got

39:14

Bridges and OG going against Tatum and Bragg, they

39:16

have some bodies to throw. I do think

39:18

it would be a fun series. For

39:21

them to beat them, Kade would have to be

39:23

supersonic though. Like Kade would have to average 32.

39:25

And that's 30 points a game in a playoff

39:27

series when the defense is harder and they're not

39:29

calling as many fouls and the game slows down.

39:31

Instead of, that's a, I mean, you got to

39:34

really just on some Lucas type shit where you're

39:36

just taking over a series. You

39:38

got to see it LeBron Steph. He has to

39:40

go that type of level for him to beat

39:42

a team that is better than his. You know,

39:44

and again, I love the Pissons. The Knicks

39:46

are a better team. They just have four or five

39:48

guys that can go for a big game. Pissons

39:51

are Cade and then he has some good roleplayers

39:53

around him. So it's just like, it's

39:55

not really even fair. I don't to say

39:57

it's 401 because I don't want to do a disservice to his

39:59

Pissons teammates, but you know what I'm saying. You

40:02

got an OG. You got a Brunson. You

40:04

got a Carl Towns. You got McHale Bridges. You

40:06

know, it's like really Cade and then he

40:08

has just some shooters around him. Yeah. So for

40:10

them to even be competitive, let alone win,

40:12

he's gonna have to be like putting in work

40:14

and not to mention he gonna have OG

40:16

on him. Josh Hart, who I didn't even

40:18

name. Just a gang of

40:20

guys who can defend. Just guard him.

40:22

All get bridges can guard. You

40:24

know saying? These guys, we talk about vets

40:26

first and experience and the Knicks have been

40:28

there. Yeah, Knicks have been there. By the

40:30

way, the Kate hasn't yet. Now we've been

40:32

thrown around championship with them all year. I

40:34

mean, they feel like, yo, we're competing for

40:36

one. Yeah. So, yeah, they're not first round.

40:38

Nick's ain't, I got the nicks in that

40:40

one. Man, if you do get Nick Celtics

40:42

in the second round, you get Warriors Lakers

40:45

in the second round. You get O .K .C.

40:47

and Nuggets or Clippers in the second I

40:49

mean, this second round could be one of

40:51

the best second rounds in a long time.

40:53

Yeah, playoffs are gearing up to be even

40:55

first round, very competitive matchups. I

40:57

mean, obviously we're very excited. The play -in has already

40:59

shown us that the Warriors, you know, they're

41:01

just going to be a lot of fun watching it as

41:03

long as steps out there. There's nothing else. He

41:06

is the greatest show. in basketball

41:08

and it's not close. He

41:10

always has been. So

41:12

take that for whatever it's worth. LeBron

41:14

James obviously a better

41:16

player. We're talking about LeBron. The

41:19

show has never been greater than stuff. Shooting

41:21

the ball the way he does, the pump fake, the

41:23

pump fake, the pump fake side. I mean, bro, when he

41:26

shoots you're just like, it's going in. And that's when

41:28

we talk about the Rockets have a lot of bodies to

41:30

throw at him. But if stuff's in that zone, it

41:32

doesn't really matter. It doesn't matter who's guarding him. He's seen

41:34

it all, man. He's been guarded by everybody. Yeah. All

41:36

right. Come on. This dude don't give a shit. He's shouted

41:38

over two people with Katie and LeBron open next to

41:40

him. I think he gives a damn about who's guarding him

41:42

on the Rockets. Just think about it. Like, he don't

41:44

give a shit about it. They don't see none of that.

41:46

Yeah. In his mind, he's like, bro, the greatest player

41:48

I've ever played. I'll talk about one guy in the Rockets.

41:51

Oh, they got a handful of guys. Bring

41:53

them on. You know what I'm saying? Like, that's all those guys

41:55

think. God, I'm watching this

41:57

game. I'm like, bro, this dude just, I

41:59

could watch him another 30 years play. Yeah.

42:01

I know that it's not going to

42:03

happen. We'll be lucky to get five. Not

42:06

because he can't play longer, but

42:08

just because you know, I think that

42:10

point step on his back. I'm

42:12

good It's the greatest show on earth

42:14

man just watching this guy run

42:16

around throw these threes up how good

42:18

of a shooter he is man

42:20

How pretty his jump shot looks when

42:22

he goes to the free throw

42:24

line watching him shoot never miss. He's

42:26

at like 94 % Fucker just doesn't

42:28

miss. He is the model of

42:30

precision Right, man, and if you if

42:32

you're Since we're covering all

42:34

the series and we haven't talked about

42:37

yet today, Pacers and Bucks, if you're the

42:39

Caps, who would you rather play? That

42:41

one -man show of Giannis or like a Pacers

42:43

team that did it last year, kind

42:45

of do it by committee. If you're the

42:47

Caps, would you have an easier time containing

42:49

Giannis or that Pacers kind of running gun offense?

42:53

I think the Pacers are running gun offense. Without

42:55

Damon and Bobby, they're just going to try to

42:57

build as many walls as they can. Yeah. And

42:59

it's going to be tough. They're

43:02

just missing a lot of scoring man. Bobby

43:04

and name provide like 30 40 points Yeah,

43:06

it's a lot, you know off the board

43:08

Pacers are gonna be running and gunning and

43:10

they got a lot of everyone's healthy and

43:12

They also kind of have a mental edge

43:14

of the team already, you know, they already

43:16

beat that team when the bucks are fully

43:18

handed. It's a competitive without Second and third

43:20

best player in the team playing Yeah, I

43:22

don't know And we talked about this yesterday

43:24

that the calves, you know, they earned it,

43:27

right? They had this unbelievable season. They might

43:29

play, you know, the heat or the Hawks

43:31

in the first round, second round, they might

43:33

go against the Pacers or Bucks. And then

43:35

they're in the final four of the NBA.

43:37

They're in the conference finals. While

43:39

the Knicks and Celtics potentially might

43:41

beat each other up, the calves

43:43

might be coasting to the conference finals.

43:45

So, I don't know, man, it's

43:47

going to be really interesting. You know what I

43:49

was thinking about when I was, you know, we

43:51

watched that game, Mavericks Kings last night, we were

43:53

robbed. of the Spurs being there. That could have

43:56

been Wemby right there with the Aaron Fox. And

43:58

then they could have ended up playing OKC in the first

44:00

round and we were really robbed right there. That's

44:05

perfect scenario though. That's best case

44:07

scenario. But I like what we listen

44:09

this year, what we have, these

44:11

lineups, these teams. Man,

44:16

I'm just so ready for real basketball, I

44:18

guess. I'm excited about

44:20

the goddamn... plays Denver

44:22

and Grizzlies? It's

44:24

just meaningful basketball is the best. This is the

44:26

best time of the year for basketball fans. Fans

44:29

really get into it, get engaged. So,

44:31

you know, I'm really excited. Yeah.

44:33

Let me ask you, we haven't covered

44:35

this award yet. We've covered the

44:37

other ones, MVP, six man, all that

44:39

stuff. Coach of the year, we know

44:41

the candidates. Are you looking

44:43

at Kenny Atkinson? Are you looking at JB Bigger stuff? Are

44:46

you looking at Yudoka who has the rocket to the

44:48

two -seat no one thought? Kenny

44:50

Atkinson should win coach of the year.

44:52

Yeah, it's one thing to improve a

44:54

program Cleveland's had like a full turnaround

44:56

They went from being like a team

44:58

scratching the surface in the playoffs to

45:00

being the best record in the NBA

45:02

It's just it's it's kind of like

45:04

I Don't know how they don't win

45:06

that. Yeah, how he doesn't win that.

45:08

Yeah, that's his award It's well deserved.

45:10

And there's a lot of great candidates,

45:12

uh, Mosley, uh, again, for different reasons.

45:14

He had a lot of injuries for

45:16

his team being in the situation. I

45:18

think he could be up for the

45:20

award. Um, obviously bicker staff to

45:22

turn around in Detroit, especially after getting fired. I

45:24

just never would have thought Detroit would be

45:26

not even in the plant six seat. You know

45:28

I mean? That was definitely a shocker this

45:31

year. And in Houston being a two seed in

45:33

the crazy West, you know, that's another one.

45:35

So it's a lot of candidates. Uh, but I

45:37

just think that the turnaround with Cleveland, them

45:39

having the record they had being the seed that

45:41

they are. They're the he

45:43

you just got to get the

45:45

coach the award man, especially in

45:47

his first year as head coach

45:49

there. So Well, well well well

45:51

done job deserved I think Where

45:55

do you rank, you know, this Saturday is that

45:57

first, you know, the first round of the playoffs,

45:59

that first day where there's games from 12 to

46:01

10. you have those four straight games on

46:03

that Saturday. Where do you rank that as far as

46:05

best days of the year? Because I know there's college basketball,

46:07

the first round, there's games all day. And there's other

46:09

sports and different things like that. Obviously we had the Olympics

46:11

for Houston. That's not every year, but that was a

46:13

lot, you know, that's a lot of fun to watch. Where

46:15

do you rank this Saturday? Oh,

46:17

yeah. I mean, it's up there. It's just

46:19

first day of playoffs, man. You know, you get

46:21

30, 40 nights in a row, just, just.

46:23

Playoff basketball is nothing bad. Listen All you want

46:25

from a from a fan standpoint someone watching

46:28

the game is these athletes to be playing at

46:30

their best competing at their highest and there's

46:32

no better pressure or platform than the playoffs So

46:34

you're getting all of you know, the best

46:36

teams with the best players Playing at their highest

46:38

level and that's what you want. You know,

46:40

that's why there's a beauty to March Madness You

46:42

get all these guys in there. It's that

46:44

pressure cooker and get to watch these athletes compete.

46:46

It's like that even on a different level

46:48

at the NBA so Um, and

46:50

the best win it's not one game where

46:52

like luck is involved nca Anything can

46:54

happen duke plays that team again. Houston five

46:56

times that are really probably win I

46:58

don't know. Yeah, but in the NBA you

47:00

got to beat someone out of seven

47:03

games, right? You got to really beat somebody

47:05

Um, and I like watching I love

47:07

watching as a player as a guy who

47:09

really watches the game I love watching

47:11

the adjustments. I love watching the adjustments from

47:13

game one to game two how a

47:15

team defends, what they do with a certain

47:17

player. Always watch how the first game

47:19

happens, who has a good game, where a

47:21

team got hurt, which player got off

47:23

in a certain area, what he was doing

47:25

well. And I love to see the

47:27

adjustments made game by game. That's

47:29

how they're going to build a wall versus Yannis.

47:31

How Yannis is going to counterattack in second half. How

47:33

my pops is going to make adjustments to get

47:35

a mountain transition. Yeah. It's like

47:37

a chess match. Right. It's

47:40

fun to watch. Who's the player that you're

47:42

most excited to watch? Luca. Luca

47:44

I was thinking shea for me. I was okay.

47:46

If you're gonna win MVP and that's fine. You know

47:48

what? It's Luca

47:51

for me. Okay. Let's make your argument My argument

47:53

with him is and I shea is a

47:55

very valid answer by the way you winning MVP.

47:57

They're like, okay, let's go man Let's lead

47:59

this after we thought we've covered last year after

48:01

after Nicola and after you listen Let's be

48:03

honest. Nicola had a season that deserved an award.

48:05

I mean top three and points rebounds assist

48:07

Yeah, he should have statistically for going by statistics

48:10

and who should win MVP? Nicola is the

48:12

MVP the NBA So if they're going to give

48:14

it to Shea, which is well deserved, he's had a fantastic year

48:16

as well. I can't argue it, right? Or

48:18

I can't argue it. I just did. But you

48:20

know what I'm saying. You can argue it Shea's way

48:22

too. Much respect to Shea. He's a

48:24

beast. Then we need to

48:26

see this team go to the finals, all right? If you're

48:29

going to get, let's do it now. Yeah. Let's go

48:31

all the way. you gotta take it out last year. Yannis

48:33

did it. You know, Nicola did it. I

48:35

mean, like, you gotta go now. It's time to go.

48:37

Yeah. And, you know, you got taken out early last

48:39

year and the Olympics for Canada was underwhelming, right? Yeah,

48:41

like, yeah, bro, I gotta, we gotta see you. And

48:43

you've had this amazing year. Don't even know. One of

48:45

the best years for a gardener really long time. Absolutely.

48:47

Since James Harden us here, it's a really good year

48:49

for a perimeter player. But...

48:51

I just want to see, you know, is he gonna get

48:53

those foul calls that people talk about? I don't see if

48:55

he's gonna be as dominant. Is he gonna just take them

48:57

to the finals as easy as some people think? What's your

48:59

case for Luca? My

49:02

case for Luca is that I believe he just

49:04

has a chip in his, you know, his shoulder.

49:06

Players like that don't get traded. Players like that

49:08

feel away with the get traded, especially out of

49:10

nowhere. And I think Luca with LeBron and everything

49:12

that was going on over there, I think he

49:14

has something to prove. I think he's just to

49:16

play pissed off basketball. People questioned his shape, what

49:18

type of player he is. Is he a winner?

49:21

Remember, they traded him because they thought they want

49:23

to be winning and go back to championships.

49:25

They don't believe you can win with Luca. These

49:27

were comments made out of Nico in the

49:29

camp and everything in Dallas. Which are still talking

49:31

about it. don't regret the trade. The only

49:33

reason we're still talking about it, Nico, is because

49:35

it's that bad. Although

49:37

they did win last night and it

49:39

looks good. Congrats. Like you're going to

49:41

go get Molly Wopt in the playoffs

49:44

without Kyrie and whatever. Listen, at the

49:46

end the day, um, yeah,

49:48

Luca, I mean, look at all that stuff he

49:50

just talked about. Yeah. There's a lot there. And I

49:52

think on the biggest stage, and I say biggest

49:54

stage because he's playing the law with LeBron James. There's

49:56

not a better show in basketball. Yeah. I think

49:58

they're going to be in games and we're going to

50:00

see those, those step back threes those big shots

50:02

through. I'm like, holy shit, Yeah, and that, I just

50:04

can't wait for it It's gonna be fun. That's

50:06

a good point too because Luca done it, know to

50:08

the highest level with the Dallas Mavericks on but

50:10

now when you're wearing Lakers uniform or you're And you're

50:12

next to one of the best players if not

50:14

the best player of all time Yeah, it's just be

50:16

a different feeling for him. And be nice to

50:18

see him rise the occasion, obviously. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.

50:20

Yeah Well, listen man playoffs are right ahead Next

50:23

week obviously, we'll have a full -on reaction in

50:25

the first round and what's going on in the first

50:27

couple of games Really excited

50:29

for it, man. I know you guys

50:31

will be locked in Make sure you

50:33

not only watch these games, but

50:35

tap in Like subscribe, follow us on

50:37

TikTok, the Off -guard podcast. You can listen

50:39

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50:42

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50:44

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50:46

will see the off -guard podcast. Tap in subscribe. Have

50:48

a safe weekend Me and Pasha are Be

50:50

easy You