It's popping real once Logan Murdock here, Howard Beck and Roger Bell in a few. We have one of our best episodes, one of our most fun episodes on the way. We just go 45 minutes on O.K.C. in San Antonio. We probably could have went more. I can't wait to talk more about this series as an unfolds. Then we get into a little bit of Detroit pistons, post-mortem. Then we get to your mail back questions, which were fantastic, fantastic, fantastic, fantastic episode. Make sure you keep right here, real ones
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[email protected]. We'll be back on Friday after San Antonio O.K.C. We're just going to be talking about that series for the next two weeks and probably beyond, because if it has anything, if we're going to see for the rest of the series, it's going to match what we saw in Game 1. This is going to be a series for the ages. So make sure you tap in with us all the, uh, Balenciaga, Cliffy booted out the two. Play the theme music. The Ringer NBA Show is brought to you by Fandall. The conference finals are here. Think you know how it'll go down. Take your shot with Fandall and get closer to the action. Fandall is the best place to bet the team's players and plays during the NBA postseason. Build the same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout or try live betting and jump into the action after tip off. Download the Fandall sportsbook app now and play your game. 21 plus select states, 18 plus DC can tuck your Wyoming gambling problem, call 1-800-Gamber, call 1-888-789-777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut. What's popping? Ruins. Logan Murdoch here. Howard Motherfucking back there in Roger Bell there. Man, you know, every decade or every generation or every, whatever you want to call it there. There comes a game where it feels like a pendulum swing. It feels like a rebirth of a game, of a sport, of a league, if you will. And we saw that last night in game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between Oklahoma City and the San Antonio Spurs. There's so many ways we can go here. We might do a whole show based on this, but the big news is Victor Wimanyama, 41 points, 24 rebounds in 49 minutes. The youngest player in the history of the NBA to record at least 40 points in 20 rebounds in a playoff debut. There are so many subplots within this, right? There's the video of him looking as Shay Gilgis Alexander gets the MVP trophy, has to get his arm put around him by Stefan Kassel. And then he just proceeds to beat the Breaks off of any defender that is in front of him, right? You know, you put Caruso on him. It doesn't matter. You put Chet on him. It doesn't matter. And I always say this, whenever I see Victor Wimanyama, he's like six legends in one, right? He's like a little bit of cream, he's a little bit of Yanis, he's a little bit of Kevin Durant, he's a little bit of Steph Curry. He's a little bit of a chemo LaJuan. I saw some versions, Roger, where I thought he was some versions of Shaq, just in the sheer dominance in the paint and the types of dunks he was getting. Can you put into words? We're going to try it throughout this podcast, but can you put in the words what we saw last night, Roger Bell? No, that's not my forte, I'm not, I'm not, it has wordsmith like that, what, what, it was, it was, it was just unreal to see him carry a game, dominate a game, produce. I mean, you know, my son and I were at the kitchen table this morning. He was watching it into the other room and he was texting me, man, are you watching this shit? Like, you know, we were going back and forth and we just went through the variety of plays that he made, like logo three, catch it, the free throw line, work through the double back to the basket, you know, go to spin, don't like that, come back, power through, catch a lob with someone holding your left arm with one hand and dunk that, power through for a two handed dunk where a guy almost takes your, your right arm off, defensively you block chase jump shot, not like tipped it, like just beat it up. Jay will had a fucking tip dunk that's a tip dunk against 99.9% of the teams in the league and no one on the broadcast could really see what happened and then they replay it and fucking Wendy's hand is in there like blocking it and I don't know how to, the amount of times that OKC was driving the ball and just decided it wasn't a good idea to continue trying to drive the ball out of sheer fear of what he was going to do to the attempt. I don't think I'm doing a good job describing it, but like no one else has ever affected a game in that many ways. I don't give a shit like he's not Michael, he's not shack yet. He's not, you know, will or Kareem yet, but he's all of them rolled into one on the way and he showed all of their individual traits and characteristics that we loved about each one of them. He brought them all out last night and let me add Steph with the logo three. So like, hey, that's pretty fucking remarkable. How are it? Go ahead, buddy. I just, I'm going to find words while you while you talk. I got what were you, what did you think about it? What do you think about the forms? I mean, the number of times I was just shrieking on the couch. And I watched last night my daughter's home from college so she was here with me and she's an MBA fan. So, you know, she's going to get into it anyway. My wife who sometimes is just reading or doing something else or writing is like half paying attention to that. Like at a certain point, it was like all three of us. Like everything that happened was like, oh my god, holy shit, like what is what is happening in front of us? Um, absolutely incredible. I don't know that any of us can put into words what we're seeing from Victor Wimbanyama right now because of the fact that it is a little bit of a lot of different legends from over time. And we, we have this thing, this balance, right? We are, uh, we're wowed, we're in awe, but at the same time, especially, I think for, for all of us, and especially I think for, for me and Logan as journalists, like you kind of want to always tap the brakes a little bit like don't, don't get, don't run away with this. Don't, don't get into hyperbole too quickly. Don't overreact. Don't crowd a guy too soon. When he was drafted and people were talking about, he might be the greatest draft pick, the greatest prospect in the history of the NBA, I'm like, come on, guys, can we not do this before he's even played a single minute in the end? But can we just, and then you see something like last night and you're like, okay, maybe like fucking, stop tapping the brakes and just like cut the brake cable like there is no, there are no brakes. Fuck the brakes. Um, I think because you can't see any single piece of this coming, including and right up to and maybe especially the pull up Steph Curry style three. He hadn't even made it three last night until he said, fuck it, we got to get to a double OT. I'm pulling up from 30 or wherever he was and sinking it and, and as coolly and as smoothly and as confidently as Steph would have or as Dame would have. And then at the same time, this is the same guy who in another sequence is going to swallow up a J double layup just whole with one hand and just like boom gone that you that that's not going anywhere. It is, it's incredible. There is no limit to what this guy is going to do in the course of his career and I don't want to even go there yet because we should just enjoy what we saw last night and what's coming in this series game one absolutely lived up to all of the hype that any of us could have put on it because of of it being spurs versus thunder and when B versus Shay or when B versus Chet or just two of the most loaded young teams in the NBA. And it met or exceeded all those expectations and we got double OT. I have not looked anything up and I can't, I'm not great at like trying to like cycle through my brain of the last 29 years of game ones that I've seen. That has got to be the greatest fucking game one of a playoff series that I've seen. That was absolutely outstanding. Yeah, I think just when I when I hear you say that Howard, I'm just thinking about like the conversation the last few years of who's going to take the baton? Who's going to who is going to take this league by storm? Who is going to like, you know, it always seemed like the league was in crisis, right? Like, oh man, LeBron's on his way, OK, D's on his way, Steph's on his way, who is going to be our one? And I think last night, the reason why I say it was such a pendulum shift is because not only the wimpy performance, just the game in general was like, no, the NBA is just doing just fine. It's fine. It has it. It's still capable of giving us great, great, great performances from both teams, right? But let's stay on Victor for right now, because we get we have a whole show to get to Oklahoma City and what they can do. My thing was this rush every time, like I was watching it, I was out at Crybaby in Oakland watching it with the homies and I'm in the Google Doc just like right notes to myself of like, what okay she should do, right? Like, do they need to embrace the mid range more, right? Because they can't get into the they can't get into the paint when women be there, right? And then dude, the length of San Antonio's wings is just astounding, like they just go
up anything that is in their past. So you really can't go beyond the three point line either. But then, as I'm writing these notes down, oh, should they go mid-range more, more you see when be coming up in the mid-range and you can't do shit about it. Like, he's gonna block everything. He's just affecting games in a way that I don't think we've ever seen before from a big because traditionally what you see is you'll see a matambo who is a great room protector, the great in my mind, one of the greatest room protectors of all time, right? You see that. But he's by and large confined to the paint, right? You're not supposed, this is not supposed to happen. This isn't supposed to happen where you're not only a room protector, but you're damn near just inside the three point lane protector. But if you want to, we can, when we can stretch all the way half-court, I am struggling to find the words on this. But I don't know the adjustment that Oklahoma City can have right now because maybe it's shaving a decoy. He had 12 assists last night. I don't know what the recourse is and it's largely because of one guy, right? Because they were getting, okay, see, was getting in back into the game when Wimby was off the floor, right? Is it you get him in foul trouble? I don't know. And also, God bless Chet who got a good block down the stretch, but like, I just don't know what you do with this. And I'm speaking, and I'm really just going off the rails here, but I'm really just trying to find the words and the thoughts in real time, because I don't know how to hell to describe what I just saw. Yeah, I mean, that's fair. Let me, let me just add one thing to like all of the, all of the, all the plays that I described, because I think this one is maybe even more impressive for someone that's got all of those like physical tools that he that are just like real gifts that basketball players have that other basketball players don't like those otherworldly type of players. He then also was Dennis Rodman multiple times, where there was loose rebounds flying around and he just fucking outworked you for the ball. Like, that's a rare combination of like otherworldly gifts and skill and just I want this more than you and I'll outwork you for it. And I think that was important, at least for someone like me who enjoys that part of the game, that's important to acknowledge too. Here's what I'd say to you about what Oklahoma City needs to do. If you let him psych you out and you aren't, you aren't in attack mode. Before he's even blocked a shot, he's already beat you. He's already beat you. So he's going to have a certain amount of blocks. He's, he's, I don't know, 11 feet tall with his wingspan. There are certain things that he is going to do. But don't let him run you off of things before he has blocked the shots. Before he has it affected it in that way. And I thought you saw late in the game, there were a few times. Yeah, he blocks him. But Shay also got to the room and laid him and got a foul. And Karuso got to the room and laid him and had a foul. And when they got his big ass out in space and they decided to just put their head down and go, he's not that swift to foot. Now he might catch you with the room and block that. But I thought way too many times they weren't aggressive and in attack mode before he proved to them that he would or could do it. And then he's already beat you. Right. So like, sure, Chet's got to make shots to make him pay, right? Like I think you saw late in the game. They run the Iverson action and spring Chet back out to the left side. He's got Wembee in the corner. And he's kind of anchored to Wembe's anchor to Chet in a way that let's, let Shay get the layup because he doesn't want to give up that three. Well, that was time in score. The three beat you, the two doesn't. But throughout the course of the game, if Chet is knocking that shot down, it holds his big ass just a little bit closer to Chet, which frees up. It's a one step situation. There's a one step difference between him getting the block and you getting the layup. So Chet's got to play better for sure. And they've got to shoot the ball better with the people that are guarding Wembee. But they just got to be aggressive, man. And not be run off of stuff before he really, before he makes the play that would ordinarily run you off of it. Make him do that over and over. Can I just follow up with you for a quick second because I've been wondering about this and want to ask you about the since last night, that SGA layup, the baseline layup and Wembee is frozen there. And he looks and he sees, he sees him coming and he does not react at all. And yes, the two ties and the three beats you and you're down to the last few seconds of regulation. I was wondering, though, and I have not replayed it to really examine it. Was there a rotation to be made there? Was there a challenge to be had? And also because we talk a lot about how Wembee can cover so much ground like he could he have flashed their log enough with his, you know, go go gadget arms to try to like at least disrupt and still be able to retreat if the pass went to Chet in the corner. Is it right to just stick with him and let them tie the game? Was there a rotation from a teammate to get Chet? Like I have not replayed it. So I don't know. I'm just curious your reaction in real time. Yeah, I replayed it a few times because I was trying to figure out how the hell he just let him walk in there and get a layup. Yes, the only thing the only thing I could figure out and maybe the thought process for him was I was trying to see if they were running a hammer on the on the weak side. And hammer screen is, you know, for people listening, I don't always do a great job. But this is when, you know, the low guy in an opposite corner will set up and set basically a back screen for the person on the opposite wing to flare to the corner. And so there's a drive from the strong side and they people usually don't handle those hammer screens. Well, it'll spring a jump shooter in the opposite corner. So I was looking to see if there was any kind of hammer action Howard, which would have, you know, ordinarily for a big made you have to honor your responsibility to help on the hammer screen. But that wasn't there either. So what I would have said to Wembee in film breakdown is like, yo, my man, here's the deal. Like, you're great. Congratulations. But in this scenario, just start head under the rim, like start there. So when Shay catches it, when he looks at that rim, your big ass is standing there. Now, you only got like two point whatever before the three seconds goes. And if you think he's going to spray to that corner, as he comes, you can cat and mouse and go back. But like, you certainly need to be there to at least start the possession Howard. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah, it was, it was weird. It was weird. It was in place while it was just a wide open layup. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What version of Shay does Shay need to be in game two, Roger? They did a really good job with Shay dog. They had that man. You know, they had him off balance. I thought Carter Bryant was great with them. I thought it was physical. He was disruptive. They, you know, employed kind of the same technique that they used against ant. Sometimes the Lakers did it to Shay just getting it out of his hands early. Just I'm not even going to let you get your feet set and get a rhythm offensively tonight. And ultimately, I think that's what it was. They just never let him find a rhythm. They kept, they kept throwing bodies at him. Every time he put it on the floor, there was, there were multiple people diving at his, at his knees or at his, you know, his low pickup for the ball. They just had him off of his rhythm and his spot. I thought he did a good job down the stretch, trying to find it and like kind of just thugging through it for his team. But he was at a store. It's almost all game. What I would say to O.K.C. is, do you see where they gave Wendy the ball a few times late in that game? Do you remember where they were trying to get him the ball? They're like top of the key, top of the key in the free throw area, right? Free throw free throw, not as top of the key is like an extra what maybe five feet, huh? Yeah, right. So like, it doesn't sound like much. But if I'm a help, if I'm a rotator, that's all the time I need to be in help to stop you at that nail kind of free throw line. Maybe one step off of it. There's virtually nothing anyone can do to effectively get a double on you. And I thought that way too often, O.K.C. and like Tigers don't change their stripes midstream like that. They're used to him having the ball and kind of, you know, playing out of all five eyes, looking at me at the top of the key with the ball. But that's playing right into San Antonio's hands. They can load those gaps. They can flood. They sat in zone sometimes. I'd like to see them move share around. I'd like to see him catch it at the nail where it's really difficult to identify who the double is. That's confusion for defense. We're usually taught where we're coming from as a double teamer. So like, yeah, if it's on the traditional post, we're either coming from one pass away, we're coming from two passes away. We're coming from for certain players. We'll come from the baseline. That could be on the catch. That could be on the first dribble. You know, there are rules to that. But when you put a guy in the middle of the floor, that's why they used to do with Paul Pierce. That's why they used to do with Joe Johnson. That's why they did with all those ISO guys. It doesn't clearly identify for the defense where that double should come from. I'd like to see them get him the ball kind of short corner mid post. I was thinking that. I was thinking that. I was thinking, you know, what I was thinking when you were, as you were saying that, and during the game, as he is coming up the floor, I was thinking, honestly, man, Kobe 06 playoffs against you guys. Right? Yeah. With first, the first four games where, you know, I think going into that series, he was the Kobe was a primary ball handler. And then they just switched last minute. We're just going to put him into post. He's not necessarily going to be a decoy, but you're just going to run offense through him right there because you can't really predict where, like you said, where to put the double team. And that's what I kept thinking throughout that game is like, maybe Kobe 06 might work a little bit about this. And you have to stick to that program, at least for a game or two. Yeah. And what it does, Logan, like when you're playing down there, like, you know, low, low block, maybe five feet off of the low block down in that
Quadrant of the court There's nothing over here with you and you're there's nothing on this side of the court It's your defender so you can really identify like first of all it doesn't you don't need a lot of dribbles to score from there Which mitigates the the the the potential double teams effectiveness because if I ain't dribbling it a bunch And it's not taking me a lot of time to get to this shot less time you can really get there to affect it But if they are like coming on the catches which you would really have to do to him It really clears up the picture on the weak side Right as an offense right because you're gonna basically you know put a guy in the dunker I would imagine you're gonna have you know You're gonna you're gonna flood with one in the corner and one on the high wing And then you just let them pick where they're coming from maybe maybe you don't even dunker it because they've got One be out there But you're gonna dive the middle of the three guys on the weak side as the ball rotates out And then you got to make shots, but like you know everything's predicated on making shots The one thing that I will say though is like The okay see it found something a little bit in the Laker series when Shay was out and they went on that run But granted the Lakers aren't you can't even hold the candle defensively to what the San Antonio Spurs team is But the other guys need to get involved right like Caruso is is he did great But he was the only bench guy that did it. There was no AJ Mitchell four points at 34 minutes You cannot have that happen. They need those guys right they need You know the the the location Wallace is not gonna be your score guy But they need AJ Mitchell to compliment Jalen and Shay and the way that he's been doing all postseason long and They need a check game, and I know that he's going he's playing defenses like y'all with the hell But they need his offense. They need him to hit that corner three a bit more, right? He had four attempts, but they they need him. How do the other guys get involved Roger? Well Look they let's be clear San Antonio has some dudes defensively. Oh my God. I mean they got bodies. These are six five Rangy but more impressively. They're not like thin bodies these are big these are these are football bodies that they're throwing at guys that are you know trying to play Relatively iso ball just trying to beat their man and get in the pain Not an easy thing to do especially when you have the support of Wembe behind you More more ball movement more people movement I would say for an okc team that Typically plays off a Shay Chet just has to be aggressive man like I don't want to see you pump faking at threes and sidestep and she shoot the ball I think it's sprayed out to you and you got a six five closing out to you man like I don't profess to be any all world player, but like When that ball hit a swing swing to me in the corner and somebody my height or lesser height was closing out I'm not even thinking about it. It's in the air you late you're too late. So like there were too many times where he was like Pump faking at it and look like he was confused. He's just got to settle down and be aggressive It's not easy though. I doubt there's no easy answer because they're a very good defensive team both Principally they rotated through defenses last night. They kept them guessing they were in a zone. They were in a man They were doubling him in the back court the next time down They would wait till he got in the front court and doubling him like they were throwing a lot of a lot of Proplexing kind of like combinations at them and they've got physically tool defender. So it's not easy It's like it reminded me a lot of the 15 warriors and honestly a lot of the 90s like the 95 to 98 Bulls where like they just have so much length right and but then you put fucking winby behind it And it's an ultimate cheat codes because it's the rare offense where there are literally no gaps You know and I don't And okay season one like a great offensive team historically great offensive team with an historically great offensive player And then he go they go up against San Antonio Howard and it's like we have nothing for it We like a completely different team and granted I do want to say all this we're speaking in the way Is that like we're speaking like San Antonio was dominant in this game and this game still went to two over times right like so It's not like these teams aren't evenly matched, but I just It's just fascinating to see what San Antonio does to Oklahoma City because no other team can do that No, no other team can no other team has in quite some time You know listen It comes off like it was a bigger win than it was because it also felt like San Antonio was controlling a lot of that right like they you know They they let them chip away and they lost the lead in the fourth But it did it really felt like the spurs were in control for a lot of this So yes, it's a double overtime win, which means the margins were thin as hell although the margin the final margin ended up being Pretty big in the second overtime, but yeah, these teams are incredibly closely matched I think if you're the thunder You're taking solace in a couple of things one like you're you know now Shay has seen all that He's too great a player not to figure out how to get a little bit more free and get his shots or set up his guys like he'll he'll find a way like it was not a it was not a great Shay game scoring wise And and look by the way quick aside Carter Brian's a rookie Dylan Harper's a rookie like the primary defend and Viselle had time on him to like everybody had time on on Shay But you've got freaking rookies who are just looking like eight-year vets going up against the two-time MVP and Containing him making him work making him inefficient Making him almost disappear for the first three quarters like there wasn't there weren't a lot of shame moments in those first three quarters last night And this is where we we get to jdub Jalen Williams has played like a dozen games since mid-January and It'd been off for almost a month before playing last night So I would take that into account. He had a little bit of a rough game especially shooting wise a couple of shots He probably wants back late But like that's I feel like the key for them like Chets gonna do whatever he can do Maybe there's more I heart to to try to like you know contain or body up Wembee and and and and just make him work more like all that stuff But offensively for them to really get going You know there were a champion last year because Jdub is incredibly dangerous on his own and you can't just load up against Shay So I'll be curious to see how he gets untracked over the course of the series now that he's Back in the mix. I think there was one moment last night where where he was limping a little bit again So hopefully that's not the hamstring or something else flaring up But yeah, like the thunder there's so many weapons there. They're so deep like they'll they'll find their way But I do think this is probably the most Stress they've had in quite a while although in fairness. They were at a game seven last June against the Pacers That championship went down to the wire - so Can I can I can I just add a couple things to that cuz like yeah for first of all Dylan Harper that's crazy man. You're like 24 Yeah, it's seven steals like he stole almost every Every pass to the opposite corner that they tried to execute he was in between the The the ball and the desire destination like he just will kept reading it like a book like a safety Oh, I think they said it on the broadcast by the way just interrupt real quick first rookie in playoff history This is from Jordan Howinstein great PR guy for this first first rookie Dylan Harper in NBA playoff history To have a game with 20 plus points 10 plus rebounds five plus assistants and seven plus steals. Yes It went to double over time, but still give me a break That's absolutely astounding and even if you if you roll back to five steals so only rookies in an NBA playoff history with 20 20 points 10 rebounds five assists five steals it's Dylan Harper and oh magic freaking Johnson So and then he and then he exceeded magic by getting two more steals He's crazy. No, no, no, no, no, no well done cuz like I he's it's pretty remarkable. He's doing it's pretty crazy The other thing you touch on the J will shot. I know games don't boil down. I just be re like that that shot lost in the game that game was over That that decision to pull up going left the airball like that that game was essentially with a good possession there Get the ball to shame like I really feel like it was over I'm not saying he lost the game But that that game hung in the balance right there in that way and they really had a shot to to kill the game And that was just a bad possession um the last thing I wanted to say because I think this kind of crystallizes what I was saying about them as a team okay see Just deciding that they're gonna not be affected by Wimbee And just the presence of Wimbee Shay had to play late Where you could see he was fucking pissed he came down the lane and he took off and dunked that shit like how rare how rare is it do you see him? Was that on Wimbee too? That was like he caught caught Wimbee a little bit. Was it that dunk? Yeah, it wasn't on Wimbee necessarily Wimbee was like a mirror. He was in the vicinity right. Yeah, yeah, yeah But what they what they had been doing as a team prior to that is what I think is more important They were going in there and when Wimbee was the specter of Wimbee was even in the vicinity They were throwing these like like super high floaters and like adjusting their layups to accommodate for maybe Wimbee's coming What I'm saying is do that like fuck Wimbee with all due respect like come block this and if you do
cool will adjust but like don't on that particular play he made his mind up that when we be damned he was dunking the basketball or he was gonna get fouled or get blocked and if you take that approach I think you're gonna wind up like as a happy team like you might not convert all of those but you went to the free throw line 19 times last night like they like they in a double overtime game like you you're not attacking is like your team I don't know what the stats say they usually shoot from the free throw line per game but giving all the rhetoric around like Shay and the foul baby and all that I I'm assuming it's a higher number than than 19 and that was in double overtime for context San Antonio at 29 free throw attempts there's there's two points that I would like to make on that one one when you talk about taking it to a guy who get like no matter what he does if he's a shop blocker just take it to the shop blocker I'm reminded of the ill-one finals right where Batumbo is going in as defensive player of the year now granted he was going up against Shaq but Shaq had that attitude we're just gonna fucking take it to his chest and I'm gonna try to dunk it I'm not even gonna like and my whole team is going to do that as well right I you're on to something there where it's just like just don't be scared you know just just fucking do it the second thing that I would say that if I'm okay see I'm trying to do and I think that they did a really effective job is yo man San Antonio does not have a have a have a calm like San Antonio does not have a calming presence at point guard and what I mean by that is it's really just like three dribbles in a cloud of dust and you saw that with a turnover to forecast what 11 turnovers last night right what you need to do I think is you just need to blitz their guards right like even if Deere Fox is in there he's a similar guy where it's like and that was a complaint that I had about them earlier in the season is that they just don't have a guy they don't have a they would they would be great with Chris Paul like prime Chris Paul just like calm shit down and just say hey guys I got this they're just running and they're just trying to make plays in this a cloud of dust if I'm saying don't if I'm okay see excuse me I'm trying to just blitz those guards and get those steals because that's what they were doing last night it was really effective and it gets you out into transition it gets win be out of the place when you can get easy buckets in transition there was a play I think when Jay Jay to got a steal and he just got a quick dunk right those are the things that you need because you don't want to set up shop and I have court against San Antonio because of the size and the length and the shop blocking and I think if they can just just do exactly what they did and just blitz those guards and get those steals I think they're gonna be in great shape defensively I think I do think Fox helps I do think Fox helps in that regard some there were moments last night where Dylan Harper was over dribbling their moments were Castle got a little loose with his dribble I don't think not a double not a double overtime game Howard with him out there to close I'm just telling you not he would not I'm not saying he would close but like no no no I'm agreeing with you in that like if they had him that game's not going to overtime oh you're saying it's not going to overtime in the first place no yeah because I'm not turning it over like they did down the stretch the first but the first quarter especially like they seem like I haven't looked quarter by quarter I got to think that the majority of their turnovers were in especially live ball turnovers were in the first quarter it just felt like every two seconds they were losing it and it was a run out the other direction like you have to be hyper conscious when you're playing against the thunder and actually against the spurs too like this is this goes for both teams but we saw this last year with the thunder the second you look away like I'm looking to see who I'm passing to Ludoord's got his hand on the ball Curtis got his hand somebody's got it and they're slapping it away it's got like the second you lose a millisecond of concentration or get a slightly loose in your dribble or it's a little too out far out in front of you they're on it there is no room to breathe against the thunder and so yeah like I'm more sure handed I'm not saying Deer Fox is a traditional point guard anymore so then the rest of their guards but I do think you know the the maturity and the presence and you know just having a little bit more presence of mind in those situations maybe what the ball in his hands a little bit more once he's healthy in this series on the other hand like they just want to game without him and the young guys all looked amazing but yeah the turnover count stupid high and yeah I mean to to that point though it was pretty evenly distributed the turnovers were like there were eight and a first half eight and a second half this for San Antonio first overtime had four turnovers in five minutes and they when they finally got when they finally got a hold of it was in the second overtime when they had one turnover and that's when they that's when the game shifted down the stretch I mean it's really going to come down that for them because they every time it felt like San Antonio was dominant because when when he was on the floor they would go up 10 right and then they would just do some the guards would just lose the ball in the half court and then okay see would just find their way back into the game when that was the reason why because I'm excited Tony I had pretty much control of this but that was their Achilles heel and that's gonna be something to look at yeah I thought I thought I mean it was a value and effort by okay see down the stretch I did feel like San Antonio was kind of controlling it and then just you know and I cried I don't want to take anything away from okay see because you could feel their defensive pressure when they kind of smelled the blood in the water the turnover starting to kind of like you know most multiply they just got more and more and more aggressive and freed up to take swipes at the ball so like they did a good job defensively you know a lot of coaches will talk to you like you know we used to have a deflection count that you got credit for as a team and as an individual defender that's not a stat that shows up in your traditional like stats but like those are huge plays and basketball games just getting your hand on a ball that becomes a lose and then we we can fight for it I thought they did a good job but I thought that if San Antonio just had a little bit steadier of a you know season guard I don't know that it would have come down to that personally I do want to touch like on the and I think this plays into what I was saying about okay see offensively a little bit like the accounting for Wembee in a way that takes you out of what you do I I love when they put Alex Caruso on Yokeach for stretches and I loved when they played some of those guys on Yokeach like I like the coach that isn't afraid to mix it up and see what works I thought they did it way too much last night I thought I thought they over thought that I thought they tried to get too cute with it one of those bigs you have to we talk about how that's a strength for okay see one of those two's got a man up and guard that mofo bro like he's gonna do what he does but one of them has to man up and guard you and make him earn some of those in a way that he doesn't have to when you've got six four six five on him yeah I mean is that is that do you do you want to see cuz I see why they do it right and me and Cliff are talking about this pre pod they they put a Caruso on so they can have the shot blocker behind them right but I know I'm just saying well we I'm just saying the strategy behind it right so but I'm asking you is it do you put a heart and steam or or you put chat on him and then just do that that same strategy with a bigger guy on him initially look I would let heart and steam guard him um chat two at times I like heart and steam like physical presence on him a little bit more than and heart and he doesn't have responsibility on the other and so it actually helps him be a solid defender cuz that's all he's focused on yeah I need to see something out of chat like this isn't a reflection on him as a player in any way shape or form or like what he was able to do this year but as it relates to like the I need to see something out of him with Wendy um I I wouldn't trust him guarding him I don't like the way he looks in the face if that makes sense like I'm looking in your eyes I don't like the look I'm getting my boy so I'm gonna put heart and steam over there on him to start and again I'm not gonna get cute with the like trying to front him all over the place and shit like that I'm gonna I'm gonna push him out let him catch and then you know I'm gonna play him now I might support heart and steam with some some like hard gap like you know dives when he puts the ball on the floor or doubles in certain situations I would have to look at the the the numbers and really tell you like hey when he gets to this he doesn't miss or when he does that I don't you know I didn't watch it like that but there would be some game plan for him but I'm not gonna outcute myself by like hey let him catch it every time on the six five and then we'll block one percent of the shots he shoots from the weak side man fuck that make him earn it I just want to stay on chef for a second there is a one thing that I feel you when you say that there's a nonchalanteness there when it comes to Wimbee like I ain't really tripping off that's his problem with me and that's fine like I'm not I'm here to win and all those things and I'm and I'm asked to point blank what he feels about the rivalry and he's like not just you know he didn't even mention Wimbee by name I don't have the quote in front of me but it was like you know we're we have I love individual matchups with all teams I'm paraphrasing but that's basically what he said he does he won't discuss Wimbee part of me is like bra he's taking it to you and he don't fuck with you bra so you need to match energy not only for yourself but also for your team because your team kind of needs you to be like not fuck that he has me fucked up I need to take it to him it's almost like and I we talked about this in previous parts it's almost like a few years ago with Paul Gassal right where it's like yo the Kobe is like yo I need you to take it to Kevin Garnett I need you to do this not only do I need you to do this the team needs you to do this and you need to do this for yourself I feel that way when I see Chad guarding Wimbee it's like I need you to just muscle in block him
You know, that's and I don't see that when in that matchup. It's more so just like you know He's a not even he's a great player of just like I'm not gonna let that affect me, but Nah, you kind of need to take that on the chin and just go at him and that's what I kind of want to see out of out of chat I Howard I know I'm talking a lot. I mean, so I want to let you know, let me just let me let me just say I was nowhere near the player that that chat homegren is no nowhere near like but When I played with the sons and we're playing the Lakers That that they have to see that somebody on that roster is willing to stand up and fight the person on the other team like I may have taken it too far But the spirit of it was like yo, I'm not with this shit I don't care what your name is or what number you got on your back or didn't I don't care like We're here to fight you and a team needs to see that out of somebody that's responsible for Wembee if it's not chat like You know, I can't fault to do it for saying look. I don't I don't wear it like you wear it, bro Like I don't I don't have that like you know my energy and I don't play my best when I'm on that kind of time that you're on For you to play your best. I'm not judging anybody for that like that's cool like somebody has to step up and be like Yo man, we're here like and and that's kind of what I'm saying about the coaching decision to not play the big on him You're already saying yeah, like there's a lot of retreating from okay see before I start playing the games right like this is like too much And I'm like bro y'all don't want that 164 games. I got the championship you guys who does it did this They should be retreating for your ass. Also. I need I need the younger listeners to know by the way Roger Bell is not fucking around and this is not revisionist history. I covered that series. I was there I remember being at the scrum with Kobe when he's talking about the who is this guy? I don't know this guy. I think he called you a kid Roger, which was really of necessary He didn't he didn't but all the spare in the art of war, baby I don't know this kid never mind that never mind that Kobe Roger had played each other in the final. Are you older to Kobe - are you older to go? And he's older to Kobe. He said I needed a hug. There was a lot of stuff. There's a lot of it. It was very Kobe But I just I didn't necessarily want to go down that rabbit hole too far. I just want listeners to know I remember Roger's quotes and interviews in the moment and you're your demeanor Roger in the moment in those games. That was exactly it It didn't matter what the distance was between you and Kobe Bryant in accomplishments in resume in talent skill Whatever you were the guy was saying fuck it. This guy. We're not letting him roll us. I'm gonna give him everything I've got I'm gonna stand up to him as if I am every bit the player that he is and that's exactly it Like when you're in these these kinds of competition that or that this level of competition at this stage Yeah, Chet Holmgren cannot afford to think about where Wimby is in the pantheon or whatever in relation to him His his job is to go out of it as if he is every bit his equal and I think we've seen that kind of feisty is from Chet before in the past We didn't see it a lot last night. He did block him to what was that that right at the end of was that in a regulation or Ender regulation. That was a great walk to great. Yeah, right. So like give him his due because that was obviously a huge freaking play in the moment But I but I agree with with everything Roger said like like and everything you said Logan like Chet has to play this as if he's the one who like you got to deal with me Right and I think like the other thing is like I Mean we we get lost in this match up just because Wimby is so great Chets a bad motherfucker offensively, right? I don't even think he's he's he's really reached his even Start of his peak. I think that he if if he unlocks himself and therefore unlocks his Oklahoma city team They are if he doesn't have to be with me. He just we're not asking him. They play two different roles He doesn't need to get 40 and 20 but if he can respond with like brown giving you 25 and 13 That's great. That is awesome. That's why they don't feature him though, right? Like it's it's it's shea first and Jada But I'm saying no, but what I'm saying though like if he showed that I can guarantee you Howard if he showed the all of his capabilities that that math will change I truly believe that Because he has all the attributes he has the he has the I think he has skeletons of that game And he also has the size and and all of the things that can make him not necessarily equal to Wimby But someone who can definitely challenge him Can't have seven shots and eight points like you know you can't have that he's too good for that and he and you You're right in that like he's got a lot of tools to work with man. He's a good player It It might not manifest itself in this series that he's their number two But there's meat on the bone for him in this series There's and any and he wasn't looking to eat last night like you know if Wimby is gonna be doing From from the spurs perspective like I called okay. See cute Well, if you're gonna take that big anchor and multiple times they brought his ass out to your point Logan to like the free throw line like Shay's got it at the three point line and He's looking to beat his man and all good players will tell you they ain't worried about the dude that's guarding them They're worried about the next guy. They have to deal with as they beat because he's already beat the guy guard him He's beat what's next? Well San Antonio bring Wimby's big ass and shadow like right behind his defender. So like she doesn't even want to go Chad hungry should be living on the rim every time that big dude leaves and and decides he's not gonna anchor that rim dunk Yeah, like I'm oversimplifying it, but like what what you go? I'm seven three and you go and you're gonna leave the rim unattended I'm about to have my big ass right there every time and and even if it's not to get the lob for the dunk Well, Wimby Chase is almost every shot that shot. I'm gonna live on this offensive glass They can't keep me off of this glass like I'm gonna eat there's there's there's food out there for him to eat and I don't think he was looking for it last night It's also that he's like passive, bro. You can't have eight points all seven shots dog in 41 minutes It's just not you just can't do it And I know I said that before and I'm harping on it, but jeez, you know and like I think I think Chad could be like I mean he has the all stars and stuff But I think he can be one of those bigs here and I think that you know for whatever reason or the sealants that are there Maybe doesn't see it, but like I see it in them And I know a lot of people in that organization see it in them and he can be that he can be that anchor I just don't want him to shrink from the moment, you know, because I think we're I Think and Beck I think we're all annoyed because we see what the fuck he can be we see The prototypical like what you would want in the modern NBA, right? And I just see him's I don't want to see him just always just be the guy that's settling for corner threes That's my thing, you know, like he had seven he had seven field goal attempts and four of those were three point attempts Well, I would say this though to Howard's point Because I agree I agree with you Logan like not enough attempts, but like if you're okay, see Maybe you try to get him involved like maybe you try to run some stuff at him to see like if he can find a rhythm And if he can get going and display the skill set that people think he has That puts Wembee in a really tough spot. Now you're a primary defender, my boy Like now you gotta come out and guard. You're not just gonna be in shadow help you got to honor this when you just leave Cheat off in the corner when be just roams like maybe you try to run some shit at him Yeah, man, make them a fuck of work this episode is brought to you by NBC and peacock. All right guys It's officially that time you can feel it right away every possession matters more every mistake calls more every shot can swing Everything this is when the biggest star shine on the biggest stage because this is the test This is what the whole season has been building to watch the NBA playoffs on NBC and peacock. It's playoff time We're quick before we get to mail back Like we don't gotta be crazy post mortem or whatever, but I'm just really sad about Detroit and just how they went outside and I just It was very discouraging because it felt like a flash in a pan as opposed to something that's sustainable am I off base or Go I don't believe that I'm gonna be real. I'm gonna say okay. All right. I'm gonna say why I do think that they're all but I do they go I'm not a question first. I wasn't sure if that was rhetorical if I should actually answer. I'm answering But it's a fair point. It's a fair point. Well, they lost to the team that like was supposed to be the most disappointed team and the In the Eastern Conference and the Cavs in a game where they absolutely should have had and There were so many glaring Mishaps from the people that are supposed to be their stars Jalen Durin in particular and I didn't come I just didn't come away with that scene like oh, okay This is the team is gonna dominate the Western the Eastern Conference for the next five six years and we're just gonna have to deal with them I just didn't it felt like a team that had won a lot of games had had a great season But there were just too many flaws that we saw in this post season that was late That was pretty glaring right like you play against the team like the magic who essentially had quit on the stars had quit on their team down That stretch and they quit on their coach and they take you to seven when they end up is taking you to seven And then you have another series against the Cavs where they just wet the bed in an elimination game and yes, sure Mitchell had a big game in game seven, but you got a James heart a prime James heart in game and you couldn't you literally got wiped on
of the floor and you couldn't get offence that whole that whole closeout game at home nonetheless right they had a couple punches they have a you know they they can get physical but if your best guy is can they're your second best guy on the team in Jalen Durin who I do like and you know I went out to Detroit to go interview him I do like him but like you can't get played off the floor like that if you're gonna be a number two option and just so many flaws within that 60 something game season that they had and they did not have a great showing that just showed me hey this team is just going to be team with the future because of the teams that they played in the performances that they had against those teams so yeah that's how I feel about them. Just to pull back to the big picture for a second here because I think by the time we get to the stage of the season we're just all we're thinking is like 60 win team number one seed huge disappointment cool in the in the moment fair as a snapshot but let's pull back two years ago there were 14 win team last year 44 win team that makes the playoffs as a six seed and loses to the next in the first round in six games I've made this point before and I'll make it again I have no I still have not researched it but I'm pretty sure this is incredibly rare to be a 60 win team that's a number one seed having never won a single playoff series prior to that unless you went out and signed like a LeBron James or something in the offseason a team that is organically young like a young organically built team that's just growing step-to-step not adding some superstar from the outside going from never winning a playoff series to 60 wins in the number one seed it just doesn't happen so where they were was deceptive in the sense that like I think it put more pressure on them and more expectation than as I reasonably fair for a team as young and inexperienced as they are especially with Kate and Durin as their their tent poles Jalen Durin had a horrendous series and and a pretty bad postseason period Kate had a shit ton of turnovers all the things that were glaring concerns with this team that we talked about during the season came to to undermine them right secondary playmaking scoring three point shooting all of it but Jalen Durin's only 22 Kate super young like the future is bright they they just need a little bit of retooling this was never supposed to be the finished product of hey pistons are here and now they're here to stay also not for nothing go back to October we were all talking about it being a two team race in the east and neither of them were Detroit it was Nixon Cleveland the two teams that low and beholder in the conference finals against each other why because we thought Detroit it was too soon they were 44 win team that hadn't won a playoff series yet too soon for them to rise or Lando some people thought they were ready I'd we did not on this pod um Atlanta wasn't ready Boston was supposed to be in a gap year obviously they had a fantastic year without Tatum mostly but it was supposed to be Nixon Cleveland that's what we thought in October and here we are that's the conference finals I don't think especially given on paper how much more talent the calves have even if you don't like the the garland hard and swap at mid season whatever hardened Mitchell Allen mobility and quality supporting cat and quality uh roll guys around them it is more talent and more balanced on paper than what Detroit has right now so I don't consider this it's humiliating did you get your blown out in game seven at home for sure I don't want to diminish it I just think that the pistons this was all found money for them um and they've got a little bit of work to do on the roster but I'm not once they they can build that out a little bit we'll see what they pay Durin who's a restricted for agent I think they're going to be fine I think the Durham piece though is is a huge piece in that though right because there's no way that in a playoffs series and basically this playoffs was a carbon copy of last year's playoffs for him right and what you don't want is to pay somebody that much money to be a number two and you're relying on Tobias Harris to be your number two scoring option well that's the thing Tobias Tobias shouldn't be in that role in the first place which is the whole point of like why they need to make changes this summer well yeah but like my thing is like you can't outsource it for a number two though right like if if Durin is going to be your guy like what and the way this cap is right now in the in the aprons and all of that like if he has to be your guy do you trade him to get another guy in that way because it's very clearly going to be a glaring hole in the postseason if he continues to be like this maybe you go get your honest yeah perhaps and and you got the sartonson contract as well and he I think he only shot four threes in the whole postseason and missed all of them the Thompson twins both need to get an offensive game going and jump shots but I mean they're still both amazing and a sart I thought in a lot of ways we had a great series but but yeah they need more offense on that team period but thoughts on this right before we get to Melvagan or Roger no no you guys yeah you're good all right all right all right Cliff Cliff you booted out the two it was good man what's up with you man how you feeling we just potted for 40 minutes on a game one of a western conference finals we're feeling fucking fantastic let's get it doesn't happen let's talk more playoffs this is from black rob and main hello fellas shut up black rob I see you big dog whoa whoa hello okay all right all right hello fellas love this playoff analysis you guys are killing it but would love to hear from Roger about playoff adjustments in between games and a series by teams specifically after a big loss where changes need to be made what happens when everybody comes into practice or shoot around the next day is their film study as a team individual player meetings dood's gang called out really curious as to how that goes down no need to read my question on there just would love to hear some insight from Roger black rob and main I see you big dog I see you yeah it's I mean um let's see um yeah so typically in a like with a regular season situation um you're going to come in you're going to wash whatever happened that night after the game um and then when you show up the next morning um you're going to get a light understanding of what this team is trying to do to you you're going to go over like five six seven of their favorite sets that might be too many I don't know and you're going to walk through that and and you know you'll get a scouting report where if you really want to do some due diligence on your particular matchup you can um you can dive into that like on your own time when we leave shoot around and get familiar with said player if you don't know I'm well enough and then you know basically it's game time um in the playoffs like we would play a game and we're all going back especially on the road right like we're all going back and we're probably going to eat in the in the hotel together right they're going to have a ballroom set up where we'll eat you're already sitting in your pods of players brainstorming like trying to hash out what's going on there's also a table of coaches at that point who are really diving in to the film that's already been chopped up um and trying to figure out what's going on so by the time you wake up the next morning and you're at breakfast again in the same ballroom the coaches have already made all the adjustments you know that they think are necessary um players are again kind of doing their thing after breakfast we're going to sit down and there's going to be a bunch of film showed from last night's game there are going to be every instance that we thought we executed correctly and you know most of the instances that we thought we didn't execute correctly and we are going to talk about like why it worked why it didn't work we're going to make necessary changes um then I mean depending on yeah probably have a walkthrough so we'll take it in and we will we'll take that to practice we're going to just walk through all of these things this isn't live we're not hooping it's too late in the season you don't want to risk injury but these are detailed walkthroughs where okay boom they ran you know zoom action howards now got the ball he's on the left side of the court we know he likes to go left like what is our what is our plan how are we going to execute that let's walk through it let's walk through a boom all right we got it that's what you're going to do right and then you're going to get your shots up you're going to do your thing um but but that's that's on your mind for the rest of the night like you're walking through all of those details and how you're going to approach it from a individual perspective you're walking with that sheet I told you about it was a sheet when I played it's probably like the cut-ups on your phone now of what Howard likes to do so like where I told you like in a regular season game I'm looking at that like in shoot around I'm briefly reading it when I get back to the hotel room I might sit down there and watch the video a little bit right before the jump all goes off in the playoffs you're obsessing over that and then you're comparing that right and I'm asking our film guy to send me every clip of what I did last night when Howard did x y and z let me see how many I got right let me see how effective I was doing it let me see where I can like clean that up you just have the time to do that um in the playoffs in a different way I don't know if that help but that's kind of the way that works pure rosy I don't know if that was I don't know if that was great after you just fucking yeah I mean I don't know people like that like that's well that's what it that's what looks I think the one other element though Raj I'm curious about is like is there an emotional hangover in in the midst of all that because like you've got all the technical stuff and you you've just gone through this is how we prepare this is how we adjust this is how we work through the day and and and all this but like if you just got blown out or if it's just like if you're just if it's one of those like like what what the thunder maybe you're going through today even just a double overtime loss and now down oh one in a series when you're the the higher seat like yeah where is how much of the emotional safety have to go through or is it just do you just get like in the weeds and and and that's it like you're not thinking about the last thing yeah I mean everybody processes that different
right? Like everybody's got their own ability to like flush what happened. Like some of us do it quicker than than others. You get back that night, Howard, you're pissed. Like don't get me wrong. Like I'm talking, we're talking shop, we're talking business, we're talking about like what we didn't do well, but everyone is pissed that night. Like this is, we let this get away. By the next morning, though, Howard, usually where you got a flush, you know, and some guys might be hanging on to it, but we got to move because it's moving, they're moving and you know, it's the old added, you can't let one turn into two. Like one miss shot can't turn into two miss shots because you're thinking about the first miss shot. You got to keep moving forward. So you know, it really does become in playoff situations. Like the best compartmentalizers, like the best a that happened. It sucked or I didn't do my job well and I own that, but I'm not going to fuck that up again. The people who do that the best, typically, you know, there's more that goes into it. You got to have a good team and all of that, but like they're usually more successful. Let's get to this next one. This is from Eric Calhoun. While LeBron won't take a discount, I keep seeing people wonder if LeBron will take a discount to be on a contender. Doesn't he want to be a team owner? And then we watch Alice Rodriguez turning over his couch cushions, trying to come up with the last 100 mil. He needed to get the wolves. I don't see the discount coming. The LeBron is set for life already argument collapses. If he's trying to be a big part of a multi-billion dollar purchase. Love the show gents. Eric and Durham, North Carolina, Howard, that one is for you. Oh, that's for Howard. Okay. Okay. Is that for Howard? Did they say that? It doesn't say that. But this is I just know. No, it's not a high. I was I had something for that. When I had something. Oh, my phone, my phone, look at me. You can say. You can say, though, you can say that you're not going to take a discount. All you want, bro. But you still asking these people for money. And the fact is, anybody going to pay a max deal and for LeBron James and him actually get everything that he says that he wants. It's not going to happen, bro. I'm sorry. Like he can say, he can posture. He can do all those things. But then you go fuck around and get 50 million from the pelicans. I don't think they can even do that, right? Like that. That's just not happening right now. I'm sorry. It's not here's the here's the thing. Um, this is Howard's question. So go ahead. According to Forbes, they estimate everybody's net worth. Forbes says LeBron's worth 1.4 billion. So let's take that at face value. Um, NBA teams are going for like a minimum of 5 billion now. And the expansion teams, they're trying to get like 8 to 10 billion. So LeBron making 50 to 55 million in a max deal versus taking a quote unquote discount that only pays him only 10 or 15 million ain't going to make a dent in the expansion fee or whatever it costs to buy an existing team. So these are, these are in different ball parks entirely. So fair point to listener. Thank you for the question, Eric. Uh, but no, like what LeBron makes in his probably final season is a matter of millions, tens of millions. And teams are selling for billions. Also, most majority owners now aren't paying the majority of this. They're getting like a lot of private equity help. They're, they've got partners. Um, and these are multi billionaires. Like that's the bar now is to be a multi billionaire partnering with other multi billionaires or private equity. LeBron is a single billionaire only. So we so broke. So anyway, we broke his ill. Uh, yeah, man, all of that, he's, I mean, LeBron is basically going to be like a, a magic Johnson or, um, and that's not no shade. I want magic's money right now. I could take it. Um, but he's going to be the face of an ownership group. He's not necessarily like, he's not going to be the, the days of like how it's said of single person or single entity. Unless you're like Steve Balmer, like Basel's sort of like maybe Tim Cook or something like that. There's only a finite amount of people that can actually just do it as one person in this world. Um, but Brown is just going to be like a face. Um, maybe he gets like a 10% equity or something like that. But that's, that's kind of what I, what I see if it happens. If it happens at all, because here's the thing. It's, it's been hilarious, right? Cause like, uh, you know, remember the talk around the play and was like, Hey, LeBron is going to try to get the first plane, not place playing. Excuse me. The talk around the first in season tournament was, oh, this is, I just buzz like who's going to get the Vegas team? Who's going to get the Vegas team? And LeBron was just trying to put his bid in, you see him wearing like the Las Vegas Aces shirt and, um, you know, trying to ingratiate himself in Vegas and like in recent years, it's been like kind of a, a denial for him. And, uh, like, like he's gotten denied by the powers that be like, Hey, and that's so fast. You are LeBron, but like, yeah, yeah. And it's been, that's been fascinating to see. So, um, it's a different, it's a different club, dog. It's a, a, cause it's, Roger, different club, different club. Um, we got another one or is that, is that this last, we're just a shout out to how we're back for the real one of the week. This is from Chase. I'm hoping to say in the last name, Kariko. Kariso, what a back as an openly gay man who absolutely loves basketball and absolutely loves the NBA. I simply have to give you your flowers and say thank you. Jason Collins came out at a time when I had figured out I was gay, but had not yet come out is coming out and actually signing a deal and playing NBA games after the fact absolutely blew my mind and it gave me some hope for the world. Your words, uh, the Zach Lopez were amazing. Perhaps more impactful than anything. I could say, you quite literally brought tears to my eyes. Thank you. Love the pod. My real one of the week is Howard M.F.ing Beck by. Wow. So that H back salute. Thank you, Chase. Appreciate that. Um, I think you conflated both the two times I mentioned. I did mention it on Zach's pot. I think first and then I mentioned it on our pod for I did make Jason Collins real one of the week last week. But um, wow. No, that was that's very kind. Chase, thank you. Thank you for listening. Appreciate it. Um, appreciate the note. Yes, sir, man. Shout out Chase. Um, shout out to everyone. Shout out to everybody that that, uh, submissive ruins, uh, mailbag Romans,
[email protected]. Real ones
[email protected]. We will see you guys on Friday night, man. And I believe that is going to be game of three of spurs. Uh, okay, see. So we're just going to be talking about spurs. Okay. See for, you know, for the rest of this time, maybe for the rest of the place. And I'm okay with that. As you can see, we had 45 minutes of it. I think we could do another 45 minute segment on. Roger might even stay up for it. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I mean, I'll see you. Roger. We'll see you Friday night, baby. All right. We're tapping all the shits. Talk to y'all soon, man. Must be 21 years and older in present and select states for Kansas and affiliation with Kansas star casino or 18 and older in present and DC Kentucky or Wyoming gambling problem called one hundred gambler or one eight hundred my reset call one eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven seven seven seven or visit ccpg.org backslashchat and Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org and Maryland hope is here. Visit gamblinghelp ma.org or call one eight hundred three two seven five zero five zero four twenty four seven support and Massachusetts or call one eight seven seven hope and why or text hope and why in New York for Louisiana call one eight seven seven seven seven zero seven eight six seven
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