Club Shay Shay - Nightcap - Hour 1: Lakers win 8 of 9, Jokic "Worst MVP Ever"?

Episode Date: April 4, 2024

Shannon Sharpe and Gilbert Arenas react to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Washington Wizards for their eighth win in nine games. Later, they discuss to an anonymous NBA executive saying Nikola Jokic winning his third MVP in four years is "not going to age well." 0:00 Introduction04:20 Lakers defeat Wizards takeaways18:00 Celtics defeat Thunder for 60th win of the season26:15 NBA GM says Jokic winning a 3rd MVP won’t age well47:15 Unc thinks the NBA is winning because the playoff races are so tight54:10 LeBron jokes that he should “lay off leg day" #Club #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Thank you for joining us again for another episode of Nightcap. I am your favorite thug, Shannon Sharp. He's your favorite number zero, Arizona Wildcat legend, Wizard Grape, once scored 60 points in an NBA game in flip-flops. He is the hibachi man himself, Gilbert Arenas.

Thank you again for joining us. Guys, please, please go vote for us for our Webby Award. We're up – who are we up against? Oh, New Heights, the Kelsey brothers. And, man, you know they got these swifties, and they probably got like 150 emails each. So right now we're currently in second place behind those guys.

And I know it's a daunting task to probably take those guys down with the Swifties in there. There's egging up, got a batter in their back, but that's our mission to take the Swifties down along with Travis and Jason Kelsey.

But thank you, guys. We pinned the link where you can go vote for us at the top of the chat. So thank you. Thank you so much for that. Please, please, one more time, make sure you like and subscribe to the podcast Nightcap, but please go vote for us because we're trying to beat the Kelsey. We're going to get them in something.

Sooner or later, we're going to catch y'all last, Trav. We're going to get you. Please make sure you subscribe to the Nightcap Podcast feed. You can listen to Nightcap through the Club Shay Shay feed, but we would greatly appreciate it if you subscribe and listen to the Nightcap

Podcast feed. Thank you again for selling out Shay by LaPortier. We have pinned the link at the top of the chat. Also, we have shipments in, so we should be able to fulfill all orders pre-orders only that's what we're doing now only pre-orders but we should have enough in stock to supply the orders that were placed before and the pre-orders as they come in so thank you again for that also please like please like and subscribe to Gil's Arena channel on YouTube.

His show airs Monday through Thursday, live at 1130 a.m. Pacific time. That's Gil's Arena channel on YouTube. His show airs Monday through Thursday, live at 1130 a.m. Pacific. Gil also has a personal YouTube page, and it's called No Chill Gil. He has a personal page, Gilbert Arenas, No Chill Gil. Let's go there and get his subs up. Gil, let's get right into it tonight. The Lakers beat the Wizards 125-120.

L.A. improved to 44-33, finished the six-game road trip 5-1. The game really shouldn't have been this close, but ended up having to put the starters back in with about 35 seconds to go because, what, a 12- or 13-point lead got cut down to five. So they're 5-1 on the road trip. They're currently tied with Sacramento and Phoenix

in the loss column, but two games back. No, no, tied in the win column, but they're two games back in the loss column. LeBron James, another magnificent night, 25-79. Anthony Davis was dominant. 35 points on 10 of 17 shooting, 15 of 15 from the free throw line, 18 rebounds, two steals, three blocks, and they hold on to beat the Wizards 125-120.

As you watch the game, not just this, let's go all the way back. And if you can remember the games that they played and they played really well on this road trip, Bill, what have you liked most about what you've seen from the Lakers? That they've beat the teams that they were supposed to beat. They did what they were supposed to do. Yes. John James has stepped up. AD has played well. And the role players that we were having troubles with,

let's say around the end of December, January, those guys are playing more consistent now, right? Yes. When you're talking about getting into the playoff, it seems like everybody is ramping it up for the playoff and it's on the same mission here. Yeah, I like what I saw. LeBron has been really, really good.

And as he mentioned, he says, look, guys, the last year I had to deal with the foot. So basically I was just playing the games. I wasn't able to get any on-court activity. I couldn't do practice. I couldn't do shoot-arounds or anything of that nature. Now I come out here before the game. I'm able to get my shots up before the game. I'm able to get on the court with the guys for shoot-around.

I'm able to work on my shot. And you can tell, 9 of 10 the other day, what, 40 points on 17 shots. Comes back last night at, what was he, 8 of 10, 10 of 12? Very few shots again. Very, very efficient last night against Toronto. Another efficient night. Another 50% shooting night tonight. But as you said, Gil, we knew this was on the horizon.

Horizon. We knew they were going to play a lot of sub-500 teams. And if you're trying to get to where you ultimately need to be, these are the teams that you need to beat. These are the teams that early in the year that was sub 500, when they were the November and December that was beating the Lakers. And you're like,

what the hell? And it's still, it's still troubling to me with Anthony Davis playing as well as he is. And he's played 72 games. LeBron is being LeBron. And here we are 44 and 33. And we're in the night. We're in a nice spot.

I still can't understand that for the life of me. You know what? I want to give Prince his credit, right? At the beginning of the season, my complaint with him and Vando was, you guys are sitting in the corner being atmosphere, right? And as

of late, Prince has been diving a lot more, getting into those open spaces. Yeah, those creases. Yeah, he's been slashing, diving, because the defense didn't expect that. So he's getting a lot of easy points and keeping the defense honest by moving. Just little things like that is what makes those guys important. If you sit in a corner, just be in atmosphere, it's harder for AD and LeBron.

So the fact that AD has played this well, LeBron has played this well, and we are struggling, I will take that to see how we're playing now. Right. And plus the thing is D-Lo. D-Lo has vastly improved from the end of January

to the beginning of February until now. D-Lo has been sensational. Had he been playing like that all alone, the trade talks would have never come up. Yeah, no, you're right. It wouldn't have. It wouldn't have. And I think because of the trade talks, it put some urgency into his game, right? You know, when you start off a season, you don't want to be traded, right?

Hell no. We can count the millions. You can count all the money in my pocket. But leaving the city that I call home to go somewhere else, to learn that city, to learn that players, to learn the routes, the routes, money has no impact on that. If I take you from your job, no matter how much you make it and take you to a whole nother city,

you're going to have a tough time struggling, especially mentally, right? I think, and I think, I don't know if he has a wife or a significant other. I know he has a small child that I see him with from time to time after the games. Now you get, because it's just not you. Yeah. You have to think of other people.

You have to think of your wife or your significant other, the kids. And I think he really wanted to be back in LA because I'm not so sure he really wanted to leave L.A. in the first place. So he looks at it as a second chance. I got a second opportunity to come back and fulfill or correct the wrong that happened before. And so I don't think he really wanted to leave L.A. the first time. And I know for certain he doesn't want to leave now because he said,

I want to be a Laker next year. And he's playing like he wants to be a Laker next year. He's shooting the ball extremely well, doing a great job of running the offense when he's asked to do so. But I love the way he's played. LeBron is LeBron. I mean, it goes without saying, the guy's shooting 54% from the floor. Anthony Davis is giving you

25 and basically 13 on a nightly basis. Rui has been sensational also. I mean, he's shooting the ball at a high level. Austin Reeves is Mr. Consistent. You know what you're going to get. But I do think, Gil, we're going to probably need a little bit more for our bench.

Dinwiddie's going to have to give us a little more. Prince is going to have to give us a little more. Prince is going to have to give us a little more. We know what to expect from Jackson Hayes. He's an effort guy. He's going to challenge shots at the rim. He's going to run, get you some putbacks, get you some lob dunks. So I don't know, really. I'm not expecting him to give us

12. If he can give us 6 and 8, a couple of blocks, some time, you know, some solid defense, okay, we can live with that. But I think Dinwiddie, I think Torrey and Prince, those are our two main bench guys. Those guys are going to probably need to be in the double figures in order for the Lakers because you can't ask your starters

to go out there and score 120 points every damn night. No, no, you're going to need about, I'll say, in the playoffs, depending on who we match up against, 20, 25, 30 points from our bench. And 90% of that is coming from Prince and Dinwiddie, right? And that's just the way it is. And, you know, just like Miami, you know, Jimmy Butler played very well first two rounds. And then I think it was Caleb Martin, right? That almost won an MVP of one of those games. And he was chanting his name, right?

Those are what we need. We need different players stepping up at the right time because it's not expected in the playoffs. And the playoffs is grit and grind, right? We're dialed in. We know the playbook. We know your first option. We know your second option.

So to really be dominant in the playoffs, you're playing in your third option mode for the first time, for the most part. So when guys step out of their body, right? Austin Reeves goes 430. D-Lo goes 430, right? Austin Reeves goes for a 30. D-Lo goes for a 30, right?

Rui goes for it. Those are the games that we need in those times. If you look at last year against the Grizzlies, remember that road game? Rui goes crazy. They're like, we're going to let you shoot the three. Rui said, okay, thank you. And the next thing you know, you go back and you get your split.

And so now, and then you come home, Austin Reeves takes over a game. So they're going to be game. Look, you need AD and LeBron to be AD and AD. But you also need a third guy at different points of a game. It was Rui one game. It was Austin Reeves another game. And that's what you need because AD and LeBron is going to be

AD and LeBron. Can we get another game from a Rui where he gives us 20 to 25? Can we get a game like that from Austin Reeves where he gives us 20 to 25? Because I'm counting on LeBron to give me somewhere between 50 and 60 on a nightly basis. Between him and AD? Yep. HimBron to give me somewhere between 50 and 60 on a nightly basis. Between him and AD, yep. Him and AD to give

us somewhere between 50 and 60 on a nightly basis. Now, we get Roy a game. We get Austin Reeves give us a game. To go along with those guys, we get D-Lo to give us a game. We get our bench to give us 20 between those three guys, but the main contributor will be Dinwiddie,

will be Torian Prince, Jackson Hayes, but the main corporates will be those two guys, Dinwiddie and Prince. I like the Lakers' chances, but they're going to have to... They have a big lead, and then they give it away. They run back

out to another big lead, 17, 18 points, and they let the Wizards get it all the way back down to two. When LeBron is not taking over the game, those guys don't know how to finish players off. They don't know how to finish you.

I know this is a different league where threes really help you get back into game. Oh, for sure. A 20-point lead can be cut five, four shots, right? You know, you get three threes and one, and you're right back in the game. And that's what the Golden State style was.

So, you know, sometimes when you have your foot on a throw, you just got to crush it. Yeah. You got to do it. I think the thing is also, Gil, is that a lot of times when you get up and if you get up a certain way, you keep playing that way. But you keep taking bad shots and when they go in, you're like, yeah, everybody high-fiving and everybody like ki-ki-kiing.

But all of a sudden, you take a couple of those bad shots and they race back to the other end, get some easy buckets, and the next thing you know, they hit a couple of those bad shots and they race back to the other end, get some easy buckets, and the next thing you know they hit a couple of threes, and all of a sudden, like you said, your 20-point lead is not down to 10, maybe even 9. Now you're like, oh, what happened? Because we just watched the Wizards go on a 15-0 run.

So if the Wizards can go on a 15-0 run, you know Sacramento can do that. You know Phoenix can do that. You know the Nuggets can do that. But right now, this is bad teams' best time to play basketball.

Oh, this is it right now. Coach, you can't sub me, right? It is what it is. Season about to be over. You about to be fired. I'm about to be traded. Free agency. So right now is the best time for bad teams because you get no responsibility

whatsoever. And it's basically summer league basketball for these guys. So you're going to have a lot of teams playing. Spoiler alert. You know what, Gil? I knew one thing. Kyle Kuzma ain't played in a week, but I knew he was going to play against the Lakers. You know what Gil you knew I knew one thing Kyle Kuzma

ain't played in a week but I knew he was going to play against the Lakers yeah yeah yeah you know what I'm saying because he he wants to show y'all should have never

got rid of me but and I I love the way he's playing but he wasn't going to be able to do that with AD and LeBron and that's what he doesn't

understand it I mean yeah I mean look at Bradley Beal. Bradley Beal averaged 30. Bradley Beal is a 20, averaged 31 year at the high 20s, but he's not going to get the shots.

It's hard for a third option to be what he was when he was the first option, especially when the first two options is Anthony Davis and LeBron. The first two options are Book and KD. KD and Book. So it's hard for Bill to get those.

You understand that. James Worthy. It's a Hall of Famer. But you know it was going to Kareem, Magic. Okay, everybody else, Philly. You know, with Bill, and I watched him a lot, they overpass sometimes.

There's times where that guy has that shot and he'll swing, swing. Right? Those guys are playing unselfish. Sometimes to the point where your shot is better than that open corner shot from that guy. And I think Beal does that a lot where he has the shot and he makes the extra pass. And there's going to be times where he could average 20. The shots are there. The ball movement is there.

But I think because they trust each other so much that they're willing. Like he'll pass up a shot to pass it to Grayson Allen or Gordon. Sometimes, Gil, you're absolutely right. I notice that also a lot of times when teams have big threes or teams just come together.

I'm going to show you that I'm so selfish. I'm going to pass up this shot right here. See what I did? I gave up this good shot to get a great shot. Bro, go ahead and take that. Take that. It already touched the main two guys' hands. Boom, boom.

It came to you. This is when you get to work. So making that extra pass sometimes kind of takes away from what you do. But they will be dangerous in the playoffs. So this is going to be a good one. The Celtics beat the Thunder at the Garden 135-100 for the first time in 14 years. They've clinched the NBA's best record in home court

throughout the NBA playoffs for as long as they play, they will have home court. Their current record is 60-16, and they have six games remaining. Christoph Brzinga's led the way with 27 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, five blocks. JT, Jason Tatum, 24 points, seven rebounds, three assists. JB, Jalen Brown, 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks. Al Horford had 16 points, four rebounds. He was plus 32.

Holiday, 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists. Peyton Pritchard, 11 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals. And Howell even chimped in with 10 points. Very balanced. But what did you expect? I don't think they had Shea Gilgis. I didn't see Trent Holmgren unless he played early in the game. I tuned into that game a little late because I didn't really expect them to do much

because Shea has been in and out of the lineup with that quad injury. Yeah. But the Celtics are a very balanced team, and you're going to have to play extremely well to beat them. Now, their Achilles heels or their bugaboo is to get them in the fourth quarter and make them execute. Yeah. Because they hit a lot of tough –

those shots, Gil, that go in early in the ball game, and, you know, those tough, that JT between his legs and sidestep three, JB, those deep threes, they go in early.

In the fourth quarter, they're still taking those shots. They're not going in, and they're allowing teams to creep back into the ball game and nip them at the end. Yeah, you know, their struggles going in and they're allowing teams to creep back into the ball game and nip them at the end. You know,

their struggles is that they consistently rely on jump shots. Yes. Right? When you have two guys that are all of 6'8", 6'9", 6'10", that are athletic.

Yes. You guys are the athletic players in your position where no one's stopping you from getting to the rim. You're stopping yourself by relying and settling for jumpers. If I'm a defender, if Tatum goes for 30-40

on jump shots, so be it. So be it. But I'd rather that than him putting me in a basket, putting the team in foul trouble, putting me in foul trouble. Right now I got to ask for helps and all that stuff. That's where they need to switch their game in the playoffs, where they have to come out and consciously think, get to the basket, get to the basket, get to the basket,

because the playoffs is strategy, right? I need to show you something in the first three quarters and give you what I really want to do in the fourth quarter. If I really want to shoot jumpers in the fourth, first three quarters, I need to be driving. So go on your heels so I can. But if you sidestepped me the whole first three quarters, I know what you want to do in the fourth.

So now basketball becomes stale to you because for the most part, you're going to go pick and roll, go by yourself. The other two guys are going to be sitting in the cutter. You guys don't know how to play without the ball. That's one problem they have too, that when one has the ball, the other one doesn't know how to play

basketball. He goes in the corner and stands in the court he sits he might as well just sit on the bench at that goddamn point he can sit on the bench clapping hands and stuff because he don't move right it's not like he's keeping the defense honest he's not you know gordon or back when lebron and d wade was playing when one's driving the other one's driving to for that dump off in the dump. If they play that way, trust me in a play, they're going to run through teams. Right. Yeah. It's going to be very interesting to see because we keep saying this is their year. Jay Jason Tatum has gotten better and better every year.

Jalen Brown has turned into more than an athlete. Now he can shoot the ball. He can drive the ball. There's no excuse. They have Przingis, who's a mismatch because he can pull your big out, and then when you switch it, they go pick and roll with him, or they go pick and roll with him and JB or Derek White. He's going to get a smaller guy on him,

and he's going to shoot right over the top of him or he's going to put him in the basket. So really, as far as a complete team, they are the most complete team in the NBA because when you look at them, they can shoot the three, and they have guys that can if they wanted to. JT can post up. He can shoot the mid-range.

He can put the ball on the floor. He can get to the rim. We know JB. We've seen JB put guys in the rim. So we know his jump shot is not as consistent as JT's. We know what Przingis is. He can shoot the three. He wants to shoot that more so than get inside. But it's okay.

Al Horford is solid. He's going to get you rebounds. He'll hit the open three. He'll crash the glass. They have a very consistent team, and when you look at the guys that have Holiday, it's going to take a couple of threes, but he's mainly your perimeter defender.

That's his job. Who's the best player? Who's your best perimeter player on the opposing team? So even if you have to give up some of his points to have him help neutralize some of the other guys you can see that because you should be able to get enough points from jb jt prasingas derrick white that even if he doesn't give you his normal 12 14 points and he's holding the other team's perimeter player to under his average you can live with that yeah you know what

i like you know what i really like about the team? It's like they're so versatile, right? When they're small, they're big, right? They're still big. Now, they only put this lineup in a few times. When they did, they dominated. When you have someone like Jason Tatum at the point, right? Jaden Brown at the shooting guard.

You can put Sam at the three. You can put Al Horford at the four. And you can put Porzingis at the five and be a very big mobile team. Which when Jason Tatum goes to the point, who guards him? Right. It forces you to switch your whole lineup, and no one has a lineup that versatile. Right. So they can really do something. If they're playing against Denver, if they make it against Denver, I'm going to use that

lineup at the end of the game where now Murray has to guard Jason Tatum. Yeah. He's not equipped to do that if he's playing from the mid post. No. And the plus when you play that lineup, they can switch everything.

They can switch. Very few teams, they're like, oh, we want to switch. But you're really not equipped to switch. You're just switching because it sounds good. And it makes you seem like you're athletic and you're personal. When you're really not. But they can. They can literally switch because JT at 6'9", 6'10".

JB's probably 6'7", 6'8". Holiday is a big two-guard. Not even Holiday. You got Sam at the three who's 6'7", 6'8". Holiday is a big two-guard. Not even Holiday. You got Sam at the three who's 6'7", 6'8". Okay, you put Sam. Yeah. Then you got Horford. You got Horford who's 6'10".

And you got Przingis who's 7'0". Oh, he's 7'3", my bad. They have rim protection. And then when Jokic, when you switch on Jokic, he's not going against a Sam Vincent like he was against Miami. He's not going against a Kyle Lowry. When that switch happens, he's going against Tatum, that has height on him,

with Porzingis sitting in the back protecting the rim. So Celtics, 16-16 with six games remaining. Clinch, home court throughout the entirety of the playoffs. So as long as they're in the playoffs, they will have home court. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game, every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media.

That's Patrick Claiborne, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe. This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Thanks, Nick. Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic. And of course, Colleen Wolfe. This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen.

Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that listen now on the iHeartRadio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast now it's time for our next segment and it's called a news cap cap ESPN Tim McMahon reported that one NBA executive believed that Jokic winning his third MVP in four years is not going to age well I had somebody from another team who said who was saying you can't in a historical context you cannot give this guy three MVPs in four seasons. Basically, his take was like, that's not going to age well. But Yoke has been dominant.

Gale, 26 and a half points, 12.3 rebounds, nine assists, one steal, 1.3 steals in 73 games. He's shooting 58% from the floor, 34% from deep. If he brings home his third MVP If he brings home his third MVP, he brings home his third MVP. Just because you guys effed it up and wouldn't give it to guys that Jordan probably should have seven or eight. LeBron should probably have six or seven.

Other guys, that ain't their fault. But here's the problem that you had, Gil. Until 1981, players voted for the MVP. Let's just think for people at home. One year, Wilt Chamberlain averaged 44 points

and 27 rebounds. And he finished 8th in the MVP voting. I want you to hear me again. He averaged 44 and 27 and finished 8th in the MVP voting. The year you to hear me again. He averaged 44 and 27 and finished eighth in the MVP voting. The year that he averaged 50 and 25, he did not win the MVP. So

you have players like, if I don't like you, I ain't voting for you. So you see what happened prior to the 80s? Players voted for the MVP. So now you got the writers, and so maybe we should have, the man had, he had 500, what'd he have?

I think he had 551 consecutive double-doubles. We're applauding Sabonis for having 54. The man went down there five, six years and had double-doubles. He never finished a season with less than 18 rebounds in a season. He averaged

23 rebounds for a season for a career. So he probably should have more. And then you wouldn't be upset that Jokic has the potential to win three and four years if they had done it right. So you wouldn't be mad because Jordan would have seven. And you say, well, damn, he get three.

He only two behind Jordan and he's 28. That means he's only one behind LeBron. He's only 28. He's only this. And he got... That's not his fault. That's not his fault that y'all messed it up. I gotta use your language, that 1964 language. Those mofo giant turkeys,

like, you're right. They screwed it up and you can't rewind it back. Like,'t rewind it back. I know in both sides, one side, the fact that they're having the discussion that they can't give it to them, that is disturbing, which means you've been doing this the whole time.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You've been penalizing people the whole time to protect who? Historical. And what? Right? Who have you been protecting

and what have you been protecting? Because you've been doing it. We know Jordan should have seven. So who? He should have three in a row. Were you protecting birds three in a row by not giving to Michael Jordan? Right? Or LeBron. LeBron should have three in a row. Were you protecting birds three in a row by not giving to Michael Jordan?

Right. Should have had some Shaquille should have had some. Yes. Kobe has one. Now, now I do understand when they say this about Jokic. Jokic is probably statistically when it comes to overall game, the worst MVP winner. He's the worst MVP winner in the last 40 years. Why do you say that?

When you're talking about MVP, the guys outside of first and second place, their teams was first and second place. The people who won the MVP, their teams was first and second. When Jordan won it, his team record, they were seventh in the NBA. That year, he averaged 35-6-5. Three steals. All-star MVP, defensive player of the year, scoring title, steals leader. That was the MVP. Historic year.

Makes sense. Right? That makes sense. When Westbrook won it, his team had the 10th best record. Triple-double. Right? He did something amazing. First time since Oscar Robinson.

He did something amazing. His team was 10th, but he did something that wasn't done since Oscar Robinson. When Jokic, in 2021, Jokic's team was fifth. He averaged 26-8 in 10. What was the historic part of that? There was no historic. Oh, the big man almost had a triple-double. Let's give it to him.

That's what the narrative was. A big man almost, not did, almost won the triple-double, and they gave it to him when his team record was like that. triple, double, and they gave it to him when his team record was like that. His second MVP, his team was tied in 10th place. 10th best record of the NBA, 27, 8, and 13. What was historic about it? about it. The two people before him had amazing an amazing season.

When you're talking about historic magic, team's first place, second place, first place. Jordan, seventh, second, one and one. Bird, one and one and one. His team was first place every time he won it. LeBron, first, first, fourth, first. Jokic, fifth and one and one. His team was first place every time he won it. LeBron, first, first,

fourth, first. Jokic, fifth and tenth. That is... They did that. Yes. They did that. It ain't his fault. He didn't vote for himself. You did it.

Either you're going to correct it or keep fucking it up. Yeah. Yogi's probably saying, don't correct it on my watch. Don't pick my season to use wide out and make a correction. Yeah, so look, his first two ones, he probably shouldn't have had those. If you go by history, last year, that should have been his. Shouldn't have been in beads. Jason Tatum's team has been one.

He's been the best player. He's averaged 30. He's had the number with the rest of history. That was his MVP. Now, Jokic is sitting in first with great stats, right? And he's going to win it. You know what I mean? Now you're sitting there like,

well, shit. I mean, we done cheated for them the last couple years, so we got to give it to them this year. So when you look at the history of this game, right? How Jokic won his MVP has never been, it's like we're dumbing down. Right.

We're dumbing down the game for a narrative. If you want your roles to look like they're playing well, then just let them play well. When Giannis was winning, Giannis was winning. He was dominating everything. His team was one. He dominated from the beginning of the season to the end of the season. Both years he won.

You don't need the handicap greatness. You need the handicap greatness. Kareem probably should have won it every year in the 70s. Kareem probably should have won it every year in the 70s. People don't realize how good Kareem was because he was mercurial. He didn't do a whole lot of talking to the media. He's kind of surly. I think it hurt him a lot.

His behavior when he played hurt him and after because that's why he didn't get a coaching job. But you go back and look at Kareem's stats in the 70s when he was with Milwaukee. When he's averaging 35, he's there with your 35 and 15 and 33 and 16 with three blocks and all that, you're like, hold on.

Who won it? I think Moses Malone was the last one to win the MVP with a losing record. I think in the late 70s. People don't realize Moses Malone got three MVPs. Yeah, Moses. I got Moses here. I mean, in the 80s, his team was first and second.

They had the second best record. He won it. He won it his only year in Philly. The year they won the championship in 83. You look at his numbers, he should have won it. His team was first. His team was first too in 83.

About 7... What did he want? His team was first too in 83. A 7-21. He might have won it in 81. He won it in 82 and 83. And his team was second in 82. And his team was first, had the first best record in. Did he win it in 78? Was it 78, 76?

I didn't even go down to the 70s. I just went to the last 40 years. Right. But it's like when you're. Right. But it's like when you're looking at it, it's like when you look back in history and say,

all right, he has the fifth best record average 20. Like, if you take it, it's the assist that we want to glorify that kind of puts his stat

in another category. But it's not to the point where he did what Westbrook did. Oh, he averaged two-by-double. We used, oh, a big that can pass the ball. That's not how you do it. You can't do that. And the fact that you did it for that, now his team is in first,

it's like, well, you got to give it to him now. Like, it's him or you give Jason Tatum the MVP he deserves. I don't think Jason Tatum is going to finish top three. I think the top three would be Jokic. I think it's going to be Luka, Shea Gilgis.

It's going to be one of those, and then Giannis is going to probably beat us somehow. Now, that's going to be all the NBA team. Jokic, Giannis, JT, beat us somehow. Now, that's going to be your all-NBA team. Jokic, Giannis, JT, Shea, and Luka. That's going to be your all-NBA team, your first team. But I don't think... Even with Luka.

It's not a real triple-double. We already seen it before. Like when James Harden had his in 2018, his team was first. Yeah. Right? It's like, that's why I said, like, what is the criteria?

Because you're giving mixed signals. No one, like, I know Jason, I mean, Jason Tatum's over there like, what do I need to do? My team's in first. Every year, we've dominated every year. I'm the best player, and I'm playing very well. How am I not an MVP?

In 2022, Tatum's team was first. He averaged 27, 8, and 4 and went against 27, 8, and 13. But his team was 10th. Like, how do you justify it? That's what I'm saying. Like, you know, they need to sit back and see how they're just, how are you justifying when you've never done this before? Right.

Well, it's hard to correct a wrong when the wrong has already been committed. Yep. There's nothing to be found. a wrong when the wrong has already been committed. Yep. So those guys are like, hold on, wait a minute. So you're talking about historical purposes because prior to Bird winning three in a row, I think the person that won three in a row was it Wilt or Russell?

I think it might have been Wilt. It might have been Wilt that won three. Because if you go back and look at that season, if you look at the season, I think Russell won it that year. I think he averaged like 15 points and 23 rebounds. Wilt was 50-25. Elgin Baylor was like 38-19. Walt Bellamy was like 36-17.

Jerry West was like 36-5 Bob Pettit was 35 I mean that was statistically they say that was the greatest NBA season ever and if you go back fans if you get an opportunity go back and look at the numbers in that season and I think you'll see what they're talking about

but really if you really thought about it, if you look at it, Will Kittlebrook, like, I understand that his team, and you're like, well, Russell dominated. But you look at Will's numbers, they're like crazy. Like, how? But that's what I'm saying. You got guys who didn't win, who wasn't there,

and they had crazy numbers. And what is crazy about 26? Like when Kobe, like now as a Laker fan and a Kobe fan, it is upsetting now when Kobe had that historic year individually behind MJ, right? Yeah, that 35, it wasn't 2000, 2005, 2006. Yeah, it was 2005. Into six.

No, yeah. Because that was the year he had 81. He had that 50. He had like three straight games of 50. So, yeah. His team had the 10th best record, just like Jokic. And I don't even know if Kobe finished second. Right.

Back then, the voters were still out on Kobe because what transpired was probably still fresh. What the hell does that have to do with the game itself? I'm just telling you how they think. I know.

You know what? Listen, AI taking over everything. AI kicking writers out. Kick some of these writers out. Right. And see who it votes for. I used to vote. I used to be a voter for the all-pro team.

MVP, rookie of the year, defensive player of the year, things of that nature. And I watched all the games. I watched the players. I'm not just, your name, your name don't do it for me. And just because you got a big name and you don't win the three All-Pro teams back to back, no, I'm watching your play and it's going to determine whether I believe you're defensive player of the year

or you're OPY or you're MVP. And so I took it serious. And that stuff off the field, no. I'm voting for a football player. What he did on the field. What he did off the field, that ain't got nothing to do.

Clearly, it didn't stop him from doing being great on the field. So that's how I voted. And I voted for a decade. I picked every MVP correctly. I picked every defensive player of the year basically correctly. I missed one defensive rookie of the year.

I ain't going to tell you who it was, but I missed that. That was the only one I missed. But I get it, Gil, and I'm just saying, and you know how, you know, they're human. And they factor things in, things that happen off the field, although they shouldn't. Sometimes they let personal feelings

or bias creep into the subconscious, maybe not even the subconscious, like, I ain't voting for him because I think he's this or I think he's that. And it happens. And I definitely believe that's what happened to Kobe. Yeah, no, that happens to a lot of people. And that's the problem. Like when you when you when you're looking, it's like you have to play the game within the game. But you shouldn't have to. I shouldn't. I shouldn't have to kiss up to you for you to vote correctly.

kiss up to you for you to vote correctly. Right. That is not part of the game that we train for. We're not training every single day to kiss ass so this guy who see me once, twice a year votes for me correctly.

He don't put no bias in it. I think something like that, it needs to be AI generated and then let the commissioner or whoever go from there. That because if you let the commissioner and his staff vote, that is great because they have no input in the day to day relationship with a player. There's no bias against someone like Trey Young. Trey Young, only way he wins the MVP, he averaged 35, 10 assists, his team won, he smiled,

he took the referees out to dinner, he done rescued some puppies, right? He has to do every demand of the year award. Trey Young can't even make the All-Star game, All-Star game, averaging 27 and 10. So he damn ain't winning no MVP unless he averaging 40 and 15. I'm just

keeping it stacked with y'all, man. The last two years, he's 25, 27, and 10, and he can't even sniff the all-star game. There's just certain stats that it's weird. Like, I have

I have Wimby as a defensive player of the year. Right? Hands down. Right? And someone said, well, his team ain't winning. So, he is. That don't stop the steals leader from winning this award. That don't stop the assists leader from winning this award. That don't stop the steals leader from winning this award that don't stop the assist leader from winning his award

that don't stop the block leader, the scoring leader or the rebounder, it don't stop those categories from winning their award that's how Serena Lee the best defensive player, when he's on the court, this is what he does, his metrics exist if it doesn't relate to wins

it's not his fault he can't guard everybody his plus minus If it doesn't relate to wins, it's not his fault. He can't guard everybody. His plus minus says he is the best defensive player in the NBA. That has nothing to do with his record. Yeah. Yeah. And he's been phenomenal.

I hope it hadn't happened. I mean, we've only had one MVP. That was a rookie. That was Wes Unseld. I think that was 69. It doesn't happen often. In baseball, I think it's happened. I wouldn't look at Shohei as a rookie because he played professional.

I think Fred Lynn of the Angels won Rookie of the Year and MVP. Maybe Ichiro did too. But I think Fred Lynn of the year and MVP. Maybe Ichiro did too. But I think Fred Lynn of the Angels, Ichiro might have won it when he beat Jason Giambi in 2001. Maybe Ichiro did. I'm not sure. But I think Fred Lynn is the only guy I can think of. Now, Gretzky, see in hockey,

Gretzky won the MVP nine straight times. I had you in the room. He was the best. But they did it right. That is right. When I'm looking back, when I'm looking at, where is that? When Michael Jordan was them 80s, and you're sitting there like, all right. Okay, Karl Malone.

Okay, your team was second. That means Michael Jordan's team was first. How did you win that one? David Robinson. First of all, David should have won over Akeem that year because Akeem made him pay for it too when they got in the playoffs in 94. Yeah, yeah. He should not have won it that year. But it's just when you look through history,

it's like history has been jaded by personal agendas. Yeah. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily, with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed

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and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, that's our soapbox for that topic. The NBA in-season tournament is suddenly looming large over one of the closest playoff racing years. Every seed except the number one seed in the Eastern Conference is up for grabs.

Seeds two through five in the East are separated by two and a half games. Seeds six through eight in the East are separated by only two and a half games. Seeds one through three in the West are separated by one game. Seeds four through six in the West are separated by two and a half games. Seeds seven through nine in the West are separated by one game. Wow. through nine in the West are separated by one game.

Wow. The NBA could not have asked for anything better than what they're getting right now because with the exception of the Boston Celtics, you can't rest nobody. Rest if you want to, you'll go from second to fifth.

Rest if you want to, you'll go from four and five. Rest if you want to. You go from four and five. Can you hear me? Okay. You hear me, Gil? Yeah, yeah.

Yeah. You froze a little bit. I said the NBA cannot ask for anything better because with the exception of the Boston Celtics, nobody can rest. Because if you rest somebody, you might be a two seed today, and in two or three days, you'll be a five seed. And if you're a four or five

seed, you'll find yourself in the play-in tournament. So the NBA is actually winning because the standing says everybody's going to have a virtual in. Yeah, this is great, especially with all the talk around no

defense, this is bad, right? Coming at the all-star break. It's all made up right now. You have some of the greatest games that's about to happen. We've never went into the last two weeks on our seats because now teams can't rest. Teams got to win right now. It's about positioning. Also trying to get the right favorable matchup in the playoffs.

So this is really a very important time for a lot of teams, right? For a lot of teams. I mean, you know, even with like the Lakers themselves, the Lakers or Phoenix, everybody's shooting for that sixth matchup so they can play against OKC, right? You don't want the seventh matchup because Denver's in it, right?

If Denver goes to first place, you don't want the HC, right? So there's a lot of things that's going to be happening. And I don't think we're going to really get a real defined schedule until that last game of the season. I agree. I agree. Because right now the Lakers, the Lakers and Lakers, Sacramento and Phoenix

all have 44 wins. The Lakers have two more losses. They're 44 and 33 and Sacramento and Phoenix are 44-31. They're about to go to 45 because they were blowing out Cleveland just a moment ago. But everything else is nipped up. Dallas has been on that winning streak, and they've surpassed the Pelicans,

and they're nipping at the Clippers. The Clippers have won a couple of games, and so they've kind of solidified themselves back into that fourth spot. But I don't think Dallas Fierce are the Clippers at all. Luka is giving them fits by himself without a sidekick. And now, you don't want to call him, I mean, you know, Kyrie is as good a superhero as he is. He got all the gadgets like a bat.

If Luke is Batman, well, he got a cape. They got superpowers. He got a bat belt, too. And when you're talking about that fifth seed, I mean, Dallas right now is smiling from ear to ear. They have the Hawks next warriors, rockets, hornets, he pistons thunder.

The last game. Thank you. Go. They can go six and one, five and two, which is going to keep them at the four or five spot. Yep. Yep.

I agree. I definitely, I definitely believe that. Which is going to keep them at the 4-5 spot. Yep. Yep. I agree. I definitely believe that. The Clippers have kind of solidified themselves. They had a little rough patch there where they lost like four or five games. But the last couple of games, they pulled those games out, kind of reasserted themselves. But this is definitely what the NBA wanted. Meaningful games, no resting.

I think they have to be happy with this year. Team guys didn't rest. Guys didn't, oh, you know, load management, day off and all that stuff. Nah, it's too important. And you see that, and I'm happy. I'm happy for the NBA and what they've been able to do because it keeps the game interesting and because you're going to want somebody to break the bank open

for these games. And networks don't want to, hold on, bro. Hey, Adam, you know, we're paying you billions of dollars, but the superstars, they're missing 10, 12 games of these national televised games. Yeah, you know what? These players, the West playing games is going to

be crazy. Because even with New Orleans sitting at six, they could end up as a ninth seed because they're scheduled. They got four or five hard games.

Yeah. Right? Well, they definitely could be in the play-in. We don't know 9, 10, 7, 8, but they definitely could be in the play-in. Yeah, they can be in the play-in.

Right. It's ideal if you can somehow get Lakers and Lakers and Lakers and Phoenix in 5-6 and then let Dallas fight for the

play-in game. But for the most part, Golden State, Lakers, Phoenix play-in game with Sacramento as it is right now, that's going to be must-watch. Yeah. And the possibility, that's going to be must-watch. Yeah. Yeah.

And the possibility, there's a chance that Steph or LeBron or KD don't make the playoffs. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. There's a possibility Steph don't make the playoffs. Yeah, but I'm just saying, I mean, look, in a given situation, he can get

a hot give. That joke will make 14 threes. He ain't going home. He make 14. He had one of them games. He make 14 threes in a game, and you never know, Clay. Clay, I don't know something about the Lakers. He been chilling all year.

He came to the crib, had 17 in the first quarter, had 21 and a half, and him and Steph shot him out the... Even when LeBron had 40. He played defense, right, dog? Clark played defense, right? Sit down. Oh, yeah, we're going to have to get

Clay out of the game. File, file. Sit down, sir. You're shooting at him. Hey, I'm not going to say I i've seen it but i've seen it before i've seen i've seen the the the referees try to extend some series out here and the only way you do it is on the defense end that them ticky tack files you let go call it tight boom sit him down we ain't got to worry about your shooting today. LeBron jokes.

He put on his post on his IG story. LeBron said he should lay off leg day after a photo from the Raptors game. He quoted a caption. Maybe I should lay off leg day. Lay off one leg day. One day this week. You see his quad. You see his quad. Is LeBron the most physically gifted athlete we've ever seen?

Yeah. yeah i mean you know from from top to bottom usually a guy is not built as solid as him that height just just straight from bottom i mean you got you got uh you got yannis yeah you you do have yannis uh but from oh we talk we just talking basketball players when we just talking basketball we're gonna put like a Bo Jackson? I mean, the football players, he's built like from... He built like a Bush 30. More like a football player because for the most part, basketball players, because we don't lift like that, we definitely don't lift legs like that.

Right. Now, we prison work workouters, right? We don't have the little arms right here. Yeah. We got the twerk bottom. We twerking at the bottom. Y'all do a box squat. Y'all ain't dropping.

Y'all ain't getting to the bottom. But he has tremendous leg separation. I mean, his quads, they're splitting. You look at his calves. Oh, man, he's a. You can tell he put time in on his leg, and that's the foundation. One of the first things to go on an athlete deal, you know, is his legs.

You're right. And what does his legs go? See, people, everybody thinks that, well, he does this. No, I don't care. I don't care. Baseball players, your legs go, you're. Baseball players, your legs go, you're gone. Football players, your legs go, you're gone. Basketball players' legs,

you're gone. That's your foundation. That's the foundation in which everything is solidified from waist up. And that's the thing that NBA players, we do not focus enough on, right?

We focused on the part of the body that you can see, right? The arms, the shoulder, the abs, right? When it comes to leg days, we run so much, we jump so much that we don't want to do legs. But when you think about the players that really was destroying the game,

it was more, they had football backgrounds. They had football backgrounds. They were leg dominant. They were very strong from the leg standpoint, right? And that's just, that's what the ones who play longevity,

that's what they understand. They do a lot of leg lifting. Yeah. I don't think you have to. And like you said, a lot of guys, you don't want to. I mean, we have a lot of guys that would, I mean, the only legs I did, especially during the season, was on my off days. I did, off days. We had to do legs twice

a week. I went in and got my legs in on a Monday and probably Thursday. But nothing heavy. I did a little leg press, leg extension, hamstring, stuff like that.

For him to be put together like he is, which you can tell he puts time in it, nutrition is a big part of it. It's one thing to be physically gifted. It's another thing entirely to work at. And I think that's what the greatest have. You look

at Michael Jordan. Yeah, he was talented, but did anybody work harder? Look at Kobe. Yeah, he was talented. But did anybody work harder? Look at Kobe. Yeah, he was talented. But did anybody work harder? LeBron, yes, he's talented. So when you combine those, now you get the perfect storm. And I think LeBron is giving guys the blueprint.

It's like, okay, you eat right. You get your rest. You work at your craft. Everything else. But now these guys come in. They think brand, brand, brand, brand. Winning. Winning is a brand.

Winning is a brand. I wish I focused on my legs. Even today, I got paraplegic legs. You look at my legs. I got no definition nowhere. Like not a quad muscle in sight. Ah, come on. You don't do that.

Is your knee bad? You have bone on bone? I got bone on bone. I can't even bend my leg. I can't even extend it. I just for some reason think that it's going to work itself out and it keeps getting worse. You know what?

But you know what, Gil? I mean, I got to repair hips and I still do. I do squats. I do squats. I do lunges. I do leg press because I got to keep those auxiliary muscles. I got to keep, you know, hip flexors. I got to keep glute muscles.

I got to. Because you don't want that saggy booty, Gil. You don't. You gotta have, you got, you gotta have, you gotta have those glute muscles and quad muscles defying because that shit cause what, hey, what, hey, once those go, Gil, it's only

a matter of time, man. It's only a matter of time. A fight almost broke out in our locker room because one player said to another player, man, you got a stripper booty. Right? Because he didn't have that one definition. Because we was laughing because we all said it like, yeah, he's going to look horrible when he's done. Because he had the second booty and one player just couldn't help it.

Like, yeah, boy, you got a stripper booty. We're going to throw some ones at you. Man, he was so mad. Like, he was so mad at us, man. Because it was funny, like, dog. Because everybody could be like, pause. He understood what we were saying. You are sloppy body, dog.

You just heightened your body. You out here looking like a baby mama. Yeah, yeah. He built like a garment bag. He got a garment bag. Ain't got no definition to conform to anything. Yeah, I like, come on, bro.

But that's what you have to do, Gil. If I was you, go do box squats. You don't have to go parallel. You don't have to go, If I was you, go do box squats. You don't have to go parallel. You don't have to go, hey, can I go parallel? Absolutely. I don't go below parallel, but I do goblet squats. I do Bulgarian split squats.

I can do step ups. I do leg press. I do leg extension, hamstring curls. Just start that back to get those glute muscles, hamstring, quads, get all that stuff firing again and see once you feel better. I got a full gym in the basement. I go there and watch Netflix. That's a great

selling tool if you want to sell the house. It comes with a home gym. I wake up every morning 5.30. Go get me a coffee. Go get me a coffee. I put on the cream. Get my little outfit on.

Sit right on the box. Turn on. Right now it's Jamie Foxx. I'm on season two. Just started last week. Just sitting there, just watching. What you go down there for? You might as well just go ahead and work out, Gil.

I tell myself that every day. I said every day that this is the day I'm going to start, right? And I get down there and just want to watch TV, man. I'm telling you, you'll feel so much. I mean, if you started doing some leg work, man, you'd feel so much better, Gil. You would. I'm telling you, you'll feel so much. I mean, if you started doing some leg work, man, you'd feel so much better, Gil. You would. I'm telling you.

Because I know, Gil, I was squatting and lunging like a week after I had hip-mouth hilts replaced. Oh, wow. And now we got bad hip-mouth bad genetics running our family. You look like a Rockweiler.

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But I had, like, before, now I can't do what I used to do. Hell, I was damn near a 600-pound squatter. I could deadlift 600 pounds. I can't move that kind of... I wouldn't try to now. I don't need to. I just want...

Hey, I just want to stay strong enough to get them up off me. I'm enough to get them up off me. So I'm going to get them up off me, Gil. That's it. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying, Gil? Sometimes, you know, like, hey,

God damn, you still pretty strong. Who you dealing with? You dealing with the Lizzo's? Yeah. No, I mean, I can't lift them like I was good, though, Gil. But every once in a while, like, you a while I lift them up and put them back down it ain't no lift them up and hold you you ain't fun size

alright I'll get over there trying to hold hold it up just to you got all the money I lift them up every once in a while it ain't like hold them up walk around over here over there I ain't like, you know, hold him up, you know, walk around, you know, over here, over there. You know, I ain't

got that kind of back anymore. Oh, yeah. Ain't got that kind of back no more. Ain't got one on five, one ten. See, you got them dogs. See, you got them dogs, them Barbies. I ain't got time to put legs back together. They're too small.

Hey, I tried to pick you up. We both falling. I mean, the more I want to, they want to feel sexy. Can you pick me up? Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Everybody that has, you know, you got to pick them up at least once.

Now, they get too big, you know, you have just one leg. You just hold one leg up. Baby, can you pick the other one up? Hell no. I'm, you have just one leg. You just hold one leg up. Hold one leg. Baby, can you pick the other one up? Hell no, I'm finna sit this one down. I'm tired. What the hell? You talking about pick both of them up?

Hey, I had to put that band, like they have it in the band, how they have your leg hanging up, Gil. Yeah, yeah. When you're in the hospital, hey, the contraption holding one, I got nothing else I can do for you, baby. Help me out. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast,

NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you get your coffee. The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone. So I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolf. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.