IT IS WHAT IT IS - BRONNY'S BIG NIGHT & MA$E THINKS THAT JIMMY BUTLER IS A BETTER FIT THAN KLAY! | S6 EP47

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

On this episode, Trysta Krick is filling in for Killa on today's show to discuss the Lakers getting smoked by the Bulls in Lebron's return, is this a cause for concern?? Then, Bronny James scores 17 vs. the Bucks for his career high, SAS is back tracking his words and was Mase right all along about him just needing more minutes? Next, Jimmy Butler reflects on his time with the Heat and Ma$e thinks that he's a better fit with Steph Curry right now than Klay Thompson. Lastly, Maurice Clarett what happened to UConn??? Please rate, review, and follow the podcast for more content.  Support the show and sign up for Underdog Fantasy HERE with promo code CAM and get a $1000 first deposit match, and a Special Pick'em pick. Follow the show and our hosts on social media: It Is What It Is, Cam'Ron, Ma$e, and Treasure "Stat Baby" Wilson , Producer Ayooo Nick Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello y'all, uh I was selling crack on a private jet up in a hell and back But no confusion, this a reunion Hello y'all, welcome back Yeah, Murda here, he countin' money He said, can't man the hell we're at I'm only here to shit on niggas and piss on bitches Welcome ass, I bought jewelry and bikes, nigga

Black fences and white vigas Now I'm out here and I'm lookin' for more chandeliers and light pictures Nah, I don't like niggas, what's wrong with me? Welcome back to It Is What It Is, this episode is sponsored by Underdog. The app is an easy way to make some cash just by making picks on your favorite players. Underdog is available in more than 30 states including California, Texas, and Missouri, just to name a few. Make sure to support the show by hitting the link in the bio and downloading the Underdog is available in more than 30 states, including California, Texas, and Missouri, just to name a few. Make sure to support the show by hitting the link in the bio and downloading the Underdog app. Use code MACECAM or STAT to get up to $1,000 in bonus credits

with your first deposit and a free pick. I'm Treasurer Wilson, AKA STATbaby, along with your host Mace, and today we are joined with our analyst Trista. Woo! Hi, Trista. Look at my with our analyst Trista. Whoo! Look at my light skin sister. I'll take it.

I'll take it. I'll take it. Technically, I'm with a, I think, like, like red bone, because I get, because I have so much blush. As soon as I get embarrassed, the red comes right out. Yeah, I was telling Stat, she's trying to act like I don't know what I'm talking about. I told Stat, I said, you know what?

I know you like white guys. There's nothing wrong with it. She was telling me, we was talking about the Jay-Z album we was listening before. And she was like, oh, that's a banger with Justin Timberlake. And I said, yeah, you like white guys with soul. OK, so name another. Robert Thicke.

OK, but like, who does it? Like, Robert Thicke's music. Pause. That was crazy. I feel like we know that, though. Like, Robert Thicke can sing. So can JT. That's not crazy, though.

Yo, who else? Pause. You say one, Trista. What's a white boy with soul that's that, like, I told her she like white boys with soul. What about John B.? We like John B. They don't know what.

OK, but this is, like, specific. Like, they just can sing. Like, I don't know. I don't know what... Okay, but this is like specific, like, they just can sing, like, I don't know. I don't know what you want me to add to that. Sorry, Mase. Sorry, Trista. I don't know what to tell y'all. They can sing, and that's that. Okay. That's that. They can sing.

They can sing, and they got soul, and they can get it, basically. I didn't even say that. I just said they can sing. Yeah, Trisha's throwing it. They can get it basically. I even say that. I just said they can sing. Trisha is throwing it. They can get it in there. You see there?

See what we go through? I'm messy. I know. You're messy. Yeah, you're messy. So over the weekend, the Lakers lost to the Bulls even with LeBron James' return. And a couple players did return from injury,

but the Lakers are currently the fourth seed. How do you feel about them right now, Trista? I mean, first up, you can't allow Kobe White and Josh Giddy to put you on the hibachi. Josh Giddy got damn near a quadruple double. He had eight steals. He had 17 assists. That is embarrassing.

And the Lakers had pretty much everybody back on the floor, and they got blown out by a bajillion. I think it was 40. At some point, it was 40. And the Lakers, to me, have real issues. They have issues guarding the small quick twitch guards like like Kobe White like Shay Gilder's Alexander like Fred Van Fleet. And they're going to see a lot of those players on their road to the playoffs in their road to the playoffs. They have 12 games left. There are two games behind Houston, but there are only three games out of the playing.

So you look at their schedule, they're on the road for eight of their last 12 games. They play OKC twice. They play Houston twice. They play Indiana. They play Golden State. Seven of their last 12 games are against playoff caliber teams.

So to me, that's a real concern when you're talking about how much how much it's so tight between three and the plan. So boy oh boy there's a lot of young twitchy guards that they're going to have to see not just down the stretch in these last 12 games but in the playoffs themselves. I'm concerned. I'm very concerned. in the playoffs themselves. I'm concerned. I'm very concerned. Yeah, Kobe White just went crazy on him. I forgot that Kobe White was on the Bulls. I mean, when he first came out of college,

I thought he was going to be sensational pause. But then as time went on, it seemed like they kept trying different lineups. And then with Lonzo Ball getting there, it seemed like they wasn't sure who they were going to play that whole scenario there. But he was just looking like he could do whatever he want. I mean, but I don't expect the Lakers

to have good perimeter defense. If it's not LeBron getting mad at a guard and him particularly guarding the guard himself, the Lakers are definitely going to struggle on defense. We already know Luke I is not a defensive player. He's offense only. You know, I'm gonna go ahead and just say Luke I is a bucket only. Don't expect him to guard nobody. I think that's unrealistic. If JJ Reddick is able to get Luca to play defense, that will be a miracle, you know, and they will be a phenomenal team because of it. But I don't, you can't win

when you're letting guards get 36 and somebody else get 31. You just, you're just not gonna win. And when you talk about getting ready for the playoffs, like you said, they're gonna be running into these kinds of guards, especially on the West Coast. You got Murray, you got another, what you call it, a quick twitch guard, pause, that's sound crazy, but you got Murray,

you got who else? And that's like that on the West. You, you got John Moran, you got Shay, Shay, everybody, everybody on the West got a God like that. So we, if you got problems with that, what are you going to do against Houston? What are you going to do? You could pick any team on the West and they will not be able to keep up with that team if that's their problem.

And with LeBron coming back, you would think that they will play a little bit better, but this is unacceptable. So a question for both of you guys, because I know this is what somebody's going to say on the opposite end. This was LeBron's return game. Luca at first was questionable, and so was Austin Reeves.

Are these injuries not valid, or it's just like, nope, it's the Bulls. Point blank period, the Lakers should have won this game. Trista, how do you feel about that? Oh, you gotta pack them up. They've got nothing to play for. The Bulls are dead in the water. They want their own draft pick so they can get a top ten pick.

They're really thinking about the lottery. They might squeeze into the play-in, but that's not because they're any good. It's because the East is very weak, especially towards the bottom. You can't allow LeBron James to play 31 minutes. Luca play full minutes. Austin Reeves play full minutes. Dalton Connect play full minutes.

And get just straight put on your back and allowing somebody to step on you over and over and over again. I think that's a pauseron in this game, they got LeBron down when it comes to that as minus 27. When you look at Austin Reeves, he's minus 21. So this is not good. This is not good. Even though it's for one game, you just don't want to get into bad habits. Now one game is not, I'm not going to get carried away about it, but when you're a team trying to rebuild every team, I mean, every game counts, especially if you plan on going into playoffs and having some kind of

supernatural run, these are the games that lead up to that. So you don't want to start getting into bad habits and you got to every game again counts because it's new chemistry it's new players and and as well as you could brush it off this may well be the issue that that show up later. Okay so now you know we got to talk about Brawny James so you had a career high game 17.7 and 10 from the field five assists assists, three rebounds. And he played for 30 minutes in the Lakers, one 18 to 89 loss to the Bucks. So one person in particular who had something to say was Stephen A. So he came back with a different point of view saying, this is the big picture

here that I want to bring up. I might've been wrong. And then he was kind of like, are you listening LeBron? Are you listening James family? Are you listening Rich Paul? So he made sure that they heard what he was saying about Ronnie James. So Trista, what did you think of Stephen A's response? And then how did you feel about Ronnie James gameplay versus the Bucks?

Stephen A is one of those guys who, even when he says when he's wrong, he still tries to circle the block and spin it back around on why he always felt and believed in Bronnie. He also said, okay, I was maybe wrong, but I also always believed in Bronnie as an NBA talent. So did you believe or did you not believe? Do you think that he should be playing in NBA games?

Do you think it's disrespectful? Do you think LeBron as a dad is like being shameless in his nepotism? Or do you not? So I thought that was very like talking out of two sides of your mouth kind of a thing, which is like not unlike Stephen A. He's an entertainer. Like, he doesn't want facts to get in the way of a good time.

So to me, that was like just Stephen A doing more Stephen A stuff. In terms of Brawny, I think the context of Brawny is maybe not considered as much when we're looking at what he should be doing and what he's capable of doing and what we should expect from him. Like you're talking about a kid who almost died, not that long ago, played for one of the worst,

most mediocre college coaches in all of the NCAA, this guy Andy Enfield, which like all the NCAA experts fry him, put him on the hibachi as being just like one of the most terrible coaches that a kid like that could play for. So he had to run with the USC system. I don't even know why he went to USC.

I kind of think it was because he wanted to stay at the big mansion Casa de Lebron and like stay close to home. Cause he could have gone anywhere. He could have gone to Ohio state. He could have gone to Oregon. Those were the teams that he was looking at down the stretch.

So he's like on death store door, has a heart issue, ends up finally playing, doesn't average much in college. But that was like pretty much to be expected. You didn't get all the preseason time with your team. You weren't building that chemistry that you were talking about, Mace, with the squad. And they weren't any good anyway. So, okay, so I'm not expecting much

from LeBron James Jr. in his rookie year. The fact that he's playing in NBA games and getting 30 minutes, even though he was playing with, you know, the Long Beach Stars or whoever, you know, basically the G League team that he was playing with, because no one else played, right? It was like Dorian Finney-Smith was out, Luca was out, LeBron was out, Rui was out, Jared Vanderbilt was out, Dorian Finney-Smith was out, Luca was out, LeBron was out, Rui was out, Jared Vanderbilt was out,

Dorian Finney-Smith out. So, like him and the South Bay Lakers, we're gonna get clapped by the Milwaukee Bucks no matter what. So, for him to be able to show, okay, I can get my own shot, I can shoot the three well, I think he shot 50%, two for four,

and still be able to like hold his own. Everybody was getting smacked on that team. It didn't really matter. He was playing with, you know, a Shake Milton who's Shake Milton. So I think it was good, but at the end of the day, I still don't think he's like NBA material right this second. So you weren't impressed then? You weren't impressed? I was impressed by the performance considering that the expectations on an NBA floor were low. He didn't shake the shit out of Yannis. He did. He shook him. He has the ability to get his own

shot and score. He's not the best defender. It wasn't like he was on the floor and, like you say, plus minus. They lost by 29, and Bronny was a negative 36. Now, he was on the floor with other players who aren't any good either. So you can't really blame it all on him. It was great to see him achieve, but they did get the shit kicked out of them when they played the Bucs. So I'm not like, you kind of have to add that to the context of his performance. Wow. What do you have to say, Stad?

I'm done talking about Bronnie. You definitely do. I told you that. I said, if I don't have anything good to say, I'm gonna do what my mother told me. If you don't have nothing good to say, don't say nothing at all. And I'm not gonna join the bashing train. When I have something good to say, I don't say nothing at all. And I'm not gonna join the bashing train.

When I have something good to say, I'm gonna say it. Okay, so you don't have anything good to say. What would you like to say? Like that's confirmed. Got it. You said a lot without saying anything. No, but I'm definitely not talking about that anymore. I'm not, if it comes up as like the cowboys to me.

Cause I think when you begin to speak of any person consistently negative and there's nothing that they did warranted towards you, that is hating. And I'm never gonna be deemed as a hater. Yeah. I understand that point of view, but I also think the other end is like, when somebody also does well, when that's not their expectations,

it's okay to recognize that. So, also, given Trist's point of view, it's like, this was not, you know, a high-caliber game, but I think it's the fact that nobody... I'm not gonna say nobody, that's a strong term. A lot of people didn't think Brawny had it in him. So, I think... To do what, that's a strong term. A lot of people didn't think Brawny had it in him. So I think... To do what exactly?

To perform well. I don't think a lot of people had it in him to do well in an NBA game like that. So I think seeing it is like, okay, he has something in him, this is something that we can work with, and he has that potential that a lot of people feel like he didn't even have at all. No, I've been said that Browning could be very successful,

and that's this, I will say this because it's good, that he could be really successful on that team if he's put in the right position. Paws, like, any player that has talent, it's not just your talent, it's who you play with and your role on the team. Like, you could be a great player and the coach have you in a messed up position,

and you're still gonna look bad, even though you're actually good. A lot of players that play with LeBron end up not playing as good because they have to play second, which is understandable. He's gonna have the ball. And just think most times, if somebody got the ball,

and you're 5'11", or you're six feet, let's say you're 6'2", and the guy bringing up the ball is seven feet, or he's 6'10", then now you become an off guard, even though you're a point guard. So now all of your strengths, a lot of your strengths, are immediately taken away when they start playing big ball. And people don't really look at that when they see LeBron

or they see Joker. So we're not just harping on LeBron. Any time a big person start bringing up the ball, it alleviates the smaller guard. So that's something that makes Bronnie not look as good as well, because he's not the person with the ball. So now if I got the ball as LeBron or Jokic

and I hold the ball to 20 seconds, and then I throw it to you on the last two seconds, you gotta force up a shot, which makes you look horrible, because you're not really just a catch-and-shoot shooter. The only person that could really play in that mode is a, um, Cal Corva or, or, who was it? JR Smith or the people that was playing that role. Ray Allen. If you're not one of those people who are lights-out shooter, you begin to look bad

because of the style of play that he plays. Yeah. No, I totally understand where you're coming from, but I also think it also comes to when the moment is there, you seize the opportunity because even down to like the Spurs, you know, Mamou had a historic night, but that probably wouldn't have happened if Wemby or something like that was playing in the game.

So it's like, to Bronnie's point, this was a great game. We still want to see more. Seventeen is good. Seventeen is good. But it's okay. I just want to see more. That's fine. And to Trista's point, like, yes, it's situational, but it's like, I think we all want the best for Bronnie. Yeah. I'm just not gonna hop on it

because it makes titles. Like, I see when people do stuff like that. I don't like that. I don't like when you just... you just pick somebody name out and you run with it because it's the person to the bash today, you know? Yeah. I get what you're saying, for sure. But shout out to Ronnie James. You know, hopefully we'll continue to see more of him

because, like I said, we're trying to see some more. And like you were saying before, you were like, maybe he needs more minutes. Well, he got more minutes in this game. So you just never know, y'all. And I'm more so talking about, it's not the minutes that's put in the right position to succeed. When you succeed in life, especially if you're

a part of any organization, it's because the orchestrator or the person at the helm of what's going on has designed a plan that works well for you. That's where people succeed. I didn't succeed because I just had talent. I succeeded because there was a system that I could thrive in, you know, just like you. You're here. It doesn't matter if we gave you the opportunity,

if we don't put you in a position that'll cause you to do well. Talent alone is not enough. There's a book out there like that. The thing is, John Maxwell, one of them leadership books is called Talent Is Not Enough. It's one of my favorite books. Have to go check it out. Real inspirational, y'all.

Okay, so tonight, the Lakers will play the Magic. Underdog has Luca at 28 and a half points. Do you have him higher or lower, Mace? Mmm... higher. Okay, LeBron James is at 22 and a half points. Who they playing again? The Magic. That's your other team, so I thought.

No, it's not my other team, Stat. We're gonna get to Florida later. I wish Maurice could be here, because we have to get to Florida. I hope you're not trying to take Florida off of the schedule. We're not. Why would I do that? Why would I, of all people, do that? I'm just making sure.

I'm just making sure. I'm just making sure because it's not a Miami thing. So we're talking about Orlando. It's Florida, but it ain't my type of Florida. But, you know, it's the same color blue. Okay. What, you saying, is LeBron gonna have how much? 22.5 points, higher or lower?

I'm going higher. Okay, and then Paulo Bencaro's at 39.5 points, rebounds and assists. Do you have him higher or lower? Hmm. Okay, and then Paulo Bencaro is at 39.5 points, rebounds, and assists. Do you have them higher or lower? Hmm. I'm going to let Trista answer this. Trista, you answer that. So Paulo versus the Lakers, you think he'll have higher or lower than 39.5 points, rebounds, and assists combined? I'm going to go higher, 39.5. Paulo Bencaro, he operates on the perimeter.

Similarly, we were talking about the defense of the Lakers struggling there. Palo Banquero kind of operates like a point forward, especially now that Jalen Suggs is injured. I'm going to go higher. Wait, wait, Trish, where are you at right now? What is this saying in the background? This is this is my hometown. This is Portland, Oregon. Oh, yeah, it's a little sign that's on the river. This is this is my hometown. This is Portland, Oregon

Yeah, it's a little sign that's on the river Well, this isn't the sign. This is just a wall but when you go in when you go into Portland and you're looking at the river there's a sign that has like a little deer and Oregon State and a little cursive for us. No, shout out Oregon. Yeah, does it rain out there all day like I thought? So much. It's rained today and yesterday. We're the first day that it hasn't rained in like 10 consecutive days. Okay. You're not a Portland fan, are you?

No, I am. I mean, like, the city is fine. I'm a Portland Trailblazer fan. I'm an Oregon Ducks fan. Oh, my goodness. We lost last night to Arizona. You all have something in common, because he's a, you're a duck buck, so I thought. I always ask these questions for verification,

because I'm trying to follow something. I'm an Oregon Duck fan, but not Trailblazer fan. You got to really be Portland out to be a Trailblazer fan. The last good team I think I liked from Portland was, who was that, Clyde Drexler and Terry, what was his last name? Porter. Terry Porter. This is exactly what happens, Mase.

Split. I become a fan at a specific period of time in my life where that team is at its all-time peak, and then it never returns back to that level again. The Cowboys, when I was 10, Troy Aikman, you had Emmett Smith, you had Dion, I mean the list goes on and on. Now they're never good again. Portland Trailblazers, I was five and it was Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, et cetera, et cetera. And we've never been that good. Well, I guess in 2002, we were up 15 on the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

We probably would have won the title that year. We were awesome. But yeah, it hasn't been nearly as good as that team. That team was star-studded. That's the reason we didn't take Jordan. It's because they believed in Clyde more than they believed in this little freshman rookie. No, they believed in Sam Bowie. Well, the reason that they didn't take Jordan in general

was they were like, we don't want to cause friction between Clyde Drexler and another guard. So they believe more in Clyde than the potential of Jordan, which was a mistake. Anytime we take a center, it's a mistake. Yeah, you're right. Came back with Greg Holden. And shout-out to Greg Holden.

He just has some unfortunate health issues. I want to make sure I'm not kicking anyone. Oh, good. Okay. And then make sure you guys download the Underdog app, and you can make your picks, too. But Mace, we have some news. What? This beautiful, limited edition, one of a kind,

it is what it is, underdog helmet has a winner. What's the winner name again? You know it. You know it. Ha ha ha. Are you phoning a friend? Are you phoning a friend? Say the name again.

Yeah, it's Black Mamba Poo. Oh, my goodness. That's who you was talking about when you said, Black Mamba Poo, come get this helmet? That was wild, stat. They gotta come get it! Oh, my goodness. They gotta come get it.

What do you think, Black Mamba Poo? Shout out to Black Mamba Poo. You are our official winner for today of the pink underdog helmet. Let me ask you something. Where do you think Black Mamba Poo is from? With the name, where does it sound like he's from? Chicago.

That's what I'm kidding. What do you think? Trish, where would you say Black Mamba Pooh is from? Probably LA. He's a big Kobe fan. He's got that mamba mentality. It's like South Central LA is where I feel like Black Mamba Pooh is from. I knew a bunch of poos growing up. And a lot of them came from L.A. up to Portland.

Yeah, Poo sound like a New York name, but Black Mamba Poo, I don't know. We call my grandma Poo. That's a South thing, I thought. Oh, my goodness. I know a guy named Poo, but it ain't Black Mamba Poo. That's why I was trying to figure out who's him in it. Where's he from, Nick? Oh, my goodness.

Well, shout out to Black Mumble Poo. This Paul's helmet is yours. Ha ha ha ha ha. Why is that a pause? Why is that a pause? This is so crazy. It sounded crazy when you said Black Mumble Poo, come get this helmet.

That might be all. That's what it is. And rightfully so. He won, so shout out to Black Momma Poo. You got the helmet, and we will be reaching out to you for details on how you will get it. Okay, Jimmy Butler. Yes?

He had a post-game interview Saturday on his Heat tenure, and he said, We were all right. We didn't win nothing like we were supposed to, so I don't know. We made some cool runs, we had some fun. I think that's all we did. Trista, are you surprised by Jimmy's comments,

and then how do you think he's feeling being on the Warriors, even though he's talked about it a couple times? And then, how did you view his tenure with the Heat? Yeah, I mean, he hates that organization. That's very clear. Point blank. Point blank. He hates them. The way it went down caused him to have such a bitter taste

in his mouth, that, Paul, that three Eastern Conference finals and two finals appearances in five years is really just like, oh, we had some fun and we made some cool runs. But ultimately, the space in between what he's saying, right, like the unsaid part is like, they did not support me. They did not bring anybody of any caliber around me, even though I asked them to. Like the year they went to the finals in the bubble, they had like a broken down Goran Dragic, Bam Atabayo in his second year and Tyler Hero in his rookie year. And it was like, okay, we can build

on that. And they never did. The 2023 finals, they had the ghost of Victor Oladipo, I think on a veteran minimum contract. They had Gabe Vincent. They just get a bunch of these undrafted dudes and they build them up and they become serviceable players, but they're not stars. And Jimmy Butler did enough, I think, to warrant them making some big swings to get him a star. If the Lakers can go get Luca just with one phone call you had years to do that. And it got so bitter at the end where they didn't want to pay him. Remember last offseason to Pat Riley was like oh yeah I don't want to pay. First and foremost he was like if if Jimmy Butler is not playing because then he injured last playoffs. If he's not playing, he needs to shut the fuck up. Basically, I don't know if he said the F-bomb, but like he told him he needs to sit down and be quiet.

That was strike one. Then after the season, he goes on record is basically like, I'm not going to pay him. And also Tyler Hero is better than him. I like Tyler Hero because he's more available than Jimmy Butler. He only plays 50 games a year. But ultimately, the Heat have done nothing to support him. They've done nothing, period, since the Heatos era. And I don't know why you'd really want to play for them other than the fact that it's

Miami and there's tons of baddies and the weather's amazing, and there's no state tax. You had Shaquille O'Neal putting body oil, baby oil, pause, all over his body so he could essentially skirt the body fat test, because you have to be four and a half percent body fat in order to play for this organization. They are insane. And I think he looks back his time like, I probably should have never come here, and I probably should have gotten the hell out a lot earlier. That was an amazing take, but I was thinking about before Jimmy Butler came to Miami Heat, wasn't he at Philadelphia?

That wasn't a great time as well. He's never had a good situation. That's why I think he's in love with the Warriors is because it's the first functional franchise he's ever been with, with a true co-star. He was in Chicago and Derek Rose was sort of on his last leg. He had Joaquin Noah and Tom Thibodeau running him into the ground. Then he goes to Minnesota with Carl Anthony Towns

and Andrew Wiggins and those guys, they were pretty soft at that point in their career pause. And that's why he got out of there. Goes to Philly with Brett Brown, Joelle Embiid, they choose Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris over him, the iconic line and then Miami. So he's loving life right now to feel supported, to have an offense that functions.

And I think he really dodged the bullet by not going to Phoenix and going to a situation where he's probably gonna ride out in the sunset and maybe go further than he ever has before by the time he's all said and done. Yeah, I think when it comes to Jimmy Butler, the reason why he's enjoying it because he's not the first option.

Everywhere else that he's been, he's been almost the first option. That's why he was able to take the 50, only play 50 games and things of that nature. But on a team like Golden State, they're requiring more of him, but is also more from a second position, second option. You're not the first option.

So that gives you a little bit of rest. All the weight pauses not on your shoulders because you're playing with the great Stephen Curry. And now even if you're a slasher like Jimmy Butler, that's your dream that when you're going to the basket, somebody cannot double team you because they can't afford for the ball to get swung out to Stephen Curry.

That's a nightmare. So them two together is actually perfect. I think them two together is actually better than Klay Thompson and Steph because now you got two people that can get a basket. Not that Klay couldn't, but Jimmy Butler is way more aggressive when it comes to attacking a rim. That's looking a hot take. Trista, I'm just curious

on what you think. Do you think that Jimmy Butler is a better pairing than Clay Thompson? And then when you say that, are you talking about in the past year or years as a whole? You just gotta be clear. I'm talking about, if I'm in a game and I got Clay Thompson and Steph, or I could have Jimmy Butler and Steph,

pause, I would go with Jimmy Butler and Steph because it gives you more dynamics. With Clay and Steph, you just got shooters on the floor. When Jimmy Butler comes out there, he can get a basket. If the shot is not falling, he can go get a basket. And sometimes whenever they lost, that was the reason. You needed somebody else that could get a basket, like a guaranteed bucket.

OK. Trista, what do you think? Yeah, I love that take. I mean, you talk about what Jimmy Butler is. He's a creator, right? Yeah, I love that take. I mean, you talk about what Jimmy Butler is. He's a creator, right? He can get his own shot and Clay really could not get his own shot, especially after the ACL tear.

He just had such limited mobility, even as defense started to go down. So you talk about what Jimmy Butler does well, like you said, Mace, he's a slasher. He can go get you a bucket, and he ends up elevating to the moments that he plays in. The bigger the spotlight, the bigger his performances are. And then Steph, Steph and Clay didn't occupy the same space, but you can blitz Steph, and you didn't really know unless Clay was hot, especially after his peak

level, right, after that injury. He kind of had these highs and lows in terms of his shooting. You're right. Like when they fell it was because they couldn't get a bucket down the stretch because teams were double teaming Steph and they weren't getting the ball out the clay. They were getting the ball out to somebody else. Yeah, so you needed somebody that could say, you know what? For the next 15 points, this is going to be me. OK. And you know, Clay would have that pump fake step over and shoot, but he couldn't just get crazy and get to the basket, get whatever kind of basket he want.

And that's where Jenny Butler becomes a real problem, especially on this Golden State team, because you got shooters all around you. You even got Buddy Hill that'll come off the bench and probably hit two threes. And in the playoffs, that matters. Yeah, it does. And to your point, Mace, really fast before we switch gears,

I think that the analogy that you can make is like Jimmy Butler in Miami and everywhere else that he was, he was an everyday car. Like when you have a car and you're using it for every stop, your day to day, and that's the only car you have. Now Jimmy Butler's like the second or third car and you're primarily driving the Steph Curry car.

There's not nearly as much miles on it. Even though he's in the game, he's not nearly as much miles on it. Even though he's in the game, he's not required to do nearly as much. The mileage on his body, the hits to his body, not nearly as much either. It's a great fit for him. It's, I'm super happy for him. He deserves it.

Yeah, it's actually like playing on an All-Star team when them two are playing together. Because you know, I could get a bucket, we know he can get a bucket, and you ever see how all-stars play together, it's like with a respect, but the game is that much easier because you're playing with that level of talent. Okay.

And then just last follow-up question, so you don't feel like right now, Klay Thompson has that in him. Pause. I think he has... He has the ability, but... I mean, it's just common sense that Jimmy Butler is a way more rugged player than him.

His styles. Yeah. That's a better style to have. He was never that guy that had, like, a tremendously deep bag. That's just not what Clay did. Right? Like, he would drive straight line to the basket, dunk, lay, pause. But he was never, like, giving you, you know,

hezzy, cross, tween, behind the back, like Jimmy can do. Jimmy is like the mid-range master. He can create space. He can get his own shot. He can draw contact. He's going to the free throw line more than any warrior has, pretty much in the history of Steph's career. And that's what you need, is getting guys into foul trouble

as well, which sort of changes the landscape of Steph's career. And that's what you need is getting guys into foul trouble as well, which sort of changes the landscape of that game plan also. So no, Clay was never doing that. He was primarily like a great two way, three point three and deep, the elitist elite three and deep player. Had a little bit of straight line drives to his game. And for the history of the NBA,

the people that had crazy mid-range games are the people who dominated, whether it was Jordan, whether it was Kobe, whether even when you got Ray Allen shooting from deep, he also had the mid-range. Everybody that had that mid-range game at the two were like a nightmare. D Wade, even if you talk about the three, Carmelo Anthony,

anybody, Kevin Durant, anybody that mastered a mid-range game for the kids that are watching, that's something to pay attention to. You're just shooting threes, that's cool. But if you got a mid-range game, you become extremely harder to stop. Okay. Underrated NBA teams.

Who are they? We'll discuss after the break. Excuse me. After last night performance, we we're gonna do this again that's okay I'm Rico fucking strong. I'm back! Oh my god! What the hell, man?

Guys, get up! Drink this! Go away, go away! Right now. Right now. Yeah. Girl, let me see you walk it off. Walk it off. Oh, let me see you walk it off. Walk it off. Yeah, let me see you walk it off. Go. Girl, let me see you walk it off. Welcome back. So just in general, we've seen, specifically a lot of the teams in the West are separated

just by like a game of chess. And we've seen a lot of them play a lot of games. And we've seen a lot of them play a lot of games. And we it all. -♪ ROCK IT ALL. Welcome back. So, just in general, we've seen, specifically, a lot of the teams in the West are separated just by, like, a game or two. So, after we've been watching these games, seeing these teams, Trista, which teams right now do you feel like are very underrated

that need to be spoken about more? Yeah, I think number one, the team that... I don't think they're a true contender need to be spoken about more? Yeah, I think number one, the team that, I don't think they're a true contender in the sense that I think there's only a few real contenders. And I don't think any of them are really underrated. But a team that really nobody is talking about at all is a team that was just in the Eastern Conference finals

last year in Indiana. And I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that Tyrese Halliburton, I think, was probably still injured to a degree in the beginning of the year. And he was cheeks. And so everybody kind of forgot about them. But they're a very deep team.

And they have so many different players that can come at you on any given night, right? Is that a pause? No, you just sound hilarious, because you got a mainstream voice with urban content. Ha ha ha. Ha ha ha. Ha ha ha.

Ha ha ha. Ha ha ha. Fair enough. I think that's the draw. So they were, I mean, essentially, that was them throughout the all-star break, right? And now you look at what's going on. Tyrese Haliburton starting to play much better.

They're nine and six in their last 15 games. They've got a top 10 defensive rating right now, which is not really what they're known for. Like I said, Tyrese Haliburton 21, 11 and two in his last 15 games. And they have the highest, third highest assist rate in the league. So they move the ball well, but it's really you never know who's gonna come at you. It could be Ben Mather and it could be obi topping one night. It could be TJ McConnell coming at you or Andrew Nemhard.

There's a Pascal Siakam. And that's what I think makes a team really dangerous to game plan for in the playoffs is you just never really know who's going to be that role player to step up. So I can see Indiana making some noise and making life very uncomfortable for the teams that have been sitting at the top of the East pretty much all season. That's number one. And then number two for me in the West is a very similar situation. A team that started the season with turmoil. They add Dante DiVincenzo and Julius Randall, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it just wasn't working. It wasn't clicking. Julius Randall wasn't playing well at all, and everybody was kind

of killing the Timberwolves for trading Carl Anthony Towns to begin with. And then Julius Randall gets injured. And now that he's back, things are starting to look much better. They have the second best net rating in their last 15 games only behind OKC. They're starting to get healthy again. They're 10 and 5 at the right time in the last 15 games. And then you always want to be scared of a guy who can take

over like Anthony Edwards. You got another kid in Rob Dillingham who I think should probably be playing more minutes than Mike Conley and those are two guys that can really fill it up, Pauls. So I like Minnesota and I like Indiana as two teams that are not getting nearly enough love and I think it actually make life pretty uncomfortable for the true contenders. I like your East Coast, I like your East Coast choice, but on the West Coast, I'm gonna go with the Clippers. The Clippers and the reason why I say the Clippers is because it's like they haven't gotten no love all year. No matter how well they played,

no matter how many games they won, no matter how much James Harden looked like the old James Harden, Kawhi coming back, Kawhi getting 30 in the last couple of games. This team, this team is really dangerous at the eighth seed. At the eighth seed, I don't think there's people that really want to see them that early. And if they bump up to seven, then they're really going to be a danger. They're going to be even more dangerous.

And I think they got everything you need to upset a Western Conference team in the first round. And that's why I have them as my sleeper team or my most underrated team, because they don't have any player that's not performing at any position pause so it becomes kind of crazy when you think if you see them in a matchup only team I could see really like dismantling them in the first round would be Denver but if they don't run into Denver, can they beat the Lakers team? That will be interesting to see LeBron against Kawhi and James against Luka.

That's a real exciting matchup. What do you think about that? Who you got? No, I love the Clippers. That was another team. You can't really like use every bullet, but that was an honorable mention for me. You're right. The Clippers haven't been really discussed at all. They start off hot, then they have a low norm. Powell was doing the whole, like we're adding with subtracting.

Now that Paul George isn't here anymore. He was playing phenomenal basketball. They make some trades. No one's really talking about how Bogdanovich has been playing. And he's, I think, an X factor for the Clippers, a guy who has a little wiggle to his game. He can get to the rim, he can defend,

and he can also shoot the three really well. So you're adding that to Norm Powell, who's a 40% catch and shoot three guy. James Harden, like you said, we haven't seen this version of James Harden ever because he was either MVP highest usage rate in the league or he seemed to be wanting to eat his way out of Houston and out of Brooklyn. And so he's engaged, he's fully bought in. And Philly, and Philly. And Philly, yeah, and Philly.

I forgot about that short brief stint. So yeah, I think this is the best James Harden that we've seen, because it's like he still has the skills to take over at times, but he's much more of a team player because he's getting to the point in his career where he's focusing on a championship. Kawhi Leonard, if he's healthy and he's been playing really well, if Kawhi Leonard stays healthy through the playoffs,

and we haven't seen that since Toronto in 2019, and they've got role players, like I said, who can step up and kind of be that whack-a-mole where you never really know who's going to perform well. I like the Clippers. It depends on the matchup, but I think that they can make it's a, they're a problem. They're a definite problem. Yeah. And I definitely brought up that guy's name that cause he played with Atlanta Hawks, right? How do you say his name again? Bogdanovic.

Bogdanovic. Yeah, I did bring them up the other day. So just, you know, just for clarity sake, we're not going against your take or anything. We just want to let you know when you're leaving out expert comments. He said quote. Quote me. No, but this team to your arm defense becomes a very dangerous team. Even when you go to a small ball lineup,

when you go to a small ball lineup, this becomes a nightmare for people because you got two shooters on the outside and if they play like a east west coast like offense, it becomes really dangerous because you got a spot up shooters and you got two players that are guaranteed to be slashes. It's almost like you got two players that are guaranteed to be slashes. It's almost like you got two Jimmy Butlers

and two, um, two terrible shooters at both corners. So this is a real nightmare for a team if they figure out how to cohesively work when they go to small ball. Okay, so it's March. So, you know, guys, we got to talk about this March madness. when they go to Small Ball. Okay, so it's March. So you know, guys, we gotta talk about this March madness. Where's Maurice at?

Is Maurice coming today? You know, people just like don't appear sometimes when their team gets a loss and that's fine. I didn't get no text from Maurice. Maurice, if you're out there, there's an APB out. They said that you ran away from Title Town. And just so happened, they called me about it. I don't think he ran.

He ran? He's very consistent. Oh, okay. I'm sticking up for Maurice today. Maurice, Maurice my guy too. I'm just saying what the people are saying. I'm not saying this about you, Maurice. But people are in my comments,

people are in my DMs telling me about, did you see Maurice yet? I said, I, I, I smoked him a few days ago. They said, did he tell you what happened? What happened? They said, you ain't here. I said, here what? Maybe that's what you're talking about, Stat. That's exactly what I'm talking about.

But again, Maurice is consistent. I'll make that very clear. Did you speak to him today? We know where he stands. I have not spoke to Maurice. Did you speak to him yesterday? Uh, no. But we will.

We will, because we're going to have to get his point of view, too. Maurice, if you're out there, we're looking for you. We're looking for you in Titletown. Titletown is looking for you. Yeah. It's up, you know the number to Titletown. Yeah.

Unless you lost your way. He's not lost. Even so, he's gonna remain consistent. Maurice, I got you. We know where he stands. We know where he stands. We know where he stands. Okay, so Florida. See what happens when you try to go and kill her?

You try to go and kill her against me? I'm telling you, the Title Town gods don't like this. They don't like this. Wait till you can come back tomorrow. Oh, Lord, much love. So, Florida advances to the Sweet 16 after beating UConn 77-75. So, after the game, Dan Hurley was caught walking up the court saying,

I hope they don't F you like they F'd us, Baylor. I really hope they don't. He was clearly very, very, very, very frustrated. So, Trista, what was your thoughts on Dan Hurley's comments? And then, Florida advancing. So Trista, what was your thoughts on Dan Hurley's comments and then Florida advancing? They, they did get fucked over. They did.

I watched every bit of that game and they had the perfect game plan. And let's not act like Yukon was well thought of before the tournament. They were an eight seed. Nobody thought, Oh, this is a three-peat caliber squad. I knew that this team had real holes in their shooting. They haven't shot well pretty much in the tournament the last two years that they ran through them, boys. Pause.

But we really were a little bit worried considering that they didn't have the centers like Donovan Klingon that they had last season as well. So it was already a shaky matchup. Florida was a one seed. They were a nine point favorite. And for UConn to beat up pretty much most of the game, they were up with two minutes and 30 seconds left to go. There were a couple of questionable calls, very ticky tack fouls that were called against Yukon.

The refs were definitely having a soft whistle. So that was one thing. But that kid, Walter Clayton Jr., I don't know if you guys saw him, he had three threes in the last, what, less than three minutes, and they were not open, wide open, spot up threes. They were whap, whap, sidestep three in movement three, having to create that

separation for himself. Florida. That's that Florida water. That's that Florida water pause. Stat, I can't make this up. I wanted you kind of do well, but I can't go against the crib. You kinda do well, but I can't go against the crib. I can't go against the crib. You know what I'm saying?

You're back with your Florida roots, huh? I can't go against the crib. What y'all want me to do, killer? What y'all want me to do? The crib came through. Pause. What I'm supposed to do. You know, you ever see somebody get in a fight and they're your friends, but they're fighting family now, Nick.

Are you fighting family? Yeah. You can't go against the family. Can't go against family. I remember this. I know you remember this. I know you sometime in the future. Cool. I'm gonna remember this. I know you. I'm gonna remember this. I know you. Sometime in the future. You're cool.

Ha ha ha. But this family. That's valid. You feel what I'm saying? They ran against their crib. What did you expect them to do? The good old boys. You talking about the cause?

The cause got to go in the way of the good old boys. This is a Florida thing. You can come home now. It's good. You can come home now. Stat, you can come home now. It's good. You can come home now. Maurice, you can come home now. It's a SEC thing, you know? Okay. Trista, what was your point? Would this have even made the run down if Florida didn't win this game? If Yukon won this game, like, we thought was going to have three minutes left.

This doesn't even make the run down. Florida's not even in basic family. He's like, oh, that's my distant second, third cousin on my mama's baby sister's side. No chance. No way. This is convenient. I mean, Stat, have I been in Florida the whole time, Stat?

Do I say this is the Florida blue that I'm wearing in my glasses? When you're yelling Miami, am I not a gator? Uh... The correct answer I should say is yes. Okay, I'm glad you come. Sometimes. You coming home, you coming home.

I've been home. We let you come home. I'm playing home. No, you're not, not. Cause some days you say you're from what, Tampa? Yes. You're from Jacksonville, Stax? Born.

Okay, me too. True. So I can't go against the crib. That's all I'm telling you. I can't go against the crib. I can't act like I'm a Seminole. I'm not a Seminole. I'm a gator. Big gator. Yeah, but you can claim New York and Jacksonville and Kansas City and Oregon.

No, it's that. So I can claim different parts of Florida. It's that I know people are wearing Nikes. It's free Nikes in Oregon. If I have to explain it to you, we don't have enough time for me to explain all this, Nick. Why not? I think we got a little bit of minutes.

Don't we? You can buy air Nikes in the University of Oregon for about $1, you know? It's reasons for the season, you know? But Kansas City is just Title Town, you know? You start winning a couple championships. UConn became Title Town. Moe was supposed to bring me up there.

He didn't bring me up there, so I removed my blessing. That's what happened. So you're the reason? You can't win unless you come through the title town guard, I'm telling you. So you're the reason? Yeah, now remember I told, what's his name, Kelsey to come on, do the interview or whatever? Okay. And he couldn't make it.

Okay. So I removed it. So that was the reason? Yeah, I removed it. I'm letting it Okay. So I removed it. So that was the reason. Yeah, I removed it. I'm letting it out now. I removed it. If I remove my blessing, it don't happen. See, Tatum says something.

I'm not sure if I want to remove my blessing, Judge. If I remove it, they ain't gonna win. No, dude. What did Tatum say? No, dude. Tatum said all good things about Mace. I always tell him this, but he said he's not officially Titletown yet, but he's on the way there.

I give them my blessing. But you gave them his credit, though. I give them my blessing because of Jalen Brown. So my blessing is on Boston right now. If I remove it, they'll lose. So y'all got to come talk to me around playoff time. Okay. But you know, Yukon, this is simple.

You just came against the family. I had to remove the blaster. That's all. Okay, shout out to Florida. And then Trista, last March minus game we're gonna talk about, so Duke beat Baylor 89 to 66. This was questionable for a lot of people. Are you surprised Duke won, Trista?

No, they've got a lot of guys on that team that can do everything. It's not just Cooper Flagg. There's Conkenepple on there. There's the kid from Australia, Tyrese Proctor. I think he had like a bajillion threes yesterday as well. Duke is tough. Like, I think Mace better get his ticket to Cameron Indoor

down to North Carolina because Title Town feels like it's coming through Duke. I'm not gonna lie to you. It feels like they're dominant. It feels like they're gonna do what UConn did two years ago and last year and just be a buzzsaw no matter who is in their way. They're gonna make light work at Arizona who makes multiple mistakes,

and their pathway I think is very favorable too. Baylor really just had VJ Edgecomb and not a lot else. Their firepower is not really impressive, and that's why they were seated what they were seated. So they made it a close fight, but at the end of the day, they just didn't have the depth to compete with Duke. And I don't think really maybe anyone has the depth to compete with Duke on that level. Yeah.

I think, I think this is a foregone conclusion that Duke is, is the supreme power in college basketball. When it comes to the men's, I can't think of one team that would really, that we would just say, they'll spank Duke, pause. You know, I can't think of nobody. So, Duke is going to win as much as they want to win. If Cooper Flag is playing, if you got the wing players

playing the way they played last game, it's just nobody that could beat Duke right now. And it's sad to say that, because it's like you're watching a tournament for nothing. You're watching people to see who makes it to get beat by Duke. That's what it looks like to me. I know we got big names like Kentucky. Um, you got Alabama just played a really good game.

But when it comes down to it, I don't think. Matter of fact, Alabama might be, let me take that back. Alabama is the only team I think could really be Duke. Okay. But that's that SEC again, you know, back to the crib. It just matters more. Back to the crib. You see what I'm saying?

You get real like that. You get real like that. Back to the crib. Okay. And then the last question before we wrap. So, amidst all these games, there's just one... Wait, wait, wait. Tristan, do you think that Alabama could beat Duke? I want you on the record,

because I see Stat making all these weird motions. Do you think Duke can beat Alabama? The way Alabama played last, I don't want to put nothing on it. Do you think Alabama could be Duke? I do not know. I think Alabama, I mean, I think you saw what Alabama did last year, right? Like they probably should not and did not have enough to go to the final four, but they got hot at the right time.

And when Alabama starts making threes, when you've got multiple dudes down the stretch like Mark Sears having 17 points in the second half in their first tournament game, like, yeah, if you get hot, anything is possible. But Alabama's defense is super suspect and you can put up 90 against them pretty easily they're a tissue and you saw what Florida did to Alabama in the SEC title game where it just means more so no I don't think

Alabama is the team that I would choose to compete the most with Duke I would say it's probably a team like Florida, who has some bucket getters and guys on the perimeter who can shoot really well and defensively are really good. Like Florida is a top five defense. So I think you have to be balanced at both of those facets to keep up with Duke because that's what they do so well. But again, if you shoot 80% from three, then sure.

But outside of something stunning like that, no, I don't think it's Alabama that would be able to compete with them at all. Okay, just remember I told you, Alabama has figured something out. That new lineup with the two bigs, when they go to that unit and they got Holloway in there, their guards are really tough.

They got two small guards that are really tough on Alabama. I'll take my chances with Alabama with, what's his name, Holloway? And it was another guard that was getting crazy out there. I think his name is Sears. Yeah. He was playing like he was from my neighborhood. Yeah.

OK, well, with that, like you always say, time will tell, so we... Time will tell. We'll see. So, last thing before we wrap, so with all these games, there's one particular person who has been going stupid viral. So I gotta ask you guys' opinion on Amir Ara Khan. So he was McNeese State's men's basketball manager.

When their season came to an end after losing to Purdue, he's still been up and going. It's apparent that he signed up to six figures in NIL deals with brands such as Buffalo Wild Wings, Insomnia Cookies, Fortnite, and more. So Trista, have you heard of this Mr. Ara? What did you think of the whole viral moment that he had and how much he's basically been able to profit off of literally

just being the team manager? Yeah, that part is kind of crazy to me because he's kind of like a mascot, right? He kind of became McNeese's, like, we'll elevate him, this kind of not... Like, the aura almost feels kind of like shade, you know what I mean? Like if you see him, that's just my perspective.

I don't see aura, but I don't know the man, right? And he became famous because he was lip syncing rap videos, which I think is like, I don't know. I don't know if that's something for you to become like the aura for. Outside of him, the larger point is there's just a lot of money going around from these brands during these moments that last like two three weeks and he's getting over six figures for a three week deal and he should get every penny that he can. And now he's going to go over there with Will Wade to NC State as a graduate student. And when they go to the tournament next year, he's going to get that check as well. And every other month of the year, we're not going to even think about Oricon, Amircon, and that's no shade to him.

But that's just kind of like where we are in the NIL era right now, which is like, you profit when you're hot. And like that little flash in the pan moment, you should just really get as much as you can. Because I don't think you're going to be able to use that and make that something that's like a real career or some sustaining income, if that makes sense. Yeah. I think it's the beginning of something great, actually.

In the society we're in today, I've seen people have longer runs with less. So in this type of situation, I'm going to have to disagree. Aura, hit us up. We want to be in a commercial. Ha ha ha. Ha ha ha.

Ha ha ha. Ha ha ha. I'm not with Trish. The Trish, I'm not, no, let me stop, you know, but that would be cool. Push that into commercial. She like, you know, she liked what she likes, you know, most should be in a commercial with Dan Hurley. I think that just shows, like, if you're on the periphery of a hot team and in the culture,

then, like, these brands should reach out to you, and you should, you know, enjoy that moment. Yeah, and all NIL deals, we're taking them, even though we're not in college. Statue's still in college. Can you get an NIL? No. I'm a fifth year senior.

Put the camera on me. I'm a fifth year senior. I got more eligibility. So send me all the NIL deals. I think you have all the eligibility. I think you have four years of eligibility. No, no, no. Actually, actually, Trisha, you don't know everything about me.

I play college basketball. We're glad we know you. Whoa. Yo. It doesn't gotta be an NIL deal. We can put deals. We can put deals on the table. Rich Paul, no, I need an NIL deal.

And Rich Paul is my agent. So if you're looking for me, I sign with Clutch Sports. I forgot to tell y'all that. For what sport? For balling. Oh. General balling. It's my fault.

Hit up my agent. That's the way to go. If anybody's the right agent, it is Rich Paul. Y'all, that is all the time that we have for's the right agent, it is Rich Paul. Y'all, that is all the time that we have for today. Trista, it was a pleasure to have you. Thanks for coming on. She said which part I said balling.

That was a good one. You have four years of eligibility left. I got four years of eligibility left. I played one year, I played with Don Cannon from affiliate records, you know? I'm in Generation Now. Then you should get your NIL money. You should go like J.R. Smith and go back to school.

Yes, D.R. and holla at me. D.R. and holla at me, who else? Rich Paul, speak to Rich Paul. If you can't get Rich Paul, call Rich Clamman. I got a few agents now. Any rich. Any rich. But I'm with a guy named Rich, with the Richard on.

Shadoor! Okay. Shadoor! Let's go. Thank y'all for watching, and as always, it is what it is. What you want nigga? Everything nigga supersized Two big necks Like when they doin' them two for five