IT IS WHAT IT IS - MA$E IS BACK WITH THE KNICKS & JOKIC GOES CRAZY IN GAME 5!! | S4 EP18

Episode Date: May 15, 2024

Ma$e, Cam’ron & Treasure "Stat Baby" Wilson are back with another one!! ***NEW MERCH*** https://www.itiswhatitismerch.com 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 $100 first deposit match, and a Special Pick'em pick. Follow the show and our hosts on social media: It Is What It Is, Cam'Ron, Ma$e, and Treasure "Stat Baby" Wilson , Producer Ayooo Nick

It's a reunion, hello y'all I was sellin' crack on a private jet, I've been to hell and back But no confusion, it's a reunion Hello y'all, welcome back Get murdered 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 Benz's and white Vigas

Now I'm out here and I'm lookin' for more chandeliers and light fixtures Now, I don't like niggas, what's wrong with me? Welcome back to It Is What It Is. This episode is sponsored by Underdog Fantasy. 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 New York, just to name a few. Make sure to support the show by hitting the link in the bio and downloading the Underdog Fantasy app.

They'll also match your first deposit up to $100, and you get a special pick when you sign up. I'm Treasure Wilson, a.k.a. Stat Baby, along with your host, Mace, and today we are joined with our analyst, Maurice Claret. Mace! Mace, and today we are joined with our analyst Maurice Claret. Maurice!

What's happening? What's going on? Everything. My Nick, baby, my Nick. Yeah. I heard Nick say I can't come back home, but you know when I heard that, I was back home. Nick was talking crazy to you. Yeah, they said, yeah, I'm hearing things. I hear things, you know.

Yeah, man. Stat, how are you doing today? I'm good. And then before we even get into the questions, we got to talk about the shirts, y'all. Oh, my goodness. I thought she was talking about the duck bucks, but she's not talking about the duck bucks. She's talking about what you got on.

Mark Jackson. Let's troll Mark Jackson right now. Yeah, we're going to. Hey, Mark, remember, I watch your your podcast i watch what you and your son said y'all said that the pacers was gonna mollywop the knicks and you was being politically correct as usual right and we're just here to let you know that new york is here to transition on to the new york or to the eastern conference finalsals, baby. One more game, baby. Molly Watt was crazy, though.

Oh, yeah. Mark, mark me off limits with the pause words. Pause. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Mark, you would think he's he's torn paws because he's he's from New York, but he played in Indiana when New York, I guess, traded him. So I don't know for sure. What did he leave on his own?

Was it a LeBron thing? But I remember he left New York. He went and played with the Pacers. And, you know, he came back with Reggie Miller when he did all of this. He's a choker. Yeah, you know. So. No, I will say this, too.

I forgot all about this. So I'm glad you mentioned shirts, Stat. I will say this. Everybody who's getting an email from me in your email, a link for the shirts, it is what it is, merch. That is from me, but it's so many emails that I couldn't respond to everybody. So that is one of me 100% sending a link. So I got a bunch of emails back saying, yo, is this actually you? Yes, it is actually me, and it's me sending a link.

But if you want to go check out the shirts, it is what it is, merch.com. So thanks for that for saying that. Remind me, but this was all about trolling my man Mark Jackson today, and we let you know what time it is. Beautiful. Make sure y'all go get you a shirt. Okay, so got to start the Knicks. The Pacers lose the Knicks 121 to 91 with the knicks leading the

series three to two just in general i'm sure this is gonna be a great discussion how do you guys both feel about the next right now please remember you guys's previous conversations and thoughts we're seeing so were seen. I'm talking to you, mate. You know, instead of trying to be diplomatic, no. Well, I'll say this, like, on a serious note before I start

joking, it was obvious that there was a different level of energy and aggression and excitement and excitement and all of that stuff that you get from a playoff team playing at their home court. That was obvious, right? If you go back and watch what they were playing like in Indiana, they damn near seemed dead. You know what I'm saying?

Just a defensive play, just the rebounding uh everything that they were doing being with turnover so they want to turn over i don't have the stats in front of me but i'm pretty sure they won the turnover ratio by a large margin i'm pretty sure that they um won the rebound war by a lot and i guarantee if you had one of those statisticians who were just crazy with the stats all of the buckets that they made post turnovers and rebounds, it was just like crazy. And just the energy in general and the look in my man Jalen Brunson's eyes was ruthless again.

And he looked like I'm here at my house. I'm here to like, you know, like they say, big players make big plays in big games. He was here to claim his moment in New York City. And so I enjoyed watching it. I enjoyed just the same thing I said. My man Scott Foster, the ref, thanks for the extra calls. You know, we love you for it.

But I'm here for New York to win and go play Boston after they beat up on my boys in Cleveland. So I don't know. What's your thoughts on it? Boston after they beat up on my boys in Cleveland. So I don't know. What's your thoughts on it? Well, actually, Stats said, remember what we said earlier?

Like, I don't remember what I said. I said that there's a difference between 30 and 40. Do you remember that? I said there's a difference. I was trying to tell Killer that. I said, yo, he said, so what's the difference? The difference is today, I mean, yesterday,

he had 40. Brunson had 44. If I'm correct, is that correct, Stat? You're the Statician. You're the Stat, baby, right? We'll throw rocks at the heavens. Here we go. You said this, so there's a difference between 30 and 40.

He gets 44 and they win. And this is a double shot because, whoa, Killer said that when he gets 40, they don't win. So here goes another. I'm really happy about this because I get the outshine stat and killer on the same night. I mean, when he gives 44, it's evident that the experts know what they know, man. We got to leave this stuff up to the basketball gods, man. And, you know, it was a

blowout. They won, what they won, 91-21? 5-30. And I keep hearing Nick talk about, well, there's a game on Friday, then there's a game on Sunday. Ain't nobody having no game on Sunday. The games won't

be over. They'll be able to, Indiana will be able to go no game on Sunday. The games won't be over until Sunday. They'll be able to, in the end, they'll be able to go to church on Sunday because they won't be playing on Sunday. I'm just going to let you know that early. What I'm most surprised about is McBride. McBride, when I said this earlier too, when McBride plays exceptionally well, the Knicks can win the East. And I'm going to go on the record of that because we kind of expect Josh Hart at this point.

He's a guard getting 11 rebounds, 18 points. But when McBride plays well, they are a eastern conference championship team if he plays well and remember i say that stat since you like to keep stats remember that because this is like the the i think the second or third time i brought them up when it came to the knicks sometime you have those players that's on the team that they're not the main guy. Mo, you know this is the same as football. If this person shows up, we're unstoppable. I think for Miami Dolphins, I used to say that about, what was the guy named? The running back, Mo Sarver. Most of them. Yeah. Every team should have one of those players

that if he shows up we win it all because he's that much of a difference maker so you don't always have to be the starter that's what I would say about this and I know New York is happier than ever but in the words of my nigga Killer I can't get

my hopes up too high yet you know it ain't sealed until my nigga killer, I can't get my hopes up too high yet. It ain't sealed until it's sealed, Paul. But what scares you? What scares you going into game six? Spike Lee, man. Spike Lee. Spike's kids.

Because he'll say the wrong thing and get them niggas amped up. Now, I'm trying to stop saying nigga, but give me some other words I can use. Crowdy? Yeah, I say nigga a whole lot. I got that from, you know, the young boy. Well, great analysis.

I'm just going to add, add mace i'm definitely messing with you because our previous episode i think i said that the pacers were gonna have it so it's not like me coming at it probably is that um tardy's haliburton's definitely gonna have to step up step it up he can't score 13 points the knicks don't even have like all key players out on the floor and beating the pacers by 30 pac Pacers is going to have to do better. I'm sure everybody in New York had a great time at that game. I can only imagine how it was out in the stands. It's always stressful to go to basketball game in general,

but I just know the energy there was crazy. So again, got to give credit where it's due. Shout out to the Knicks. Jalen Brunson is killing it. I think that every Knicks fan needs to be praising him right now because he's the one that is definitely holding it down for the rest of the team. Not saying that the other

players aren't participating to high caliber, but he is that main source. Is he carrying, though, is the question? Do y'all feel like Jalen Brunson is carrying the Knicks? Yes. Go ahead, Mo. No, it's scary, but it's fun to watch, right?

You just see him get the ball, bro, and he's out there just playing isolation, one-on-one. He's using his footwork. It's like he's almost playing like at the playground on a professional level. You know what I'm saying? And then what is his name? I always mess his name up.

Devin Cinzo or Devin Cinzo, however you say it. He's like the crazy white teammate. You know what I'm saying? Who's just like, I've been knowing you for a long time. I'm riding with you, bro. And if you fuck up, I'm going to try to crash your boards or play crazy defense. You know what I'm saying? But I just look at those two as like, you know, what would you call them? Ghost and Tommy. You know what I'm saying? Off of power. You know what I'm saying? But I just look at those two as like, you know, what would you call them? Ghost

and Tommy, you know what I'm saying? Off of power. You know what I'm saying? But they be rocking and rolling, bro. And that's just how I viewed him, you know what I'm saying? But he's definitely carrying the team. But I said this almost three or four weeks ago. If he doesn't have that production, I don't know where they get it from.

You know what I'm saying? But he's the heart and soul. But it's like, you know, you live by it by it you die by it but it's fun to watch when it's good but like just like when they're when they're in indiana when they uh when they find a way to neutralizing you know saying rather if it's trapping him early getting the ball out his hand early forcing other people to get shots open and i don't know if they just came to new york city and it was overwhelming like you have to think about this, man. We talk about these dudes. A lot of these dudes are still young. You know what I'm saying?

A lot of these dudes, you know, I can just remember back when I was playing, right, and you go and you see somebody famous sitting in the arena. You know what I'm saying? You go and, you know, you're in fucking Indiana, no offense, but you got just like regular Joe Schmoes and Saiyans. You know what I'm saying? But you come to New York City and just the theatrics and rolling up to the game and playing a historical arena

and walking in there and knowing how much history, that's a lot of other, all of your senses getting overloaded with just like the things that grab your attention. Like when you were in the Midwest, I'm from the Midwest, you drive to the game, you pass on your standard restaurants, like, ain't nobody fighting you to get in the stadium. So I just think, like,

some of that stuff plays into it, but that's what makes, like, New York City, like, the place for rock stars. You know what I'm saying? Because if you can handle all this pressure pause and live it up on a big stage,

I can only imagine some fans going crazy out there. And to be able to take all that crazy-ass talking, saying, fuck you, and everything else that's probably going on, you know, that probably is a bit overwhelming for Indiana. I know I kind of went, you know, two different directions, but I just spoke in general what I would think that would occupy, you know, some guys who probably never been in that situation before.

Yeah, I mean, to agree with you, Mo, he is definitely carrying that team. Brunson is definitely carrying that team. But one thing I would think about, if you're seeing that, what's the guy name? How you say it? Devinkinzo or Sinzo, something like that. Yeah. Deven

Cinzo. I don't know how to say it. And that's okay, Mace. That's okay. DD. We call a nigga DD. We don't call a nigga Tommy, man. If he's Tommy, and I know 50 Cent. Tommy. If he's Tommy, and I know 50 Cent loves this,

if he's Tommy and Brunson is Ghost, who is Josh Hart? Shit. I don't know. He part of one of them niggas who was running around. I don't know. Two-bit. know he part of one of them niggas who was running around i don't know too big too big okay so moving along so this is a pretty interesting conversation i've been seeing

had so we know that there's a lot of discussion around who the potential next Lakers head coach should be. A lot of discussion is around JJ Redick. Sources are saying that he might be the answer, which has a lot of pros and cons based off of what people have been saying. But on the Stephen A. Smith show, Stephen A. asked Doc Rivers about his beef with JJ Redickick he said a couple of quotes but the one that I want you guys's opinion on is where he said J.J. Reddick's best numbers of his career was under one coach and you're looking at him I'm the one who grabbed him out of Milwaukee and decided to start him from that point on his career took off so how do you

feel about him just you know throwing that in the discussion and having those comments about JJ Redick who could be the potential next Lakers head coach yeah uh to me that was a classy way of saying shut the fuck up right and uh Doc is an active NBA coach and um I understand he understands that JJ has a job to do, right? But I think that he's probably saying, like, JJ, you're smart enough, and you need to be made aware that I helped to contribute to you becoming a star when I brought you out here to L.A. I've seen the clip that you're talking about,

and he talked about how he designed his first place for JJ Reddick to get his shots up and to get him in a groove and which ultimately helped to make you into who you are, which then gives you a post career life. You know, saying if you've been a star and you've been featured and somebody gave you props. But then there's a flip side of the coin, too, where J.J reddick's personality uh what seemed to have caught fire was being brash towards like old media and guys like steve i remember it was one clip that went viral where he told steven a and there was another white guy who was up on the panel he said it's clear that you guys have never played professional basketball at a high level and it was like very like brash and square in your face and that that sort of attitude he's saying has provoked people to like follow him so i think like it's a fine

line uh i don't have the personality to um i don't know i wouldn't have the personality especially a coach coaches may be a little bit different with me like if it's somebody who i was around before if it was a player i can be honest about my interaction with them but coaches just because the dynamic of the relationship uh i would i wouldn't i wouldn't hold punches but i probably wouldn't throw an old coach who probably you know assisted me in my career i probably wouldn't throw him up under the bus um on on a public platform to kind of you know diminish him so that's my opinion. Yeah, now me, I'm new to the media space, so I hear this quote all of the time that we have a job to do.

But as I'm studying and perfecting the craft of journalism, I realize that you don't have to throw people under the bus. That's not a part of your job. And I want to definitely look into that more and maybe even make some apologies to people because that's not your job. Your job is not to throw people under the bus. Your job is to give your safe assessment

and your heart about what it is that from your vantage point, but never to make it as the absolute truth unless it is the absolute truth. And I think many times that, you know, that people are given journalism and they're given commentary to things and they're making it as if it's the absolute truth when it's really just their opinion. And we all have a right to our opinion, but this space is not given to just tear people down. You can we a lot of times we're having fun. So I hope people don't take what we're doing that way. I hope people don't take what we're doing that way. But the job is not to tear people down.

The job is actually to give the best assessment of what you're looking at. And when I'm looking at J.J. Reddick, this is my assessment. My assessment of J.J. Reddick is that his attitude is an pause, an acquired taste. It won't work for a lot of people. It will work for some people. And I'm not sure if the Lakers would be the fit of that because of two reasons. If he talks that way that he normally talks to a person like lebron lebron is not taking that and then if other people see him talking to them that way and doesn't see him

talking that way to lebron then they then the locker room is already divided does that make sense no i was going for you to finish going. It makes perfect sense. Yeah. So, and I just want to make sure it's making sense along the way because I wouldn't see them in that kind of program. I think the people there, they have no reason to respect them. And a part of being a coach is having the respect of the room. Like having respect for a person because of their knowledge of the game is different than when you have a uh aging team and this team needs to win i don't think that's the time to try a new horse but i'll say have you ever have you ever watched clips on him and LeBron's podcast?

I don't know if you ever caught any clips online. No, I haven't. Yeah, so just the dynamic, it is just my opinion, right? The dynamic of them two talking is like super detailed X's and O's and philosophies around basketball, how they play, you know, rhyme and reason behind why you run whatever play, whatever, right? But when you see, like, just the interaction, it seems more like an interview towards LeBron, right? It looks like a long formatted interview and not very engaging. And sometimes, like, the way that you start a relationship with people kind of, like, stays in that bucket, right? And it feels like LeBron is guiding more of the conversation and guiding you right and so when you think about

who they'll make the coach it's kind of like to your point it's like i couldn't see me sitting on a podcast with you and you teaching me and then now we're going on an nba court and where i'm talking so much idolization of you that i then say, yo, Mace, do this, do that. When the whole time our interaction in a public forum has been you dictating what's going on. That's that's like just a small thing that I get from watching their podcast. And I was like, man, could this dude really actually do this?

Because you'd be harsh on somebody. And I think even LeBron is like, I don't know if enigma is the right word, but he's been around for so long and has accomplished so much. I say, who can coach him? You know, without him taking up space and saying, hey, you know, I'm LeBron and I know more than you. And that's probably a question. Is there anybody out here who has the personality

or the wherewithal or just even the bandwidth to coach somebody like LeBron do you know anybody yeah Eric's the poster all the people that went with him they had his respect all the people that went with him I repeat that again all the people that went with him had his absolute respect let Let me ask this. Did it come from Eric Sposher or did it come from Pat Rowley? It would have to come from Eric Sposher. Even if you got Pat Rowley in the background, it boils down to the person that's on that bench and what they're saying.

And that's what I'm thinking about. Not that J.J. Redick, i'm not here to say can't coach um because i truly believe he will do a great job because of his passion and his compassion for the game but i'm not sure if you start right there with that team that's more so i'm speaking to a team that need to turn around they're losing ways i'm not sure that happens with with with the person that that we're talking about that's what i'm saying and and if you think about it i mean we didn't even get into the part about doc rivers just think about doc rivers doc rivers issue with him is a

is a um is a question of honor and honor goes a lot along this is the person that that put his job on the line to put you in the game yes right and when nobody else was you know nobody else was, you know, nobody else was starting J.J. Redick, right? No, he's in Milwaukee. Yeah, nobody was starting him. I'm saying that in Milwaukee. He brings him to a better market and puts him as the starter. So in Doc Rivers' eyes, he's rightfully so. I made your career.

Then people start looking at you a certain way and then you leave there is do you remember it being the same it's just a question no shot at jj reddick do you remember his career after he left the clippers no so he's saying your best days were under my under my coaching so even though you have a lot of issues with me, that's possible. Sometimes you have issues with the best coach because they push you the hardest and they got the best out of you. So I think it's right to get both sides if that's the side. I wasn't there. I'm just speaking from this point so nobody take that feeling need to reply to me because it's not worth a reply you know and when you think of

when you think of the situation he says things like um he left there you know things and i'm not quoting him verbatim but he didn't sign back not even what he said this is what we know he didn't sign back with the Clippers right but then Doc says he stopped playing them because he was ineffective in the playoffs and sometimes people don't

recognize that like yeah you were playing better when it was regular season games but when we get in the playoffs we're trying to win, and the same you is not showing up. And it's so easy. Like rappers, it's always them when it goes good. And then when it goes bad, it's the label.

You know what I'm saying? The label. You know, when they give you the money to shop and everything is all good when it goes wrong you know the label ain't pushing my my music like the label doesn't want to move units you know like the coach is not playing because i'm out there we'll win by 30 you know what i'm saying it's just it's the same craziness no i'll say this in addition to that i i lost the train of thought earlier but let's not also forget that people that that comment around uh i'm just doing my job some people use that to say slick ass shit to people you know i'm saying and so when when when i even when i heard

jj say that to steven a like i look at somebody's body language they tone of voice uh or how they deliver a message to somebody and i say man was that all was that call for you know i'm saying and so we also have to realize that like people in the name of media and in the name of these like these fake ass blanket statements to kind of get them out of shit, people, people will have a little Freudian slips and, you know, say little slick ass shit to people, things that they probably mean. And even when you're talking about that, I wonder if JJ held some resentment and, you know,

this is my chance since I have a national platform to, you know, throw jabs at you or diminish your shine because it's my moment now. Yeah, and I want people to know that's something I'll never do. And that's why I made that correction in the beginning of this show, because we need more trusted voices when it comes to sports and not people who are bitter because of something that didn't have in the past and now they're trying to change the trajectory of other people's lives through their commentary that's a very very good point and i love that you guys both had different perspectives and that's important note that mace made because obviously words are strong especially in this day and age with social media yeah using it to get people and that might not even be the truth so you got to

make sure you got to do your own research that's what comes down with journalism even when you listen to your favorite you know sportscast or stuff like that make sure you put forth your own research because that is opinion based and people run with it and think that is truth. In fact, when it's not always that. So I did want to ask you guys, because I think this is a little bit of a deeper discussion. Doc basically keeps explaining how being a head coach is not as easy as people would think. And I know he's basically saying if JJ Redick is granted that position, it'll be a lot harder than he thinks it would be. Just in general, do you guys feel like doc is getting too

much heat or do you feel like that's just you know what comes with the job oh i think go first and paul doc you gotta shut your mouth doc for real because it's not what you say it's how you say it and sometimes it's when you say it about who you're saying it about. So if you take this opportunity and you say this now, it definitely look like he's going against who? For $300 right now. Who does it sound like he's going against if a job is on the line and the niggas say, well, coaching is not that easy.

Well, we're only talking about one new guy getting a coaching job. You see how that could be linked? People got to start being as smart as they are and stop letting the internet put them in drama because in media training, they would tell you, don't answer that. Don't answer that. You don't even have to give an answer to that. They're asking you about coaching to link you with JJ Reddick. So when you take that quote and you say, well, coaching is not that easy. You know where they're going to put that. What do you say about people, J.J. Redick,

who says coaching is not that easy? And now they're putting them against each other. And that's why when I would do interviews, people are like, yo, I'm one of the hardest people to interview because I understand all of the spinning that people are trying to do. And they're trying to ask you questions and you necessarily don't have to answer that. You have to be smart enough to turn the conversation back

to what you want the conversation to be about. It will be no different than people everywhere I would go. They would ask me, what is it like working with pub daddy right they they'll put the focus right there it's on me to say hey if you hey and with a smile hey if you would like to um interview puff i probably can hook y'all up but i i'm not here for his questions but no disrespect so so so when is the album coming out then that then the interview comes back about you you know but you it is very rude for somebody to interview you about somebody else basically saying you're not that important. Pretty much. And I get that 1000%. Maurice, before you go, I just want to clarify. So Doc basically did say that directly about JJ Reddick

because the quote says, I really hope he gets the job because then he'll understand some of the things that he has a problem with me and other coaches that you hear in his podcast. He'll realize it's not as easy as you think and some of these decisions that you have to make are brutal. It was kind of JJ basically just saying what it looked like. He basically wanted him to get

the job so he can learn his lesson. Precisely. Let's give him. Is that racism or reverse nicely. Let's get it. What you said, Mo, is that racism or reverse racism at this point? No, he's, from

the start of this, from the start of this, he was telling JJ to shut the fuck up. Even when Stat just read that, he's still telling JJ, I can't wait till your ass deal with some of the shit that I had to deal with when I was in that position. Pause, right?

And he basically said, motherfucker, you talk like this shit is so easy, but you haven't had to get here and game plan and deal with 10 and 12 attitudes and deal with a motherfucker who make $40 million a year and deal with motherfuckers. Maybe mothers need more front row seats. Yo, but is this

reverse racism, though? If a white guy says that to a black athlete, will we not we, because I'm not just black. What are you then? Get him

stat, man. Stat didn't like that. Stat didn't like that. Stat didn't like that. Stat didn't like that. I'm not just black. I'm not just black. He ain't got no response. I'm not just black, you know.

I just would like to make that clear. I am African-American, but I'm not just black, you know. All right. You got your ancestry back just black, you know? All right. You got your ancestry back or something, man? Ancestry.com. 23. What they call it? 23 what? 23 and me. What is it, 23 and me?

Yeah. My 23 and me said I'm from Faroes. From where? From Faroes. Faroes. pharaohs for where from fat um i'm from pharaohs my son traced it all the way back to um ramsey the third my bloodline goes back to ramsey the third i don't know who that i heard i'm just trying to give y'all a little history my son that's why you talk the way you talk you think you're not subject to anyone i say yeah that may that may that may be the reason

who is ramsey the third? You looking it up, Nick? I hope you're looking it up. Ramsey the third. We gonna figure it out. We put a show on. Yeah. That's what I said. It's a pharaoh. The last great

king of the new kingdom of Egyptian. Royalty. Okay. That's what we're dealing with. Okay. I can't wait to get back. You're dealing with the

descendant of Ramsey III. Cam you're dealing with the descendant of Ramsey the third you should do yours stat we might find out you come from Nefertiti who knows I will do

I will actually do the test just for you I'm sad and you too Nick and Mo we want to know where you come from on 23 and me we'll do it we got you down with it you're cool you're gonna get it you know there you go all right and then last follow-up question before we go to break i'm just curious on you guys's thoughts about jj reddick and lebron's relationship that's like a big topic of discussion right now do you guys feel like because they are close and have a podcast that will cause distrust in the team

yeah i i personally don't i don't want to see it happen. I had two things. I remember it was when they first came out with the podcast. I remember Draymond Green was mad about, you know, he threw some shots at LeBron like, man, come on. That was our idea. You're supposed to roll with me with that, right? And I was kind of with Draymond. I don't want to see LeBron buttoned up and talking X's and O's. I want to see LeBron on the podcast just being his regular old brother,

you know what I'm saying? Just enjoying life and talking shit, right? That's just my personal opinion though. But with JJ Reddick, to answer your question, I don't want to see him be the Lakers coach, not at all. I want him to be an NBA coach, but I don't care to see him be the Lakers coach to have that out there with LeBron, just my opinion. What team would you say you want him to coach before I give my assessment? I think it's the same exact thing. What kind of team? Just a younger team.

I think you were correct. I don't know if you said it or Seth said it, but he's very knowledgeable. He's a very knowledgeable guy. He was a great player within his own right, just because he didn't have a great NBA career. He had a long career. You said

great player? No, so I just remember him from college. I remember him coming out of high school. College, he was a great player. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about, right? But that doesn't minimize his contributions to just sports, right? Some people are great college players and just don't pan out in the NBA for a number of reasons, but he was a great player.

I think he's a knowledgeable guy. When he explains basketball, he explains it in a way where I can understand it, so I can see that piece of it, right? I think from an older person, and I was trying to be, like, nice nice with words he has he has like a stogie old school duke mentality i think rubs people the wrong way boss right yeah not duke he has a bobby knight bobby knight type of persona yeah so i think for younger guys who just they're younger and they they they they're growing into themselves and they can listen to a coach like that that's cool but people who your age your peers people a little bit older ah that shit ain't gonna work you know what i'm saying yeah like i don't see

that working with anthony davis no no everybody just imagine him talking to Anthony Davis on the sideline after a play that Anthony Davis should have done something different. And now him and J.J. Redick is at the half court and he's trying to talk to A.D. What kind of face you think AD is making? Who the fuck you talking to? You are disinterested. Yeah. Or indifferent. Yeah.

It's like, whatever, man. And I do think he will make a great coach. And when I ask questions, JJj if he's watching this no definitely don't don't take it anyway because what with our show is is like the barbershop if you want to know what they're saying in the barbershop this is what they're saying so if you're not ready to hear stay out the barbershop because this is what they're saying. You know, the streets are going to say it a different way than how they're going to say it on Fox or Disney. So when I ask that question, I ask that with passion

because that's how people ask. It's not that he cannot be any of these things. It's just saying that from this vantage point, I don't see nobody listening to him. Niggas is not listening. Nod reddick not ron is not and if lebron have him there it's just because it is his man or is somebody he can run what he wants through that coach and that's the thing that makes me give a lebron a lot of a lot of paul's heat because he runs things the way he wants to run it and then when it goes wrong it's somebody else's fault i don't like that and i'll go on record to say i don't like that because i know if we was in the hood, what we would call that. You know more what you would call that.

This nigga want to make all the rules. And when something go wrong, he ain't have nothing to do with it. He want out of the car. You know what I'm saying? And this is the gripe that I have with LeBron. I love him as a player. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, I get it.

Mentality, we could talk about that with any person. But the thing that is the most troubling for me is that it's never 100% him when it goes wrong. But when it goes right, it's all him. Thank God, nigga. Only God can say that if it's good as me. If it's wrong, it's y'all

niggas, man. Y'all niggas did something wrong. Because I'm perfect. You know? His talent has allowed him to do that for all these years. And that's wrong. That's wrong. I'm going to go out and say it.

It's wrong. He's a professional player. He's going to go down wherever he go down with different people. We're not even going to get into that. But that's the number one gripe with all the basketball purists. And everybody that's not on his payroll or on his podcast would tell him that's the truth. The truth is you're responsible more than you would like to take credit for in public. And it wouldn't diminish who you are, LeBron. It'll actually

make you better. Even as great as you are right now, it'll make you better for people to see you say, you know what, right here, I got to do better. We should not lose to this team, whether Anthony Davis was here or not. That's on me. And at the moment, I am not able to do that. I should retire. People will respect that because that's what we're thinking. But I think you're fighting two things.

We're going to go to break. Okay. No, I was about to say, I think you're fighting two things. I just look at just the amount of pressure that was put to be perfect for him, right? And I understand we all come up around the same time. And what I've seen probably over the last 20 years, this is my opinion, right? Just I need to fit this mold and fit this image, and I have to walk this line, and that becomes the most important thing.

You should not face that. I'm giving my opinion i'm giving listen to me i'm just giving my opinion as to why i believe that he takes the positions he takes because this fits my brand this fits my image this fits what i want to portray to the public and i think like like, if you view it through that lens, whether you view right or wrong, he may feel it's right if he's accomplishing what he wants to accomplish, right? And then, but you've seen it. Okay, you've seen this, right, from a different perspective, right? Not in any other way. The person with the most talent, the most access, the most power,

a lot of people can't be honest with them. You know what I'm saying? The people next to you honest with you know saying the people next to you like what what's the what's the saying they said um if if the lie if the lie pays the bills then it's hard for everybody to tell the truth and i know i might have gotten that wrong but you get the gist of what i'm saying yeah and so yeah so yeah so if I say anything against what I know that may be a core of how you feel, I'm then disbarred. I have to go away from you. And so everybody lies to you.

And I'm not saying that everybody's around him is lying, but the people next to you just don't be. They're not honest with you, right? Just because it's perfect. They will have to leave. They will have to get a new job. Yeah. And they're doing you a disservice because right before we go to break, I was really thinking about this and saying, then the whole idea of king is misunderstood because all kings have to go to war. All kings have to deliver the people. It is never on the other people to deliver them. It's always

on a king to deliver the people. That's a part of being king. You get to live royal because you're the person who won the war. You're the person who gets to spoil you because you went to war, and you're king because you delivered the people with your sword all kings have to go to war so you don't get to blame somebody else because kings die in war or they come out of the war they don't live with defeat that was a word all right y'all we are going to go to break when we return we will discuss nuggets versus the timberwolves don't go anywhere pink horsepower she called this thing about toxic what's happening baby what's happening why you walking like that that's how that's how i walk

and then like you come on breathing on me like that. I fucking breathe to live. And, like, you used to be dark-skinned, and now you act like hella light-skinned. You fucking blind? I'm dark-skinned. What the fuck? And then, like, look at your beard. The fuck is wrong with my beard? Your beard looks stupid. What the fuck are you talking about?

No, I don't even like it. The way you breathe in, all of that. Has this ever happened to you? Your girl seems to be mad, angry, upset. She's frustrated. There's only one way to handle that. Pink Horse Power. No, no, no, no, no. I'm just trying to give you a massage. Plus, have I told you how good your beard looks lately? It looks so good. No! PHP. It works every time.

Wait, where are you going? Welcome back. Now let's get into our Underdog Fantasy picks of the day. So the Celtics will play the Cavs. Underdog Fantasy has Jason Tatum at 29 and a half points. Mace, kind him higher or lower? 28.5 points. 29.5.

Tatum? Yes. I'm going to go higher, Tatum. You see I'm wearing my Celtic green. We back. We back. He's crazy. Okay. Jalen Brown is at seven rebounds, a.k.a. Batman.

You got him higher or lower? You're not going to let Mo give his voice? Mo, you think the nigga's going to have 29 points higher or lower, Mo? I think he'll have more than 29 points. It's time Mo. I think he's going to have more than 29 points. It's time to close it out. Yeah, you want cold Cam. Mess up Cam record. Go ahead.

I'm going higher because they're looking to close it out. Yeah, everybody's watching this. Whatever Mo says, go with cold Cam. What else did you say, Star? Jalen Brown. Yeah, Jalen Brown, seven rebounds. Yeah, I'm going – he's above seven rebounds. You go – they back home, right?

Yes. Yeah, you got to close out at home. So, I'm going both. And I'm going to tell you where I got this from, Nick. Nick told me, man, the playoffs are a lot more predictable. Everybody's playing a little bit tougher. So there's no way you're going home and you can close these guys out to stop you from going back to Cleveland.

You ain't going to do everything you can do. That is my opinion. What Nick told you that? Nick from Underdog or Nick from MMA Nick? MMA Nick. Oh, man. You got to watch him, man. You got to watch him.

I'm going higher with Batman. That's Batman. Okay. And Donovan Mitchell's at 38 and a half points, rebounds, and assists. Ooh. I'll go rebounds, and assists. Ooh. I'll go higher. Yeah. Okay. Download the Underdog Fantasy app, and you can make your picks, too. So, before we

close, we've got to discuss the Nuggets in the Timberwolves game. Nuggets defeated the Timberwolves 1-12 to 97. Jokic received his third career MVP award before the game. I just want to have a general discussion, right? How do you guys feel about Jokic received his third career MVP award before the game I just want to have a general discussion right how do you guys feel about Jokic's career this far and then I also want to add the note previously in an episode we talked about how Jokic always does well in big moments

and how LeBron it seems like in big moments, he kind of misses that opportunity. So I want to hear you guys' opinion on that, and then, you know, them winning the game. Yeah, let's talk, too. That's amazing that even a woman can see that. That's amazing. Amazing. But Mo ain't going to gonna say that Mo from Ohio we

don't let him let him rock go ahead Mo hey well listen at least I put my bias out there long time ago

that's my man I got I got a lot of love for how about this I'm mad enough to give the criticisms and the love to him you know what I'm saying

he knows that. Mavs know that. Rich know that. The whole nine. And I think it's fair. But in regards to Jokic, I don't know. I sat here and seen him play yesterday. And I'll tell you, man, it's like him and when I look at Jalen Brunson,

you have these super intense moments. It's a playoff moment, but these dudes be seeming calm and zen as ever. And I just think to myself, like, when you're playing in the playoffs, and I've seen where Rudy was trying to guard you, man. Man, I'm talking about his footwork was immaculate, catching the ball. Like, he was basically doing anything he wanted to him in the low post. And I just thought to myself, I said, said man this dude seems so calm collected and he's executing at a high level and the other team doesn't even seem relevant right and uh even when it was kicking the ass

early like i think it was like the second quarter i was watching uh there was like no sense of leadership from uh the timberwolves and i don't know if that had to do with mike connelly being out and you just don't have that veteran presence. I don't know if Anthony Edwards hasn't grown into who he's supposed to be personally and socially. I don't know if Mike Conley has so much influence over the team that when he's out of there, nobody knows how to step into the number two space.

You know what I'm saying? And so when I look at it, I said to myself i was like man you know um it's uh basically it's just unbelievable as to you know how denver pulled this out and it looks like they're going to go make another championship run and i just don't think that um the timberwolves i think that they they had a few moments i think ant-man just like when i talked to y'all about um the lights being big and and you having your moments in Madison Square Garden. I also think right now, I don't want to say Ant-Man has ran out of gas,

but he doesn't have those pieces around him right now, I think, to chase it. And even Carl Anthony Towns, like, he just looked like fucking spaced out. Like, it looked like, you know, he was, I don't know, he just didn't seem like, I don't know, it just didn't seem like – I don't know. It just – their body language and their attitude just didn't give off championship vibes the way that Denver did.

That's just my take. When did this change for you? What game? When did – this changed – I don't know, today or yesterday. You know, yesterday, when I just seen it, it just like, they came out 2-0, and I was like, man, you know, this is Ant-Man's moment. He has the hype. He has the moment. He's Jordan-esque, and he has the whole world, you know, calling him the second coming of it all, right? has the whole world you know um calling him the second coming of it all right and that can have you going home and reading text messages and listening to people and buying into that right but then you also have somebody who's been a fucking champion and you have older guys like

who the fuck is this dude right and so just as charismatic as ant-man is and he's on tv and doing interviews and looking at other people like well well, who the fuck are they? And he's swagging, how you doing? There's other people who take offense to that, right? And they say, OK, you're a talented motherfucker, but we know how to neutralize you. And you look at what Mike Conley going down. If you just look at the game, if people go back and just look at it, leadership shows up. Like when you look at New York, you say Jalen Brunson is the leader of this team and they'll live and die with him right and you look

at denver you'll say okay you'll look at yokich and you'll say this is the focal point of that and like he'll be that guy or you look at okc you'll say sga or whatever right when you look at this game ant-man didn't show up in the first half. You know what I'm saying? That's just a fact. He just wasn't nowhere to be found inside of this moment. Which game? This last game. He just wasn't a factor. That's what I'm saying. I don't know which game

you saw. Just the last one between Minnesota and Denver. What is it, game five? Was that game five? Yeah, that was game five. What is it, game five? Was that game five? Yeah, that was game five. So game five, and I'm just thinking about momentum, they're going to take that momentum from stopping him

and then beating him decisively. I don't see how you come back from that. You know what I'm saying? Like once you got your foot on their neck and you've been a champion last year, you're like, oh, man, we can crush these motherfuckers, right? If you go look at Rudy Gobert, if you go look at Carl Anthony Towns, if you just look at their body language throughout the game, it wasn't convincing to me or to anybody that

they thought that they could win. That's just my opinion. And I don't know, like, once you smell blood and then once you see, okay, we need to get on to either the Mavs or OKC, I don't see these dudes letting up and getting it done. That's just my – I think that Denver's going to get it done. Yeah, this is really a lot, honestly, to think about because they were up 2-0. Yeah.

Now they're down 3-2. now they're down 3-2 and this speaks to what I was speaking about earlier just not knowing not assessing moments like talent

is one thing having the IQ and the intellect to to basically zoning on this moment is a skill and when i hear commentators talk it seemed like this particular part of being an athlete is missing like really understanding that we're up to and we need this game not in a conversation in a mentality so what that says is though i can score 40 i'll do whatever we need to do to win you ever hear people say that i'll do whatever we need to do but but the iq says i know what i have to do to win and you do it you get what i'm saying like like i can get 40 but if we win at me getting three points and and 12 rebounds then I have to be smart enough to get three points and 12 rebounds because that's

where we win. Instead of I can get 30, 40, and you go and get the 30 and 40, but we lose the actual game. And that's what people, that's what I know I'm speaking to when I'm looking at all of these talented basketball players. It doesn't seem like they really understand that. They understand what do I actually have to do for this team to win and actually night after night show up and do that part. And for that reason, that's why when it comes to my top three in the NBA it's always Jordan Kobe and I got LeBron and Magic tied for three because just understanding what time it is yeah but I mean even what you're saying that is like, and I'm even glad you said that.

There's a lot of people who can't even separate the skill level that it takes to go play the game versus like, okay, it's one thing to kick somebody's ass, but they don't expect you to kick their ass, right? So we don't expect these guys to come out here and beat us these first two games. You go and beat them.

It's another one to say, hey, man, I'm prepared for you. I want to fight you. I'm prepared for all the stuff that you have. But then to mentally dial in and overcome whatever that is, that's a completely different thing when somebody expects you to do something and you still impose your will on them or impose whatever game plan that you have is going to – or whatever game plans you put in place, you're able to execute that thing on a basketball court.

So I get exactly what you're saying, but. Yeah. It's like, you know, we're running the ball and we're running the ball. Yes. Stop it. Stop it. Yes. And that's even crazier. The whole arena knows that Mahomes is running this ball. They know it. They know it as soon as they see it. They see the lineup.

They see the scheme. They know when he throws it, the ball is going to Kelsey. Now stop it. Yeah. That's a whole different mentality. That mentality is different. that's a whole different mentality that that mentality oh but but that that mentality is different the the the the conditioning you do to get to that space to say hey i want this moment you know i'm saying you can stay in an entertainment space where i'm pretty sure you

seen this throughout the same thing it's like you're an artist. You could rap, but you're not willing to do what's necessary for us to be on top. No. So being willing to do what's necessary, and I mean from a legal, ethical point, not crazy. Because you got to, you know, claim. C got to put that claim out there. Being willing to do what's necessary

legally and ethically to be a star is the same thing in music whether it's in sports. Some people are willing and some people are not. We know the difference. are willing and some people are not. Good point. We know the difference.

Okay. Well, Maurice, thank you for being here. My people, make sure you 23andMe, we're going to check in with you in a couple weeks. Yeah, yeah. I'll do it. That's dope. You know where I'm from. I'm from Ramsey the Third.

Ramsey the Third. I'm royalty. Make sure I get that. And then for you guys watching, make sure you guys purchase a shirt. But that is all the time that we have for today. Thanks for watching. And as always, it is what it is. Alright.