Nightcap - Nightcap - Hour 1: Thunder Take WCF Game 1 + Shaq Proves NBA is Rigged?

Episode Date: May 21, 2025

Shannon Sharpe, Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson, and Nick Van Exel react to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder beating Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, and much more!01:47 - Introduction04:00 - Twolves v OKC27:46 - Boston Celtics not in the EC Finals39:46 - DWade not impressed with Jimmy Butler against the T-Wolves50:32 - Jab at Knicks fans56:00 - Shaq weighs in on draft lottery being rigged1:00:35 - Kendrick Perkins called out Donovan Mitchell(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.)#Volume #ClubSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. The Made for This Mountain podcast exists to empower listeners to rise above their inner struggles and face the mountain in front of them. So during Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast, focus on your emotional well-being, and then climb that mountain. You will never be able to change or grow through the thing that you refuse to identify, the thing that you refuse to say, hey, this is my mountain. This is the struggle. Listen to Made for This Mountain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Michael Kassin, founder and CEO of 3C Ventures and your guide on good company. The podcast where I sit down with the boldest innovators shaping what's next. In this episode, I'm joined by Anjali Sood, CEO of Tubi. We dive into the competitive world of streaming. What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core. There are so many stories out there, and if you can find a way to curate and help the right person discover the right content, the term that we always hear from our audience is that they feel seen. Listen to Good Company on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the fall of 1986, Ronald Reagan found himself at the center of a massive scandal that looked like it might bring down his presidency. It became known as the Iran-Contra affair. The things that happened were so bizarre and insane, I can't begin to tell you. Please do.

To hear the whole story, listen to Fiasco, Iran-Contra on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Volume. Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for joining us for another episode of Nightcap. The Western Conference Finals got underway, and what was a very close game at the half,

the OKC Thunder run away with it in the second half and win by 26, 114-88. Shea was sensational again, but he got contribution from Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Isaiah Hartenstein as they went 114-88. Y'all know me. I am your favorite unk, Shannon Sharp, my partner and co-host. Lord help him. Liberty City's on, although he's not in Liberty City now.

I'm at work. I'm in Houston. I know exactly where you are. Okay. Bingo ring of fam, moderate pro bowler, all pro that's Chad. Oh, Joe Cinco Johnson.

And joining us tonight. It's been a while since I talked to the gentlemen. We go back to our Denver days. All right. First, he arrived shortly after me. So we go way, way back.

Nick, the quick university. He's one of us. Well, I think 10 players to have their number retired for the University of Cincinnati. Laker, great. He's an all-star. 13 years in the NBA.

Nick Van Exel. Nick, thanks for joining us tonight, man. We appreciate that. Man, appreciate y'all having me, man. But I got to get something off my chest, man. All right, let's get through this and we'll let you get it off your chest. Please make sure y'all hit that subscribe button. Please make sure you hit the like button and go subscribe to the Nightcap podcast feed wherever you get your podcast from.

We want to thank you sincerely, everybody at Nightcap, especially Ocho and I, for all the support, all the continued support and the loyalty that you've shown us through the first two years of this podcast. Thank you very much because of you, you allow us to be us and do great things. So thank you so much again for your support. Make sure you check out Chez Balaportier. We do have it in stock. Now, if you cannot find Chez Balaportier in a store, a city, or a state near you, order it online.

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link is pinned in the chat. Supplies are limited. So once the supplies are gone, they're gone. So please grab yours while supplies last. Thunder beat the Wolves, SGA in game one, 31 points, 5 rebounds, nine assists, three steals. The first 30-point game of the Western Conference Finals by a Thunder player since KD in 2016.

Points in the paint, Thunder 54, T-Wolves 20. Nick, as I mentioned earlier in the lead-in, this was a very close game at the half. And in the second half, it's like the Thunder stepped on the gas and made the Wolves play for every time they turned the ball over, they made them play the ultimate

price. They cashed in. They landed up. They got fouled. They're making threes. What is it that how are the Thunder able to do this? They like get able to get to a gear and seemingly other teams can't keep up with them. I think tonight

you know, I think Minnesota played right into their hands and Minnesota kept the ball above the free throw line pretty much the whole night. So it was easy for OKC's defense to play boxes and elbows. So it was easy for OKC's defense to play boxes and elbows.

So anytime they had the ball up top, you know, they're looking at three defenders, a guy on the ball and two, you know, at the elbows. And they had no driving lanes. And they didn't cut. So anytime somebody put the ball on the ground, you know, OKC got active hands. Extra hands.

They're going to get deflections. and those deflections normally turn into steals. So I think that first game is a field game. They're going to figure it out as far as what adjustments they need to make, both teams. But Minnesota got to move the ball, and they got to change their offense a little bit. Yeah, because I'm looking at it. They only had two guys in double figures.

Ant was 5 of 13, 3 of 8 from the three. Julius Randle was great again, 28 points. He was 9 of 13 from the floor, 5 of 6 from the three-point line, 5 of 6 from the free throw line. He had 28 big points, but you got seven points for McDaniels, two points from Rudy Gobert, seven points for Mike Conley. Like I said, only two players in double figures. And when you got the opposing team, they got four players in double figures. That leaves a lot for you to try to make up from your bench. And if you look at it, OKC has the better of the two benches. So now you're going to really need to rely heavily on your starters in order for you to have a chance to win this game.

Ocho, you're looking at Timberwolves. I know you like the Timberwolves and Ant-Man. What disappointed you most about what you saw from the OKC Thunder tonight? Obviously, from the Thunder. I mean, excuse me, the Team Wolves tonight. The Wolves. Oh, the Wolves. Yes.

First off, offensively, right? Everybody, the game started off very slow. Obviously, Julius Randle had a good first half, but I need Ant-Man to be a little bit more aggressive offensively. The rest of the team collectively as a group. I'm not talking about the bench, I'm talking about the starter. Before we even get to the bench, I need offensively, I need them to have better movement. You know, it seemed like everybody was very stagnant, standing in one place.

I understand the pick and rolls, but nothing seemed like it was flowing smoothly and they weren't working as a unit, you know, cohesively. Outside of that, listen, the Thunder did what they needed to do. Defensively, they smothered them, and it seemed like every shot, Nick, I know I'm not tripping, every shot that the Wolves tried to take, it not only was it contested, it seemed like it was difficult for

them to even get a goddamn shot off. Yeah, it was. Yeah, I'm looking at... Before you go, Nick, I'm looking at you had... Julius Randle had 13 shot attempts. Ant Randle had 13 shot attempts. Ant-Man had 13 shot attempts. Nas Reed was one for 11. Devin Chimzo was three of 14.

Nikhil Alexander-Walker was three of 11. That's not nearly enough shot attempts for your two best players. Y'all in the low teens, 13 and 13 respectively, and you got bench players that's getting more shots than you guys. They're definitely going to have to change the game plan and do something different. Like you said, Julius Randle played really, really well tonight. But Ant-Man, they're going to need two or three guys to come along

with Julius Randle if Randle's going to continue to play this well. And I don't see any reason why he's not because they don't have anybody on the opposing team that can take it. He's too big of a reason why he's not because they don't have anybody on the opposing team that can take it. He's too big of a body. He's too strong. He's too powerful. He's hitting his three-point.

And when he puts three-point shot and when he puts the ball on the floor, who can stop him? But when you look at this, when you look at this, Nick, and you see a team, they held them to 35% from the floor, 29% from the three-point line. You're not beating OKC with those percentages. Well, you're not going to beat OKC with that offense. That's one. So their offense was so predictable.

OKC just loaded up on them. So I'm watching that game, and they're going to have to find a way to get, uh, Anthony Edwards out of the corners more, you know what I'm saying? Okay. I'm coming up and being, getting down here,

him playing at the top of the court with, with two guys on this side, waiting, it's not going to work. And they're there. They got a good enough coach. They're going to go watch film. They're going to make adjustments and all of that.

Like with those guys guys getting those extra shots with Conley and DiVincenzo, and with them getting those, that's not a problem. Because tonight they forced them to take those shots, right? They forced them because they said, Ant, you're not going to beat us, Ant, especially with you just playing in one spot on the court. They got to move them around a

little bit get them in better spots and you i saw uh the second half for okc what they did they started coming out of the corners getting more ball movement creating a single side a little bit easier and they was able to get easier shots so once once they look at at the film coach fence is pretty good to make that adjustment. So game one, you know, OKC, hell, hell,

sir, but I think Minnesota will come back game two. Great. So what was your point you wanted to make? Now, all I was going to say,

like Nick said earlier, obviously it's game one. You want to, to me, really win game one. For me, obviously being a Wolves fan and really going for the Wolves

to win this game is probably going to go to seven. I hate the fact that they did lose it. To me, it kind of puts you behind the eight ball. But again, like when boxing, the first four rounds, what's the first thing you got to do, Nick? You feel your person out. You see what they like to do. Try to find a rhythm, try to find a tempo, try to find what works for you and what doesn't. The fact that the Wolves lost, it got me a little antsy, a little upset. But I think we're going to be all right next time. And obviously, 13 shots wasn't enough.

Julius Randle was very efficient. And the rest of the team collectively, besides the bench, fuck the bench. Excuse my language. Forget the bench. The starters need to do what they need to do before we even worry about the bench. Even though Thunder have a better bench than the Wolves.

I mean, you got Julius Ram has 28. The rest of the guys that played had 60. You're not beating OKC with two guys in double figures. That's not going to happen. Points in the paint, Thunder 54, Wolves 20. Ant-Man was scoreless in the fourth quarter. And I thought they did a good job on Shea. Shea had 31 points, but it took him 27 shots to get those, Nick.

So, hey, I'm cool. I'm cool. I'm making him work for everything that he's getting. Jalen Williams, 7 of 18. I can live with that. I can live with that. But if I'm going to make their two best players be that inefficient, well, that means I need to be efficient.

I need to take better care of the ball because like you, now when you're playing at the top of the key, you got Shea who's top three in steals. You got Lou Dort on ball, can defend. You got Jalen Williams, can defend. You bring in Carson Wallace, that can defend. You bring in Wiggins, that can defend. You bring in Isaiah Jope, that can defend.

You got Chet Hardenstein, that can protect the rim. You better get some cuts. I'm talking about some hard cuts. I ain't talking about no lazy-ass cuts. I'm talking about some hard-cut diving. Hey, pick it and get down the hill in a hurry, because if you don't, they're going to leave you around. You're going to stay around the three-point line.

And then, hey, again, 51 threes. That's not the Timberwolves game. 51 threes is not their game. I have another thing. Are either one of you worried? I'm not really worried. I'm just saying about Ant tweaking his angle just a little bit. I think that might have affected him as far as his shooting

and being efficient as well. Not really able to play the game he really wanted to play after hurting himself a little bit. I'm sure he probably went in there, got it wrapped up, maybe took a shot, whatever they needed to do, just so he can get back in the game. Do you think that's going to affect him the rest of the series at any point? I don't think it will.

I think he'll be all right. He'll get that day off tomorrow. So whenever they play again, I think he'll be fine. But what Punk said, man, they got to move that rock, man, and they got to play faster. You know what I'm saying? If they hold OKC to one shot, they got to get that thing up the court, and they got to go. They got to create easier

opportunities. If not, they're going to be playing half court, and if that off court... And you're playing 5-0-4 because Rudy Gobert is not an option for you. Yeah, but he needs to get every goddamn rebound, and I'll let that thing like Kurt Ramis and Kevin Love, and let's go. He had a guy play 21 minutes.

He's 7'2", he had three rebounds tonight. He only had three more rebounds than me. And I got on, this is what I had on the whole game right here. He had three more rebounds than me in these. So this is what I say about that, because he's always in a health position, right? So he's always coming up to the free throw line or the smiley face.

So he's out of position to rebound. So in his defense, I'll give him that. Hell, they missed 41 shots. They missed 41 shots, and they missed 41 shots. They missed 41 shots and you missed 54 shots. So, there's 93 shots that you had a chance to get a rebound and you only got three of the

93? Damn, Nick. I just gave you the best description I can to help you man out and see what you want me to do. Hey, you know what another issue is also? What's that? For the Wolf,

as you get further into the playoffs, obviously the teams you play, they get much better. Yeah. So not only do the Wolves need to do better shooting efficiently, and Julius Randle

obviously was good tonight, but the supporting cast, including Anthony Edwards, who I say still, I will keep saying is the face of the NBA, but Minnesota, they got to, you pay double for, well, keeps saying it, is the face of the NBA. But Minnesota, they got to, you pay double for your turnovers as well.

Double for your turnovers, especially in a game like this where you have a team where the SGA can go off, even though they kind of smothered him in the first half. He didn't really get going. He had 31, but hell, it took him 200 shots just to get a 31. But they got 11 turnovers on offense and capitalized on the boards as well. Yeah, they had 17 turn 31, but they got 11 turnovers on offense and capitalized on the boards as well.

Yeah, they had 17 turnovers, but 12 of them came from three players. Jew Randall had five, McDaniels had three, and Ant-Man had four. Now, I'm not really concerned because Julius Randall and Ant are going to have turnovers because they handle the ball. They're your primary ball handler. So they're going to probably be three, probably four game. It would be nice if they kept it to three or under. That would be nice.

But they're really not true point guards. And so they're going to have turnover. The Jew going to get a cup of charging. He going to get a walk because he forget that his right foot is the pivot. And he going to pivot back to the left. And then he going to dip up under you and they're gonna and he's like yeah yeah but we we got you bro but nick you said something very interesting you said they need to play faster they need to play fast but they don't need to be in a hurry because if you play in a hurry you're gonna play right in the okc hands and now they're getting the ball out and

like you said when they turn the ball out and like you said when they turn the ball over you got to realize you got three guys at the top you turn it over they gone they ain't big that's not hartenstein that's not chet hungren you got three guards at the top you turn it over they get a deflection and two three dribbles they're at the rim easy basket easy basket easy basket i i thought I thought, like you said, I thought they played right into OKC's hand. This game was very, very close. I said, OK, we might have a game. Because I was hoping after game seven, it used to be, oh, game seven, game seven.

Man, game seven has been being blowouts lately. So that being said, now let's go back to our originally scheduled programming. I thought we were going to have a really good game, Nick. I really did. At the half, they were playing really well. And then with like four minutes into the third quarter, OKC stepped on the gas. And what was a four-point lead for Minnesota

all of a sudden turned into a three-point lead for OKC, a seven-point lead, and next thing you know, it's 12. Yeah. I saw a quick adjustment, though, and next thing you know, it's 12. Yeah. Yeah. I saw a quick adjustment, though, in the second half from the first half, and that was from OKC's offense. They moved the ball at a different position

as they start. So the whole game, Minnesota's offense started out so high out on the court, and they never adjusted. OKC was pretty much playing the same way in the first half. But the coach went in, made some adjustments, started the offense a little bit from the top to the corner,

then back up to the top, and they created a little bit more space. Then guys, once you get that space, man, they're able to knock down them open shots. In Minnesota, they never had space all night. It was always clogged up for those guys. First of all, they're going to contest everything because they got— because at worst-case scenario, you're going to have three defenders on the court. I didn't even mention Caruso, who might be arguably their best defender.

When you look at him and what he does as far as taking charges, as far as guarding the perimeter, guarding the big, it does not matter. We saw what he did with Yolk. They played an old boxing one. Nick, I can't remember when was the last time you saw a boxing one. It had to be high school. But they played a boxing one primarily the entire game, and he did an unbelievable job.

Yolk would feel for him on his left, and the next thing you know, he's already in front of him, going to the right. He felt touch him on his left, and the next day you know he's already in front of him, going to the right. He felt touch him on the right, now he's back to the left. He did a great job of that. And so when you look at what OKC has, of their 12, 13 guys that primarily played, six of them can defend at an extremely high level.

You're not going to find that anywhere else in the NBA. When you could come off the bench and you got four guys that can defend at an elite level and they can defend at the wing position, which very few teams have wing defenders. Everybody, I want a three and D guy. How many three and D guys they got? They got Caruso. They got Williams.

They got door. They got Wallace. They got Wiggins. I mean, they're loaded at that position. And you got two big guys that will protect the rim. They rebounded, understand their job to the fullest. OKC's going to be

a tough out. And I agree with you, Nick. I think they're going to have to look. Chris Finch is very good. I think he was named coach of the year a couple years back. Has he been coach of the year? Hmm? Oh, Ash. Ash, oh. Oh, Ocho,

you got cigar ash on your face. I do? Yeah, your name Ocho, right? Hey, I appreciate you, man. I appreciate you for that mess messy damn makeup I got on Fenty

right now too I don't know what that is but it uh you need to get it off but I look I'm good now

yes so Nick what the big adjustment even with that adjustment do you think the Wolves have enough

to deal with the Thunder I think it's going to be a long series and I think they do like I said I think it's going to be a long series, and I think they do. Like I said, I think they are going to make some adjustments. Chris Finch and the coaching staff, they're going to go watch film, and they're going to see all the mistakes that they made offensively.

And, you know, you made a good point about, you know, OKC's perimeter defenders, their wing defenders. And what makes them even better is they're good team defenders. Sometimes these guys can be good on-ball defenders and they can just stick to their man and not be in help position, not be in dig position, you know what I'm saying? Those guys, not only do they defend the ball good, they defend the help side good.

And that makes it even tougher to go against them guys. But Minnesota, they have enough. They have enough to make it an even series. And I'm not too much worried about that game one, because game one is like Ocho said earlier, it's a fill-out. So now they got to go and make their adjustments. I think this series is going to go a long

way, so buckle up. Made for This Mountain is a podcast that exists to empower listeners to rise above their struggles break free from the chains of trauma and silence the negative voices that have kept them small through raw conversations real stories and actionable guidance you can learn to face the mountain that is in front of you you will never be able to change or grow through the thing that you refuse to identify the thing that you refuse to identify. The thing that you refuse to say, hey, this is my mountain. This is the struggle. This is the thing that's in front of me. You can't make that mountain move without actually diving into that. May is Mental Health Awareness

Month, a time to conquer the things that once felt impossible and step boldly into the best version of yourself to awaken the unstoppable strength that's inside of us all. So tune into the podcast, focus on your emotional well-being, and climb your personal mountain. Because it's impossible for you to be the most authentic you. It's impossible for you to love you fully if all you're doing is living to please people. Your mountain is that. Listen to Made for This Mountain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michael Kassin, founder and CEO of 3C Ventures and your guide on good company, the podcast where I sit down with the boldest innovators shaping what's next.

In this episode, I'm joined by Anjali Sood, CEO of Tubi, for a conversation that's anything but ordinary. We dive into the competitive world of streaming, how she's turning so-called niche into mainstream gold, connecting audiences with stories that truly make them feel seen. What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core. It's this idea that there are so many stories out there, and if you can find a way to curate and help the right person discover the right content, the term that we always hear from our audience is that they feel seen. Get a front row seat to where media, marketing, technology, entertainment,

and sports collide, and hear how leaders like Anjali are carving out space and shaking things up a bit in the most crowded of markets. Listen to Good Company on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Muhammad Ali was never afraid to express himself loudly and boldly and stays true to form in Ali and Me, an eight-part Audible original. Guided by his own words, this series explores Ali's life and legacy through never-before-heard audio recordings and discussions with those who knew him best. Muhammad had this real sense of his own personal values and principles, things he believed in, his own sense of conviction, those convictions never wavered. Hosted by Muhammad's wife, Lani Ali, and his close friend, award-winning broadcaster,

John Ramsey, Ali and Me goes beyond the boxing ring to delve deeply into Ali's extraordinary life through conversations with Billy Crystal, Mike Tyson, Rosie Perez, Common, Will Smith, and Bob Costas. It created a North Star for me of how I want to be in the world, you know. As a child, as a young person, he gave credence to my audacity. There's no debate that this is the greatest global sports figure of our lifetime. Listen to Ali and Me, now on Audible. In the fall of 1986,

Ronald Reagan found himself at the center of a massive scandal that looked like it might bring down his presidency. Did you make a mistake in sending arms to Tehran, sir? No. It became known as the Iran-Contra affair. And I'm not taking any more questions. In just a second, I'm going to ask...

I'm Leon Nafok, co-creator of Slow Burn. In my podcast, Fiasco, Iran-Contra, you'll hear all the unbelievable details of a scandal that captivated the nation nearly 40 years ago, but which few of us still remember today. The things that happened were so bizarre and insane, I can't begin to tell you. Please do. To hear the whole story, listen to Fiasco, Iran Contra on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I was thinking, Nick, because the Thunder just got out of an extended series, Seven long games, a short day of rest. Minnesota, they've been resting. They've been off damn near a week. I was like, man, they about to come in and run up and down the court. But it looked like that. It looked like it was reversed. Those guys were the guys that had heavy legs, and OKC was getting up and down the court.

You know, I never figured that out because that's always been a thing, right? They'd be like, well, they got rest. They're going to be well rested. Well, sometimes, motherfucker, you're too tired. And that other team that just came out that game seven, guess what? They in the flow. They can work against them. Who knows how it really works?

You know what I'm saying? And tonight I was expecting OKC to come out the way they did, slow. They came out real slow. But they did that because Minnesota didn't do anything. So as they came out slow, you knew at some point OKC was going to pick it up. I was just like, damn, OKC fans, they sitting on their hands right now. Minnesota got to take advantage of that. And they never did.

They never did. Hold on, Nick. You say the game going seven, right? I think it's going to be a long series, Ocho. It's going to be a long series, but I want to know who you got. I like Minnesota. I like Minnesota.

Like the Wolves? Okay, okay, okay. You know your business. You know your business. I like Minnesota. But I'm going to tell you this, though. So all four of these teams that's in the playoffs, man, anybody can win it.

Anybody can win a championship. That's the beauty of this one. So it ain't like there's no clear-cut favorite. You know, any other team, you can be all the Lakers favorite or Boston favorite. You got four teams in this thing right now that they all can win it. So I like that. Nick, you had a story.

We was talking off camera. You said you got a story to tell. You wanted to tell the story. What's the story you wanted to tell me? Both of y'all, man. Both of y'all played me like I was a little peon, man. When? Ocho, a couple years ago, Ocho, I'm walking through the Cincinnati airport.

You got the shades on. You probably couldn't see. You know what I'm saying? You walking so goddamn fast. I'm like, what up? What's over you hit me with? And you walking, so I'm looking behind you. I'm like, damn, is Ray Lewis chasing you or something? And then I had to call you.

I had to call you. I said, no, was he just walking through? He said, yeah, yeah, that was me. I said, I just walked right by you. Oh, okay. And I know I probably said, oh, I ain't know. I was probably late for my flight. See?

And that's messed up, though, man. That's messed up. What you want me to do? I'm just saying, man, you've always, man, you treated me like God damn. Hold on. But one, you got to understand, Nick, you said I had my sunglasses on, right? Then you said I was walking fast. So if I got my sunglasses on and I'm walking fast, I mean, I'm late for my goddamn spirit flight.

You see how you do me. I saw that. But you didn't. What would I do? What would I do? We was in Vegas at eight at the cigar bar. That is right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It is dark. I got my drink, my my new drink it just came out right about three four yes yes i got my new drink i'm gonna run up to the room i'm gonna grab a cup of bars i said okay cool so we sitting over there smoking you walk in with you have about three bottles with you you're gonna be our playroom of course you know yeah i remember that yeah that might have been 2022, 2021. Mm-hmm. Yeah, you came back with about three, four bottles.

I'm sitting there with my guys. We sitting there smoking. You came in with the bottles. You looked at me and then went straight to the room. I'm like, damn, well, maybe he's going to come out and bring me a little glass or something. So about five minutes go by. You know what I'm saying? I go up to the door, the goddamn door lock.

I'm like, you know, I'm knocking on the door. They go, Bridal Security Guard. Hey, I'm trying to get a little bit of that drink. He's like, no, we ain't having no guests. He closed the door. Oh, he closed the door? Who closed the door? Damn. I ain't know all that, that's on me. But you know what we're

going to do now? I'm going to get you a couple of bottles. I'm going to get your information now I'm going to get you a couple of bottles I'm going to get your information and I'm going to get you a couple of bottles to make sure you know what the best tasting best tasting VSOP

cognac on the market lets you see what it tastes like and you can judge it for yourself but that's on me that's on me see that

see that was bad that was bad that was Nick I apologize I had on Sunday what the hell have I just said I'm going to get him some cognac damn he talking about I walked on sunglasses. What the hell have I just said? I'm going to get him some Kajak.

Damn. That's an apology? He talking about I walked by him in the airport. At least I was going to a flight and I was late and I didn't realize it was him. Because, you know, I'm like 6'5". So I ain't seen. But that's the difference. So you did him real dirty because you had security.

I don't even got security. I didn't have security. The Cigar 8 had security. I didn't have security. The Cigar 8 had security. I didn't have no damn security. When you ever seen me with security? Hey, Nick, Nick, they closed the door on your door? Hey, my man, he cracked the door. I said, I'm trying to be a little drink.

Okay, cool. God damn. I see how it's going. Yeah, I get it. Hey, Ocho, they had me. I couldn't get in there for a minute. I said, man, you know what I'm saying? Hey, Nick, you know how it be when't get in there for a minute. I said, man, you know what I mean? Hey, Nick.

You know how it be when they Hollywood. Yeah, I know. I know. That was undisputed. That was undisputed, man. Hey, check this out. For the first time since 2021, the 2020-21 season, the Boston Celtics will not be in the Eastern Conference Finals.

During a recent conversation with Steve Nash on Mind the Game podcast, LeBron said he thinks the Celtics got bored. It seems like sometimes it seems like they got bored sometimes with the, I don't want to say the process, because I mean, ish, they are who they are.

When you look at Tatum, you look at Brown, this is the year, year to year, and they punch their 10,000 hours. But sometimes it seems like they got a little bored because of how great they are. Not only do those two individuals, but as a team, sometimes it looked like they got bored. How you get bored?

They won one championship. I can see if they won like three. They went back to back like Shaq and Kobe Lakers or like the Bulls in the 90s. Or let's just say, for the sake of argument, Nick, they were like the Cavaliers. Eight straight finals, six straight finals. How the hell you get bored?

You won one championship. I don't think they got bored. I think they got their ass whipped. I think they lost. You look at the first two games, they up a dub. They up 20. You're right. You ain't getting bored. You got bored

with the game and you kept taking them badass threes as opposed to touching the paint and taking threes. You want to take step back threes with the defense, guard, and contestant, and you got the other four guys inside ready to rebound. In New York, you play right into their hands.

They got an assassin, you know, Jalen Brunson, fourth-quarter assassin. So I don't think they was bored with the series, or they couldn't have been bored winning, like you said. I just think they got bored with the series or they couldn't have been bored winning like you said. I just think they got bored during those two games, but at the end of the day, they are a dub in games one and two. Hey, Nick, I asked Unk too. I talked to

Unk and I saw Joe, and I was saying, listen, everything they do is one-dimensional. Why not run plays? Why not do something else? And listen, they say they live and they die by the three. That's how they're going the three. They die. They die.

Because here's the thing, Ocho, because if you look at it, the Knicks want to play. All the Knicks saying, let us get to the last five minutes of the game. We believe with Brunson, who we believe is the best clutch player in the NBA, we believe if we can get you to the last five minutes of the ballgame and the game is close, we can get you to the last five minutes of the ballgame

and the game is close, we can beat you. You see, the problem the Celtics have, once those threes don't start falling, it's hard for them to get into a set in the last five minutes of the game because they really haven't run a whole lot of sets to begin with. It's 3-8. JB, it's your turn to take two 3-3s in a row down. All right, JT, you up next. Okay, Derek White, what you got for us?

Al Horford. And the thing is, it's hard when you really haven't run a whole lot of offense. Now, all of a sudden, Ocho, it's like you. Hey, bro, let me touch the ball early. Now, Ocho, they ain't came to you the whole game. Four-court, all right, Ocho, what you like? I like for this game to be over because y'all been dicking around the whole day. And now y'all want me to work magic.

Well, that's the Celtics. Y'all been dilly dallying around. Y'all taking 50, 60 threes. Now in the last two, three minutes of the ball game and you need to run a set. You're not conditioned. You're not wired to run anything. You still want to run behind that three point line and jack up a shot. And it caught up with him.

Big facts. Big facts. You still want to run behind that three-point line and jack up a shot. And it caught up with them. Big facts. Big facts. I was saying that throughout, you know, this season. Like, it's cute in the regular season. You can get away with it. It's cute. But what Ocho just said, as you go deeper in the playoffs, the teams get better. You know what I'm saying?

If they're in the first round, they go up 20, and they go down 10 or whatever, they probably can come back and still win that game. But when they're playing against the Knicks, a team that's a grimy, greedy team, it's going to be a little bit tougher. You're going to have to change your way of thinking. That's exactly right. And the thing is, like you said, oh, they took the most threes.

They made the most threes. Okay, like you said. Okay, you play in Orlando one night. You're in Miami the next night. Then you come up to the most threes. They made the most threes. Okay, like you said. Okay, you play in Orlando one night. You're in Miami the next night. Then you come up to the East Coast trip. You got Charlotte, Atlanta. Now, we're in a seven-game series. You got two games here.

Ain't nobody going nowhere. We locked in. We know what you do. You know what we do. Okay, execute. It comes down to execute. Honestly, I hate watching the Celtics play because all I know is they're going to jack up

a whole bunch of badass threes. Now, if they go in, oh, the Celtics, that's the new era. That's the new wave. Okay? Y'all keep on thinking y'all Steph and Klay. And you see what they get you. Even in game four in New York,

you know, before Jason Taylor went down, they was about to lose that game. They lost another game. They was going to lose, yes. They started jacking again. JT had 40, 240, went down. They was already down five or six. Yeah, yeah.

And we know in a close ball game against the Knicks, the reason why they blew out the Knicks in game three. But in game four, and we had already saw the blueprint because they had that big lead in game four. We saw them have the big lead in game one and two. And what happened? Slow walked them down. Because here's the thing, that three-point shotting is a blessing and a curse because you can get a big lead. Nick, you know, when you first got to the lead, teams got 20, 25-point leads. It wasn't no coming back. You might get one, two comebacks a year.

Now, with the three-point shot, you go cold and then you up 20. You go cold from the three and you take a couple of bad threes. Now, all of a sudden, they hit three in a row, get an and one and a layup. Now, a 20-point lead is down to six. Now, you're looking like, damn, what happened? What happened is that you kept taking bad shots. You didn't run any time, and you taking threes early in the shot clock.

16 seconds on the clock, and you letting the three go. I saw them get a situation, Nick. They shot a three. They missed it. Got the rebound, kicked it out. Shot it again. Got the rebound, kicked it out. Shot it again. Got the rebound again. Said, all right, passed it to the corner.

Al shot it. Got the rebound again. I said, well, damn, is somebody going to like say, hey, whoa, whoa, let's slow this thing down. Let's get a good shot. Hey, one for a flat. Let's run something. Hey, hey, let's run a pick and roll.

Let me see that form again oh no that's all yeah that's all right there hey nick now we look we pulled up the georgia high school's association i'm one of the few guys that's ever scored 50 points in a ball game I ain't telling you I can show you the clip Shannon Sharp lands a Glenville high To a 31 points 19 rebound 52 points 37 36 I got it

Let me ask you this Your co-host right He be doing a lot of Y'all two one on one Who I need of like he did who who y'all two one-on-one who who i need to bet on man aren't you okay we got nba players can't even beat me playing you talk about me playing on man why you tighten up man tighten up this is what i do nick i asked you to play me what's the first thing you said oh no i'm good i'm good what are we talking about i mean like that's like me asking you like let, let's run some rounds, man.

I'm going to check you. Like, no, man, I ain't finna waste my time on you, man. I may get hurt, man. I ain't got time for that, man. I'm trying to wake up. I mean, you're going to get hurt anyway. You're going to get hurt anyway. Doing anything with me competitive.

This is what I do. Like, I'm a better basketball player than a football player. I just happen to take the route of football. That's all. That's my story. That's's all. That's my story. That's my story. That's my story. I was a better basketball player

than football. There you go. I was. Nick, in high school, right? You know, I went to Miami Beach, right? Listen, every time we played,

Nick, I was 56, 12, and 10. A bad night for me was probably 48. Nah, nah, nah. If you say, quick, man, you know what? I was like 32, 9, and 10. A bad night for me was probably 48. Nah, nah, nah. If you say quick, man, you know what? I was like 32, 9, and 8. That's more of an evil book.

All that 56, the greats in the NBA ain't need to do that in high school. Man, like you said some crazy numbers. The numbers is crazy. You talking about the greats? The greats in the NBA and everything? Nah, nah, nah. But they wasn't me in high school. What does that tell you? You talking about the greats? The greats in NBA? Not like that.

But they wasn't me in high school. What does that tell you? They wasn't me. Man, he probably came off the bench. Who came off the bench? You. I mean, a lot of teams in the NBA right now could use me coming off the bench. No, ain't nobody can use you coming off the bench.

You crazy as hell, man. You coming off the bench to get them towels or get their jacket, make sure use me coming off the bench. Nah, ain't nobody can use you coming off the bench. You crazy as hell, man. You coming off the bench to get them towels or get their jacket, make sure their jacket turns right side out. They don't need you for anything. They don't need you for anything else. Nick, play me one-on-one. Play me one-on-one. I got you.

Nick, don't waste your time. So the last time I hooped, right, the last time I I hoop, I was coaching with the Atlanta Hawks. And I hadn't hooped in years, man. And the only reason I said I ain't hooping no more, because I ain't going to have no more knee surgeries. Oh, your knees messed up. Yeah, so the damn assistant coaches and managers and shit, they just chirping.

All year, they chirp. So around December 21, December 22, I'm like, you know what? We finna hoop today. So I went out there and hooped, man. Next thing you know, I cut my quad 10. Hey. Yeah.

And I did it on the simplest move that you can ever think of. Didn't just snap. I was like, oh, man, I'm done. I ain't ever playing ball again. You're playing horse. Nah, I ain't the horse type. I need to be moving. I need to be active.

Hey, Nick, them muscles and tendons, they don't have the elasticity they once had. Come on, man. They, they, mm-mm. I ain't getting out of there anyway because I already got both hips replaced and I ain't trying to get nothing else replaced. No, sir. No, sir.

Man, you played our sports hard. Yes. So we had surgeries. We beat up because we played hard. Some people, they still run on tracks and all that shit. Yes, I do. You know why y'all got hurt? Y'all got hurt because your bones weak.

Because your nutrition was bad That's the problem We ain't eating nothing McDonald's Yeah You ain't never built a callus in your body Eating all that healthy shit That's the problem That's what's wrong with you

Y'all was broke I ain't eating no I did I did from 93 on I ate healthy Not the first three years But the last The last 11 years, yes.

See, that's the problem. The last 11 years is why you need hip surgery. First of all, I played longer than you did. I played 11 years. How long you played? 14. Well, hold on. I played actually 13 because I played in Mexico and I played in Canada.

I played 14. You still ain't played 14. Well, I played flag Mexico and I played in Canada. I played 14. You still ain't played 14. Well, I played flag football. And you only played one year of college. You was ineligible for two years. See, I was a knucklehead. I made it though. No, you got one year of JUCO.

You got one year of JUCO and one year of Oregon State. No, I got two years of JUCO. You got two years of JUCO. You got to count length. You got to count length. Bro, you got two years of JUCO. You got two years of JUCO. We got to count length. Got to count length. Bro, you got kicked out. I know.

But it still counts. No, it don't count. You didn't play. It still counts. I was there. It only counts. How you going to count something when you didn't do it? I'm in the yearbook.

But you didn't play. I can't say I joined the Army just because I went down to take the recruiting test. No, I got to be in the Army. They give you a shirt. If you get you a shirt, that means you was a part of the Army. No, they didn't give me no shirt. I was going to go down to the office. I ain't nothing.

Signed nothing. Check this out. Let me know what you think about this, Nick. D-Wade was not impressed by jimmy butler's performance against the timberwolves i think the thing with jimmy is i didn't like the way he approached the game i know jim is a pass first guy i know he's about getting his teammate the ball and i want to see them shine but it's a point where you're getting 60 million this ain't working you gotta go and he won't look at the basket. I've seen this before, and I've seen it in a heat jersey.

Jim is too good of a basketball player to not have his imprint on the game. And sorry, sir, when it's time for you to take over, you just have to. And even if you can't do it from the standpoint of you ain't making no shots, I don't care. Shoot. Bad offense if you're not shooting. Good to close at the paint, but not getting the ball up to the basket, that's just bad offense.

What do you think about D. Wade saying about what he saw from Jimmy Butler in the Warriors uniform minus Steph? Is there any credence to what D. Wade is saying? I agree a thousand percent. And the reason is because I've seen him do it too much. You know what I'm saying? Because I think Jimmy is a guy, if Jimmy wanted to, he can be up there as a scoring leader in the NBA for a season,

if he wanted to. But he has the mindset of he's not in the kill mode all the time. And what D Wade and what Pat Riley was saying, you know, for Jimmy is like, we're paying you that money to be that guy, to be 25, 27 a night. Not just in the playoffs. Because if you don't want to do it in a regular season, we're in the playing games. Yeah. And we got Jimmy Butler, you know, making his bread. He deserves it.

Took him to two finals. He deserves the bread. But as a franchise, we see you as being a guy who is the guy, and we need you to do that. And I've been saying that for years about Jimmy, and I think he's a hell of a player, you know, and Udonna said it best. guy and we need you to do that and i've been saying that for years about jimmy and uh i think he's a hell of a player you know and udonis said it best he's a smart player because what jimmy did

and and i played against him is uh when i was coaching with the hawks on the playoffs man this dude wasn't doing nothing but taking the ball to the basket and making layups. And to me, if you're able to do that, it's some form of intimidation from the other side to where they keep letting you get to the goddamn basket and shoot fucking layups. Like, you gotta put a body on somebody at some point, but he lived in the paint

and was just finishing. And I think Jimmy, if he wanted to, he can do that every night, if he wanted to. So I agree with what D-Wade said, but, you know, I love Jimmy's game. Made for This Mountain is a podcast that exists to empower listeners to rise above their struggles, break free from the chains of trauma, and silence the negative voices that have kept them small. Through raw conversations, real stories, and actionable guidance, you can learn to face the mountain that is in front of you. You will never be able to change or grow through the thing that you

refuse to identify. The thing that you refuse to say, hey, this is my mountain. This is the struggle. This is the thing that's in front of me. You can't make that mountain move without actually diving into that. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to conquer the things that once felt impossible and step boldly into the best version of yourself to awaken the unstoppable strength that's inside of us all. So tune into the podcast, focus on your emotional well-being and climb your personal mountain. Because it's impossible for you to be the most authentic you. It's impossible for you to love you fully if all you're doing is living to please people. Your mountain is that. Listen to Made for This Mountain

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michael Kassin, founder and CEO of 3C Ventures and your guide on good company. The podcast where I sit down with the boldest innovators shaping what's next. In this episode, I'm joined by Anjali Sood, CEO of Tubi for a conversation

that's anything but ordinary. We dive into the competitive world of streaming, how she's turning so-called niche into mainstream gold, connecting audiences with stories that truly make them feel seen. What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core. It's this idea that there's so many stories out there. And if you can find a way to curate and help the right person discover the right content, the term that we always hear from our audience is that they feel seen. Get a front row seat to where media, marketing, technology, entertainment, and sports collide. And hear how leaders like Anjali are carving out space and shaking things up a bit in the most crowded of markets. Listen to Good Company on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Your hands can't hit what your eyes can't see. Muhammad Ali was never afraid to express himself loudly and boldly and stays true to form in Ali and Me, an eight-part Audible original. Guided by his own words, this series explores Ali's life and legacy through never-before-heard audio recordings and discussions with those who knew him best. Muhammad had this real sense of his own personal values and principles,

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It created a North Star for me of how I want to be in the world, you know. As a child, as a young person, he gave credence to my audacity. There's no debate that this is the greatest global sports figure of our lifetime. Listen to Ali and Me, now on Audible. In the fall of 1986, Ronald Reagan found himself at the center of a massive scandal that looked like

it might bring down his presidency. Did you make a mistake in sending arms to Tehran, sir? No. It became known as the Iran-Contra affair. And I'm not taking any more questions in just a second. I'm going to ask... I'm Leon Nafak, co-creator of Slow Burn. In my podcast, Fiasco, Iran Contra,

you'll hear all the unbelievable details of a scandal that captivated the nation nearly 40 years ago, but which few of us still remember today. The things that happened were so bizarre and insane, I can't begin to tell you. Please do. To hear the whole story,

listen to Fiasco, Iran Contra on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Because you're looking at, yeah, we're in the play-in, or we're a six seed, or we're way down, and now we're trying to play catch-up. We never have home court. And like you said, and we've seen him do it.

We see him go on the road and do what they did to the Celtics. We saw what they did to Milwaukee. We know what he's capable of doing, but at this point in time, when we're playing you 60 million, we don't want Magic Johnson. We don't want John Stockton. We want Michael.

We want guys that's going to Kobe. We want you to have that mentality. Damn the rest of them, because the rest of them can't make enough shots in order to win the game. Their imprint is not going to win you the game. And plus, they're not the guys making $60 million. We're playing you $60 million.

Hey, Nick, is there at any point at a player of Jimmy's caliber, when you're making that kind of money and we know what you can do and you're not doing it, do you think injury comes into play where you become gun-shy and don't want to pull the trigger and shoot? Because if you do lose a game, the onus of it and losing is because of you, and you lose a little bit of confidence? I don't think so, man, because Jimmy,

I've seen him play like that and then come right back and do his thing. It's like when Steph went down, he had a big game in Golden State. You know, they needed him. He's very capable of doing it. I don't know if it's a mental thing like, you know, I just

don't want to go out here and shoot 20 shots. I don't want to feel like I'm a ball or whatever it is. But if I'm on Jimmy Butler's team and I'm the point guard, hey dog, you got to shoot that thing about 25 times a night. You got to. You know, we don't ever say that about 25 times a night. Yes, you got to.

You notice we don't never say that about Shea. We don't never say, well, Shea, man, wasn't aggressive enough. Man, Shea ain't get enough shots up. Shea going to be in the 20s. Hell, he might be in the 30s. And that's the approach Jimmy needs to take. We saw Jimmy, what was that game against Milwaukee? He had like 56, 57.

He couldn't miss. Super aggressive. We watched him in game five. Was it game five? Yeah, game five. We watched him in game five. He go toe-to-toe with LeBron. Everything LeBron, LeBron had a triple-double. You saw that one where he's leaning on the table.

He's exhausted. But he ain't passing-ish. He's shooting the basketball. He's getting in the paint. He's drawing foul. Now all of a sudden, I'm cool being Robert. Nah, bro. Robert ain't have nothing but a suit.

He ain't have no Robert. Where's Robin built? Robert ain't got no car. He ain't got no Robin mobile. He ain't got no butler. Nah, hell nah. We need you to be Batman. Because Superman is out.

So you need to step up. Ain't no more Robin. But Robin's got the little things on his eyes though, right? When's the last time you saw them make a series about Robin? I see all these Batmans and ain't not one of them. All the Batmans that I made, ain't none of them had no Robin in it. Okay, but he

Alfred then. Nah, hell nah. He need to be Steph Curry's Superman. We need another superhero. What the comic book with Robin in it? I ain't never seen no comic book with Robin. You ever seen a comic book with Robin in it? I ain't never seen no comic book with Robin. You ever seen a

comic book with just Robin? Especially when Steph was out, man. That's what I'm saying. When he got you, if Steph is 15 to 20 games next year, and you're healthy, this is why we got you so we can stay in that

3-6 spot. This is why we got you so we can stay in that three to six spot you know saying this is why we got you so we can stay right there we don't we didn't get you for if steph goes out now we're gonna slid to the ninth and tenth spot you know i'm saying so in order for to stay at the three six spot or win playoff games without stuff he gotta be bat be. He's got to be the super. He has to take the same approach. I mean, look, I understand that his role somewhat changes on a team with Steph. But I got to have that same mindset. Actually, the role don't change. You know what I'm saying?

Because Steph is going to be Steph. Right. And Steph is going to need you to take that load off so if okay 15 and you still shoot 20 with steph you you don't take as jimmy butler he don't take bad shots so you still can get up 20 shots and we as a team we're gonna live with that because we know they're not gonna be be crazy shots. So even if Stephens is there, you still can do your thing. Because we look at our game

and we had a game, Jimmy took nine shots. Jimmy had another game, he took 11 shots. What the hell is that? Guys off the bench, you got Paz, he's getting up 18, 19 shots. And you Kaminga, getting up 20 shots. And you mean to tell me you're supposed to be the guy, you're making 60 million and you're getting commingled getting up 20 shots.

And you mean to tell me you supposed to be the guy you make a 60 million and you getting the ball up nine times and you're not getting to the free throw line. So at least, okay, you will take nine shots. Okay. Get to the free throw line. 20 times,

get to the free throw line. 15, 17 times. Okay. I can understand nine shots. You see what you call a Shea got up 27 shots and still got to the fire line 14

times. You know what else, Nick, about Jimmy? He don't take bad shots. He don't take bad shots. He's gonna always either facilitate to somebody else or take the right shot. Yeah.

Always. He's going to always either facilitate to somebody else or take the right shot. Yeah. Always. He's always been that way. Now, when he put that motherfucker on the floor, oh, my bad. When he put the ball on the floor and he want to put his head down and go to the basket, he going to do just that, no matter who it is. I'm just not sure. That's why I think he was injured. I think he was injured, and he just didn't say anything.

I see it. Everybody injured right now. Exactly. Everybody injured right now. Everybody don't play an ass load of games, Ocho. You figure they got 82. They don't play.

They was in the play-in tournament. The Warriors were. They got past the first round. They went seven games. Yeah, everybody exhausted. Yep. Everybody. During Sunday's game, seven, between the Thunder everybody's exhausted. Yep, everybody. During Sunday's game seven,

between the Thunder and the Nuggets, Trey Young took the X with a subtle jab at Knicks fans. Hot take, but not. OKC fans are louder than Knicks fans. Happy Sunday. Nick, I don't know if you played in that arena.

They might have shut that down by the time you got. Nah, you might have played there. And then, what is it? You think I ain't that old, man? Hold on. Hold on, Nick. Hold on, Nick. First of all, you played 13.

I played in that arena, man. God damn it. You came in a couple years after me, Nick. I retired in 06, man. They came. you came in you came in a couple years after me Nick I retired in 06 baby they came I got a few years in that arena Chris Paul was over there he crossed me up

about five times in one play he was over there yeah hold on no Nick they could have been there because they didn't move

until 08 they had they had the Hornets remember the the New Orleans or somebody going over there they had a tiki over there okay okay okay yeah that might have been a situation nah but they played when they played in san antonio nah you're talking about with katrina they played in okc but i know the super sonic i don't think the super sonic's moved to kd's second year. Right, right. KD came in in 08, and I think they moved in 09.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, they moved in 08. Okay, KD was drafted in 07, and then they moved in 08, which was Russ's rookie year. Because Harden came in 09.

Okay. So how loud is, I mean, look, so I know you played in MSG and you played in a lot of arenas. Is OKC the loudest, one of the loudest? Is there any truth

to what Trey Young was saying? Yeah, it's definitely one of the loudest. I don't know if, I never played him in the playoffs. So that's that'd be different. OK, when you talk about NBA arenas like that gives you a college feel. Yes. And most of the time, college arenas are more loud and more, you know, saying more hype.

And OKC gives you that that that college atmosphere. And they get up and they cheer. They got their little chants and everything. So OKC definitely is consistently loud. You know what I'm saying? There's a lot of arenas where a team can stink. And it ain't as loud. They only get loud when that team is winning.

They got to do it right. But OKC is consistently loud. And plus, like, there's nothing else going on in OKC. What you gonna see in OKC? You ain't finna see no NFL game. You not finna see no MLB game. You not finna see hockey. And it ain't football season. So you got

a long way of time to wait to go see the Sooners or the Cowboys. So now what? So that's all you got. And a lot of times it's kind of like green bay what what else are you going to do hey hey we'll do that we'll do that what else are you gonna do i'll do that i'll do that see like you don't like it i mean look you got i mean you got all everything going on you got the clippers you know they ain't making no noise you know they ain't doing nothing

but you got the kings you got you got the dodgers ain't doing nothing. But you got the Kings. You got the Dodgers. I mean, you got Venice Beach. You got Samo. You got Malibu. Man, you got all that. And the people that buy the stuff, it's not like MSG. You look at those guys, man, Tracy Morgan going crazy. Spike going crazy.

What's it? Ben Stiller? Ben Stiller. You see those slams are going crazy. Mm-hmm. Ain't like that. Ain't like that in L.A.

Nah. L.A. they still... Until I come in, I get a crunk. I get a crunk. You know, I get a crunk. They ain't getting

to the game at halftime in L.A. Oh, that's Miami. They getting to the game at the middle of in LA. Oh, that's Miami. They getting there to the third quarter. They leaving. Huh? I said Miami. You know they don't get there to the third quarter.

Yep, yep, yep. Oh, wait a minute. And don't be losing. They going to leave early. Oh, well, you saw what happened when Ray Allen hit that shot. Everybody tried to come back in the building. They all locked the door when people people trying to get back in. Yeah.

But when you think about it, because you hear it like, okay, role players play better at home. The crowd's going to get you into it. How important is it to keep the crowd at bay when you're on the road in a playoff series, Nick? It's huge. It's huge. And I thought Minnesota did a great job in the first half because that's one of the things I was paying attention to

is they ain't letting the crowd affect the game. But, you know, once that second half came and they made that first run, you pretty much knew it was going to be downhill just because of the offense. The offense was just so stagnant. And we know OKC, you know, they get them steals and deflections and easy, easy, fast break points, get the crowd going. It's going to be tough, man.

So anytime you can keep the crowd chilling to where they're not a factor, that's going to be big for the road team. Shaq added fuel to the NBA draft lottery conspiracy theories. He shared the details of a conversation between himself and then-Commissioner David Stern that occurred three months before the 1992 draft. Stern says to me, hey, can't wait for you to come to the NBA. Then he pulled me off to the side

you want to play where it's cold or where it's hot he asked me that yeah he did he asked me that and i was like hot and he smiled and i smiled shack ultimately got his wish when orlando won that year's lottery with charlotte and minnesota getting the second and third picks respectively you hear a lot of conspiracy theories and there are a lot of situations that can make these situations sound good and sound true. It's very interesting how it's all played out. Nick, is the NBA draft lottery rigged? So we just talked about this on my pod.

Quick to the point, Nick VanEcksepard, quick to the point. Check it out uh you too but we we just talked about this because i've thought in the past it seemed a little fishy you know what i'm saying but this one this one i can't say so because you you you want to help a situation to where you think that player is going to really elevate that seed, right? Right. And to me, Cooper Flatt, he would have been perfect in Utah. You can't tell me no difference.

He would have been perfect in Utah. And Dallas, they already got a championship team. They come back healthy. By the time January, February come around and they are healthy, we're gonna be talking about dallas as a championship contending team so with with them getting that number one pick and you know cooper flag of course you know being the number one pick that everybody says cooper flag may not even come in and help them right away in the playoffs you know i'm saying

that's a that's a real thing he may not help them in the playoffs and him going what I'm saying? That's a real thing. He may not help them in the playoffs. And him going to Utah, in my eyes, was the ideal situation. So I can't see this one being a fix. That's just me. Nah, that's definitely a fix, Nick. That's definitely a fix. Obviously.

I mean, come on now. Just a coincidence. They get rid of Luka, right? And just so happened, of all teams that are in the large, to get the number one pick, it just so happened, coincidentally, is Dallas. Okay. Let me ask you this.

Honestly, it's so obvious. Okay, let me ask you this. Why? What's the point for the NBA to do that? Like, what's the point? I have no idea. We would never know what the point is. I mean, me personally, I would never know what the point is.

But obviously, you get rid of Luka, and all of a sudden, you have nothing left. You got ADS going to be by itself. KD, I mean, not KD. Kyrie's coming back at some point when he gets a little bit off his ACL. Then there's nothing else. Yeah, see, everybody I talk to about it,

they don't have a real, like, the reasoning for them saying that it's free. We don't know the reason. We don't know the reason for it. We just know it makes no sense. And it's too cool. But normally you will say something like,

well, they gave up Luka to the Lakers. Now the Lakers, we gave them another future player, you know, after LeBron leaves. And now we're going to do this favor for you guys. I don't see that. You know what I'm saying? Because they're already a championship team if they come back healthy. So that's just my thinking.

Like, I've thought before that David Robinson, San Antonio. Yeah. Tim Duncan, San Antonio. You know, Cleveland, LeBron. Like, I've thought some before. But this one, you couldn't tell me that the number one pick wasn't going to Utah and Cooper Flav was going to be in Utah next year just because of the politics. People feel the same thing with Zion.

Zion going to New Orleans the same year they lost AD. Well, everybody swore. If they don't think anything else was rigged in 85, the first year they had the lottery, Patrick Ewing going to the Knicks, they swear that was rigged. Now, see, you can say like New York, big media market. We need a big-time player. You know what I'm saying?

Like they have a reason to say that for that. Right. Ocho ain't gave me no reason yet, so I can't roll with you, Ocho. I know you can't roll with me. To me, it's just if it's smoke, there's a fire somewhere. When it comes to that one,

I could be wrong, but it's too close. It's too close. Okay. Kendrick Perkins called out Donovan Mitchell saying, Hey, Donovan, a Donovan Mitchell-led team has never been to the conference finals. Donovan Mitchell, you got a coach fired. You got J.B. Bickerstaff fired.

This is a fact. You had no communication with that man while he was there. So you didn't like him, right? As soon as he got fired, you signed a contract extension, right? You extended with the Cavs. Nick, is there any truth to what Big Perk is saying? I think Big Perk, you know, is entitled to his opinion. You know what I'm saying?

And I'll say a little truth to that, but here's my thinking on that. When you get rid of J.B. Bickerstaff, you substituted a defensive, gritty, you know what I'm saying? We're going to come at you kind of a coach, you know what I'm saying? That took Cleveland from where they were nothing and started building that thing up to, yes, they got an identity, right?

And Kenny Atkinson is a great coach. I worked with him in Atlanta. He's a great coach. Right with the X's and O's, but he's more of an offensive-minded coach, right? He's more of a laid-back. You can see his demeanor on the sideline. He's more of a laid-back. You can see his demeanor on the sideline. He's more of a laid-back player kind of a coach.

Well, JB, he ain't no hats in the meetings. You know what I'm saying? We still going to do defensive slides in practice. You know what I'm saying? So he created an identity that, to me, I think they lost. I think they wanted more offense, and they lost their grit, their griminess, and they lost to a team in Indiana who I thought was going to beat them anyway because of the way they played.

But Garland set out a game. Hunter set out a game. The big guy set out a game. Like, I don't think they set out those if if they got that greediness still in them with a coach like that you know what I'm saying so it's some truth to what purpose saying but I'm not doing I'm not gonna come at at at my man like that because I think he bought his butt off you know I'm saying and sometimes you you need some help you need some help but I think they substituted offense for defense and they lost a lot of that greediness with Coach Bickerstaff.

Well, at some point in time, Donovan's going to have to get a team to the conference finals because he's had the better team on several occasions. You win 60, 64 games this year, and you get bounced in the second round. You lose three games at home. We saw in Utah, he had great situations, up 0-2. I mean, had a team down 2-0, the Clippers. They lose. So at some point in time, if he's a superstar,

that's what we do with superstars. We put that blame. When KD didn't get it done, we blame KD. When LeBron didn't get it done, we blamed LeBron. If Donovan Mitchell is a superstar, you can't win 64 games and go home. Lose three games. And lose three games at home? Three? Yeah, that was tough. That was tough.

And then the way they lost game two was, you know, once they lost game two, you knew. I knew it was over then. It was over once they lost game two, you knew it was over. I knew it was over then. It was over once they lost game two. Yeah. That just broke their spirit. It is. I mean, they had the game in hand in game one.

Yeah. And they lost it. Yeah. You're like, okay, hey, one game, hey, you go back, we win game two, now we go to Indiana, we get game, we back all square. And like you said, when Halliburton hit that shot, like, nah, all right.

You know Halliburton, he from Wisconsin, right? Top player. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what we do. That's what we do, hit big shots. Oh, Lord, there we go. That's what we do. Hold on, hold on. Where you from?

That's what we do, hit big shots. You from Wisconsin? Mm-hmm. I didn't know that. Yeah. Cheesehead. Okay. Okay, okay, okay.

We don't talk about no Packers, none of that. We have one of the greatest receivers in history. Hey, man. Call it down to the ball. Hey, man. I'm so happy about this. Man. All right.

Hey, y'all. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. My man in the hall is playing. His numbers better than all the other players' 15 years. Man, stop playing. The Volume. The Made for This Mountain podcast exists to empower listeners to rise above their inner struggles

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