The Daily Zeitgeist - All-Things-Clippers and AD’s Dominance with Law Murray

Episode Date: December 8, 2022

Jack and Miles were pleased to be joined by The Athletic’s Law Murray on today’s episode. They dove into that resilient roster and whether the Clippers need to consider any moves in the future. The trio also discussed AD’s resurgence and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s ascension!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Finally, I can say that about the Lakers, and we tap in with the state of the Los Angeles Clippers with the athletics beat writer, Law Murray, on today's episode. I'm Miles Gray. And I'm Jack O'Brien. And this is Miles and Jack got mad boosted. Wow. Really taking it to the next level. Just trying new things. Just trying new things. You know, I like that voice for you. I also noticed that we don't get the big men are dominating intro bump when Embiid is having a big week. But when AG has a big week, suddenly big men around the league are dominating. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what we in the industry call a bias.

Yeah. But we knew this. I'm outnumbered. Yeah, but we knew it. I'm outnumbered. Let's welcome our guest who might actually have your back as a Philadelphia native. Please welcome Law Murray from The Athletic. What's going on, Law?

Thank you for joining us. Thank you guys for having me. It's good to be able to talk about basketball in a chill December environment, you know? Yes, yes. With a couple of idiots. Yeah, like we tell everybody, this may be the dumbest NBA podcast out there, but it has heart. And I think that's what people cling to, you know?

Dumb and heart, like Rocky speaking of Philadelphia. You're not going to play smart, at least play hard, right? That's right. So Law, you cover the Clippers, but you're from Philly. The first thing I like to always ask when we have our journalists journalists on are you so professional that you've transcended fandom and you're like yeah of course i have my team but like let's be real i look at too much basketball to really get too caught up in that or do you still have got a little bit of fan in you i i don't have any fan in me man uh it was even before the professional like wow was watching, look, when I first got into basketball,

NBA Jam had Sean Bradley and Clarence Witherspoon in it. What do you expect me to do with that? I was looking at everybody else. So, like, I learned from an early age to appreciate everybody.

Right. Okay. I appreciate that. I can remember that. I forgot that. Seanley and clarence witherspoon what a what a duo and that's yeah you didn't even get a third player yeah it was crazy because like the proportions were off like unless you were mugsy bogey short like you couldn't tell the difference right especially once you got that thing at home like the arcade in the 90s at least there was a little

bit of definition but you get you get the um you get the game on super nes or something and everybody did all the same damn things anyway so sean bradley couldn't even be seven six which i i think that would have limited his game if in real life he wasn't seven foot six uh he wouldn't have been nearly as effective, I'd say. That's a spicy take. He certainly wouldn't have been in Space Jam. Right. I mean, was that with the tournament edition?

Like that it was that you had Bradley? Because it was the original duo from, like was Hornacek and Hersey Hawkins. Was it? Yeah. Yeah, like in the most og cabinet i remember that was the team because i was always confused because i was like i thought jeff hornace like i remember being like i thought he was with the jabs or whatever but yeah i mean and look that team

wasn't good either you know right yeah yeah come on now be clear about that i think when bradley came into the league they were like we need to refresh here because we need to get this guy in the action we he the the game nba jam cries out for uh sean bradley type talent right because what barkley wasn't going to be in the game right oh no this is the year he went to phoenix that year that's right right right right right yeah right that's what that's how hornacek had gotten there. Those were the only two guys. Those guys were both lottery picks. Bradley was the number two pick in his draft.

Again, we can appreciate what a Sean Bradley would do now, but in the 90s, when jokes were at their highest, the taller you were for getting yammed on, obviously, that was not going to make you a Philadelphia 76ers fan exclusively. Right.

Right. So now you're covering the Clippers. The Clippers are an exciting team. I mean, they're over 500 despite all the injuries and Kawhi and Paul George just returned as we're recording this last night. as we're recording this last night. And Kawhi took a... Kawhi looked physically not fully comfortable out there. He looked like he had his old man game working, but it was working.

He came up huge down the stretch. He took it over. Yeah, well, he needed to. I've been telling people that my whole synopsis of the Clippers to this point of the year couldn't be explained in that game last night. The fact that Kawhi Leonard comes back

from a multi-week absence to hit a game winner in a game where they were trailing in Charlotte. That's pretty much the Clippers' season. They make the hard easy and they make the easy hard. It's great that they won it, but like Kawhi said last night, Kawhi is the first guy who's going to call out the fact that

they shouldn't have come to that point. A lot of it was because of Kawhi's minutes. The starters were terrible in Charlotte, which that hadn't been the case in the few games that Kawhi had played. So it was a very weird, interesting game, an exciting result in a season that hasn't been exciting so much as when the heck are these guys are going to consistently string some games together.

Right. How are you feeling seeing off that performance? You know, like, especially like, you Especially like Jack saying down the home stretch, he's got a little bit of that claw in him still. I know the fans are obviously very reserved, measured. I've seen Clippers fans be like, oh, I don't want to get too excited, but they felt very excited about what they saw.

How much time are you giving it before you start making an assessment on what's happening? Sorry, just before you answer. During your last answer, I do just want to let listeners know Miles was doing the Jack Nicholson gif, the big evil smile, nodding slowly his head.

Miles is a Lakers fan that is a really good guy. Terminally a Lakers fan. In every respect, really, really a nice person, except when he talks about the Clippers. It's just this disrespect comes through. Yeah, well, look. It's upsetting to me to hear him talk about the Clippers.

I said it's upsetting that the Clippers are out here. You know, that's how I look. He just doesn't think they should exist as a team. It's banterter because at the end of the day i mean like i'm i'm objective enough i can obviously say yeah i wish the situations were different but again that's where i'm like i would like to ask journalists i'm like do you have that irrational part of your brain that refuses to like you know reckon reality with what you feel like me so i'm the the first to admit that. But yeah,

but yeah, absolutely. Am I going to therapy for it? No, but I should. I'm open about the fact that I'm dead inside. So I'm like other, other journalists,

they act like, you know, they're on this high all the damn time. It's like, I'm human enough to tell you that like covering, covering certain teams and certain games is just an exercise of, I refuse to be hurt by any of this. I don't have a story.

You know how journalists will be rooting for the great story to come through. I'm just like, oh man, I really want to tell everybody about how he had some special cookies before the game. I can only tell that story if the player has a great game so people can care. I need a way in, a hook. I don't give a damn about that.

You're an NBA nihilist. I'm gonna... You believe in nothing. But Jack, before you decided to throw me under the bus or accurately describe my character out loud on a podcast. The Hoot Bus. The Best Beach Hoot Bus. That's what that song was. You know, just to get to my question.

I mean, what do you look at it like? What are you still wanting to see develop before you give an assessment on what's going on with the team? Well, look, this is the thing that stuck with me and has guided me for the past six weeks or so. They had their home opener against the Phoenix Suns on a Sunday night, and because it's the Clippers, it was the second night of a back-to-back. That's just how it is. And they got smacked.

But they were blown out before Kawhi could even get in the game because they were doing this experiment to start the year, which was Kawhi's suggestion, bring him off the bench to maximize his minutes. Yeah, that didn't work against the Suns. By the time Kawhi got in the game, they were already down near 20. So I talked to Nicholas Batum, the oldest guy on the oldest team in the league,

and we're just having a conversation before we're going to talk to Kawhi and such. And he just kind of says, matter of factly, we're not going to do anything crazy until Christmas. And I'm like, Nico, wait,

what, what, what you mean by that? Crazy. Like when I just needed to make sure I didn't mishear him, you know? Right. So I was like,

so, so what that, what, what that mean? Nico was like, Oh, you know? So I was like, what that mean, Nico? He's like, you know, we'll be okay, but this is going to take a while. I mean, we're not going to do,

you know, Christmas, that's when, in Nico's mind, they were going to take off. They were going to look like the team that everyone was talking about them looking like for the better part of the offseason, right? Because it's not like this team has a bunch talking about them looking like for the better part of the off season. Right. Cause it's not like this team has a bunch of new faces.

They just have new bodies in the form of guys who didn't play a bunch last year. Yeah. Right. Right. Like new sign. But the only guy who's new is John wall, who happens to be another one of those guys who didn't play at all last year.

But Nico's point was that because all these guys are coming back, and it's not just guys who are just, you know, they're coming back, they're coming back. No, it's your ball handlers and playmakers, you know? They're your cooks in the kitchen, the guys who you're building entire schemes around. Those are the guys coming back from long layoffs. So when you hear that and it's like, oh, yeah, I get it now.

The basketball might be messy for two months. Right. And then they're going to figure it out. They're going to string together contendership basketball. Except that literally Kawhi felt stiffness two days later and knocked him out for 25 days. So that sets your clock back. So how much time do I give the Clippers? Grammy trip.

End of January is when it starts, and it wraps up right before the trade deadline. The Clippers need to get the intel to understand what they need to do, if anything. And let's be real. The Clippers, they make a move with a veteran every year, right? I can't tell you which veteran it might be, but they make a move every year. I would say the Clippers need to figure out what team they're going to be come that Grammy trip, mid-January, late January. So that gives, I mean, that's just the reality.

Kawhi's missed so much time, they've got to string some consistency together, and they have no reason to think they're in blow it up territory everyone gets along everyone understands the situation they haven't been together give it a month or about a month and a half and that's where they need to be

it's called a Grammy trip because they have to basically leave LA because the Grammys take over like Staples yeah that's right that's right theys take over like Staples. Yeah. Yeah. That's right. Every year. That's right.

The, the arena formerly known as Staples and maybe future. It'll be back. Don't worry. I was calling that way. It is. I already, I remember when it's switched over to that name. I was like,

trust me in about a year, we'll be, we'll be going to Staples again. Office Depot needs to swoop in. In two years, the Clippers will be playing all of their road games there instead of you know right that being just a thing that people say because uh the sacramento kings fans infiltrated the building at the end of a blowout oh oh yeah right um beam team biggest

what was your biggest surprise man what would your biggest uh surprises or highlights of the season be so far, Clippers or otherwise? Well, for the Clippers, I would just say, and it's not as much a surprise if you pay attention to the Clippers, but that's a team that they're resourceful as hell. We talk about who's not playing all the time and the focus should be on who is and it was mentioned earlier in terms of the big men if it's Zubat's had a 31.29

rebound game with Kawhi and Paul out Norman Powell, he had a really rough start to the year, so rough that they wanted him to start and then they were like, this ain't working. And Norm's hit his stride. He's hurt right now because Clippers, you know, of course.

But before that, like he had scored 30 points off the bench in a span of like a week and a half or something like that. So this team just finds different players. And when we say different players, I mean, like, take the stars out. Guys like 3 through 12, they find different guys to contribute to winning basketball. And again, it shouldn't be a surprise, but the fact that they keep doing it, I think is notable. Across the league, we started this year talking about the tank for Victor Wimonyama,

and the teams that are supposed to be tanking are the ones that are playing competent basketball. Right. And maybe that's leveling off a little bit, but then you look up and the Jazz, they get some big wins scoring 120 plus points. The Indiana Pacers, if it's a Monday night in California,

Andrew Nembhard's breaking your heart. So that's been surprising to me. We're in December, so it's been a quarter of the season now and the Rockets just beat the Sixers. I don't think you need to worry about the tank. And that's been a pleasant surprise because I don't think you need to worry about the tank. And that's been a pleasant surprise because I don't think people want to talk about tanking.

Players don't want to talk about it. Coaches don't want to talk about it. That's their jobs on the line. Front offices, they don't talk at all at this time of the year. So they're not even being accountable right now. But I like the fact that these teams, they've acted like they're trying to compete, uh, to start the year.

Yeah. And the Kings, you know, I mean, I don't think anyone was saying they were going to tank, but they look like they're legit. The, the Pacers like look legit,

legit. Like they, they might do something. They're a fun group. That's the other thing. You think about the Pacers, you think they're just a throwaway team. I was working at ESPN. I was always getting made fun of for bringing up the Pacers as part of our coverage plan.

That's a bottom five coverage team. That team is not just winning, but they're playing an exciting brand of basketball with some guys that we're getting to know. Like Benedict Matherin, we're getting to know like benedict mathurin we're getting to know him he's a rookie he's a first round pick he's a lottery pick but he might mess around and you know he's he's a contender for two awards rookie of the year and six-man of the year that's exciting because we're going to talk about that every year right all right should we do our underrated performers of the week and come back and talk some ad and some other kind of dominant performances

sure we've been appreciated who's been underrated i mean let's go austin reeve hey underrated he put up a 22.5 to go with lebron's 3187 and ad's 2712 and a blowout over the blazers but his best performance was his mic'd up performance. I love a good mic'd up. Look, like I said, Austin Reeves, go back to the prediction episode. You know what kind of visions I have for

that young man. But this mic'd up, it was, I think, very endearing, especially for people who have only seen Austin Reeves' play, and they're like, what's he like? And his personality is, I don't know, he's just like that Labrador on the team

who's just always wagging his tail and very happy to be there. Let's check out. Yeah, he's got that dog in him, and it's a golden retriever. It's a golden retriever. Very friendly. Lovable. James, how we doing tonight? How you doing?

Living the dream. They told me you were mic'd up, man. They told me you were mic'd up. So he's talking to the ref at Perth. Stay down, stay down. Make it later. How we living, man? Great guitar.

He's talking to a phone. How we living? Great guitar. He's talking to a phone. Straight guitar. Living, straight guitar. Dishing to LeBron. Shooter! Shooter! He's like giving LeBron a patronizing shooter.

Come on, Austin, throw it down, young man. Throw it down with a little force. Oh, I got down. That's my favorite one. Toscano Anderson's like, I didn't know you had that. He's like, oh yeah, I got a little bounce. You didn't hear about that? So yeah, that's an underrated performance.

Ty's Jones has been playing well. Put up 28-10 assists. Five rebounds. Led the Grizzlies to a win over the Heat with Ja and Triple J sitting um Brogdon continuing to fill it up Jordan Poole came back with the 30 points uh off the bench Nas Reed and Bull Bull continues to be one of my favorite people to watch this season uh little Wenbing Yama preview uh he he had a-coast that was pretty sick.

He can just weave through traffic despite the fact that he's 7'2", 7'3", and then just flushes it. Makes it look easy. Orlando is in the Wembingama sweepstakes, but they're super fun to work. Imagine both of them. You got Bulbul and wimby because we all know the magic need yet another one of these tall lanky big men right right if they get the number one pick obviously they would take him they need to take him um and they would need to just find someone to trade but like let's just say this like uh i hope orlando is not the team that

wins that lottery yeah i mean they picked up bull bull is like off the scrap heap like he his career high was like 11 points prior to this season so i mean they could they could obviously move him if they if they needed to but yeah that that would also be fun they're they're gonna be i i like the teams that are kind of consolidating around the bottom like as possibilities for that have really young exciting cores which that would be fun if if they just all got to grow up together just watch these group of kids grow up together out in detroit huh yeah yeah good kid talented kid good kid good kid all right let's take a break and we'll come back and we'll talk about Anthony Davis.

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We're so excited for you to hear our brand new podcast senora sex ed listen to senora sex ed on the iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast and we're back and as we were saying in the preseason predictions uh anthony david actually don't my miles said listen to the preseason predictions, Anthony, Dave, actually don't, Miles said listen to the preseason predictions. We're going to revisit them so you actually don't have to go back and listen to them. You'll hear it. We're going to revisit them.

We're not going to change our predictions and make ourselves sound like we got everything right. No, why would we do something like that? That would be beneath us as a legitimate. That would be dishonest. And we pride ourselves on journalism more than anything. And seriousness, okay? And sincerity, obviously.

But anyway, that's for a future episode. I mean, something we have been saying on the show is that they should be treating AD more like Giannis. Just like, get him the ball every time down the court. And his last 10 games have been bonkers. He's putting up 35 a game 64 field goal percentage yeah 15 boards three blocks 1.2 steals this has to be exactly what you were looking for coming into this season if you're a lakers fan right yeah well i think the biggest thing was like when are we going to get the ad that looks a little who's like basically when are we

going to get ad back and you know he looks like he's definitely gained some wisdom and confidence you know coming out of the street clothes era and i mean just like one thing just seeing how mindful he is of his landings now i'm like okay yes good he feels like he's like in his own mind feels like he's fragile so he's playing a little more aggressive i feel like everything's adding up in a way that helps me feel good about the lakers despite what i see in the standings but i think at the very least five games from number one i mean granted the west is a jungle but i mean the lakers are five games from first and playing extremely well like on the point differential you're only like 0.3 points below and watch me and now i'm

becoming a reasonable laker fan i'm like well jack let's let's wait you know normally i'd be like yeah exactly just hang up number 18 already no i can't go there i've had my heart broken so many times but i mean yeah it's just uh it's it's heartening and that's again i think i've adjusted my expectations from you know in the ham era. I've just been like, let's just see something different. Let's just see something build. And, yeah, our offense looks like, you know, he only, I think in that 55-point game, only like four of his points came from like isolation plays.

So, it's a lot more, a lot more motion in the ocean. Yeah, 44 and 55 points in consecutive games. Yeah. James kicks it out. 44 and 55 points in consecutive games like yeah it's exciting i i do i do enjoy the nba more when the lakers are good when a lebron team is good. But now it's an AD team. Yeah, now it's an AD team. And I think that's the biggest thing, too, is I think it's like being able to embrace that role, and that must be what's going on, you know,

is him really feeling like, nah, you know what? I can do a lot for this team. And maybe it's the onus really is on him now. Yeah. I think two things need to happen for Anthony Davis. One, I think his back needed to get better. It was clear that that was an issue in the preseason. He wound up missing a game in the regular season. And the second half, he just wasn't himself.

When you're a big man with a back issue, that thing tends to wear on you as the game goes on. So, that couple playing with center, like, I think he needed to adjust to that. I think physically he's healthier. But then, too, that buzzer beater where Nembhard beats them when they were up, what, 17? I actually think that took AD to another level

because that was the last draw, I feel like, for LeBron especially to stop dominating the ball late in games. Yeah, you could put it on AD's back, but the Lakers, they started this year doing a terrible job of keeping their best player involved in the offense. of keeping their best player involved in the offense. And for Darvin Hamm, I mean, I'm sure he was flabbergasted, but at the end of the day, if he's your best player, it doesn't matter if he's not a pick-and-roll ball handler. Get him the ball. When they lost that game, well, I don't think they've lost since.

And I think a big focus has just been the four quarters. Don't forget about him. And Anthony has rewarded them with that level of consistency. For me, it's never about Anthony Davis. It's always about the other factors around him, including his health. He's right now peaking. Yeah, because he wasn't... They didn't really get him the ball that much at the end of that game

like that was i think everybody's frustration it felt like and it's it's felt that way for a lot of his tenure with the lakers so yeah i think you're right maybe that crystallized things for for everyone a little bit um leBron can just stay back and make dad jokes. Zion's kind of running the offense again. He's looking so good. He's Zion-ing it up. When he's going downhill,

it's just like, get out the way. Just please clear the children from the building because we don't know what's going to happen. 33 points, four steals, two blocks the other night, which is fun. One of my favorite what's going to happen. Yeah, 33 points, four steals, two blocks the other night, which is fun. One of my favorite shot blockers to watch. Nembhard guarded by Curry, five to shoot.

He was thinking about, he will shoot it. Nembhard again! The best player in the building with 31 and 13. Oh, I do want to say though, the bench in the Pelicans is also looking really good. And I'm like, the more I see that, I'm like, say, though, the bench in the Pelicans is also looking really good. And I'm like, the more I see that, I'm like, man, it's the same with the Kings, too.

I'm like, man, y'all got a bench over there. It's really looking nice. And I got to say, I'm not the biggest, I was not the biggest Jose Alvarado fan, but he's beginning to work on me a little bit. I'm starting to appreciate him more and more because part of me was just a little being a little too much of a Jose hater in the beginning. That Pelicans team is to this year what the Grizzlies were to last year.

A team that came out of the play-in tournament, got those two play-in wins and got some playoff experience and they're building off of that by getting healthier and exercising the depth that you guys talked about. I mean, it's crazy who's not playing for them.

Jackson Hayes' recent lottery pick, he's not playing for them. Kyrie Lewis, I know he tore his ACL. A lottery pick on a rookie contract, he's not playing. Billy Redding-Gona's dominated Eurobasket with everybody playing in Eurobasket. He's not playing. That team is stacked to the guys who are in warm-ups from tip-off to garbage time.

Right. Yeah. And it's like I was saying in our preseason predictions, I figured that Jose Alvarado was probably going to put up a 38-point game at some point this season. Oh, yeah, yeah. And I said, I said, Trey Murphy, the third,

he might be better than Herb Jones. I remember saying, I said i said watch out he might give herb jones a run for his money yeah check the episode check it don't don't go back and check it right listen to the one that we're going to release yeah in a little bit that one i don't know who knows what they uploaded in that old episode listen to the next one where we're absolutely correct on that and then andrew nemhard with uh 31 13 eight rebounds as a lot laws you kind of mentioned just putting it together and this is somebody who was drafted i think 31st this is a rookie first pick of the second round. Newt Brogdon. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, this is one of my favorite things to talk about is nobody knows anything in the NBA. And yeah, just immediately showing people that they don't know anything. And also immediately showing people.

Like, we talked about this when we started seeing the Summer League games with, what's the number two pick's name? The big seven two. Yeah, Chet Holm. When Chet was like balling out in the Summer League, I was like, what? Were they telling him not to play good? Like for Gonzaga in the NCAA tournament? Because like this is not the same player.

And Nemhard too. I mean, he was good but they they had a lot of talent turns out on that team last season right oh you want to hear lyric rick carlisle on it i've been saying i've been saying that you know down the line you know when oops does their redraft of the of the draft, he'd be a top 15 pick. I'm elevating that to top 10. I mean, he really is a special player. And, you know, our basketball people, Kevin Pritchard and Chad Buchanan

and Kelly and Ted, I mean, they just hit it out of the park for them. I mean, this guy's got amazing poise. He's strong. He's old school, but new school. You know, he's special. Yeah. You heard it from Rick Conloy. I like that he's looking for that Hoops hype redraft, too.

I like that he knows that. He's like uh you know when that's coming i think it usually comes around uh mid-december to january you know they do a couple but like they redraft 3.0 is really when they lock it in and i think there you're gonna see him in the top eight maybe even um i like when a coach reveals he's a fan He's just like out there googling Just like us Hey this is the same coach That told Everybody before the news even broke

That Tristan Thompson was going to the Chicago Bulls Tristan for like a week Or two and is like So just so you guys know We're letting Tristan go to Chicago Like specifically Chicago. Yeah.

Woj is like, oh, man, Carlisle won't stop hitting me up, man. He said he wants to do car bombs. I was like, oh, no, that doesn't sound good. But yeah, I mean, we've talked before, Anthony Simons, even though they're struggling a little bit. I mean, we've talked before, Anthony Simons, even though they're struggling a little bit. But yeah, Shea Gilgis-Alexander is taking it to the next level. I mean, Super Producer Jabari was asking if he's in the most improved player conversation. That conversation is kind of loaded this season with Halliburton, Markkinen, Simons, Ananobi, Bull Bull, but it also... Austin Reeves.

Austin Reeves, of course. And it's also sort of a... Like, it's a narrative-driven award. You know, it's just like whoever gets the narrative momentum behind them. But he's probably the leader just because it does usually go to, like, the best player who is part of the conversation for like jaw was last season right so maybe it'll be him are we is it safe to say he is like fully just one of the top guards right now oh absolutely we can just lock it up in 30 again pat ourselves on the back okay and then with that my question is after we i didn't realize how close him and chris

paul were like over that one season, they overlap. And part of me, like we always talk about building your game on other players games. And I'm like, I'm wondering how much of that, like, you know, what we're seeing in his form right now is also informed by like, you know, having an, like, as people described an apprenticeship with one of the top guards in the NBA, like in history. grabbed an apprenticeship with one of the top guards in the NBA, like in history. Is there something there to that? Or just kind of like he's, it just took some time and the situation became what it is now for him to excel. That dude is fresh though. Like Shea hasn't gotten the complete, the previous two seasons.

And he's, he was already so young. He was a one and done in Kentucky. He was already so young. He was a one and done in Kentucky. The year with the Clippers, he got to be around a bunch of guys who had a lot of different skill sets. On one hand, you got your Patrick Beverly that you're playing with growing up on a playoff team. But on the other hand, you got Lou Williams,

who when you look at Shea's game, he's one of the most complete scorers in the league. People talk about three-level scorers, and I talk about Shea as a four-level scorer because the free-throw line is a big part of Shea's output. This dude, Shea Gilgis-Alexander, outscores entire teams by himself

in the free-throw line, and Lou Williams as a small guard, how did Lou Williams get to be a three-time six-man in a year? He was getting to the line, right? And so you add that, you add Chris Paul, you add everybody else that's been with the Thunder

for those half a years or whatever before Sam Presley tells them, we got some draft business to do, right? Curious to see if that happens this year, but that's another conversation. With him, though? They wouldn't do it with him, would they? Hey, look. I've seen some things.

It's cold out here. It's cold out here. Sam Presti's been aggressive, man. They're playing well now, but if they hit a patch and it's an all-star break, they're going to be like, Shay, you've done your thing, man. I promise you this is the last year of this. But, yeah, Shea is a four-level scorer at the rim, mid-range game.

I like that. When he wants to shoot a three, he'll shoot a three. But he gets in a line better than anyone. And no one talks about free throws because free throws can be annoying and not great for TV or the highlights of a show like this. But he's killing teams from the free throw line. Actually, we are planning to do an all free throw episode where we just kind of narrate some of our favorite

free throw shooters in the league and just like, you know, taking a warm-up dribble. Another warm-up dribble. Take a deep breath. Also, Kentucky talking about college programs that are good at hiding talent, but also, Shea Gilch's alexander's

voice is not what i was expecting i don't know if i just hadn't like heard him interviewing it is yeah man he has the voice of like you know someone who's a seven footer which is which is yeah i like it he has the voice of somebody who looks like designer right Right. All right. Let's take a quick break and we'll come back. We obviously have to do the fastest segment in podcasting. So we'll be right back. When you think of Mexican culture, you think of avocado, mariachi, delicious cuisine, and of course,

lucha libre. It doesn't get more Mexican than this. Lucha libre is known globally because it is much more than just a sport and much more than just entertainment. Lucha libre is a type of storytelling. It's a dance. It's tradition. It's culture. This is Lucha Libre Behind the Mask, a 12-episode podcast in both English and Spanish about the history and cultural richness of Lucha Libre. And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, the emperor of Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar. Santos! Santos! Join me as we learn more about the history behind this spectacular sport from its inception in the United States to how it became a global symbol of Mexican culture. We'll learn more about some of the most iconic heroes in the ring.

This is Lucha Libre Behind the Mask. Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask as part of My Cultura Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. Do you ever wonder where your favorite foods come from? Like what's the history behind bacon-wrapped hot dogs? Hi, I'm Eva Longoria.

Hi, I'm Maite Gomez-Rejon. Our podcast, Hungry for History, is back. Season two. Season two. Are we recording? Are we good? Oh, we push record, right? And this season, we're taking in a bigger bite out of the most delicious food and its history. Seeing that the most popular cocktail is

the margarita, followed by the mojito from Cuba, and the piña colada from Puerto Rico. So all of these... We have, we thank Latin culture. There's a mention of blood sausage in Homer's Odyssey that dates back to the 9th century B.C. B.C.? I didn't realize how

old the hot dog was. Listen to Hungry for History as part of the My Cultura podcast network. Available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In a galaxy far, far away. No, babe, that's taken. We're in our own world, remember? Right. In our own world, we're two space cadets.

And totally normal humans. Sure, totally normal humans. Embark on a journey across the stars, discovering the wonders of the universe one episode at a time. We'll talk about life, love, laughter, and why you should never argue with your co-pilot. Especially when she's always right. Right. And if we hit turbulence, just blame it on Mercury retrograde. Or Emily's questionable space piloting skills. Hey, join us on In Our Own World for cosmic conversations, stellar laughs, and super corny dad jokes.

Listen to In Our Own World as a part of the My Cultura podcast network available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And don't worry, we promise to avoid any black holes. Most of the time. And we're back. I mean, we've been back. We kept the designer thing. Sorry, we had to just go in.

This show also obviously acknowledges the importance of hip-hop, so we're not going to waste our time there. But that 2016 XXL freshman class? Wow. Nothing to play with. But it's time now to get into the real meat of the show. It's the fourth quarter, and it's time for the rapid fire round of questioning now oh law i hope you're ready because this is the fastest segment in sports podcasting we are going to ask you some questions

what are we gonna do with you truly testing the rule of law today we're gonna hit you with a question just respond don't think don't you know have a overly long answer because it's all about keeping the pace up and if jack or i begin to trail off it is really on you to keep this segment moving yeah and we will get angry i'm ready for it slow it down okay good good law i know i know you're quick with it i will get furious so uh let me just warm up a little bit. Here we go. It's time for the round of fire. Round of questions. Victor Wemby. Victor Wemby.

Wemby. Wemby Awards. Victor Wemby. Okay, good. I think we're ready. Uh, should I go first? You go first. I'd like to take this one, Miles, if you don't mind. Would you rather have your favorite team or the team you're covering win a championship this year or have Victor Wembingama for the next 10 years?

Championship. I'm not sure I'll be running 10 years. Championship. I'm trying to win now. Yeah, and I guess we can just watch Wembingama wherever he is. Yeah, I'm going to see him yeah and I guess we can just watch Wenbing Yama wherever he is and enjoy yeah I'm going to see him for 10 years right

exactly I'm like do you have your Mets jersey from that French league yet I would rather keep running it back and have the Sixers just bottom out and then get Wenbing Yama personally you want Sixers to tank for Wenby tank for Wenby let's do it blow it up hey you know meby let's do it blow it up

yeah blow it up hey you know me baby let's blow it up too blow it up to electric boogaloo okay next question law you have the chance to win ten thousand dollars to make a layup with each hand or you could win twenty five thousand dollars to make five of five free throws or a hundred thousand to make at least four of five from deep. Now I know you said a famously in your Twitter bio, you've gone undrafted for, I think now 14 years, but which challenge are you taking? I'm getting the money, getting the money. I'm not worrying about the basketball spinning off my hand wrong. I'm not worrying about the basketball spinning off my hand wrong. You know, I'll make these left-handed layups.

Okay. Wow. Okay. And is the answer the same if you're doing it in an empty gym or in a packed Staples Center? Or crypto, whatever that place is called. Crypto. It's the same. The people don't affect my game.

Wow. Ice, water in his veins. It has been confirmed here. But, man, I got to tell you, man, we really got to keep this going. Let's kind of keep the answers going. Yep, yep, yep. Okay. All right. That's right. That's true.

Jack? Miles, did you answer that question? Did you say which one you would do? No, I haven't answered that one. In an arena, the layups. Man, the layups for me are nerve-wracking in an arena. Really?

Oh yeah, because then they're going to be like... If you miss a layup with a free throw, at least you miss one and you're out. Would you rather airball a free throw in an arena or miss a layup?

I guess I'd do layups. I'm baby. What is a new rule law that you'd like to see implemented or altered effective immediately? When you joined us here in studio, you did declare, I am the law uh like judge dread so this is your chance to write a new rule you'd like to see implementer altered

effective immediately it can be dumb it can be fun we've had people say the 25 foot bucket from rock and jock yeah um and then we've've also had people do something about defensive three seconds. Yeah. Last it was no goaltending like FIBA. Oh yeah.

Which is fun. So I'm not a huge fan of this but if we're going to go with a new role the big three four point spot from what 25 feet or

whatever it is. I put that down. Oh I don't think the court needs to be Jim geometrically changed or anything like that uh some some cool writers have suggested that i'm not really cool with that but like put that four point spot down and i think you get some more interest that being said i'm cool with no rule changes sports fine wow i like you like, don't perfect something that's already there. So you're saying like the spot where it's like a four-point bucket?

Yes. So if you were to put like a four-point spot in three different spots, 25 feet. So like top of the key and then each arc, like a four-point spot, basically a logo shot. Yes. I think that'd be... If the home team gets to determine where the spots are that would be fun so you that that that's that's that's your rule change not mine okay all right i was just trying i think it would be fun too it randomly appears at times oh okay where's like oh

the four point spot just showed up okay now if they could probably get back in the game you know what i mean like i just like i want to see more frantic chaos. Again, Miles, that was not Law's answer, though. So I don't know why you're trying to put words in his mouth. Law, man, we got to get to the next question, you know? So that's what I'm going to say up top, man. So let me ask you this next one. You can create your ultimate big three. Okay.

Using players from any era. Okay. Who do you pick for your ultimate all-time big three uh definitely andre 3000 big boy and somebody from the goody mob you know i'm saying players ball yeah it's only royal family i've ever yeah the dungeon family respect okay i'll take that that is the correct answer uh and finally uh as we do every week uh we have to ask you jack or miles uh jack miles i don't really drink at all so um okay yeah so that's a

that's a neutral that's that that That's a neutral. That's a neutral. You'll take the or. Okay. Good to know. I'll take both of you guys, man. Y'all gotta come as a package deal. I'll take that too.

Wow. Can I get a judge's ruling on that? Does that count for a win? I haven't won yet. That's a win for me? That's a win for you. Yeah, baby, it's all good. Jabari's demanding you got a pick. He says we need toxicity. He says we need toxicity in this.

So you got to pick. No, don't force him. Law knows. Law makes his decisions. Remember, we couldn't even bully him into doing nonsensical rule changes. Tell you guys what, I will pick the next time I do this show. Okay. Tell you guys what, I will pick the next time I do this show. Okay. Hey, guess what? It's the next time you've done this show.

Welcome back, Law. Great to have you. This is the next episode. Call me Dr. Drake because this is the next episode. Hold up. Wait. Okay, never mind. Law, thank you so much for joining us. What a pleasure. Yeah, man. What a delight. Awesome to have you fantastic.

Having you, where can people find you and read you and, and, and all that and keep up with you. Yeah. I mean, I say this, uh,

shout out to the athletic, uh, they put me on and, and they've supported me and everybody else. So, um, at, uh,

right there, uh, shout out to everybody who subs I'm on the social medias Lawmary the new that's L-A-W-M-U-R-R-A-Y T-H-E and you bring these networks united so that's what we try and do over here and that's about it

fantastic yeah and also don't forget to follow us on twitter at madboosties B-O-O-S-T-I-E-S and also shout out to the listeners this week. We definitely asked for people's early MVP favorites and this

week at Samurai the 7th said all caps Anthony Davis okay I feel that at JakeBball11 said Luca and then LowUnderscoreJeff said never been an Anthony Davis believer but if he continues playing like this and the Lakers keep winning, there would be an MVP arc.

That's wild. Two of the three answers that Super Producer Jabari picked were Anthony Davis. It's crazy. Just sounds like that's what the people are feeling, man. Don't get in the way, Jack. People have spoken. Lock it in. Thank you.

Thank you. Yeah, yeah. You can find me on Twitter at Jack underscore O'Brien. Oh, wow. And you can find me at Miles of Gray if you feel so inclined. Well, that is going to do it for us on this week's edition of Miles and Jack got mad boosties. Got mad boosties. We'll see you next week, and we'll be talking even more basketball.

See you then. Bye. Bye. I'm Carrie Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history.

People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's basketball. And on this new season, we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black

Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. Señora Sex Ed is not your mommy's sex talk. This show is la platica like you've never heard it before. We're breaking the stigma and silence around sex and sexuality in Latinx communities. This podcast is an intergenerational conversation between Latinas from Gen X to Gen Z. We're your hosts, Viosa and Mala. You might recognize us from our first show, Locatora Radio. Listen to Señora Sex Ed on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.