The Daily Zeitgeist - H-Town Hoops and Trade Talk with Ryan Hollins

Episode Date: February 9, 2023

Jack was joined by Producer Jabari for this week's episode and the duo was pleased to have NBA-veteran, Rockets analyst and host of NBA Rookie Life for the league and iHeart, Ryan Hollins! The trio discussed the state of things in Houston, the NBA trad deadline and plenty more from around the league.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Keri 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 Elf Beauty, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Caitlin Clark vs. 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. There's so much beauty in Mexican culture, like mariachis, delicious cuisine, and even lucha libre. Join us for the new podcast,

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, emperor of lucha libre and a WWE superstar. Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. Well, well, well.

The basketball keeps coming. I'm doing my best Miles Gray here, guys. The basketball keeps coming. The gods of the NBA keep smiling on us. We got trade deadline madness all around the NBA. We'll discuss some of the latest action. There's only about 28 games left in the season, which is wild. How did that happen? How is that possible? We're going to talk the state of the Houston Rockets with 10-year NBA vet, current Rockets analyst, host of the podcast NBA Rookie Life,

Ryan Hollins on today's episode. I'm Jack O'Brien. And I'm Jabari Davis in for Miles Gray. And this is still Miles and Jack got mad boosties. Nailed it. Ryan, what's going on? Thank you so much for joining us with our usual host out on paternity leave. But we're thrilled to have you in here. Host of the NBA Rookie Life podcast for the NBA and iHeart. Drafted in 06 by the Bobcats. Played for the Bobcats, Mavs, Wolves, Cavs, Celtics, Clippers, Wizards, Grizzlies. What's going on, man?

How are you doing? What's going on, guys? Thanks for having me. Absolutely. We're thrilled to have you. Congratulations on being an amazing athlete. That's cool to have played in the NBA. I did not play in the NBA, Jabari. I don't think you didn't play in the NBA, did you? Honestly, my coaches had it out for me.

It really boils down to that. That's the only way that we could be kept out of the league. A vast conspiracy. What's going on, man? How are you feeling about let's start with the Rockets actually. Another tough year, but from years like this, great things bloom. We've seen

it happen before, and it's always good to hear from the people who are watching the whole thing to kind of hear your perspective. What are some bright spots? What are the glimmers of hope that you're seeing down there? I think you get a chance to watch these kids grow and develop. And I think the coolest thing with rookies and second-year guys, 19- and 20-year-olds, they develop and get better in the season.

up and get better in the season. So you can see from just training camp to now vast improvements where, you know, you'll, you'll have a veteran guy and they are who they are. They know who they are in the league, but watching that process, you know, makes everything that much sweeter. And then they'll have moments, they'll have a glimpse. It might be two possessions in a row, three possessions where you're going, Oh man, that you're, you get like, kind of like that can be the future and you, you see those things, but it's, it's fun. And yeah, rookies make a lot of mistakes and you know, that everything is new to them and it, you have to be patient with their product, but you got to understand like watching these guys develop,

watching them get opportunities. And I remember being a young guy in the league. I didn't get a chance to just play and like iron my kinks out. And I think that's a golden time for these young guys to learn on the fly and to get better and to improve. And, you know, just the opportunities that they have, I think it's really cool to see. But the excitement that they bring to the table, yeah, the mistakes are there,

but the development and you get that instant gratification right away. We'll have a Jalen Green that you'll see his handles get better. Jabari Smith Jr. will improve the second time guarding a Giannis Antetokounmpo. Al-Pranchingun, hey, can you put the ball in his hands? Yeah, man, he goes and gets you the youngest player in center in history to have a triple-double. So you're starting to see these guys do these things in this season and kind of like find their way in the league. It's that little wobbly deer that comes out

and starts all of a sudden, gallops and runs off. So we're excited to see our young guys move forward. And from my standpoint, it's fun because it's a lot of energy and guys you never know what you might get especially with a young player yeah jaylen green has had i mean one of the most fun people to watch in the league going to the basket is is just yeah it's it's wild we were jabari and i were like i i thought he was like more guard size and Jabari was like, no, I'm pretty sure he's like six, nine, six, 10. But he's just he just jumps that high.

That's he just plays with his head at the rim. So, yeah, he's pretty cool to watch. Ryan, you mentioned somebody and Jack can tell you I'm the leader in the Alshan Goon fan base right here. What's the nickname you gave him? Is that the big fella's dream, watching Al P play? It is. It is. My man, look, I was already there as a rookie.

I've been impressed by what I've seen in his second year, but can you speak directly to that? You mentioned some of the growth that you've been able to witness with him up close. Can you speak directly to that? It's his footwork. And you've got to understand, a young Ryan Hollins in the league was like, just rebound, don't get pushed off your positioning.

And it's like, nah, Alpego will lead a team to a victory. Whoa, those are pretty big ass that are getting put on the young guys. But it's interesting, the more of big ass that are getting put on the young guys. But it's interesting, the more of a role that he's been given, the more he's almost seemed comfortable. It was that unknown. He was the MVP in the Turkish League. So everybody's like,

eh, Turkish League, alright. But anybody that young that is an MVP of a league with a bunch of grown adult men that probably smoke cigarettes and have multiple kids. And you know what I'm saying? Like these are real. And their kids smoke cigarettes.

Yeah. On the Turkish league. Yeah. I know. This is like, and then like you're the MVP. They're like, it means something,

but he's just fun to watch. And for him learning his accountability and what he means to the team, it's really cool. Like he matched up against Sabonis. First what he means to the team, it's really cool. He matched up against Sabonis. First time he saw Sabonis. Sabonis, you had to check him out. He's playing lights out this year. Balls moving through his hands.

He's similar like Jokic, where he's like the point guard. He's the creator. He's the playmaker. And kind of like watching Al P watch him and go, yeah, I can do that. I can break you down off the dribble and, you know, kick the ball to a guard. I can initiate offense. I can do this.

And I think he's been on somewhat of a terror since then. But for me, it's cool to see. And if you hadn't seen him, best footwork in the league, feel for the game, sneaky bounce will go ahead and punch on you. Like, he's got a lot to him. But, like, you can legit play through Al P on the block, and he can will and deal, and then he's got some showtime. He likes to have fun, and he's an enjoyment man.

But, like, you see our young guys, like, kind of make a play, and they're like, they're excited. Oh, like, they're surprised. Like, they're shocking themselves with some of these plays that we see on a nightly basis. Why is it always the players from overseas that have the best footwork? Did he play soccer? Hackey sack? Is hackkey sack secretly the national sport of Turkey?

Because I feel like Hakeem, we always heard it was because of soccer. And Bede, I guess it was soccer, right? Soccer and also volleyball. I don't know why that would be such great. Footwork would be so important. Soccer is like how we're like, yeah, basketball, football. They open it. It's soccer.

That's all they get. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's probably not hacky sack. Al P played soccer. You'll see him and Big Boban. Boban's walking around 7'5". And they're like, they'll walk out and dribble the basketball first. That's a thing that they do. There's a level where guys like, I played soccer in high school

and I didn't get any more footwork. That didn't help me out. There's some things that guys just have. He's talented. Then obviously, when you're not that athletic, he's more athletic than you think, but you're not that athletic. In a sense, it was like you know Ryan Howes just go dunk a basketball he's like okay how did I how can I beat you like I have to have a left hand I didn't have to have a left hand to dunk the basketball they have to have a left hand they're working on things and drilling things and expectations are different the coaching is different I played overseas and just the attention to detail I it's not the same, but the ask is there and he has it.

And I think that is a level where they are more skilled because you got to be like, you know, like if you just go down and just dribble past people. Why would I have to work on the nuances of the game? And I think that what we are seeing, though, is from the guard spot, American players, the skill set has just taken a leap. And we can thank Steph Curry for that. The dribble step backs, the dribble combinations. Our guys on this side are doing a lot of things. And then with the emergence of small ball, the league has changed

from a spacing perspective. So I would challenge back that the league is coming around from a skill perspective, especially when you're seeing, you know, seven footers, you know, dribbling through the legs, coming down, shooting pull-ups.

And this is something common that we're seeing where, you know, your college coaches, your AU coaches, your high school coaches are giving those fours and fives the freedom. So I would, you know, clap college coaches your au coaches your high school coaches are giving those fours and fives the freedom so i would you know clap back and say that the skill set is raising uh from our american players yeah we we talk about like the league feels progressive like it feels

like people like you just mentioned with play playing against someone and then like building your game take it taking a piece of their game to like add to add to your game i feel like that's happening constantly just league league wide and it really feels like we're seeing it especially with some of the smaller like guard play recently jack i was stepping to the gym and the first thing i was told is you're never going to take that shot in the game right yeah you're never going to shoot a three in a game why are you you shooting it? You're never, never work on that. Never get improved. Never be better.

I was told that and I was a shooting guard. But that has more to do with what my shot looked like. Yeah, sorry, Jack. I don't know about that. All right, let's talk. Speaking of young people of whom a lot is asked of, I do just want to talk about LeBron because he's hitting somewhat of a big moment

in his career, I would say. Taking over the scoring title from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Again, it feels like it could be a bigger deal than what we're making it. But this has been an opportunity for, I think ESPN did a thing where they were like, what are some of your favorite shots from over the course of your career? And I did a thing where I was like,

Oh, let me go back and just look at his career. And there's actually, there's a thing on YouTube that is just a cut up of all the game winners from throughout his career. And it's wild to look at the video quality of the early game winners because like we we have watched him like some of these are against gill arenas and like brandon roy and he looks the like his his movement his you know confidence with a ball like everything just looks still so smooth

and and like we're just watching a time traveler like move through different eras of the game and just be adding things to to his game so i don't know jabari and i were talking about our favorite game winners from lebron's career my pick was in the playoffs versus the raptors where he just brought the ball up the court and like did a running fading to the left shot, like falling out of bounds bank shot somehow, even though he was like, didn't really have the angle on it. But it was a point in his career. It was when he was back in Cleveland when, you know, it was known that they were going to win. Like as you're watching it, you know, what's going to happen. It was the time that like most reminded me me of when I was a kid watching Jordan

in the 96 finals where you knew he was going to steal the ball and hit the shot as it was happening just because that's just what he did. The big thing is make sure you do not foul anybody here on the dribble. It's going to be James. Here it is. It's under three seconds to go. Throws up the floater. Oh, fuck! Good night, Cleveland!

That is for you! I'm just wondering, you played in the league against him. Are there ever times as a player where you're almost caught up watching the show as well? I mean, look, I'll say this. With Klay Thompson, I was on the Kings, not to shift gears from LeBron, when he had that 35 points in a quarter. In fact, in Golden State's office,

there's a picture of me yelling at Klay trying to make a miss from the bench. And he knocked it down a shot. And the funny thing about that, what he did is, I'm sitting there with my boy carl landry shout out carl landry legend legend right there man legendary power forward and um you know like we're going back and forth just on some hoop talk on the bench we're like hey man how good do you think clay is you know this time when it was like staff show they weren't like well i don't know if

they're world champs yeah they were good they were running played different but how good is clay like you went on clay he and carl's like man i like him and i was like yeah well he doesn't dribble much you know he just shoots like you think he can really like you know win with that like how good can he be before you know like clay's hit one shot another one and he keeps going then we're like all right time out you know this is getting embarrassing throw another defender at him. You know, it's a bank, it's a runner. He's going to the pose. And at the point he, like he hit 10 straight and we're like, dude, me and Carl,

like looked at each other. We had to look like after like the eighth shot. Like, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's like, yeah, yeah. He's like, yeah. And we see his NBA record. So you become a fan in that moment. I would say one that I had to give respect.

I couldn't be a fan of is I was on a Celtics when LeBron went off, but at like 35, 15 and three performance, we're up three, two, we're coming back. We got the big win in Miami. We stole one at their place.

We're in a prime possession, kind of ahead of schedule from our standpoint of what we were going to do. We're like, let's go seven. We had KG, Paul Pierce, Rondo, Ray Allen. We're like, we had the veterans. They may be younger, but we were going to do. We were like, let's go seven. We had KG, Paul Pierce, Rondo, Ray Allen. We had the veterans. They may be younger, but we're going to grind them out.

The moment's going to get too big. LeBron's going to fold. It's not going to happen. He came out in that game, and we figured we had Dwayne Wade locked up. Not locked up, but Dwayne beat us, I think, in game one or two, whatever. We're like, dang, Wade can beat you. you he's a real champ we got to respect him so you know we adjusted shifted our pick and roll defense we were kind of sitting on Wade I don't want to say we hadn't figured out but we did a decently good job on him where it was kind of like our mindset was like Dwayne Wade versus the execution of Paul, Rondo, and KG.

You know, that was kind of like three-man game. So it was our execution versus them. They're one-on-one. So we're like, we got them. And LeBron came out and we threw everything at him, but the kitchen sink out of the locker room. And I mean, literally, we were double-teaming him from the elbow and he was just turning and fading over those double teams. He was getting to the foul line like he was just in

his stoic zone. KG was talking crazy to him. The fans were bullying. I saw a kid with an expletive where you can't say LeBron shirt on that I couldn't believe that a 10-year-old could believe a 10-year-old would be wearing. I'm like, wow. This was like war

and LeBron hadn't gone to war and been successful in that moment. And that was, remember like the Wayne Wade's team, he just joined the Wayne Wade. Then it was like, nah, this is LeBron's team. This is, that was the moment. I wasn't cheering for him, but like you had to give him his respect. Everybody in the locker room gave him his respect. And it was like, listen, he's better.

He's that dude. He's, he's the King he's he's the king put the hat on him um i was there for it and it was tough to stomach because we were probably going to roll over the thunder that year uh in the championship they were just super young they were super super young it was like their first or second year together um so that one stung but you i feel like you had to get that respect uh where it's due for lbj yeah yeah i go back to the billboards all the time the fact that the town he grew up in when he was in high school had billboards up from nike and adidas that were billboards aimed not at other

not at people just at lebron like like advertisements to LeBron being like, please, please sign with like, that's Truman show. Like your world is just, the world is like built and revolving around you. There's just so much pressure from such a young age. And the fact that we're here this many years later talking about how he's

about to overtake the scoring title, which wasn't even the thing that he was like talked when he came in as being a scorer primarily. Jabari, name one other person that actually met the hype. I was going to ask you. To be honest with you, we always hype folks. Oftentimes, they deserve the hype. They've done it. But I personally cannot think of another player that came in with the hype and the focus,, you know, to Jack's point with all of the attention being on them and not just meet it

exceeded closest thing. We might, we might say, and I'll lead us to the, to the OGs, the old heads to chime in on that. If I'm wrong, I would say magic Johnson kind of always had low came to LA showtime Lakers.

He had a squad behind him. Now it's not, not that, but like magic of like he came in that dude the young guy earned his respect won championships jump center like i would say magic in the sense of kind of maybe the hype that became like what he was supposed to be you you know yeah to a degree i mean that game, that championship game with him versus Bird in the NCAA title was as big as anything that had happened in the NBA. Like, you know, so he was already a massive star.

But yeah, that's, I feel like, similar. Yeah. And you're preaching to the choir with magic praise. Look, you know, you won the high school title as a senior, you know, won a college title, you know, two want one, one, the high school title as a senior, you know, when a college title, you know, two years later,

one, an NBA title the year after that, you know, three titles at three levels in four years is pretty crazy. Hey, Jabari, you start glowing. We,

we didn't see you go like that on show. He said, he just makes it feel good, man. It does. It does. Jabari might be a Lakers fan. He might be a little bit of a Lakers fan.

Just a smidge. Yeah. But it's unreal. You won't appreciate it until it's done. Yeah, absolutely. All right. Let's take a quick break. We'll come back.

We'll talk about the big headlines in the league from the last week and some of the performances that blew us away. We'll be right back. way. We'll be right back. I'm Carrie Champion and this is season four of Naked Sports where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Caitlin Clark

versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them boys. I just come here to play basketball every single day and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained?

This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. Hey, everyone. This is Jimmy O'Brien from John Boy Media. I want to quickly tell you about my podcast. It's called Jimmy's Three Things. Episodes come out every Tuesday, and for about 30 minutes,

I dive into three topics in Major League Baseball that I am interested in. Breaking stories, trends, stats, weird stuff. Sometimes I make up my own stats. Sometimes I do a lot of research and it ends up, I was wrong the whole time. So that's something you can get in on. Use Jimmy's Three Things Podcast to stay up to date on Major League Baseball and to make you just a smidge smarter than your friend who's a baseball fan. You listen to me and then you go tell him, hey, I know this and you don't. So I make you smarter than your friends.

That's what Jimmy's Three Things is all about. Listen to Jimmy's Three Things on iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You could also find it on the Talkin' Baseball YouTube channel and new episodes drop every Tuesday. Hey everyone, Jake Storielli here from John Boy Media. YouTube channel and new episodes drop every Tuesday. Wake and Jake. So if you're a diehard fan or looking for the latest buzz, we've got you covered no matter your favorite sport. We're breaking it down with the passion that'll make you feel like you're in the stands with us. Plus, we've got a bunch of guests, Foolish Bailey, Jolly Olive,

Chris Rose, and more mock drafts, rankings, whatever you want. It's the sports world. And come on and join our friends in the Wake and Jake family. You will not regret it. So, new episodes Monday and Wednesday. You can watch along on the Wake and Jake YouTube channel, or listen to Wake and Jake on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. And obviously the big headline from the past week,

it happened over the weekend. I was in a movie and I thought, I thought the world was ending. My phone was going off in my pocket. I was like, what I need to like leave the theater and make sure my kids are all right. But yeah, Kyrie to the Mavs.

It's being reported as Kyrie for Spencer Dimwitty uh Dorian Finney Smith a first round pick and several second rounders uh there was a brief period where it appeared the Nets may be trying to add a third team to the deal in order to acquire more firepower but that didn't seem to gain any traction or didn't get confirmed I guess so the the deal is going through as previously reported. But yeah, Ryan, as a player and a teammate, how did you react to the trade deadline when the rumors involved someone you were going to go to battle with

on a nightly basis? What does it do to you when your name is involved in trade talks? Well, I would say I was never outwardly involved in trade talks? Well, I would say I was never, you know, outwardly involved in trade talks. Me personally, I was always blessed that I was able to peacefully negotiate the trades that I was a part of. They were expected, you know, and I feel like, you know,

from a player standpoint, I was never some mega superstar. So I felt like I've done everything I could for the team that I was on. My time had either run its course or, you know, I wasn't being valued the way that I felt like I should done everything I could for the team that I was on. My time had either run its course or, you know, I wasn't being valued the way that I felt like I should have been. And I always looked to be going somewhere that I was valued.

I'm ecstatic for Mark Cuban also because Dallas, I think this is probably the biggest name they've been able to acquire via trade. And I think, you know, Mark has missed out on a number of free agencies. He's always oh Mark is always in the mix with a player and hadn't really been able to bring it home that I think this is the biggest name that Mark has been able to make that trade for and and bring in as far as in terms of guy that's a world champ a guy who can still go a superstar mentality I think when Kyrie sees the love that he's gonna get from Dallas and and, and Mark Cuban there, and you got to make a start. Like I'm, I'm thinking,

I can't imagine looking on a scouting board and be like, all right, so we throw the house at Luca. And then when we all rotate that way, we got to, and he skips it that way. Then everybody got to shift right back over there. Go guard Kyrie. So that man, that's going to be a headache. I can't even think of how to, you know, how to scout it. And I think Luke is so good. Luke is so good that the problem he runs into is like, Hey man, that's going to be a headache. I can't even think of how to scout it. And I think Luka is so good that the problem he runs into is like, hey, man, he can't do this for a seven-game series. He needs help.

He can't do this for all 82 games. At some point, he's going to be tired. He needs the help. And I think this maybe answers that call or that challenge because Luka Doncic is a certified dog. You mentioned him with LeBron. You a certified dog you put you mentioned him with LeBron you mentioned him with Bird you mentioned him with Magic we said earlier with Kevin Durant Luca that name you you mentioned him with Steph Kerr you don't bat an eye he's in that conversation

with those type of guys so um I'm I'm happy to see what it is and I'm happy for Kyrie and um I think it gets intriguing guys that we look forward to say, Hey, you know, did they lose those assets for nothing? You know, are they going to be able to sign, resign him? Is this going to be a quiet Leonard type of deal? You know, the dice roll that Toronto rolled and then he ends up going to LA, you know? And I think, Hey, or is this going to be the Paul George move where no one really saw him staying in OKC. And he was like, Paul was like, they gave up draft picks. They

committed to me. These people rock with me. I'm going to stay here. You know, and Dallas is a beautiful city, man. I played in Dallas. I played for Mark Cuban. It's a fun city, man. And as an owner, you know, Mark does it the right way. He steps up. So I'm happy for him. I'm intriguing to see how it works. And the NBA drama keeps rolling, fellas. Yeah. There are some questions I think people have about like, well, what, you know, they're both ball dominant players. They're both, you know, not the foremost defenders of their positions. But at the same time, the more I think about it, the more I hear you talk, the more it's just like, I don't know, man, that, that, that level of shot making like two of the best, if not the two best shot makers in, in the league, like just the two players who

I'm like, how, how do they do what they do? Like, it seems almost supernatural, their ability to put the ball in the basket, like at so many different levels at so many different angles, that's going to be hard to defend would be, would be my hot take all right let's talk about some of the best performances of the week uh mad boosties great performances of the week is the is what we've cleverly called this segment of the show you know just first of all clay thompson still out here doing it you know uh he put up 42 on 12 of 16 from three on okc um in a blowout win without steph wiggins looking like he's back in the form we saw him in during last year's title

run and yeah i don't know that i love seeing clay go off i also want to talk about keegan murray with 30 to lead the kings in scoring and win over the Rockets. Keegan Murray, rookie, 8 for 12 from deep. He's shooting 40% from three on over six attempts a game as a rookie. If you need him. If you need him. How tall is he? He's like 6'8".

6'8". 6'9". Good 6'8". I just, I love this. Again, this is one of my favorite things to highlight. The progressiveness of the league, one of the things we've already hit on, hitting on my second favorite theme. Nobody knows anything. When it comes to people coming into the league, all the sports guys were out here with this, well, you know, this big mistake for the Kings.

The Kings have done it again. They could, they missed out on a great piece, great opportunity to get a piece who, who, what, who shoots 40% from three at six, eight. Like is one already like a premier shooter in the league as a rookie for the third place team in the West. Um, I don't know. Keegan Murray, were you on that game? I was. The beautiful thing, we talked about Sabonis earlier. He's in a situation with veterans around him where he just has to play his role.

Between Sabonis and Fox, those guys generate a lot of ball movement and a lot of corner threes. So when you start to simplify things for a young guy, he knows his role, which is to catch and shoot the basketball. It first off started with him just kind of getting open looks and just being aggressive. And then it was like, well, he's not that open. He's just hitting these contextual threes.

And then he got that like little, you know, like guys get that pep in his step. Like they start seeing the ball go in before it's, you know, they even had the ball. They get that different, you know, they even had the ball. They get that different, that little faster run. He had that. So I think he's, it's extremely impressive because he's a fit. And I think that Sacramento knew they didn't need like a boomer bus

potential guy. They needed a guy who could come in right now and play. And Keegan Murray, I think if you, you know, you kind of followed him, he's a little older, but he's ready now. And Sacramento got a guy who could come in right now and play. And Keegan Murray, I think if you kind of followed him, he's a little older, but he's ready now. And Sacramento got a guy that's ready now. And if you even go beyond that, I would say the trade that they made with Indiana, Halliburton, Zaboni, it went for both sides.

It's not often you see those trades win for both sides. Both all-stars, both playing well. And sometimes it's just a change of scenery and i i think it's really cool for both sides someone didn't have to win and someone didn't have to lose but i think um both ended up being really good fits because like you said how could you trade holland why would you do that right because we're better because it fits and then he's better there like like will you love to have him yes but like it just it works that way and because you the basketball media are underrating dm fox because

you you know he hasn't been doing what uh you know like when we've seen more of him we know that he has this in him uh you guys just don't know that yet so yeah this is this was the right move for the kings yeah i don't know that's exciting the, yeah, this is, this was the right move for the Kings. Yeah, I don't know. It's exciting. The Kings are exciting. The Kings, do we think, we think they're going to be there

in the Western Conference Finals? Ooh, they got a shot at just as much as anybody right now. Because you can look at those numbers and say it's a team that doesn't fit.

I think they're undersized. They're going to struggle to guard the rim. That's just part of it. But you got to understand, part of their defensive numbers are so bad, there's an element of they play fast and their pace is up. So when you play fast,

you're going to give up shots on the other end. But when you're scoring, you know, 130 a night and you're giving up 120, like, that's just part of it. Like, you kind of, man, I get Golden State vibes from Mike brown and that team yeah like in the sense that they kind of run and then in a half court they'll get disciplined they'll run their stuff like they're in a sweet little groove and i think that they've got to play just enough defense and i think it becomes tough because you don't they don't have that eraser back there like so bonus is a great defensive rebound but they don't have that eraser where ah man we made a mistake guys like dang that

that robert williams just came over and blocked the shot and helped us out they don't have that part that that piece but they do rotate they do play together and they really pressure the basketball so there's i wouldn't want to necessarily match it with the kings right now in the playoffs yeah speaking actually to that you know we to that, we've already discussed the Kings just recently. We discussed the Warriors earlier. This is something that Jack and Miles have discussed in weeks past. The West, I personally have never seen it as – I don't know whether it's competitive or whether it's just a higher level of parity

or whatever you want to attribute it to, but the 4-seed and the 12- 12 seed are still less than five games apart from one another. How does this shape up? You know, like, so who's going to be on the outside looking in when, you know, in another 28, 28 games or so. Somebody going to be real upset. Somebody's going to merge.

Somebody's going to be real upset. I think what's, what's tough right now. And you see, you're kind of seeing it with like new Orleans. You got to be healthy in these moments. Health is going to be such a big part of it. But like everybody can't go in a party, man. There's a, there's a, you know, there's a fee at the door. The fire marshal's out.

The party's popping. Everybody ain't going to make it, you know? And I think you look back, what, about two or three years now? Thank you, NBA, for the playing game. Man, it's this playing game about to turn up. Okay. So this is going to be something, you know, you know, really, thank you, NBA, for the playing game. Man, this playing game is about to turn up. Okay, so this is going to be something really cool to see and look forward to. And I think, man, a lot of people don't understand. It's tough on my young Rockets because more than ever,

I see the Rockets going into games, and these are like must-win games at this time of year. We can't afford to drop. We're going to drop five spots and lose this game. And teams are poor, right? Our poor young guys, man,

like they're coming at them in a different way, man, every night, because this race is so tight. There's no nights off. I want to say the rockets might've played three or four teams as young as they are this season. Like, kind of like, hey, go pound for pound.

Like, you know, like in terms of age and, you know, like I think we've seen Detroit, San Antonio, which is they still play hard as heck. And Orlando, maybe Orlando plays hard. And Orlando's like huge. They're like the Monstars. It's like space. Yeah, man. Yeah. So it's tough.

It's competitive and it's tough. Yeah. I do want to talk about real quick. Cam Thomas is going out of his mind. Put up 44 off the bench in a win against Porzingis and the Wizards without Kyrie and KD. And then also have 47 and a loss to the Clippers in a starting role for the Nets right after the Kyrie trade, making him the youngest guy since LeBron to score 44 or more in back-to-back games.

And Jabari, you were asking a good question. How many Cam Thomases are out there just waiting to go off, just waiting for their moment to just get the ball some, get fed? for, for their moment to just get, get the ball. Some get fed. Ain't many. I don't think it was an act up neither. It ain't many.

I think that young boy in Dallas, what had 27, I forget his name the other night, man, Jayden Hardy, Jayden Hardy. And so in Dallas kind of had a similar kind of like, Hey,

you don't need to bring him in. I can do it. Like performances. And I think that's the, the fun thing about the league. And, you know, I think our question is this,

is this for real? You know, is this for real? I think that the league is trending in a way where, you know, we're going to see more of those moments because it's such a three point dominant league. I don't want to just say that guys don't defend anymore.

It's just, it's hard to like when I was in a league, spacing wasn't near as the same. Your power forward shot 15 footers. You can contest the paint and run them off of the three point, the, excuse me, the, the, the free throw line. That's the three point line. Now you got to chase these guys off the line at 20, 26 feet, you know,

20, 24 feet away from the basket. line at 20, 26 feet, you know, 20, 24 feet away from the basket. So it's hard to defend, you know? So I think you will see more of these performances. And I think that, I think that you have a number of these guys. Now there's more of a role where before they were like, they were, well, before these guys were like gunners, they were gunners. They were selfish. That guy's too small. He's not a point guard. He can't play in this league just scoring.

You got a lot of those guys now in the league that do that, and I think we will see more of those performances. Yeah. All right. So I want to talk about a thing that we've been calling a business decision for the past three episodes. We've been talking about players who, when they're about to be dunked on, Joss said, jump with me if you want to go viral.

And sometimes when people make a business decision, they might jump, but then the rest of their body goes dead. They're trying to fend off a bear attack because they know what's about to happen. So just the phenomena of business decisions, you know, we saw Norman Powell baptize Julius Randall after a poor business decision. We saw in the Lakers-Pells game, AD make a very coherent, visible business decision on a Brandon Ingram dunk in the second quarter. Is, is that something,

do you remember ever making a business decision, Ryan, in your career? Yeah, I have. I mean, when you're just too late, like too late,

dude. Right. But here's a big part of it too. I remember like Matt Harpering ripped me off the the rim and like clotheslined me and like i hit the floor like back first and it's like like like and the referee was like yeah two free throws get up and go and i'm like this guy just assaulted me in 40 states right there's no there's no call like two free throws what so you can't do that like just the same og like no dunk rule no more like you know like you can't just get away with it so i think that's why you do see some more of the

business decisions i think there is a like come on man like you can't be soft like like like somebody like come on you don't forget the internet highlights you know and somebody was even telling me the other day that you know this was unheard. I'd never checked my phone until after the game. I would never be in a movie and hear my phone buzzing. It would be on silent, Jack. Right. Yeah. It was on silent.

It was just blowing up my hip. I was like, whoa. It was probably me. Sorry. These kids are on their phone at halftime. They say highlights at halftime. Like, you come in there on their, like, that's crazy. The players?

Yes. NBA players today are on their phone at halftime. You come in, they're on their... The players? Yes. NBA players today are on their phone at halftime. I would have been... One of the vets would have jumped down my throat if they saw me on my cell phone at halftime. It is. It's a different era. I think it's a mix of you can't flag a foul. You can't just go hurting

players anymore. Some of these guys are making them... We'll grade the business decisions now but there are more than ever yeah who would you make the most business decisions against and the reason why i asked the question is because look you came into the league when shaq was still there he was in the back half of his career but he's still there still active still moving around you know duncan was still around who are the guys that made you make the most business the guys that made you make the most business decisions i man i really didn't i just like i just tried not to be late but right shack shack got me and amari stoudemire got me and the business

decision wasn't mine it was kevin love i was so i'm so mad at kevin kevin love was like getting backed down by Amari and like at the last second like he like whipped his shoulder out the way and then I like it turned to get I just get facial and I'm like all right if you you know you bump him I'm gonna come come meet him upstairs and you like like you like Kevin did you set

me up set me up so that's behind the behind the toll booth yeah i was just always early and like you know you kind of have especially as a shot blocker in your mind the guys who can go like hey i can't be late with him like you know so i would just be lebron wade i would be outside the block i wasn't waiting for them to get there. So we have this fantastic play that we watched for years. Shaq

is backing me down. I'm thinking, this is going to be just like shoot around. He's backing me down. The help's going to come. He's going to kick it out. We're going to rotate around the corn, and we're going to get a contested three-box-out rebound that we go to late. He's backing me down. Nobody comes. He's backing me down. Nobody comes. He's backing me down nobody comes he's backing me down nobody comes he's backing me down nobody comes at this point he's size 18s are in the paint

he turns elbows me across the face and dunks over me and i realized never again guard these guys like that double teammate coming because live on abc no double team came. And I was, you know, I was out, I was out, out, out the sale. So, you know, it wasn't like a, you know, like I just gave Shaq the greatest contest ever, but still like, you, you know, you learn, you learn that lesson, your teammates, and when the lights come on, they don't, you know, they care about you. Like you thought they would. All right, Ryan, we're going to take a quick break. We're going to come back. We're going to put you in the hot seat for the rapid fire round of questioning, the fastest round of questioning in the history of podcasting.

So just, you know, get loosened up during the break and we'll be back. And it's going to be so fast. If you put a hat on, the hat would spin around on your head like that. That's how fast it is. We'll be right back. I'm Carrie Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry,

Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them boys. I just come here to play basketball every single day, and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch.

She is unapologetically black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke.

Hey, everyone. This is Jimmy O'Brien from John Boy Media. I want to quickly tell you about my podcast. It's called Jimmy's Three Things. Episodes come out every Tuesday, and for about 30 minutes, I dive into three topics in Major League Baseball that I am interested in. 30 minutes, I dive into three topics in Major League Baseball that I am interested in. Breaking stories, trends, stats, weird stuff. Sometimes I make up my own stats. Sometimes I do a lot of research and it ends up, I was wrong the whole time. So that's something you can get in on. Use Jimmy's Three Things Podcast to stay up to date on Major League Baseball and to make you just a smidge smarter than your friend who's a baseball fan. You listen to me and then you go tell him, hey, I know this and you don't. So I make you smarter than your friends. That's what Jimmy's Three Things is all about. Listen to Jimmy's

Three Things on iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find it on the Talkin' Baseball YouTube channel, and new episodes drop every Tuesday. Hey, this is Mike Wright from the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast. You heard that right. The Fantasy Footballers have officially entered the Dynasty space. Every week we bring you the same in-depth analysis and entertainment you've come to expect from the Fantasy Footballers, only now from a dynasty perspective.

Maybe you've been living in the dynasty fantasy football space for a while. Well, we're here to take your game to the next level. Maybe you love fantasy football and you've been feeling that itch to jump into the dynasty format, but it feels a little bit intimidating. No matter where you're coming from, the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast has something for you, and you're going to have a great time listening, I promise. Join me and the rest of the crew every Wednesday for a new episode.

Listen to the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. And it is time for the rapid fire round of questioning. We might try and slow things down. You got to keep us on pace. You got to just move fast.

It's like the, yeah. Are there any wrong answers? No, there's no wrong answer. You're on boosties. Yeah. And in fact, we prefer wrong answers. We's no wrong answer you're on boosties yeah and in fact we prefer wrong answers we prefer answers that you haven't even thought about that's how quick they're coming out of your mouth all right uh jabari would you like to do the honors and take the first question you sure you don't want to go yeah no i'll take it that's right um ryan if you could bet on any... So we were recently talking about how

the Pacers had somebody hit a layup, pre-throw, three-pointer, half-court shot, and they won $500 for hitting all those shots in a row because I guess they have high expectations for their shot-making ability in the state of Indiana. If you could

bet on any fan base to make the in-arena challenge shots, which fan base are you betting on? Houston, man. Athletes in the crowd. What are you? Jack? Now, if you're expanding outside the world of sports to just any fan base,

it can be Star Wars fan base. Star Trek fan base. Olympic darts. Olympic archic archery i probably say i i probably say the golfers golfers golfers have an eye for the ball they have a good eye i think a golfer would would would knock the shot down definitely translates with step. He's got that pretty swing and the ability to... He's a pretty good shooter too, I think. I take Tiger over Brady and it didn't make that shot.

Ooh. Yeah, we should change this question to be about other athletes. Other athletes jumping in. Which athlete would you take? You've never seen shoot a basketball before. If a golfer does it, do you have to do the golf clap or can you accordingly yeah they drain the half court shot they secretly want

to just turn up they want it yeah yeah yeah yeah all right ryan if you get it all i have to ask is if you just keep us going you know we we slowed down there that question took a lot longer than what we're the standard is here on Basketball Fire. Yes, boss. If you don't mind, I appreciate it. Yes, boss. So I'm coming to you with this. Basketball reference.

Oh, boy. Basketball reference has your. Oh, you know where I'm going? Not even close. Fake news. So for the benefit of the listeners, feel free to let Google be your friend. But basketball reference has Ryan's nickname as Booty Call. Can you shed some light on the origin of that?

Or if it's not safe for this podcast, can you give us some other really good Tony Allen is one of those homies that you have that doesn't know and if he don't got nothing to say, he just feels like he always has to say something. He's that friend.

He was doing an interview. Ryan Holland is playing great for you guys. He's say something. He's that, he's that friend. Right. He was doing an interview. Ryan Holland is playing great for you guys. He's shown up. He's been here through camp. You know, he comes in, he doesn't miss a beat. What do you guys,

what do you have to say about him? Hey, kill him. We call him booty call. We call him. He ready to go. Tony, why would you say that?

I have never been called that in the locker room or in my life. And most importantly, I have children. So basketball reference, why would you say that i have never been called that in the locker room or in my life and most importantly i have children so basketball reference you're going to get a defamation lawsuit from me if you don't change that soon i can't man what's wrong with them i ain't never been called that in my life who called the man buddy listen listen come on to me and call you that call me that if you like it we'll see how that ends up how your night is and how my night ends. The equivalent of microwave from the 80s.

The modern equivalent is booty call. There you go. Yeah, when you call, he's ready to go. Anthony Edwards recently acknowledged a three-bag-per-day habit of hot Cheetos fries. What was your wildest eating habit when you were a young athlete? And what was the wildest thing you witnessed diet wise when you were in the league? I was told that my eating was equivalent to an NFL defensive tackle.

I couldn't gain a pound. My metabolism is just ridiculous. You call it the gift and the curse. I can eat anything I want. And the joke would be that instead of like dessert, I would just order more food for dessert, like more entrees, um,

eating habit. My boy shout out Adam Morrison before the game, he would eat like a, like a six ounce, six or eight ounce steak, full mashed potatoes, everything before an NBA game as a rookie. And wow.

Jabari stomach just turned as he thought about that that and then going to the game and playing. He was like, that was his thing. And he'd go into our little entertainment room and he'd eat it. He's just ordering in from Morton's to the locker room? They would kind of make it for him and bring it with a little top on it. It was his thing. It was the oddest. Adam did it and he lived by it. It was his thing. It was the oddest. Adam did it, and he lived by it.

That's right. Two-time champion. Still skinny. Adam Morris. Yeah, yeah. All right, keeping it going. With All-Star Weekend in mind, we've asked this question several different ways,

but I'll come to you with it. Actually, I'm going to remix it a little bit. You can put together four dunkers all time. Give me your four dunkers. Joe Green, Aaron Gordon. Oh, oh okay i see where you go zach levine and um number four i was gonna say so no jordan no vince no vc i'll go vc okay joy like honestly like we just rocked with bean and mike they was doing stuff he's seen guys jump further like an honorable mention nate nate robinson yeah honorable mention like like nate like i could slide nate in there because he brought he brought the energy with it he was little we could rock we. Shout out to Nate Robinson, man.

Yeah, yeah. Alright. And then similarly, same time machine that we just brought those players from their prime with. You can now get in that time machine, go back and watch any single NBA game from throughout history in person. Which game are you choosing? I could watch any game in history.

NBA game. I think that I want to see If I could watch any game in history, NBA game, I think that I want to see the Malice of the Palace, dog. Best answer yet. Best answer yet. Not a finals game, not a seriousup at down the stretch of a season not a playoff game but a game in like november okay my mind went and said let me see magic jump center you know and sky hook and all and then i was like yo that like yo like the brawl like in person i don't want to be fighting it.

I just want to watch. Like, yo, he just wins. He's in the stands. Like, I think like seeing it, like the people up close and personal got a different view. Yeah. Yeah, I'd say that was one of the more interactive

fan experiences that we got. The full fan experience. 100%. Forgive me, guys. No, no. All right. interactive fan experiences that we got the whole experience 100 forgive me guys no all right then finally we have a question that we ask everybody is it going to be jack or jabari for what you got to pick and i'm not leading the witness at all i'm just you know you know jack that guy or you know me i, that guy, or me. I go to Jabari, man. I go to Jabari. We break streaks here.

We are here to break streaks. Is that like a... So, like, there's no rhyme or reason. I just have to pick one of you. Yeah. 100%. And Jack was on at least a three-game winning streak. Yeah.

Jabari, you sold it slightly. I did. Mm-hmm. I did. Yeah, no, that's yeah a little dirty if you want to change your mind that's fine my mind went there you listen hey we said don't even think about it you clearly didn't um when you made your decision but that's that's fine uh ryan holland's been such a pleasure having you on the show uh for like 99 of the show such a pleasure you nailed it and then uh but thank you so much where where can people you know find you follow you hear you all

that good stuff um first off my my day job is with the houston rockets shout out to the rockets um a color commentator i'm living the dream i can't believe they still allow me in the building i wasn't supposed to be there as a player and now I get to be there as an analyst and get to talk about the game that I love. So I'm having a blast myself and Craig Ackerman just have fun on the broadcast and NBA rookie life. You got to check out a pod. It just started it. It's a short, it's a fun listen. I'm going to get NBA's future stars on, have those young guys on, talk about their experience and what they're going through as rookies. I'm going to get NBA's future stars on, have those young guys on, talk about their experience and what they're going through as rookies. I'm going to have some of the OG, the legend, the veterans on.

I'm talking about their rookie experience. And I think people need to know what these young guys go through. Imagine dreaming about something. You lived through that dream. So just kind of getting these guys. And I think it'll be real fun as the pod develops to look back and hear some of these guys, how excited they were,

how bright they were. And we had some fun with them, but it's really cool. And you can check it out anywhere through iHeart and the NBA. So I am a blessed, happy man to sit around and talk basketball, man. Guys, you know, we could do this a lot longer.

Like, I really, really like basketball. Yeah, man, this was really fun. Thank you. We are happy men to have had you on. You don't sound happy, Jack. You know, I took that loss a little hard. I'm not, I'm not going to lie to you. Uh, I'm choking back a sob as you can see. I mean, the listeners can't see, but there are tears streaming down my face. Uh, but that's, you know, that's normal. It's normal. It's a, it's what happens sometimes when you lose. Um,

but yeah, honestly, Ryan, thank you so much. What a blast. Thank you. Anytime, guys,

huge fans and, you know, keep up, keep up the good work. Seriously. Keep it up. Keep going, man.

We did. We had a hoop talk is it keeps our sport going. Awesome, man. We'll certainly try. All right, Ryan, our boosties listeners of the week were paul gara venta uh one of the greats for making sure we saw an absolute bomb from dame where wasn't even like the shot clock was running down he was just like oh you're not gonna guard me out here that's fine look we've seen long shots before but he was just like oh you're not gonna guard me out here that's look we've seen long

shots before but he was legitimately standing just inside the half court that was ridiculous him and steph did that at the all-star game a couple years back when they were just like trading mid-court shots just casually pulling up and drilling them every time uh was that last season that was last season last year of before. Yeah, it was recent. But this was like an actual game. I appreciate how the players just continue to push the boundaries of what we thought what we once thought the game

should or did look like. So you can follow us on Twitter at MadBoosties. We are back next week with a whole nother episode of the show until then. Bye. Bye.

Uh, happy NBA watching. This has been Jack and Jabari signing out. I don't know how to sign out. Like I just want to keep talking. This is, I don't mean to laugh. I'm laughing because you said,

bye-bye. Bye-bye. My, and my famous sign off. Bye-bye. And my famous sign off. Bye bye. I'm Carrie Champion, and this is season four 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.

There's so much beauty in Mexican culture, like mariachis, delicious cuisine, and even lucha libre. Lucha Libre. Join us for the new podcast, 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, emperor of Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar. Santos! Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts.