The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #101: Playoff Push and Lakers Talk with Claire De Lune

Episode Date: February 22, 2024

Jack and Producer Jabari were pleased to be joined by recording artist and NBA writer Claire De Lune on today's episode! The trio wrapped up an eventful All-Star Weekend before transitioning to the second-half playoff push 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 Capital One, 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. Kaitlyn 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. Captain's Log, Stardate 2024. We're floating somewhere in the cosmos, but we've lost our map. Yeah, because you refused to ask for directions.

It's Space Gem, there are no roads. Good point. So, where are we headed? Into the unknown, of course. Join us on In Our Own World as we uncover hidden truths, navigate the depths of culture, identity, and the human spirit.

With a hint of mischief. One episode at a time. Buckle up and listen to In Our Own World on the iHeartRadio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts trust us it's out of this world well well well the all-star break has come and gone we're getting ready for the playoff push around the league. Games are about to start up here in the past. I guess they've already started up for you listening in the future. We're going to recap some of the, some of our favorite moments from the all-star weekend.

We're going to discuss the state of the, am I seeing this right? Lakers and plenty more with singer, artist, NBA writer, Claire DeLune on today's episode. I'm Jack O'Brien. And this is Jabari in for Miles. And this is Miles and Jack and sometimes Jabari. it and luka dachic hits 10k there you go driving spinning fading hitting lebron's got it with five he's gonna try another three mr lebron james

look out little showtime what you got flair what's going on hi it's good to be back a returning champion uh one of our faves great to have you back thank you so much your album dropped spirit of the staircase it did yeah november yeah congratulations thank you so much the band is tiny deaths i think i know what that's a reference to you do naps it's a reference to. You do. Naps. It's a reference to naps. Right. Yeah, because sleep is the cousin of death.

Yeah. I thought it was Every Laker Loss. Hey. My bad. So this is an unbiased podcast. Just three unbiased journalists kicking it around. Have no affinity for any particular nba team um but uh before we get to the lakers and just like what's going on around the league as we head

into the playoff push uh i did want to check in how was everybody's all-star weekend like what was what like maybe we could open with the best thing you saw this whole weekend mine was i i think it was just like phone videos of luca and warm-ups uh doing those like half court that was the bounce when he called bounce and then it actually bounced in i was like it's he what spell did you cast he is like truly a magician with the ball like i said that about people with ball handling but his shot making is so like jabari and i were talking about this earlier that you know usually with great shooters their their shot generally like always looks the same yeah you know they have a like steph's shot you you just like know what it's going to look like and you kind of know that the path the ball is going to travel yeah um luca just can do also

it truly is like wizardry. Yeah, it really is. I don't like it. It freaks me out. I need him and I need him and Jokic to end up on the same team, both because they seem like they're good friends who enjoy each other's company, but also because they're the only two people in the league that I personally think have that in common where it's like,

it's not like you look like you know what you're doing. It's like, you look like there was a magical spell cast you had one wish and it was to be the best basketball player alive and it came true and now nothing can leave your hand without going in yeah yeah watch this i just have to say for the rest of the basketball loving world, that is not a Mavericks or Denver fan. Why are you wishing this upon us? Cause I can tell you now, there are several combinations of players in the league that I absolutely don't want to see if it's not on my team.

And that's, that's pretty high up there. Wait, I'm sorry. Isn't the implication always that every good player is going to end up playing for the Lakers? Obviously, Claire was implying that this would be with the Lakers, that they would be wearing the. No, you know what? What I was revealing is my ultimate truth, which is that above any allegiance to any team or any fandom, I'm just a fan of excellence, guys.

And I just want to see excellent basketball at the highest level. And also, I'm a fan of friendship. I think friendship is first and foremost, my priority in this life. So, um, I just want to, I hate it. Yeah,

I know some people do. Some people do. Yeah. Um, yeah. And Luca's energy, like he's, he's winning me over.

Like he has Jabari you made you made the point that he has like some golden retriever energy to him like he just like seems he's just like kind of like bouncy I feel like he has much he definitely has dog energy but I feel like he has much energy yeah

yeah just more than golden because I think he seems a little more like like golden retrievers seem like there's just nothing going on behind the eyes in a way that's really charming they're just sort of like i'm just happy to be here yeah luca like no golden retriever would complain that much to a referee that's right i feel confident in that assertion yeah he's got some terrier in him i think is my point yeah he he reminds reminds me of when our dogs would get to a yard after being cooped up too long,

and they're just psyched to be there, and they're running around and having fun. But also, they're complaining endlessly when they're not in the yard. So did you feel, because you said he's growing on you, did you feel, because I felt like, I am a huge Luca fan fan i love him i love watching him the the all-star game attitude like really irked me it wasn't his attitude in particular

his in particular it wasn't just him but i felt like he was the worst about it because he didn't he he didn't even really have like a moment in the game where he seemed like he gave a crap and i feel like at least some of the other players they're like all right i'm gonna like phone it in for 95 of this game but i'm gonna like do this one fun do a cool thing yeah and luca was just like i literally have my uber black booked to the airport for 45 minutes from now are we done yet um he was like didn't you see what i did in warm-? That was cool. Yeah, that was cool. I'm done here.

Can you do the trick shot on the court, Luca? Is that so much to ask? Can you do something cool during the game? It does make me want to, like, as shot making has entered, like, new levels of, like, greatness and also, like, new dimensions where people are just, like, making it from so far away. The Dame half court shot was really cool. I don't want to hear any hate about that. where people are just like making it from so far away. It does. The Dame half court shot was really cool. I don't want to hear any hate about that.

I'm happy to see it. Yeah. More of that. Because I feel it. It's a thing that is in my mind when I'm watching an NBA game is like, man, he could just like pull up from anywhere. Like,

when are we going to just start doing that? Like that's the offense. Whereas I do not dream of labor, which, you know, I understand. But my favorite, okay, my favorite moment from All-Star Weekend, I love all the videos of people, of players with their kids. That's truly my Achilles, I feel like. like any video behind the scenes of a player with their child, like Damien Lillard's daughter taking his picture with a disposable camera or Bam, like messing with Jason Tatum's kid. I also really liked when LeBron was trolling Luca on the bench

and talking about his first all-star appearance. And he was like, yeah, it was 1968. It was me and Will Chamberlain. I honestly, I wish there was more of that yeah that would be my number one if i was named commissioner tomorrow if adam silver was like dude i've had enough i'm exhausted yeah we're not sure that that's not gonna happen we can't say yeah it's hard to say but if he's a, by the way. be either actually come to think of it um anyway my first change would be that you could pay a premium package you had to prove that you're over 18 but you could pay a premium package to hear a mic'd up alt cast of every nba game and like they could take turns making up different

players on each team like for a few minutes a game or whatever but like the stuff they say on the bench like the trash talk i want to hear all of it that is like one of the most fun parts of the game and we don't get it except for in very small very watered down doses so i would love to hear more mic'd up it is what's great about basketball compared to other sports is that we just like get full access to their face to like their personality on the court they're just there fully for us to drink in um i didn't mean to make that sound that creepy but um the you know if they yeah if we got more access to the mic'd up stuff that would be great uh sorry but my pitch on the shot making though like i i know they did

horse during the pandemic loved it yeah it was cool but it wasn't like i feel like a like you know full packed house for a horse game between like luca and steph or something you know like somebody who's an amazing steph and Luca feel like Jokic like I want to see that weird shots like that would be so 10 out of 10 would love to see more silliness we have more silliness like just more

silly games more like just fun I mean I feel like make the skills challenge even weirder make it even goofier. I want people having to hula hoop at half court before they try and pull up for a shot. Yeah. I just like bring me the hijinks.

Yes. You know, I'm here for it. And what was your moment of the weekend? I'm actually piggybacking on Claire's point. I am an absolute sucker. We have Jack and I discussed this before the show. I'm a sucker for any behind-the-scenes footage. I love seeing the old-school footage, in fact, especially of the players.

My best moment was when they showed Jaime Jaquez as a kid. Oh, I loved that. Dunking on the smaller court. His mom or whomever it was in the background asked, who are you? He's like, I'm Shaq. And then fast forward to, you know,

this year's dunk contest. And, you know, I think, Jack, you have the point that you made, probably one of the best dunks of the night, if not the best dunk of the night, he's jumping over Shaq from just the 3-3 line. So, you know, moments like that coming full circle in any of the behind-the-scenes stuff,

you know, that's my preference for sure. That was my favorite dunk of the night. night like the fact that he windmilled jumped from distance jumped over underrated dunk i was both him and jacob toppin i'm like justice for them because some of their dunks like jaylen brown jumped over a guy who was like 5'2 on a good day sitting in a chair and got a 49 and jj who I understand is not Jalen Brown caliber of all-star, but he is like, he has been a starter for the most of the year for Miami. It's not like he's, he's not a G leaguer, you know, and he was, he was putting himself on the line as well to do the dunk contest and maybe should have gotten the benefit of the doubt with his scores as well. I thought, you know, like I heard a lot of talk about like talk about like oh well jaylen brown it's really good for the league to have stars of that

caliber participating and i'm like it absolutely is and i don't think they're wrong but i think you could put jaime hawkins in the category of like a star that didn't really necessarily have that much to gain like he's a rookie but he's in the top five like rookie of the year conversation so yeah i thought also very underrated i would say just from a novelty perspective is the first time we've seen someone do a dunk that that spectacular with like guy at a fish concert hair and like there's just that that's unique like that's gonna stick in my mind like those those locks flowing behind him as he jumps over shack and windmills i decided what he looks like because i've been

trying to figure out i'm like what does he remind me of he looks like like a villain in like a early 2000s western movie yes yeah yeah he looks like he could be in the cowboys like the tombstone bad guys or like the wild wild west like the will smith salma hayek like he looks like a villain in that yes it's the facial hair more than the head of hair. The head of hair is just immaculate in any time, any era, any movie category. The facial hair is giving

early 2000s iteration of a Wild Western villain. It's giving wiki wild wild wiki wild wild. It's giving wiki wild wild wild. You're absolutely right. Couldn't have said it better. Wooden spider. Couldn't have said it better.

Yeah. Alright. Let's take a quick break and 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. Why is that? 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. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes.

We'll talk every single game, every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL Media. That's Patrick Claiborne, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe. This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen. Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day.

Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, here we go. It's Cam Jordan from New Orleans Saints here to tell you it's going down. On season two of my podcast off the edge with me Cam Jordan can't stop it you know what's gonna happen can't stop it that's right catching new episodes every Wednesday all season long that's what you look for year 14 to do more and I'll have my friends

who happen to be some of the NFL's biggest stars join me on the pod we'll give you a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did that really just happen moments from around the league. And you know we'll have fun doing it. Ha! Yeah! Oh, and I'll have a special guest each month. Join me to mix it up a little bit. Who is it? None other than...

Psyche! You'll have to tune in to find out. So tap in to Off the Edge with Cam Jordan's podcast, your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. And it's a couple teams that are kind of heading into the all-star break.

Hot. I don't know. Who do we want to talk about guys? There's. Oh yeah. Look at this. The Lakers are a little hot heading in. They're seven and three over the last 10,

six and one over their last seven. They. There's the stat about LeBron, AD, Reeves, D'Lo, each averaging 20 points and five assists for the month of February. How much has D'Lo been involved in the six and one run here? I mean, he's been huge for them. I wouldn't say like this team

lives and dies, but I wouldn't go that dramatic because I do think one healthy like they have enough depth to weather a bad deal game here and there. But I would say that the alternate side of that coin is that him playing at his highest level, which I do think like this is D'Lo's ceiling. I don't think

that there's another level for him to reach. I think D'Lo's been basically playing the best think that there's another level for him to reach. I think D'Lo's been basically playing the best he can possibly play. He hit like a career high in assists the other night. I think it was like 17 or 18 assists in a game. He's been excellent. And that really raises their ceiling as a team. Like if D'Lo is the best D'Lo he can be,

the Lakers ceiling goes from like struggling in the play-in to like maybe can make some noise in the playoffs for sure especially with a healthy LeBron and a healthy AD so I think that it's been hugely impactful I also think to your point about some of the names you rattled off what do you know when you actually play the starting lineup from the Western conference finals last year, good things happen. It turns out, and it took a good, you know,

four or five months for that to become the starting lineup. But it's almost as if the thing that worked last year works. So good work again. Nah, almost like if you have Rui in a starting you know situation he's going to absolutely play like a you know championship level role player you know can play yeah far be it from me to you know try and cosplay as an nba coach but i feel like if something worked a few months ago and all those people are still healthy it might be worth a try because it might work again is just kind of like a pretty foolproof thesis yeah yeah so yeah do you think they need to like find a way to claw their way

out of the playing situation or does it matter as long as the as long as those guys as you just mentioned are healthy i mean i think uh when you're arguably i mean i would say actually this year anthony davis is pretty solidly their best player but when you're arguably, I mean, I would say actually this year, Anthony Davis is pretty solidly their best player, but when you're, there's an argument that could be made that your best player is turning 40 this year. I think it's always good to play less games versus more games. I think that's just like a generally good rule of thumb. That being said, like weirdly matchup wise for the Lakers, I think they're some of their better matchups are going to end up towards the top of the western conference as far as like who they match up well against like i think thunder like the thunder the timberwolves i think that those teams are like a lot of what the timberwolves

have been dominating based on is their size they're huge and dominant um especially defensively and the lakers are one of the only teams in the West that has that size and that length to match up with them. So I feel like that's actually a good matchup for the Lakers. And then like the Thunder alternately are very small on by design. Like that's kind of, they're small. That's how the team is set up. And then the Lakers size can kind of like combat that. Well, also the Lakers have a ton of play're small. That's how the team is set up. And then the Lakers size can kind of like combat that. Well, also the Lakers have a ton of playoff experience.

The Thunder have no playoff experience. But then once you get into the play-in and like also into like maybe what's going to end up being like the four, five, six seed, you get the Phoenix Suns, you get the Warriors, you get some teams that can

exploit the Lakers' weaknesses and also can do things that they can't do, a.k.a. consistently shoot well from beyond the arc. We should mention the Warriors. Lakers and a bunch of other teams are 7-3

over the last 10. The best record in the league over the last 10 is Cleveland in the Eastern conference. But a lot of teams in the West are seven and three over the last 10. You get the wolves, you got the Clippers, you got the sons,

the Pelicans, the Mavs, the Lakers. But the best record in the West, golden state warriors, eight and two. They're, they're starting to put some momentum

together um they're coming they're coming i mean is it just draymond being back and like kind of locked in what do we think's going on i think it's the same i would say it's a very similar thing to what's transpiring for the lakers which is that it's an alchemy of a lot of different things starting to break right like andrew Wiggins has been playing better. Clay has been playing better. Draymond is back, which then unlocks Steph Curry. Kaminga went through a weird little phase earlier this year where he was throwing a tantrum about his minutes

and that kind of created some rifts. But now he's playing better and he's getting more minutes. I also think that for both the Warriors and the Lakers, it was super impactful to have the trade deadline come and go because I think there were a lot of guys on both of those teams that were just sort of like waiting, trembling in a corner,

waiting for their names to be called to get shipped to Detroit or like Chicago or whatever. And those guys all know their jobs are safe, at least through the rest of the year. And so I think that was really impactful for both of those teams. But I think for the Warriors, as well as the Lakers, it is like an alchemy of a bunch of things starting to click. And I just don't understand how people can watch the horror movie of LeBron James and Stephen Curry every single playoffs since I was in college

and what they're capable of in a postseason setting and have been writing them off in December, January, it just couldn't be me. It wouldn't be me. Folks get bored and they always want to move on to the next win. It's like, yeah, the next... It is good to represent them and to acknowledge them, but

LeBron and Steph are not going anywhere anytime soon, or at least not going anywhere right now. We've seen this movie before. Yep. Like so many times. They are sitting at 9 and 10. They're sitting at the very bottom of the play-in picture. I don't think that's going to be true,

but my personal opinion is that by the time the playoffs come, I would imagine that those two teams are at least maybe like 7, 8, 8, 9, somewhere, and they're going to make the play-in. This is not a hot take. No. I would imagine that those two teams are at least maybe like 7, 8, 8, 9, somewhere. And they're going to make the plan. This is not a hot take. I agree. Most likely to be leapfrogged. And you know what?

This is official. So we're going to hold you to this. That was Sacramento and New Orleans. Of those teams, which are most likely to be leapfrogged? I feel like Sacramento just does not have it together this year. It's weird because their two best players are playing really well and have all year long. Also, Malik Monk, frontrunner for six men of the year. So it's not like their best, most impactful players aren't playing well.

There's just something off about this team. And I know that they don't pay you the big bucks to be like, I don't know, bro. Vibes are just off. But I just don't see it for them this year. So I don't I think they'll obviously make the playoffs or play in. But I just don't. This isn't the year that they get over the hump of the first round. I really don't believe that.

And then New Orleans. I don't I just don't trust their health. I I just think they've been quite unlucky over the years with health and for this year so far all for all intents and purposes like relatively healthy and they still i think are trying to figure it out i feel like if they have anybody miss a significant amount of time down the stretch it would be really easy for them to plummet because i think zion like them starting to figure out how to incorporate zion into what they're doing down there is a huge part of their

success right now and if zion you know lands funny like god forbid on an ankle or something like that like i think i could see them plummeting for sure yeah there's yeah i mean it does feel like i don't know i'm of the mind of like, yeah, but what if not? What if Zion stays healthy? They're the most unpredictable team in the West, I think, to me. Like, they're the team where I'm just like, I don't know what to make of this team. Like, they can be really good.

They also got blown out by 40 points by the Lakers in Vegas for the in-season tournament and looked like, you know, a relegation team. Like, their ceiling is so high and their floor is so low and i think it's so hard to predict what's going to happen with them with dallas to your point the third team you mentioned i feel like the opposite for them like i feel like they might climb the standings because they were missing kyrie irving for like a really significant chunk of this season and if they can have him healthy and Luca healthy, like,

I don't think we've seen the ceiling of that team. I don't want to see that team in a playoff series. If I'm anybody, they seem like they're the Lakers this year of like the, the team that did a few kind of smaller things through the trade deadline that are really like kind of really good. Honestly, I think so.

I wrote a trade deadline winners and losers piece. Like it was an instant reaction to like night of really good honestly i think so i i wrote a trade deadline winners and losers piece like it was an instant reaction to like night of the trade deadline and i didn't have dallas listed under my winners and i kind of regret that i feel like gafford was big for them like i feel like they did they did exactly right at the trade deadline and it just wasn't like splashy but it was meaningful yeah other big news out of Laker land. LeBron says he is 50 50 on whether he'll want a farewell tour. Um, I think that,

I think that is a 54 50, like 50 out of 50, AKA 100% or 50 plus 50. Yeah. Add it to the memes, add it to the stack of LeBron cap memes. Yeah. I love LeBron.

I'm like the biggest LeBron fan. I really love him. He has rightfully so cultivated a bit of a reputation as someone who maybe is prone to embellish, prone to tell a white lie here and there. I can understand him not wanting to be like, when I'm going to retire, you'll know, and not wanting to lock like when when i'm gonna retire you'll know and like not wanting to lock him into that because what if he gets like a horrible injury god forbid and it's just not worth it for him to ramp back up at 40 years old so i understand like leaving room however health

notwithstanding there is no universe in which lebron james is not are you kidding me there's no way he's not having a farewell tour. It's going to be like, there's going to be pyrotechnics. This is going to be the farewell tour to end all farewell tours. His farewell tour is going to have the Van Halen rider where it's like,

all right, I need all green M&Ms. Yeah, literally. We love LeBron because he's a messy bee who lives for drama. that is part of his appeal there's no way he's gonna go quietly into the dark night like it's just not gonna freaking happen it's gonna come in riding a lion like Katy Perry in that Super Bowl you heard it here first when LeBron retires you will know for a long time it's not just gonna be like wake up oh hey by the way oh LeBron retired wow that's gonna be like oh my god and every broadcast going to be like, wake up. Oh, hey, by the way. Oh, LeBron retired? Wow, that's wild.

It's going to be like, oh my God. And every broadcast is going to be like, the last time LeBron James plays in Oklahoma City. The last time LeBron takes a plane from Oklahoma City to Houston. You're never going to hear the end of it. And I'm going to drink it all then. And I'm going to be crying all year long

because I am not ready. All right. Let's take a quick break. We year long because I am not ready. All right. Let's take a quick break. We'll come back. We'll talk bucks and we'll do the rapid fire round of questioning. 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. Why is that? 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. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game, every single week,

but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media. That's Patrick Claiborne, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe.

This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen. Catch the podcast at NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day.

Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, here we go. It's Cam Jordan from New Orleans Saints here to tell you it's going down. On season two of my podcast, Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan. Can't stop it. You know what's going to happen.

Can't stop it. That's right. Catch new episodes every Wednesday, all season long. That's what you look for in year 14, to do more. No days off. And I'll have my friends, who happen to be some of the NFL's biggest stars, join me on the pod. We'll give you a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends,

and did that really just happen moments from around the league. And you know we'll have fun doing it. Ha! Yeah! Oh, and I'll have a special guest each month join me to mix it up a little bit. Who is it?

None other than... Psyche! You'll have to tune in to find out. So tap in to Off the Edge with cam jordan's podcast your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football listen on the iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts and we're back and uh wanted to check in with the Bucs because heading into the All-Star break, they had a couple good wins. I mean, the big one, they played the Nuggets.

They played really well. They beat the Nuggets pretty soundly. They looked good on defense. But overall, since they let Adrian Griffin go, it's been a real adjustment period. And I don't know. I mean, sometimes that happens. Sometimes you need to get the new system in place.

You need to get the chemistry right. Usually it doesn't last quite this long. And yeah, they are probably the team I'm most intrigued to see. That feels like it could, similar to what you were saying with the Pelicans feels like it could go in wildly different directions. I would be surprised if it like continued on this path of, you know, being three and seven over the last 10, including a 26 point loss to the heat. I would be surprised if that keeps up, but I don't know.

It could obviously, because they haven't quite figured out what's going on. Yeah. A few things with the Bucks. Thing number one, I think Doc has rightfully been taking a lot of heat for just his, his tendency to deflect his absolute reticence to accept any responsibility. Claire,

I wouldn't wish this job on my worst worst enemy i wouldn't wish a job taking over for a team that somehow has a championship expectation but also no expectations at the same time like yeah that job must suck like what are you talking this is the best job obviously this isn't the beginning of him not taking responsibility this is like dates back to many years of his career. He literally makes it sound like the Bucks made him do this job at gunpoint. Like it's crazy. You were, you could just say no, bro. Like you could just say, no, there's like lots of other people who would have wanted this job. That being said, the Bucks are interesting to me because I think in a playoff setting,

as we know, the margins of playoff games are one with like do you have the guy on your side who can just make it happen when everything else breaks down when when all the plans fall by the wayside when the defenses break down like do you have the guy that can just go iso and just like get you a magical shot and damian lillard is that guy and that's why they added him i just don't think like to me this is a team built on a very unstable foundation which is that this man did not want to go there and he made his desire first of all this man wanted to stay in portland let's be abundantly clear what happened was he signed an extension because he planned to retire a trailblazer because they had promised him like

if you sit out the rest of the season even though you're not really injured we're going to get a high draft pick that we can then trade to get you some help over here in portland and we're going to make a run of it because you just had the best year of your career statistically and you deserve help then they found out that they could get scoot henderson at that number three pick and they felt like they had hit the lottery because they thought he was going to be like the next face of the trailblazers and they reneged on that offer and that's when dame demanded a trade understand i think understandably so and because he had put in you know like he got his little plaque and like trip to bermuda because he'd put in however many years with the company he's like i'd like to go to miami and they didn't send him there. And in my opinion, the package they got back for him,

you know, through a multi-team trade with the Bucs, not much better, I don't think, than what they could have gotten from Miami, at least if they had been willing to involve a third team. So this team was built on all of that baggage, all of that drama happening. And then Dame coming to Milwaukee and being like, well,

I'm going to try and make the best of it. Like, yeah, this is great. This is like a, a pretty good situation, all things considered, but it's not like he was like,

Milwaukee's where I want to be, you know, this is where I want to go. And so I feel like they got off on a weird foot. There was weird vibes from the jump because everyone knew he made it very public that he wanted to go to not just another team, but like a rival Eastern conference team to the Milwaukee Bucks. Yeah.

And I also think that like his skill set, like Drew Holiday, I think, is more of a two-way player than Damian Lillard. I don't think that's like controversial to say. And they made a lot of changes that I think, similar to the alchemy that we were talking about in these other teams, it's like a lot of things had to go right for them to be good. A few different dominoes fell for the Bucks that are putting them in a really weird spot. They hired a first-time head coach at the same time as they basically completely changed

how their offense was going to revolve. It was totally heliocentric around Giannis. Now, all of a sudden, it's like you have a second superstar that it needs to revolve around too. And they laid that in the lap of a first-year head coach who I think was just clearly in over his head. I don't think he was doing a very good job.

And at the same time, you have, you know, Brook Lopez starting to age and like not be able to maybe do some of the stuff that he was able to do. And the rest of the East, some of the, like some of the East got a little better.

So personally, like going into the season, I was really optimistic about the bucks. I don't think they're going to like bottom out by any means. I don't think they're going to win the championship this year. I don't think that's like super controversial to say. It's just, I would honestly take several

Eastern Conference teams above them right now even though in the standings they're higher yeah so this is why we have folks you know that are as bright as Claire on because she eloquently put you know put it I'm just going to say they're going to do the doc special they'll be done in the second round once again

a second round is tricky as a Sixers fan I can tell you the second round once again. The second round is tricky. As a Sixers fan, I can tell you the second round is tricky. Claire, we've got time for two rapid fire questions for you. Okay, let's do it. This is just, you don't think, you just fire it back right at us. Chest pass, chest pass back.

You ready? As ready as I'll ever be. Jabari, you want to go first? You want me to go first? Why don't you go first, Jack? All right. Greatest Lakers player ever and most underrated Lakers player of your fandom.

That is such a hard question. That's like the worst rapid fire question ever. Okay. Greatest Lakers player ever. Oh my God god it's like painful i'm gonna go kobe even though magic johnson's right there um my favorite lakers player of my tenure are you joking lebron james like what what and the most underrated lakers player of your family most underrated yeah contavious caldwell pope wow hey seriously i It's called well-published. Wow. Seriously. I still want KCB back.

Championship maker. That's right. Maybe it's called well-published. 100%. Most underrated by Lakers fans? LeBron James. That is true. And I don't really identify with the Lakers fandom in that way.

So I. Yeah. But you're right. It's not all of us, but there are some of us that are very off when it comes to being balanced when it comes to discussing the NBA. All right. Discussing the GOAT. Keeping it going. You said two, Jack.

All right. Who is the most underrated NBA social media follower? Ooh. I mean, not currently on this show with you. Right. Obviously, the answer would be us. I'm just kidding. All this show with you. Right. Obviously, the answer would be us. I'm just kidding. All three of us.

Underrated. I think Jasmine Watkins. I don't think she's particularly underrated because she does have a decent amount of followers. But people like other media companies lift her content and use her ideas constantly. So just based on dollars and cents, I feel like she's literally underrated. Had her call and follow on her, so now I'm following her. And now she's no longer underrated. Former guest,

I think two times even. Yeah, yeah. One of the best. Well, Claire, what a pleasure having you on. What a pleasure being here. That was so much fun. Where can people find you, hear you, all that good stuff they can find me on

Twitter at Claire MPLS CLA IRE MPLS or on the Guardian Claire DeLune I write for the Guardian about the NBA or if you want to hear me sing you can hear my music I go by Tiny Deaths for my musical project

and that's on wherever you stream music. There you go. Thank you so much for doing it. Jabari, where can they find you? At JabariDavisNBA. Pretty simple. I'm at Jack underscore O'Brien. And you can look for hashtag my boosties for updates on the show.

Shout out to listener Gritsy Ross, who is doing the booking for us. Reached out to Josh Gondelman and said, please go back on hashtag my boosties. He said, absolutely not. That show is amateur. No, he said, I'd go back anytime. I had such a good time.

He's the nicest human that's ever existed. I love him so much. And he'll be on in three weeks. Really? I'm going to see him next week in New York. Hey. Let him know we said hi. And thank you for doing it, Claire.

We are back next week with more Mad Boosties. And we will talk to you all 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, Caitlin 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 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Caitlin 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. Captain's Log, Stardate 2024. We're floating somewhere in the cosmos, but we've lost our map. Yeah, because you refuse to ask for directions. It's Space Gem, there are no roads. Good point. So, where are we headed?

Into the unknown, of course. Join us on In Our Own World as we uncover hidden truths, navigate the depths of culture, identity, and the human spirit. With a hint of mischief. One episode at a time. Buckle up and listen to In Our Own World on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Trust us. It's out of this world.