The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #155: Hot Streaks and Dallas is Bleak with Jasmyn Wimbish

Episode Date: March 6, 2025

The guys were pleased to be joined by CBS Sports NBA writer Jasmyn Wimbish for today's episode. The trio discussed the blazing hot Cavs in terms of their true title chances, the Lakers continued dominance and several other trending topics from around the league as well as a full breakdown of what could be next for the Dallas Mavericks!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey, it's Amartinez. The news can feel like a lot on any given day, but you can't just ignore las noticias when important world changing events are happening. That is where the Up First podcast comes in. Every single morning in under 15 minutes, we take the news and boil it down to three essential stories so you can keep up without feeling stressed out. Listen Up First from NPR on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up everyone?

It's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the king of spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that. We're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJ's mock drafts to my top 101 free agents, we'll have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday, keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL draft, listen to forties and free agents on the I heart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

What's up everyone. Julie, Stuart banks here along with former NHL player Nate Thompson. We're doing a new podcast together. Here we go. The name energy line with Nate and JSB each week. We'll get together and talk about hockey life all topics are fair game, right? Exactly, and you'll never know who will drop by to join us Julia's pretty well connected She has text threads going that you wouldn't believe Listen to energy line with Nathan JSB on the iHeart radio app Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts

I'm mark seal and I'm Mark Seale. And I'm Nathan King. This is Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli. The five families did not want us to shoot that picture. This podcast is based on my co-host, Mark Seale's best-selling book of the same title. Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli features new and archival interviews with Francis Ford Cobola,

Robert Evans, James Kahn, Talia Shire, and many others. Yes, that was a real horse's head. Listen and subscribe to Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. OK, well, the Cavs and Lakers are the hottest teams in the league, but we have teams on hot streaks all throughout the standings.

OK, well, that just happened um they are also on the move we had some unfortunate injuries around the league that we'll need to address with NBA writer Jasmine Wimbish on today's episode I'm Jack O'Brien and this is... Miles and Jack O'Brien Battle Staves! 18 has been secured. The Celtics are NBA champions. Over the double team. Oh! Night-night! Yannis with the tail cover. Look out. No show time. What you got, Yannis? Jasmine Wimbish, you cover the NBA for CBS Sports. Yo, that was the first time Zoom noticed my singing and said, are you recording music? Did it really see that?

Yeah. Wow. All right. Thank you, Zoom. I am a good singer. It usually just goes, stop. Would you? Stop that.

The AI is getting smarter, it turns out. It does turn out that way. Jasmine, thank you so much for coming on the show. When we have, I think this is just a question I like to ask a lot of NBA journalists, where you are as a journalist and as a fan? Do you keep them separate? Do you try and embrace both? Obviously you're professional, so you don't let that interfere with your coverage, but

are you also, because of your coverage of the league, you have transcended and you have no team? I would say that I've definitely not transcended. That's certainly not happening. Not a transcendental, NBA cover. I'm not trying to be too above it. Those people are all lying to themselves.

Yeah. You say that like, how do you feel anything when you watch basketball? You got to have something. That's a lie. I grew up a Dallas Mavericks fan. Derek Novitski is my all time. So this conversation is going to be rough because the last month has been incredibly depressing for Mavericks fans Yeah, obviously, you know keeping it professional and separate from fandom is you know I have to but it also makes my writing a lot better

Especially now that Mavericks are always in the news for the wrong reasons. So sure Right. Well, welcome to a wildly unprofessional podcast better, especially now that the Mavericks are always in the news for the wrong reasons. So sure. Sure. Sure. Right. Well, welcome to a wildly unprofessional podcast. Yeah. We obscures our coverage and perspective to a degree that it's almost unlistening. But people come in for for the jokes either way. But yeah, I mean, I guess we just get right into it.

I will say I am a 76ers fan, so I don't know exactly how you're feeling, but it's bad. Yeah, it's bad over here as well. At least your generational big is coming back soon. Soon. Ours is. We'll see about. Yeah, yeah, we'll see. Our ours is untradeable permanently. The only hope I've seen in Sixers forums is like, maybe we can like get them to retire and then then we'll do the retirement clause or something. I don't I don't know any of the contract stuff, but it's called Kyrie

has been slowly winning us over with his game over these past couple years. And yeah, I mean, just one of the most impressive one-on-one players, one of the best ball handlers, shop makers in the league, one of the most fun players to watch play basketball. So it is, I think devastating, obviously to Dallas fans, but also to basketball fans that he is, has a torn ACL and out for the remainder of this season. And it's one of those injuries that usually takes a toll the next season, if not takes you out for the next season.

But obviously gave us an indelible image on the way out shooting the free throws with tears rolling down his face after the injury because it seemed like he knew what was happening. But I don't know, like where do we begin with what the past month has been like for Dallas Mavericks fans? I don't know. I mean, I'll tell you where I began, which was the day that Luca got traded. I was awake when that happened, which was at like 1230 in the morning. Yeah.

And I was scrolling on my phone. I get the alert and I'm like, there's no way this is real. And then I think I went to like my company Slack and nobody was on because everybody's asleep. And I go back to Twitter. And I think Shams had tweeted more reporting about it or something. And I was like, oh, this is happening. And I felt like I was having the worst nightmare and got like, like the night sweats and was just like completely in denial for about five hours. And then the next day was it was like mourning somebody like a loved one who just passed away. Like that's the best way I can describe it. And it's still like, if you are a Mavericks fan,

watching Luca play for the Lakers right now is like he's doing everything that he was doing in Dallas and watching him do it in a different team's jersey is like the most depressing thing that you could ever imagine happened to your franchise. Like, I can't. And there's nothing else to compare this to in the NBA, like genuine. Yeah, it's never happened. Never happened. And so it's just like it's like to in the NBA, like genuinely. Yeah, it's never happened. Never happened. And so it's just like it's like living in the worst time timeline possible.

I don't even know. It's. And to this day, all of the reasons that the Mavericks have been trying to filter out through all of their flimsy reports make zero sense. Like, oh, he was fat. I mean, OK, he's still averaging a triple double and went to the finals. I took you on his back to the final. Right. The amount of like that same sweet tea anecdote I've seen come up over and over again. I'm like, what?

They're still doing this? Yeah. I've been telling that anecdote for years. Okay. Right. No, but I mean, like, I'm saying I've heard that for ever. I know, but it's so wild that that's like they got that one story in their craw and they're just like, yep, now we're going to take that drink out of his hand

while he's celebrating, taking us to the finals. Even when Kyrie got hurt, Nico Harrison came out with a statement yesterday or the day before, whatever. And again, was like, you know, I see the same work ethic in him that I saw in Kobe Bryant. I'm like, oh, my God, dude, you've got to let it go like right It's all just like another slight at Luca being like he doesn't have the mamba mentality, which is ridiculous. It's right. It's gross Yeah, yeah

And also seems like somebody who does play with a lot like the biggest chip on his shoulder like oh, absolutely You just gave him the site chip for the other shoulder. Oh yeah. I mean, just like when Nico was courtside during the warmup for that Laker game, I was like, no, we're, Luca's about to go off. I don't know why you're even visible.

Why are you even visible to this man right now? Yeah. I would be watching that game from under my bed in my own house. Yeah, or like a Mission Impossible face mask. Just going with somebody completely different. You're like, yes, and I am enjoying this basketball game. But I think that's the thing is Nico thinks that he's right.

So he has all the confidence in the world. He's never afraid of it aside. Like, I should take that back. He's afraid of being in front of Mavericks fans at home because he's sitting up in a skybox at home games, whatever, on the road, he is totally comfortable, especially in crypto.com arena. He just helped set up this team

for the next 10, 15 years plus. He has no reason to be shameful or whatever, and he still thinks that he made the right decision. There's just no way. Yeah, yeah, and I know at that game, I know they had the Luka 77 t-shirts on the on the seats but it was also Nico Harrison night I think yeah yeah just they didn't know they didn't know but I'm I'm wondering too because just seeing the frustration from Mavs fans which is so

understandable and I said this before you came I was like it even even it even for us, we're like, how do we have Luca? Like, that's impossible. It's like their franchise player. This never happens. What do you see happening to even win the Goodwill back? Because I feel like everything you see from the fans is just like, they're dejected. They feel absolutely just like empty after this trade.

And now the subsequent injuries to AD and Kyrie just in the finals nine months ago. What is the path forward? Or how do you see that situation, the relationship with the fans, or this is just something that these decisions are being made completely without consideration of that dimension?

Immediately they need to fire Niko Harrison. I think is like step one to try and like rebuild a fan base that is completely in tatters right now. Especially at the rate that this thing is just like falling off the lake, just completely falling apart. Like Kyrie's hurt, 80s hurt. Kyrie's going to be out for probably most if not all of next season. Like, OK, so now next season is lost. And Nico Harrison during his press conference was like, Oh, well, 10 years from now doesn't matter. I care about the next three to four. All right. Well, those next three to four years are pretty looking bad. Yeah. So I mean, at the next if at the end of next season,

if Nico Harrison still has a job, I would genuinely be surprised. Like, there's just no way, especially with the new owner, Patrick Dumont. Like, he said some crazy things about Luca as well, but I don't understand how you could own a team, have somebody like Nico basically just running it into the ground at a rapid rate and then still try and keep him employed for the long haul. It doesn't make any sense. It doesn't make sense at all. Yeah.

Where does this rank with the calling Steph Curry Steven? Do we think on his career? Highly real. Oh, no, Seth, right? That he called him sucker. He called him Seth. Okay. All right. You know, like brothers. And then have Kevin Durant in the slideshow.

In the slideshow. Like, whoops. Sorry, we meant to switch those out. You're from Maryland, right? Ah, what's it? Yeah, no, I'm not from Maryland. What? Yeah, the East Coast. You're you're you're an East Coast guy, right, buddy? Why do you keep calling me buddy? I know I didn't.

You're Seth, right? Seth. Mr. Heald. What? No. Miles. What?

What is this? What? It's too much. It's too much. There's so many things. It's too much. It's too much. It's too much. It's too much. What? No. Miles. What? It's too much. It's too much. It's too much.

It's too much. There's so many questions and it's so... Everything is unprecedented right now, just in every dimension. So I'm just like, what? How? What? Okay. It transcends.

We'll put a pin in that. It transcends basketball. It's wild. It is biblical. It is Job, is how it feels. Um, so I will stop asking you about the Dallas Mavericks. Uh, we, we got the game of the week. So, uh, Jasmine, every week, we take a look at the upcoming slate and we're like, here's the game of the week.

Here's the game that you're going to want to watch. Um, we'll watch it. We'll talk about it. And for the first five times we did this, they were all like 30 point blow. We got one right this time. It was the Cavs playing the Boston Celtics. And the only thing I enjoy in this league more than a 76ers win or in the now, now that we're taking a 76ers loss is a Boston Celtics loss, particularly come from behind victory.

Jasmine, I am a route for the rest of the league against the Celtics person. That's my philosophy and a following basketball. In this case, the Celtics built a 22 point lead. We're maintaining a double digit lead for most of the game, even with poor Zangus and drew holiday out of the rotation. And then Cleveland was able to come back. Donovan Mitchell went off for 41, um, and just, yeah, it took it to them. There's a very viral clip of Jason Tatum inviting the Cavaliers to

get the heck out of here. Yeah. Hey, you guys get, get on out of here. Uh, as the invitation that takes this personally. Yes. Exactly. get on out of here. Here's an invitation that takes this personally. Yes, exactly. They were up 25 to three and at the end they lost 123 to 116. Donovan Mitchell gave a little, little thumb as Jason Tatum had. Mitchell scored 26 of his 41 in the second half.

He's actually been pretty dominant against the Celtics. Like this is shaping up to be, I think for a while I just like didn't believe. I was like, I still think it's just going to be the Celtics in the playoffs. But if they play in a seven game series, Cleveland has home court advantage. I don't know that they have an answer for Mitchell unless Drew is like able to just like take it up to another level Defensively in the playoffs, which he has been able to do in the past So maybe that's what happens, but I I think it's like kind of a Coin flip at this point. Like I really think Cleveland Boston is like could go either way. What do you guys think? I just out of my need for the Celtics to not be good. I am fully invested in that. I

watch this game with such joy in my heart. I mean, I don't know, just looking at the momentum they have, I'm like, I'm not going to say that for sure it's happening, but I think it's well, it's more than reasonable to believe. I'm like, okay, no, no, no, this isn't a fluke. Like this is something that's going to be sustainable. At least that's my sort of half-hearted entry into it. What about you, Jasmine? I feel like if Boston's healthy, I think like you said, Jack, like if Jew Holiday can turn it up a notch, then they have an answer for Donovan Mitchell. But the thing that I watched in that game was like Evan Mobley also, like,

just completely stood out in that fourth quarter. I think he had like 16 of however many points he scored on the night in the fourth quarter of that game. All season long, he's just been like his offensive game has just been like just crazy impressive compared to his previous seasons. He's already like super dominant on the defensive side of the ball, but he's getting to the Rameta rate we've never seen before.

Like he's so close to the ball, like he's in the ball so much better, like shooting with so much more confidence. Like Kenny Atkinson has just been like a wizard over there for the Cavaliers. And specifically with Evan Mobley, that like if he's their second best player every night or sometimes their best player in that series, like then Cleveland could win. But I'm also very like, I don't know, because Cleveland kind of gets nervous in the playoffs

and the lights are too bright and whatever that quote is that Jared Allen said last year. Like, so I'm not sure. Like Boston's scary when they're on, but Cleveland's been really good this year, so I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, what's the most hopeful version that way Boston's scary when they're on, but Cleveland's been really good this year. So I don't know. Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. What's the most hopeful version that way so I can, it can soothe my fears of another Celtics domination. All right, get that to us again, but pretend that actually the Celtics stink. Pretend I'm not crying because you said the Celtics might do it. And these aren't tears, it's just the lights are bright. Phil Jackson had a measure for like whether a team's championship aspirations were realistic or not.

And it was whether you could win 40 games before losing 20. And the Cavs are 50 and 10, which is pretty incredible. So watermark. Yeah. Yeah. It's just like one. I feel like we do this a lot where it's just like because we haven't seen it yet We just assume that it's it's not going to happen this year because of like what we've seen historically We're like, well the Cavs were bad last year But even though they weren't like from a personnel standpoint a completely different team

they are a they look like a completely different team this year. They really have it going. And yeah, Evan Mobley being the kind of biggest step forward. Just, and then Deandre Hunter, you know, 10 games under Celtic Hunter Deandre Hunter. He's always been good against the Celtics. So, um, should we, let's take a quick break. We'll come back and, uh, we'll, we'll take a look further, a field around the lead. We'll be right back. Hey, it's a Martinez. The news can feel like a lot on any given day, but you can't just ignore

las noticias when important world changing events are happening. That is where the up First podcast comes in. Every single morning in under 15 minutes, we take the news and boil it down to three essential stories so you can keep up without feeling stressed out. Listen up first from NPR on the iHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts. It's Julie Stewart Banks.

I'm doing a new podcast from iHeart Podcasts and the National Hockey League. And I'm paired up with one of my favorite players, the always quotable Nate Thompson. I wore nine NHL sweaters and I have story after story to share. And believe it or not, I have plenty to say and not just about hockey. Believe me, he does. Energy Line with Nate and JSB is the name of the podcast and it's going to be, well, it's going to be quite the ride.

We're officially line mates, Nate we're the energy line. We'll have plenty of folks join us, current players, some of my former teammates, Hall of Famers and wait to see some of the connections that Julie has. She has quite the Rolodex. Okay, we'll lean into Nate's playing experience and tap into our interests away from hockey and try to do what Energy Lines are supposed to do, provide an emotional boost. How do you feel about all that, Nate? I'm vibing, Julie. I'm ready to roll.

Listen to Energy Line with Nate and JSB on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey Will, do you ever get overwhelmed by how much science happens these days? Constantly. I'm like, ah, there's so much science, I can't keep track of it all. Then it's a good thing our podcast, Part-Time Geniuses, counting down the 25 greatest science ideas from the past 25 years. That's right, Mango. We're talking animals.

In a paper called, quote, chickens prefer beautiful humans. Right. This was actually the title of the paper. They all discovered that much like humans, chickens are attracted to symmetrical faces. We're talking medical miracles. He's an endocrinologist who found a way to stimulate insulin producing cells using, wait for it, the saliva of a Gila monster. There's no way to make that not sound crazy. We even talked to some of the experts behind these breakthroughs. It's a week full of fact-packed stories you won't want to miss.

So listen to the part-time genius countdown of the 25 greatest science ideas of the past 25 years, starting Monday, March 3rd on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Mark Seale. And I'm Nathan King. This is Leave the Gun, Take the Canoli. The five families did not want us to shoot that picture. Leave the Gun, Take the Canoli is based on my co-host Mark's

best-selling book of the same title. And on this show, we call upon his years of research to help unpack the story behind the godfather's birth from start to finish. This is really the first interview I've done in bed. We sift through innumerable accounts, I said 35 pages, very much. many of them conflicting,

That's nonsense. There were 60 pages. and try to get to the truth of what really happened. And they said, we're finished, this is over. They know this stuff's gonna work. You gotta get rid of those guys, this is a disaster. Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli features new and archival interviews, with Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Evans, James Kahn, Talia Shire, and many others. Yes, that was a real horse's head.

Listen and subscribe to Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. We're back. We're back and we're going to take a look around the league. One of these is going to be somewhat unpleasant, but at the hottest teams in the league, the Cavs 10 straight. Pretty good. We also have the Pistons now. Yeah, they're nine and one over the last 10, have the 19th toughest remaining schedule.

So like not that bad a remaining schedule. Just nine and 15 on December 4th, following a double digit loss to the Celtics and have gone 26 and 13 since then, which makes them the second best team in the NBA since that date. And Cade is just awesome. I love it NBA since that date. And Kate is just awesome. I love it. I love it.

Kate is just balling out of his mind. What do we think the ceiling is for Detroit this year? Can they get to the Eastern Conference Finals or we think it's just Celtics calves with a bullet and anybody else is just kind of kind of well for the Pistons to make it to the Eastern Conference finals. Yeah, I would love for that. I just love when the pistons are doing great, but, um, what's, where are they at right now?

There's six. I just looked up the standing. Six. Oh, okay. Or face if this, if the playoffs started today, they play the Knicks in the first round, that's a tough matchup. That's a tough one. Yeah.

It's off the bat. Yeah. So I don't know. It's off the bat. Yeah. So I don't know about Eastern Conference Finals, but. Or the second round. Yeah. Might not be realistic. Maybe a seven game series in the first round of playoffs. Yeah.

Getting to the playoffs at all for Detroit is just like throw a parade, to be honest. Yeah. For real. Because the season that they've been having after last year, where they've set multiple records, where like what they're losing streaks, this is just nobody thought that they would be one of the top six teams in the east. I mean, right. Nobody thought the Sixers would completely implode either. But

it's just been like you said, Kate Cunningham has been an all star. He's been it's funny because like I remember when Cade came into the league and he had this rookie season and like everyone was just kind of like, oh, I don't know. He doesn't look like the number one pick. And he started off really slow and then like his efficiency like was really poor in the first season. And I feel like he didn't get enough shine in like his second season. And now he's kind of getting that moment and the Pistons are benefiting from that that I think like next season is when we can start talking like all right past the first round I think this is a team that could go a little bit further but right now I don't I don't see the

making out of the first round. All right and on to the Lakers who've played eight teams with an above 500 record in the month of February and went 8-0. I hadn't given up more than 102 points since the break, since the All-Star break, which is seven games. They did give up over that to the Pelicans last night, but that was mainly garbage time. And they do just seem to be able to put all the different pieces together in a way that works. I do just want to talk about LeBron real quick. I just want to talk about what he's been doing since his birthday. He's putting up 26, 8,

and 8. His Lakers have won over 74% of the games during that stretch. His birthday was on December 30th. So that's, this is basically full 2025. So as a 40 year old, 26, 8 and 8, Lakers are winning at an unprecedented rate for them in his era with the Lakers. He's not an MVP candidate, but you know, could finish top 10 for the first time since the 21-22 season. And most importantly, we're approaching the 10 year anniversary of the tweet that said LeBron is 30. This blankery won't go on for much longer. Thank God. 2015. 2015.

What did you think? I hate it, my gosh. Yeah, yeah, truly. You know, that's great watching him score 50,000 points against the pelicans just to smash through that ceiling, but I don't know I mean it is wild to think just what he's doing right now and His even his defensive output even that pelicans game some of the just So runs he was making to chase down a block or something It it's it's just wild to see that that intensity is still there at that level but now it's just more about when he deploys it at the right time and that wisdom

is definitely there. But yeah, I don't know. I'm just, I'm hesitant to get too excited about anything with the Lakers although it is generally very fun to watch and I hate to say that in front of Jasmine who's a Dallas Mavericks fan. It's totally fine. to watch and I hate to say that in front of Jasmine who's a Dallas Mavericks fan. It's totally fine. I'm totally fine. This is wild. Because I mean, I think the one thing too, like JJ Reddick was like, okay, maybe we're going to, we'll be, shoot a higher volume of threes.

And now we're, I think just second to the Celtics right now in that department in terms of our effectiveness there from three. And a lot of that has to do with Luca, but it's, I don't know. Things are, things are moving in the right direction. But part of me is also just conditioned to at this point, not ever get my hopes up high. Uh, just because I, it's hard for me, but it is, it is difficult to not be excited and, and you know, at what we're seeing. Just one note of how, because I, I want to talk about the face of the league thing real

quick because that's like a big conversation that is like I think an interesting conversation but even though it sounds like sort of a dummy SPN conversation where they're just like he's not the face of the league he doesn't you know where I do like LeBron looks tired in a way that I've never seen him look on the court like even at the end of the Pelicans game I'm not saying like he had an incredible game. I do just want JJ to start taking him out like five minutes earlier. Like I just were like after the Kyrie injury, like I do worry about, like it can't go on forever.

It can go on until it stops and he gets hurt. And he is 40 and he's playing a lot of time Not as much as he has in the past, but like just Really lean on those brakes, you know Drive it. Let's drive very cautiously heading to the to the playoffs would be my Urging but yeah I I think a lot of people are having this conversation about like the face of the league and like who's going to take over once LeBron and Steph are gone.

And like hearing people talk about that, I was reminded of that Detroit playoff game where LeBron like before anybody thought it was possible, like took over a game in a series and just like single-handedly won it for Cleveland against, you know, defending champions or, you know, so I forget if Detroit had won the year before or recently, but it was, it was just an incredible experience. It's always like stood out to me. And I think it was because like, I really do think the NBA benefits from having a main character, like whether, you know, I grew up with Jordan. Well, I don't think we'll ever have a Jordan again, who like whether, you know, I grew up with Jordan. Well, I don't think we'll ever have a Jordan again who's like, you know,

approval rating is like probably 80 percent, you know, whereas LeBron became like the main protagonist slash antagonist of the league. Like a lot of people didn't like him. But like that was the character that was like all the attention was focused around. And I think that was like what was happening in that Detroit game was like me as an NBA fan who grew up with Jordan being like, ah, we have, we have a main character again. We have like somebody who's like kind of driving the league and is kind of the

face of the league again. And it is just amazing that he's been able to be that for as long as he has. And is making another run at being one of the most relevant, if not the most relevant player, heading into the postseason in terms of narrative, in terms of people paying attention. And I think the Lakers are going to be a part of the conversation of like, who wins this year. And I think people are going to be like rooting for and against LeBron, uh, like that he is still just like the protagonist of the NBA or antagonist, depending on your opinion.

But like, he is that like main character face of the league that I think is for whatever reason, like, I don't think it's true of like other of the NFL or like major league baseball. I don't think they necessarily need like the a main character, but for the NBA, it's like a movie, you know, like the real like stat nerd, like basketball nerd or like film nerds might not need like a strong protagonist. But like, I feel like everybody else just needs like that main character who we're either like rooting for or against. And it's just, he's been carrying a lot of weight over two fricking decades. It's crazy.

Jasmine, who do you see being close to that? Like when you look at the bevy of options in front of us, probably Luca, especially now that he's in LA, like, you know, the whole circus of being in LA in general will just like heighten his, you know, image even more. The thing is, is from watching Luca in Dallas for seven seasons, like, he doesn't really look for that kind of attention. So I don't know that that's going to like if the league was like, we want you to be the face. I don't know that Luca is going to be like, Oh yeah, I want to do this. Like, yeah, I want to be in space jam. Yeah. Like, I don't know. Like I think that's the problem that the league is going to run into. I don't know that a lot of guys want that burden because it was a burden for LeBron. Like, like you said, Jack, like Michael Jordan was like so revered. It's like this mythical creature. Like that can be, that's like not touch. And then you have like social media and like the 24 hour news cycle with LeBron's era that you can't really go back to something like Michael. And so going forward, it's just going to get worse.

Like Anthony Edwards said at I think it was All-Star Weekend. He was like somebody asked him, Oh, are you in the next phase of league? He's like, no, that's what Wembe's for. But I don't know if Wembe is even going to be that because people are already like an international player can't be the face of the league, which is against the rules. Yeah, apparently some made up. We made up just put together in place all of a sudden now. So I don't I don't know.

I feel like it's going to be a it's Lucas if he wants it. But if he doesn't, then I don't know where they go. I don't. Right. I mean, between Jordan and LeBron, obviously we had like Shaq and Kobe. And there was that one moment I remember, like, like I'm viewing all like the history of the league or like my experiences with the league through this. I'm realizing like a lot of the times I'm like, like when Iverson won game one against the Lakers, It was like, Oh my God, like maybe he can just like do anything, you know, like maybe this is going to be like, he was like the guy who like, he was kind of like,

you know, Jordan in his early career, they were like, he's a ball hog. He just like, if I shot that many times, I'd score 30 a game. And that was kind of how Iverson was viewed. And then he had that one season where they like put Matumbo in the middle to like protect the rim. And I was just like, oh my God, like this, we might have like the next guy and then who could like, you know, defy the laws of physics. But yeah, I do feel like it's been a LeBron league for a long time and it might be Luca. I don't know.

I don't know who it is. Maybe Jason Tatum. I don't know. I don't know who it is. Maybe maybe Jason Tatum I don't know, but he doesn't say them Yeah, like that Tatum and like this Celtics team reminds me of like the that when LeBron like kind of took it over I think it was like back and forth between him and then like the Spurs, you know, like the the like just Spurs team being dominant and I feel like that's kind of what this Celtics team is is like the Spurs like everybody Is just like yeah, man, like you got to be impressed with how they yeah, I agree But yeah, we're all actually rooting against them. Right. Yeah. Except for like super basketball nerds.

It's like a hard balance of a having that aura that feels mythical to the point that you can be bestowed the label of the face of the league into Jasmine's point, the enthusiasm to want to have that kind of scrutiny on you all the time and be able to handle that is like a whole like because a lot of people want it. But then can you handle it? And then can you handle can then can you sustain it? It's just such a it's like a hard thing. It's like I don't think it's one of those things where someone like you can just anoint someone the face of the league. It's just all of those factors have to come together around a

player and then it just sort of makes it obvious rather than someone's like, yes, I'm in line next for face of the league. It's like, well, no, I mean, I know you're popping with the stats, but people don't like the people are low key clowning you on all the time or whatever it is. But I think that's just kind of, yeah, it's hard to see where it comes from. But I don't know. I mean, for a long time, we were like, we love Dr. Mark Green, Anthony Edwards, just coming through with that energy. But he also, yeah, like to your point, he's reluctant. He's definitely reluctant.

And I think he knows where he probably just falls short of those sort of certain factors. But yeah. Not as a shooter, but definitely to have that. Yeah. Rule bestowed on him. He also gets fined like every other night. So.

Yeah, I know, I know. It's so funny to hear all the veterans. Probably not the league's favorite either. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's funny to hear all the veterans be like, don't give your money away like that. Like, what are you doing? Keep your money, please.

I mean, there's Yannis too though. Like, I mean, I felt like for a moment. Yannis is kind of, yeah. He had it. When he I mean, I felt like for a moment, Janice is. Yeah, he had it. When he went to after that championship win and like he was just like just posting his stories, everyone's like, yes. Oh, my God. His stories are so great. Yeah. Yeah.

That chicken nugget order like, oh, yeah. Fifty five chicken nuggets or whatever. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. He's probably going somewhere. And then how'd it be cool if you went to the Knicks and then like had another run with the Knicks or something like that. I feel like that would be face of the league. Yeah.

Status. Yeah. Time will tell. Yeah. I think, I think Yana, yeah, because he's had it for a season, I feel like maybe we do see him kind of take it over for a little while. Because he does have the space jam quality. I think that's the important thing is like,

if you got more than anything, you need the space jam quality. And if you don't have the space jam quality, there's, you're not gonna quite be the face of the leaf. You mean arms that look like he's in that scene in space jam where he stretches his arms out and can dunk from the three point line. Just by reaching out.

And mildly green skin and red nails, yes. The space jam quality. Let's take a quick break. Yeah, and mildly green skin and red nails. Yes Let's uh, let's take a quick break and when we come back we are going to do the rapid-fire Questioning to close it out. We will be right back Hey, it's a Martinez the news can feel like a lot on any given day but you can't just ignore las noticias when important world-changing events are happening. That is where the Up First podcast comes in. Every single morning in under 15 minutes, we take the news and boil it down to three essential stories so you can keep up without feeling stressed out. Listen up first from NPR on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. It's Julie Stewart Banks. I'm doing a new podcast from iHeart Podcasts and the National Hockey League.

And I'm paired up with one of my favorite players, the always quotable Nate Thompson. I wore nine NHL sweaters and I have story after story to share. And believe it or not, I have plenty to say and not just about hockey. Believe me, he does. Energy Line with Nate and JSB is the name of the podcast and it's gonna be, well, it's gonna be quite the ride. We're officially line mates, Nate.

We're the Energy Line. We'll have plenty of folks join us, current players, some of my former teammates, Hall of Famers, and wait till you see some of the connections that Julie has. She has quite the Rolodex. Okay, we'll lean into Nate's playing experience and tap into our interests away from hockey and try to do what energy lines are supposed to do, provide an emotional boost. How do

you feel about all that, Nate? I'm vibing, Julie. I'm ready to roll. Listen to Energy Line with Nate and JSB on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey Will, do you ever get overwhelmed by how much science happens these days? Constantly. I'm like, ah, there's so much science,

I can't keep track of it all. Then it's a good thing our podcast, Part-Time Geniuses, counting down the 25 greatest science ideas from the past 25 years. That's right, Mango, we're talking animals. In a paper called, quote, "'Chickens prefer beautiful humans.'" Right, okay, I like this. This're talking animals. In a paper called, quote, chickens prefer beautiful humans. This was actually the title of the paper.

They all discovered that much like humans, chickens are attracted to symmetrical faces. We're talking medical miracles. He's an endocrinologist who found a way to stimulate insulin-producing cells using, wait for it, the saliva of a Gila monster. There's no way to make that not sound crazy. We even talked to some of the experts behind these breakthroughs. It's a week full of fact-packed stories you won't want to miss. So listen to the part-time genius countdown of the 25 greatest science ideas of the past 25 years, starting Monday, March 3rd on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

you get your podcasts. I'm Mark Seale. And I'm Nathan King. This is Leave the Gun, Take the Canole. The five families did not want us to shoot that picture. Leave the Gun, Take the Canole is based on my co-host Mark's best-selling book of the same title. And on this show, we call upon his years of research

to help unpack the story behind the godfather's birth from start to finish. This is really the first interview I've done in bed. We sift through innumerable accounts, many of them conflicting, and try to get to the truth of what really happened. And they said, we're finished, this is over. They know this isn't going to work.

You gotta get rid of those guys. Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli features new and archival interviews with Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Evans, James Kahn, Talia Shire, and many others. I guess that was a real horse's head. Listen and subscribe to Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. We're back. Wow, you went low on that one.

I had to, I had to get the full sonic spectrum of my voice because Jasmine, it's been wonderful having you as a guest, but it is time for the fourth quarter of the rapid fire round of plastic question answer segment in all sports Podcasting history we will ask you a question just respond quickly instinctively don't think too much don't tap into the intellectual tap into the the the animalistic side evolutionary side yes sports takes just fire it right back, okay

And if you take too long and put our record at stake of being the fastest question answer segment with one of the longest opening intros for the fastest question answer segment of all time, we will be rude to you. Okay. Ready? Understandable. Okay. Here we go. Brian start the clock. Jack, you're gonna go first? Should I go first?

Oh, I could go first, Miles, if that's okay with you. That's alright Okay. All right. So this is a This or that segment where we give you some fictional players The they're like little fictional player combos If you will, yes, and you have to choose one or the other that was probably clear from the this or that. Okay, Jasmine Brian start All right

Jazz jazz me you there Waiting on y'all Do you take Dirk with Hakeem's defense or Yannis with Hakeem's offensive package? Dirk, because I'm a homer. Yeah. Still got that shot.

Yeah. Still got that iconic rise up. Yeah. One footed jumper. Love the euro step. This is just called the Dirk step. Oh, yeah. And then does he still play saxophone? He played saxophone. I just always think of that. And I was like, is shooting Clinton?

No, he's like German shooting coach that always made him go. Oh, yeah. I see that he runs sax one season. Wait, what did his coach do? He would always his big thing was like, improving his jerk. Yeah. And just be like, try something new. Like, let's give you a new skill like not just shooting a basketball So like do you let's learn sacks like let's learn to keep this threat. Yeah

Yeah, very heating off of like one leg with his eyes closed or something. Yeah. Yeah, just very quirky. I love that Okay, Jasmine this or that Luca in the late 90s and early 2000s Like, you know playing against T Mac fans Kobe Mello etc or Dirk in today's game I'm gonna go Luca because then he wouldn't get shamed for drinking beer Jordan ripped a whole rack of Coors lights on on a golf course before before putting up 40 on somebody. There you go. All right. And finally, you can't pick Dirk or Luca, but you can put together any two players to

team up from throughout history. Who are you choosing? Just in general? Oh, my God. I'm going to go Stephen Nash, because again, Mavericks, and LeBron James. That was easy. Yeah.

That would be nice. Yeah, service. We like that. Okay. Jasmine, last question. Okay. You can go back in time and live one year as an NBA player and experience everything they experience in that single year. What player and year are you choosing?

What year was it that Steph Curry won like unanimous MVP? Whatever year that was. Was that like that was 1516? Yeah. 15 16. Oh never mind So then I'll do that year as LeBron James winning the NBA finals that was cool Yeah, yeah, that's better. Yeah, that'd be fun. I want to be LeBron James Alright, and and finally psych that wasn't the last one because we gotta pick the game of the week. Oh, that's right. Yep, Jasmine Let us know. What are we picking? What do we need to keep our eyes on? We got three to choose from Okay, only one right answer on Saturday. The Los Angeles Lakers are playing the Boston Celtics on ABC on Sunday the Nuggets are playing the Thunder on ABC

Also later that day or maybe earlier I'm not sure the Cavs are at the Bucks on ESPN where we going with I'm going Lakers Boston okay thank God yeah that is the right answer we appreciate you choosing the right answer that's gonna be something that is gonna be I'm gonna feel after that but mmm probably bad I feel like you guys don't match up that well with the Celtics That's the other reason that you know My main quest at this point as a Sixers fan is like Sixers loses many more games and we get to keep our pick

They have to be in the bottom six to keep their pick And also a chip for LeBron if we could get one last chip for LeBron. That would be so fun A chip for LeBron. If we could get one last chip for LeBron, that would be so fun. But that's, yeah, so I mean if the Cavs can knock off the Celtics for you, that's a big mitzvah. That would be very nice for, yeah. Too early, too early. But Jasmine, those were all the correct answers. Thank you so much for participating. Thank you so much for joining us on Miles and Jack.Mad Boosties. Where do the people find you, follow you, read you, support you, and all the work that you do?

CBSsports.com slash Jasmine Wimbish. Jasmine Wimbish on Twitter and on Blue Sky. There you go. You can follow me on Twitter and Blue Sky at milesofgray.gy. I'm at Jack underscore O'Brien on Twitter and Jack Obi-Wan on Blue Sky. And you can find us at hashtag Matt Bustes for show links and updates and be sure to join the conversation on our Discord, which you can also find the link for when you search hashtag Matt Bustes.

All right, listeners, you've been put on alert. It's Lakers at Celtics on Saturday on ABC. Make sure you do your homework so when you come to class next time, you don't look foolish. We will see you then. Okay, bye. Bye bye. Hey, it's Amartines. The news can feel like a lot on any given day, but you can't just ignore las noticias when important world-changing events are happening.

That is where the Up First podcast comes in. Every single morning in under 15 minutes, we take the news and boil it down to three essential stories so you can keep up without feeling stressed out. Listen up first from NPR on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal. And I'm teaming up with the king of spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents. The only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season from DJ's mock drafts to my top one on one free agents will have it covered for you with

all new episodes every Thursday, keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL draft. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up everyone? Julie Swift, bring Sierra along with former NHL player Nate Thompson. We're doing a new podcast together. Here we go. your podcast. Join us. Julia's pretty well connected. She has text threads going that you wouldn't believe. Listen to Energy Line with Nate and JSB on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Mark Seale. And I'm Nathan King. This is Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli. The five families did not want us to shoot that picture. This podcast is based on my co-host Mark Seale's bestselling book of the same title. Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli features new and archival interviews with Francis Ford Kobla, Robert Evans, James Kahn, Talia Shire, and many others.

Yes, that was a real horse's head. Listen and subscribe to Leave the Gun, Take the Canole on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.