The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #158: Will The Lakers be Playing on 6:16 in LA with Claire De Lune

Episode Date: March 26, 2025

The guys were pleased to be joined by NBA writer (The Guardian), vocalist and songwriter for Tiny Deaths, Claire De Lune on today's episode to discuss the state of the Los Angeles Lakers now that LeBron and Rui are back in the rotation. The trio also dove into some contenders vs pretenders from around the league.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your favorite shows. Come hungry for season four. I'm ready to fight. Oh, this is fighting words. Okay. I'll put the hammer back. Hi, I'm George M. Johnson, a bestselling author with the second most banned book in America. Now more than ever, we need to use our voices to fight back.

Part of the power of Black queer creativity is the fact that we got us, you know? We are the greatest culture makers in world history. Listen to Fighting Words on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Uh oh. Now stop us if you heard this one before, but that team in Oklahoma City is on a hot streak again. And the Celtics with both teams winning.

You sound so angry. I am a little bit about it, but hey, it is what it is. They've been winning six straight, and- Thunder. I mean, other teams, like the Lakers and Mavs are getting healthy. That's one way to look at it. And hopefully with enough time to ramp up again,

but look, but we're getting into all of that and more with NBA writer, Volk, songwriter, Claire DeLune on today's episode. I'm Miles Gray. And I'm Jack O'Brien. And this is Miles and Jack Godmad Boosties! Spinning, fading, fading! Batter number 18 has been secured. The Celtics are NBA champions.

Over the double team. Oh! Night, night! Yannis with the take. Uh oh, look out. No show time. What you got, Yannis? Clare Delune, NBA writer. At The Guardian. Made of a vocalist, musician, as they say, for tiny deaths.

Not like, who was that one, the rapper who was convinced when she was in that Bobby Althoff thing, she was like, a musician? I'm not a magician. Oh, yeah, yeah. I don't remember who that was. I don't do magic. Yeah, anyway, but you are a musician

and a fantastic writer talking about, you know, like the NBA, but also a fan of one of the best teams, best teams from the best franchises in history, obviously the Los Angeles Lakers Oh, yeah, that's one of your favorites right miles one of your favorite team. Yeah, I guess I mean I don't really sort of wear my fandom just out there like that But I guess if you if you had to press me and ask me who I'm a fan of I guess I would say the Lakers Probably. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh cool who I'm a fan of. I guess I would say the Lakers probably, yeah, yeah, yeah. All day.

The streets are saying. Oh cool. The streets are saying. Suki Hana, that's right Jabari. Thank you for that one. But anyway, how have you been? Thanks for coming back. I've been good.

It's been a crazy year to be covering the NBA in LA. So, yeah. Good times. I haven't had a dull moment since October. Did you hear about the Luca trade. Yeah, is my crazy That guy's so good. Do you think something's wrong with him? What's wrong with him? What do you think's wrong with him? Honestly, I know he's actually radioactive. Yeah Given off radio a Geiger counter next that guy not Matt Ge the basketball player. No, not even his energy in the locker room.

He's literally radioactive. Oh, yeah. Like Dr. Manhattan. That's what I said. This is the first I'm hearing of this. You guys just missed my Matt Geiger joke when I'm talking about a Geiger? I think we just kind of sidestepped it.

But we can give you a pity laugh if you want. But that's radioactivity, there was science, there was old, obscure Sixers references. You know what a Geiger counter is? Matt Geiger. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I forgot about Matt Geiger.

I mean, not in my area, I don't think. No, no, no, no, no, no. Anyway, sorry. And Claire, thank you for bringing the duck down to earth. That's a reference so washed. That's what I'm here for. Thank you. Thank you for keeping us humble.

No problem. And any laughs you do here on this will be pity laughs. Pity laughs only. I'm judicious with those. Yeah. Oh, okay. Love to hear. You don't want to give people too much hope. They might go into comedy. They might start their own podcast or something. Yeah, that would be a tragedy. How do you feel, just generally Lakers heading into the postseason?

We're going to get into it in a little more detail, but you are Lakers fan. Are we allowed to say that? I feel like I try and compartmentalize. So you're a compartmentalizer professional. I think I spend so much time close to this team that there's so many human beings that work there, whether it's a player or a front office person that I wanna see happy

because I know them personally. So to that degree, I would say so, but I also like, I'm a journalist. So I try and stay relatively objective, but. Do you know the photographers too? Yeah, some of them. You know Rohan? Yeah.

Yeah, that's my boy. That's my boy Rohan. He's a Disney heart. He's a fantastic guy. He's a lovely smile. Anyway, to's my boy. That's my boy, Rohan. He's a Disney heart. He's a fantastic guy. He's a lovely smile. Anyway, to answer your question, Jack, I think that this is, it's not a great time to have kind of lost momentum,

which is what it seems like is happening to them right now, because obviously like reintegrating Rui and LeBron, and they lost several games while LeBron was out. They were down, you know, a lot of guys for a while there. And it seems like they're kind of just they've kind of just lost a little bit of momentum, kind of like getting that back. Obviously not a super opportune time to have to do that with the playoffs, you know, sort of hovering in the in the not too far distance.

But I'm not like panic button level. Sure. Yet I do. I just, you know, as a Sixers fan, I do always remember the year that they went into the playoffs on a winning streak, like a 19 game winning streak and beat like got hurt halfway through it. It was Ben Simmons rookie year and it was like Sixers are the hottest team in the NBA. They're going all the way and it didn't mean anything. Yeah, Yeah, there is that. There is. And I think that like generally is a good rule of thumb to keep in mind is like how people are playing heading into the playoffs rarely carries over. I feel like I would just say like Dallas last year, I feel like is an example of the opposite where, you know, they had a really rough start to the season and they kind of caught fire at like the exact right time. And it took them all the way to the NBA finals.

But I do agree with you that it's not, it's not necessarily like a death sentence by any means. It's also not like a guarantee of playoff success. It's just sort of like, you want to be playing your best basketball or at least ramping up towards it around now. Like now is the time you would like to start really kind of like rounding into form. And I feel like the Lakers were on that trajectory and then injuries kind of set them back a little bit and they just don't have a ton of time to ramp up for the playoffs.

Sure. But better they happen when they did and not in the playoffs. Right. No, a hundred percent. And that's just, I think health is very important. I say this thing that nobody else says that health staying healthy is a skill in and of itself. Yeah, I agree with that. And I also think shot making is important.

You do say that too. I'm a unique thinker. Yeah. A bit of a basketball philosopher. I've never heard either of those takes before. So this is really enlightening for me. He's like, yeah, the thing is your team's gotta have the bigger number than the other team

at the end. Yeah. Yeah, at the end of the game, not in the middle. At the end. I actually have NBA fans come by. I sit on my couch, I close my eyes and they just play game tape for me. And I'm like, shot making, you need to add shot making. This is really kind of bringing back the imposter syndrome that I had early in my career because I just feel like you're just blowing my mind. I'm trying to bring in some Rick Rubin for the, so you can relate as both an NBA writer and a songwriter.

Yeah, absolutely. And then just real quick, best LeBron song. And why is it an animal? It's the, I think it's the OG. The OG is the one that gets stuck in my head the most. What about? And you know what, can I tell you guys something? I was gonna ask LeBron about the trend on TikTok.

They had, their last home game though was like a really depressing blowout against the Bulls. So I pretty much never ask a question in the locker room unless I absolutely need to after a loss and especially after a bad loss. But my plan had been to ask him if he's heard the songs, what he thinks of them. Yeah. What's his favorite? What's the one he's listening to on his headphones as he goes?

Yeah, because I'm like almost certain he has, you know, so like he's a millennial. He's he's online enough that there's no way he's seen them on Instagram reels, but not tick tock. Yeah. Right. Right. He's like, I don no, that's brown. Which one's the OG was what's that? LeBron, LeBron, LeBron James. Yeah, yeah, there it is.

Man in the mirror. Then there's the new Katy Perry. I glazed LeBron. I haven't heard that one. Did you guys hear the press conference earlier this season where JJ used the word glazing? Like he was like giving LeBron. He was saying LeBron has been playing at like a first team all defense level.

And he was like, the kids are gonna say I'm glazing. And I was just like, this is proof that JJ is still very online, even though he doesn't post anymore. Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's lurking. But also maybe doesn't know what glazing means if he's dropping that. No, I think that's actually accurate. But anyway, the game of the week, we were touching on that. Game of but anyway the game of the week we were touching on that week you can blame it all on me we had okay see at the Clippers

on Sunday which was a pretty which is a real close one 103 101 Thunder took that one away Shay by the way this was not the game of the week. OK, so it was supposed to be the clip. It was the Grizzlies at Clippers. Jawa's hurt. And so using our powers as broadcasters, we flexed it. Yeah. And I changed it to OKC at Clippers. And I think a much better game. We are. Yeah. We flexed it.

That is such an such a overly overly self-aggrandizing term for just like changing the schedule because he did a bad job making it in the first place. We flexed one. You mean you messed up initially? Sorry, you have to flex on that one. I would imagine your Philadelphia 76ers have been flexed several times.

Oh, we've been flexed on. Yes, absolutely. Which is a shame because they're, like it's actually very entertaining to be rooting for them to lose every game from this point forward. It's a different kind of entertainment. They're in a real dead heat with the nets. It's pretty exciting because, so they're now currently have the fifth worst record

in the league. Our pick is top six protected. If they land in seven, it goes back to the pick goes to OKC. But when the title is the funniest thing ever to me, like the fact that the Sixers could have the kind of season that they've had and OKC could end up in OKC gets their pick. Yeah, it is. It is very funny, Claire. And I'm glad you think it's funny, too, because I think it's hilarious.

You sweat it sometimes. Keep myself because I think it's hilarious. He's sweating. Sometimes keep myself up laughing all night over it. You're like so hard, I'm crying. I'm not sweating. You are. Yeah, exactly. So they need to lose everything from here on out. They just need to keep losing to protect themselves from that scenario.

From that inevitability. It's entertaining, I'll tell you what. Shay didn't look great. He was 7 of 29 from the floor. Oh, in the game of the week. Game of the week. It's entertaining, I'll tell you what. Shea didn't look great. He was 7 of 29 from the floor. Oh, in the game of the week. Game of the week. Yeah, exactly, in that one.

But you know, they were a Chet List. They still figured, you know, how to play it off. My boy Alex Caruso still had another, you know, did okay. I love watching him just be the young man we always knew him to be. But yeah, they're 28 and seven on the road this season. 33 and 11 versus the Western Conference, 26 and 31 versus the Eastern Conference. They are fourth in offensive efficiency,

first in defensive efficiency, first in steals, fourth in blocks, first in deflections, first in loose balls, recovered. Yeah, they just play harder than everyone. Yeah. And that's actually a bad thing because they're not gonna be playing harder than everyone in the playoffs. And so they're actually screwed, man.

I mean, my thing is like, I don't think there's anything left to learn about them as a regular season team. I think they've proven they're the best team in basketball in the regular season. The thing we're going to learn is how that translates to the playoffs, because we haven't seen it translate yet. I have no reason to believe that it won't. But like, that's the thing is possible. There's no one sitting here like, like, oh, yeah, they're not like

an incredible, like historically great regular season team. Like, I think everyone, even people who doubt them in the playoffs feel that way. But we have seen to your earlier point, like regular season success is not a direct, you know, like one for one with postseason success. Like it makes me think of the Phoenix Suns a couple years ago when they were like the best team in basketball with a bullet all year long. They were incredible. And then they got upset by Dallas lost at home in game seven. I think it was in the second round. So, you know, that's that's the thing. That's what I'm keeping my eye on is like, is this the kind of team that's like susceptible to an upset or not in the playoffs?

But overall, but like you said, you're like, but you feel that it will translate on some level. I think it'll be fine. I mean, like, you know, injuries, obviously like injuries are the one sort of X factor of the playoffs that you just can't, especially a team that's been playing that hard all year, like that's the one sort of X factor you can't really account for.

But assuming everyone stays healthy, like I have no reason to believe right now that OKC isn't coming out of the West. Right. Scariest matchup for OKC in the playoffs. Yeah. That's a great question. Um, last year you'll remember they lost to a Luka Doncic and the, and the Dallas Mavericks.

But so, and this, a lot of people aren't talking about this, but Luca Donchich is no longer on the Dallas Mavericks. He actually got traded to Lakers. And so now he plays on the same team as LeBron James, the man on the Lakers. Yeah. I'm just asking you to say his name. I don't think as a team, they're the worst,

the Lakers are the worst matchup for OKC. So this is going to sound counterintuitive. As a team on paper, I think OKC is actually a bad matchup for the Lakers. However, I think LeBron and Luca are a nightmare matchup for anybody in the playoffs. And I would still pick the Lakers as the most likely other team to come out of the West. If it is not Oklahoma city. Oh, okay. Okay. I mean the West is a, like it is so stacked from top to bottom. Like there's just so many good teams right now.

So right now as we record this Thunder first seed, rocket second, nuggets, third Lakers,, Grizz fifth, warriors are coming on strong, their sixth, the Clippers are gonna be in the play-in, the Wolves seven and three over the last 10 are gonna be in the play-in, and then down below you got the Kings and the Suns, not as scary. I would say the worst matchup

is maybe the Warriors for them, actually. Like that would be- For OKC. Yeah, that would be the one that I would say the worst matchup is maybe the Warriors for them, actually. Like that would be okay. Yeah, that would be the one that I would be more concerned about because the Warriors are also pretty deep as far as like, you know, perimeter athleticism and defense, and all the things that okay, so you kind of hangs their hat on and then they have they can go star for star with Steph and Shay. And then like I mean I would argue this is maybe a hot take I would argue like Jimmy Butler over you know is on par with chat or J Dub right now. So that that would be a team that I feel like that would be an interesting series at the very least. I don't know you

know. J Dub is the like that I remember you know I a OKC on like a big like I bet on them to win the title last year in the off season. So I had a big like stood to make some money if they won the title. And so I was really rooting for them against Dallas and the J-dub of it was, you know, even with that, I mean, it was did, but it was, it's not fun to rely on the people on that team who aren't SGA or at least it wasn't last year. They've obviously been much better this year, but it's still like they are amazing. They had, they have a lot of death, but like that number two, three score is just like not as reliable as you want it to be.

And I think that's why I'm high on the Lakers as like a potential like second choice to come out of the West is because I think in the majority of series they end up in, they have to, if not all the series they end up in in the West, they have two of the three best players on the floor in Luca and LeBron. And in some of those series, two of the two best players on the floor, like the top two. So I think pretty much against everyone except for Shea and then Denver, they arguably probably have the best player on the floor

at any given time. So I think that's why I'm higher on them. Yeah, that makes sense to me. Myles is just giddy over there. Well, let's get into the Lakers. But first, we'll take a quick break. We'll be right back to discuss the Los Angeles Lakers after this. How do you do that? Have you ever wondered if your pet is lying to you? Why is my cat not here? And I go in and she's eating my lunch.

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So the Lakers. Okay. I say, how you do that? The Brown Lakers 3, I say, how you do that? I said, I'm a Lakers fan. I'm a Lakers, 43-28. So the Lakers. So the Lakers. I say, how you do that? LeBron Lakers 3, I say, how you do that? I said, I look at you. You guys are so high up in defensive efficiency. How you do that?

So right now, the thing that's happening with the fans, losers of three straight and seven out of 10, we're just getting LeBron and Rui back in the starting lineup and other guys in the rotation that have been in and out as well And that was a huge thing. What's like? Well, let's just live with people like really come back and we can we can vandal we can really see how this is all gonna work Out. Yeah, and that game against the Bulls was Bubba Sparks as Bubba Sparks would say ugly

Yeah, but again, I think the Yeah, but again, I think the do this part reference, but thank you so much Look, I try and only do things at least a minimum 20 years old if not if not, I don't know what my benefit Yes, yes. Yes, and he had three X's in his name. I don't know if you remember that detail But this team I think again a lot of people like what's happened what happened to the defense. It was a mirage I think again a lot of people like what's happened what happened to the defense. It was a mirage This is I told you it was fake nonsense Now part of me is saying they are exhausted and there are some sustainability issues here And maybe that's something we can take a look at before saying this is an absolute disaster what happened? Sorry, we're gonna be playing the Mavs and the play-in. Like people thinking like that's how far off

it's gonna fall. But from what we've seen, that the things we saw did not feel like flukes. Granted there obviously there's a little bit of inconsistency right now, but I chalk a lot of that up to fatigue. Now Claire, and because of that, I've adjusted a little bit my expectations

from being completely out of this world and being like, hang up the banner, number 18 is going up. To a little bit like, okay, I'll be happy if we get to like the Western Conference finals, that'll be respectable. How do you see just sort of this recent run of games and put that into context for someone like me who wants to believe more?

Or maybe I'm believing just the right amount. I think you can believe, I mean, I don't think it should deter your belief that they have, you know, a championship ceiling. But I think it has exposed some real flaws. Like, for example, like you were saying, the defense, like, obviously, their defense was incredible for months. Part of that was just like, super high effort. And like playing super, super hard. And like, I don't know how sustainable that is. Additionally, like I think teams are maybe starting to game plan a little bit

now that they have a sample size of how they are playing defense. And so you're starting to see that show up. My biggest concern from this sort of losing streak is more so Rui Hachimura's health. Like he said in a postgame press conference the other day that he feels like his knee is at about 70 to 80 percent and that he doesn't think it'll be able to fully recover until the off season when he can rest it. Because rest is really the only thing that will help his I think his tendonitis and his knee. So that's concerning because I think the highest level of Rui, like Rui at his 100%, was really important to this team.

And was kind of fundamental to a lot of what was working. So that's like my biggest concern. LeBron just looks like someone who's missed a couple weeks. Like I think he'll ramp up. I think the team is just reintegrating a couple guys that missed a lot of time and that's gonna take time. I think they have tended to play down to worse teams, which is like they're losing to sub 500 teams.

I think that's been kind of characteristic of this team over the last few years. I still think they have a really high ceiling, especially because I don't think they've even hit their offensive ceiling with Luca and LeBron yet, and Austin, of course. But I do think that you're seeing some flaws exposed. And, you know, I would also point out like this roster was not constructed

with Luka Dantujan in mind, it was constructed with Anthony Davis in mind. And they haven't had an offseason to really address that. So I think anything beyond, you know, like the second round would be probably like some level of overachieving, like whether it's the conference finals, finals, championship based on the sort of like haphazardness of the roster right now. But I still think they, you know, I would be, I would not be surprised at all if they made the conference finals. And I do think they have a shot at making the finals.

Yeah, I mean, I think just talking about the Mavericks, I think, like, in context, we weren't necessarily like being like, yeah, we need to build this team around Luka Doncic. It happened. Whereas the Mavs were like, we need Anthony Davis. And that's what we're needing. And I think just the fact that we kind of, not as if we stumbled upon this, but the way it came together.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm like, you know what? No, I think just in a more practical sense, there would need to be just a little bit more time for the roster to kind of actually form, like harden in a way that it's coming together with the right team and also just their chemistry. Harden like James, exactly.

Take a step back. I mean, so maybe we should be talking about the Mavericks then because they seem to be the ones who were intending to build this roster. They're doing exactly what they wanted to. So let's see where, oh, sorry. No, we won't actually talk about that. Welcome back AD though.

I think it's commendable. Yeah. Yeah. My dumb basketball brain is just like, well, I didn't think it was the Mavericks heading into last year's playoffs. And Luka Doncsic was good enough that he was able to just like drag them there.

And now he has LeBron James on, And now he has LeBron James on, and now he has LeBron James on his team. So maybe again, maybe he'd do that again. Maybe again, I picked them as my dark horse to come out of the West last year in our like Guardian pre-playoffs predictions. Dang. And they were a five or six seed, I think.

So I feel that's like one of my best hot takes ever. I did not have that. I did not have that on my bingo card. No, I think. So I feel that's like one of my best hot takes ever. I did not have that. I did not have that on my bingo card. No, I was thinking, I was just like, they're good, dude. We gotta go into this next segment, which is where we ask you to tell us if somebody's a contender or a pretender.

And before we even get to the teams that we had, who is your dark horse for the two divisions? Who you got coming out of the East, if it's not like one of those teams? If there is another situation like last year where I don't think anybody had the Mavs coming out other than you. Other than me.

Other than me. Yeah. Who would you say could, maybe we don't even do the East because I do think it's gonna be. It's gonna be one of those two. Yeah, yeah. The Celtics or the Cavs. But who out of the West could you see be in the dark horse?

Would you say like, so should we put aside the Lakers now since you already know that that's one of them? So we are, yeah, we are putting aside the Lakers. I think the consensus seems to be even if they're not, they don't end up as the top two seed, that they, it's like them or the thunder, possibly because the Lakers just get so much coverage in the national media. But I do feel like they're not

sneaking up on anybody. Right. I would say I would go the Warriors. I think they are an example of a team that's kind of getting hot at the right time. I think the Jimmy Butler trade just really, really like reinvigorated Stefan Draymond. I'm a huge Jimmy Butler apologist, believer. Like I've never sold my Jimmy Butler stock at any of these stops. I think he's the kind of guy where it's like, if you pay him, he's fine. Like he's not going to cause problems. He just wants to get paid for his services. So I think he's paid. He's happy. He still hasn't won a championship, but he would love to. So I think, you know. What a prima donna. Yes, he demands to be paid.

Hey, I know, right? I feel like the narrative is just like, oh, he's such a curmudgeon in every stop. It's like he does great everywhere he is until the front office doesn't want to pay him, you know, whatever the max is that he can get paid. And then he causes issues until they send him somewhere where he can get that money. So I don't know, I feel like, you know, in this economy, relatable. But-

Yeah, know your worth, honey, know your worth. Know your worth. That's what we say, exactly. He's also one of the biggest playoff risers that we've seen in the last decade. He's someone who absolutely elevates his game to the moment and Steph is the same. So I think I would definitely not count out the Warriors. I think they're deep. I think they have good defense

I think they have they could have the best player on the floor on any given night So yeah Has there ever been anybody as who it was as consistent about just like being a whole step better in the playoffs? Like not like somebody who always comes up in the clutch in the playoffs, but like somebody who just was like, yeah, and then I take it like to another notch and I play like a first team all NBA player, even though I'm not even in that conversation

in the regular season. It's a great question. Cause I feel like all the people you think of who you're like incredible playoff performers are also like top 10, top 15 players in the regular season. So I don't know. He might be, I mean, they call him Playoff Jimmy. Like he has a whole separate name

for how he is in the playoffs. So yeah. It's him and I guess, you know, Paul George, Playoff P. The two people with playoff nicknames then. Yeah. That's why I have big hopes for the Sixers. Just like looking at listicles from certain like, you know, basketball outlets and things,

talking about like the top playoff performers, and you're just describing like the top five, you know, like they're just all time players. Michael Jordan was really good in the playoffs. Number one, Michael Jordan. I mean, number two, LeBron. LeBron James, yeah. Number three, Shaq.

It's like, okay. I will say it to like, not to be like a super LeBron Homer, but I will say with LeBron, like he's obviously incredible in the regular season as well, but he is someone who I would say his play gets better and better and better and better, like almost to like a mathematical degree as he ramps up for the playoffs, generally speaking,

like barring injury. Like I think he's not like a, he's like a marathon, not a sprint kind of guy. Right. You know what I mean? So that's not the same as Jimmy, but he's almost always better in the playoffs than he was in the regular season, regardless of how good he was in the regular season. And even if it's a little quiet,

it feels like he's doing that thing where he's like, he's merely taking a deep breath before exerting himself. And that's what you see when things begin to seemingly be like less than optimal. But so what, contender, pretender or chicken tender? Shall we do it? Yeah, let's do it. Wait, what is chicken?

Can you define chicken tender? I don't know, I just wanted to add that. Should we have a third category? Yeah, like fun, delicious, little crispy. Fun, delicious, but not trying to be anything other than what they are? Maybe not, yeah, not a full chicken meal, just a chicken tender.

Yeah, or a contender for the NBA finals. Yeah, so contender, pretender, they're just pretending to be good and there is malice in their soul. They're trying to trick people. Chicken tender, they're fun, we like them. They're just not, yeah, yeah, they're just more of a one night thing.

They're not, you know. You're for dipping. Yeah. Yeah, they're for dipping Not not for a full full meal. No the calves contender pretender chicken chicken tender contender for contender Okay, and you're not you're not scared off by the it was so they had a four game losing streak I think that's okay. I'm not worried about that. It was weird. Like everybody they played,

it was almost like their winning was a communicable disease where like everybody they played started playing out of their minds. And then like the Suns was the last one, the Suns beat them and now the Suns have been like playing really well for the first time. Losing to the Suns is tough. It's a tough look.

Losing to the Suns is tough, but now the Suns have been good ever since. I feel like- But I think, yeah. Yeah. They're like, what was that movie? Good luck, Chuck. Yeah, one of the worst movies of all time. It's truly terrible stuff.

But the premise was this is the guy who you sleep with and then you meet your partner for life. Like they, this is the team on this road swing. This is the the calves were the team you played and suddenly like figured your team out. Yeah, I just feel like they've been playing really, really well, really consistently, like, like scary consistently. How many losses do they have in the season? Like they've just been playing out of their minds from since October. I think it's natural to,

they have the number one seed locked up with a bullet. 14 losses. 14 losses total. They have the number one seed. It's not even close. No one's gonna come close to taking that number one seed from them, not even Boston. So it's kinda natural, I think,

to have a little bit of a letdown when you're like, okay, let's just get to the playoffs. We have the number one seed locked up. So I'm not concerned. They're a contender contender All right. They're they are four and a half games up on them on the celtics So it would be tough for the celtics to catch them Uh up next who we got miles clippers contender pretender chicken tender pretender

Wow, you think there is Malice malice in their soul? Malicious intent. I think I just hear people talking about them like, oh, don't forget about the Clippers. They're playing really well. And it's like, I think we've earned the right to forget about the Clippers at this point. I think that there's been enough years of evidence for me to not like hitch my wagon to Kawhi Leonard and James Harden in the playoffs. And they look awesome. They're so fun.

They're playing great. That not signing Paul George thing is looking incredible. It's aging like a fine wine. Yeah, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. Okay. I'm sorry, I had that trade, eternal sunshine of the spotless minded out of my brain. So I actually don't.

Understandable, honestly. Who? But yeah, so I just don't think like, Trade eternal sunshine of the spotless minded out of my brain. So I actually understandable But yeah, so I just don't think like I think they're they're a contender to upset someone in the first round But I don't think they're a contender contender. They can't win for playoff rounds. I would be fold over like right now They would go against Houston. That could be an interesting series. Yeah. All right. Last one. Nuggets. I mean, this one's kind of putting this on a platter for you.

They're named after one of these things. Yeah. They're a chicken. No, I'm just kidding. I want to say chicken tenders so bad. Cause it's just comedic. It's fun. It's just right there.

Yeah, yeah, I know. Here's a hot take. I think they're a pretender. Whoa. Yeah. You hear that, Yoke-ich? Yep. You stink. It's not Yoke. Yeah. You hear that, Jokic? Yep. You stink. It's not Jokic.

You're trying to fool people. It's everything but Jokic. It's everything else. Jokic is amazing. And if he had like even one more helpful player, I would probably put them in the contender tier. This is like, I think I'm on an island with this take. I think pretty much everyone I know has them as a contender.

They are not that good this year. They beat up on bad teams. They have a losing record against teams above 500. Obviously, like Jamal Murray is another sort of playoff riser. He's someone who does a lot better in the playoffs than in the regular season historically, but I just don't think they have enough in their supporting cast this year and like you don't need, you know, obviously rotation, shorten in the playoffs. You don't need, you know, obviously rotation shortened in the playoffs. You don't need to have a ton of depth, but you need to have someone

besides Jokic, you know what I mean? You can't play one on five. Their defense is atrocious. It's been bad all season. I think they're like 20 something ranked in defense and like as good as their offenses, I just don't think you can win four playoff rounds with like a bottom of the league defense So they're a pretender to me

Incredible incredible hot takes you heard it here first. It's gonna be they bring me for that's right Lakers Warriors Western Conference finals Yeah, everybody else For sure like was my number one choice to come out of the West Like you heard it here first Claire thinks the Yep And we didn't put the Celtics in there

So we also think they stink and have no chance chicken tender chicken tender. Chicken tender. Chicken tender. Chicken tender. Chicken tender. Chicken tender. Chicken tender. Actually, they would be pretenders. They have malice in their heart. They're not fun and dimpable. They're just Slytherin contenders.

Do you know what I'm saying? Slytherin. They are Slytherin. There it is. Right? Like everybody can be. I feel like the Celtics as an organization has Slytherin energy and I fight me. You should.

And the same color scheme too. You know what I mean? Is that a coincidence? There are no coincidences. I don't know. There are none. There are none. In the hypothetical off season for this show, we should just go through and group every NBA team by what Harry Potter house they are. I've done that, I'm so sure.

Oh you have? I have. I feel like that's, and wait, so who's in Slytherin? How many of the Celtics would you put in Slytherin? Like, oh, I haven't done individual players. I just said teams. Oh, which teams, teams, teams, teams? That would be a lot of work.

It wasn't to do the team. But Celtics were a Slytherin. Yeah, for sure. What were the labels? It was by here too. It was like, I was like thinking of like, I didn't do every single team, but I was like, oh, this team from this year is definitely a Slytherin. This team, like for example, the Cavs in 2016, Gryffindor vibes, such Gryffindor vibes,

even the color scheme. The spurt like the Tim Duncan spurs, Slytherin vibes to me personally. Interesting. OK. I thought they were like more harmless dumb dumbs, but like not not. And I feel like the nuggets have like the championship nuggets had Hufflepuff energy. Hufflepuff. That's what I was thinking. Yeah. Who's Ravenclaw? I know. Right. Memphis. Championship nuggets had Hufflepuff energy. Hufflepuff, that's what I was thinking.

Who's Ravenclaw? I know, right? Memphis? I don't think, it's like super cerebral. Like who plays like, I guess Golden State? It's like super like high level cerebral brand of basketball vibes. I would say Golden State. I'm trying to do this game having only read

like one of the books. I haven't read them since I was a child, but I'm very familiar. It's like the, this is like- With the vibes, yeah. This is like straight man astrology. I feel like how Harry Potter houses. Yeah, exactly. And I'm a big astrology person. So I kind of know every shout out Susan Miller. Yep. And then rename all the, uh, all the players as JK Rowling would name them. Oh, actually we're out of time. That would be too offensive.

Let's take a quick break. What's that? We'll be right back. Have you ever wondered if your pet is lying to you? Why is my cat not here? And I go in and she's eating my lunch. Or if hypnotism is real? We will use this suggestion in order to enhance your cognitive control.

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This is Levertown, a new podcast from iHeart Podcasts, Bloomberg and Kaleidoscope. Listen to Levertown ong's Big Take podcast. Find it on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Prohibition. It's no secret that banning alcohol didn't stop people from living it up in the 1920s. When we're five years into Prohibition, the government is starting to go, okay, this isn't working.

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people. To find out, listen and subscribe to Snafu on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ever wonder what it would be like to be mentored by today's top business leaders? My podcast, This Is Working, can help with that. Here's advice from Google CMO Lorraine Twohill on how to treat AI like a partner. I see AI as an incredible co-pilot. You may use different tools or toys to get the work done, but ultimately as editor, as creator, as maker, you own it. And it needs to be good. AI is just the latest flavor of that. You're still the judge of what good looks like. I'm Dan Roth, LinkedIn's editor-in-chief. On my podcast, This Is Working,

leaders like Indra Nooyi, Ray Dalio, and Rich Paul share strategies for success and the real lessons that have shaped them. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. And we're back. Hey baby, we're back. Any kind of fool could see. Damn, I sang that so well.

We have to worry about this episode being taken down. The sound sweeper catching that one? Yeah, the sound sweeper. It was the real thing? Nah, just worry about the street sweepers, fam. Guess what? Claire de Lune is a fourth quarter rapid fire round of questioning. The sound sweeper catching that one? Yeah, the sound sweeper. It was the real thing? Nah, just worry about the street sweepers, fam. Guess what, Claire de Lune, it's the fourth quarter rapid fire round of questioning.

We love having you on the show and you are pretty good at being, you know, bantering with us. But I just want you to know that in this segment, we will be rude. We'll be very rude if you take too long. We're about speed right now. Okay. Yep. You already know it's the too long. We're about speed right now. Okay. Yep. You already know it's the fastest question

and answer segment in all podcasting history. We ask you a question, you just fire the answer right back. Are you ready? I think so. Brian start the clock. Oh my God. He's so angry. I care.

Oh my God. I care. He's really mad this time, you guys. All right, Jack, who's going first? You going first or am I going first? I'm gonna go first. All right, that's okay with you Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead. So Claire. Yes, Doc Rivers recently said The he doesn't get enough credit for winning three games and playoff series where he blew three one leads

No one tells a real story and I'm fine with that. It's unfair in some ways I don't get enough credit for getting the three wins. I get credit for losing. I always say what if we had lost to Houston in six Apparently he always says that no one cares Anyways, you want more credit for the three wins He won in the series where he blew through on lead just reminder He's blown three three one leads in the course of his career in the playoffs There are 13 total in the history of the league. He's got three of them 350 coaches who've coached in the playoffs. He's blown five three two leads One two lead, but he's never been swept baby

What's another skill that you think we're under appreciating in the NBA? That was the preamble for that question What's another skill that you think we're underappreciating in the NBA? That was the preamble for that question. I had to jam this in there somewhere. I was so impressed by his ability to, you know, find a skill. Like, what about the three wins? And I'll open my next question with a Darwin Ham quote. I forget the question.

I'm sorry. What's another underappreciated skill that isn't actually a skill that we should appreciate more? Grabbing the camera and then showing it to the ref to show them that LeBron James got fouled at the end of Lakers' Celtic. It's only happened one time in history, but it was an incredible skill.

And I think he deserves more credit. I screamed. The forethought to grab the camera. Yeah, let me get that. It was just so weird to see Pat Bev holding a camera. He's clearly never held a camera. Definitely has not held a camera because my father's a photographer.

If I grabbed a camera by the lens like that, he would have lifted me to the sky and I would have floated away. But yeah, Pat Bev, love that gesture. Love that gesture. Good answer. Just creative, a creative way to show the refs that they messed up.

Next question, Claire. Garvin Ham once said, uh-huh? And here's my question. Who's the more dominant player, Luca and Kobe's era or Kobe in today's era? It's really hard to be fast when you guys are being so funny In this era yes, I

Kobe in this era Yeah Anything and that's with that game that he had then or is it just knowing that he would add Wrinkles to his game to make him- No, I think to make it fair, it's like you just- Oh, take them as is. So I was gonna say, like, Kobe's such a psycho competitor.

I just feel like he's the kind of person who would like figure it out. Yeah, exactly. I don't know. I think they both have skill sets that translate very well to both eras. Is that a political cop outout answer? Mm-hmm Yeah, I know

We'll take it Luca what they'd be like this guy's a gimmick. He shoots so many threes actually, maybe okay Wait, I'm changing my answer to it would be Luca because he's just like a sort of pudgy looking Balkan dude And that had never had success in the NBA before so they would definitely be like I got the white guy Yeah, I got the guy from like Slovenia or whatever. A 6'7 Arvidus Sabonis? Yeah, I think I'll check him. He's gonna get gassed. All right, you can pick any former Lakers legend to make a run with this current team. Who you got?

I'm gonna go Shaq because because I think he has the skillset that they need the most on this 12. We're missing a center, we're missing that energy. I mean, the center. Yeah, right, exactly. Can you imagine LeBron, Luka, Shaq starting lineup? Are you joking? Yeah, I'm about to fire up 2K right now

and make that happen, actually. I would would go shock over cream just because I think with with who they're gonna have to play Yeah to get me to the finals I think the imposing physicalness of Shaq is more the skill set that they're lacking. Yep. Yep. Yep Here's a bit of Lakers trivia Claire. We know Magic is the all-time triple doubles leader. Now how many can you give us after Magic on the Lakers, most triple doubles? Most triple doubles on the Lakers? Yes. LeBron's got to be up there.

Number two. 49. Is Russ up there? Russell Westbrook? No. No. He's just a triple-doubly guy in a Lakers uniform. Okay, so it has to be someone with a long tenure.

That's such a good question. They're all jerseys. They're all hanging up. They're all hanging up. Ooh. Okay. I'll do that. So it's Magic and then LeBron.

Magic, LeBron. I'm like, Kobe doesn't pass, though. He actually is. Is he up there? He did in 21 games because he's number three on the list. He's actually is. He's the number. Is he up there? He did in 21 games because he's number three on the list. Four on that list. That would have been, yeah, okay.

You got one, two, four. You're missing three and five. Can I have a hint? Old school. You were not alive to watch them play. We were not alive. Jerry West? That's number five.

Number five with a bullet. And one more, he's gotta think of, just an old school legend, old school legend. He is eligible for this. OK, keep it. I'm not going to bail you out. I was going to say, oh, good. But I was like, you got it. Good job. Well, oh, that's incredible.

Yeah, that was cheating. But I was going to say I was going to say Elgin, but then you guys, you know, I was second guessing myself. Look, I didn't want to disrespect any Laker legends. We didn't mean to do that. That was obvious. I'm shocked that Obi's on that list. Can I just say? I know. I was I'm like, those are.

Yeah, those are just. Double doubles all day. Share for double. All time defensive win shares leader. This this was interesting to me. Wait, what? I'm not expecting you to get it. But all time defensive wind shares leader. It's like a, you know, saver metric.

On the Lakers, yeah. OK. Defensive wind. Can you define defensive wind share? Like, what is your overall defensive impact according to, like, the number of wins a player contributed through their defensive play. That's right. Is it is it a D?

No, it's not. You're in the neighborhood, though. Ish. Wait, really? Like the right era? No. Oh, I'll do it. Do that statement. What you will. Yes. Although not according to AD, but yes.

Is it Kareem? It's Kareem. It's Kareem. Yay. That's why, the only reason I was like, maybe Kareem over Shaq is Kareem, all time defensive wind shares leader. I mean, I guess that's maybe at a time when everybody.

Like, yeah. When everybody drove into the paint and then did a set shot from their chest. So it was like easier to block shots. I know, I'm like Kareem playing defense right now in the 2025 NBA playoffs, might look a little different, but- Yeah, it would look a little wobbly. And last question, you are a musical talent, you appreciate music. So let's do a bit of a music question and a little bit of fantasy world building. You can create your own updated Up in Smoke Tour 2, another timely reference, using artists of today.

Give us your lineup for the Up in Smoke Tour. Who was on the original Up in Smoke Tour? It was like a rap show. It was like Redman and Methodman. I think Cypress Hill was on it, you know? I'm an agent of chaos, so let's go Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Wow. Whoa, yes.

That was easy. Like, it's like the Marie Kondo meme. I love mess. Yeah, yeah. Fantastic. Yeah, oh yeah, the real lineup, Snoop, Dre, Ice Cube, Eminem, members of D12, Corrupt. Mm-hmm. Yes, there it is.

Well, there you go. That was actually every single right answer. You nailed it. So much you've done. You've done the impossible with no hints. No, not at all. Swish from Wade from the logo. Exactly. Where do the people find you, follow you, support you, listen to you, all of that stuff? They can follow me across all social media at Claire MPLS,

and they can read my work over at the Guardian Fantastic, you can find us Obviously at miles of gray on Twitter at miles miles of great social on B sky Not Matt Jack underscore O'Brien on Twitter and at Jack OB the number one on blue sky Mm-hmm. Also follow the hashtag Mad Boosties BDL O S T I E S that's a show links and updates and be like, how did I do that? Well, you join the discord and you find out and you can also find that

invite on the hashtag search for Mad Boosties. That is going to do it for us. Oh, do we pick a game of the week? No game of the week game of the week. All right. What are our options? Yeah, yes, yes, yes. Friday, Knicks at Bucks, Saturday, Lakers at Grizz, Sunday, Clippers at Cavs.

Who you got? Who should we watch? I feel like Knicks Bucks will be interesting. Like little maybe playoff preview situation. I don't know, that could be cool. Yeah, let's go with that. All right, Knicks at Bucks. Who you got?

Me? Mm-hmm. They're both, like, the Knicks without Jalen Bremson and just the Bucks in general are, like, they could lose any game. But I'm gonna go, let's go Knicks. I have a lot of Knicks fan friends. Let's go Knicks. Well, there's your homework, y'all. Knicks at Bucks on Friday. Do your homework so you don't mess up in class when we see you next time. And players on the Knicks and Bucks, don't make us flex you out.

We don't want to have to do it again, but I will flex on you. We will do it to you. All right y'all. Bye! Have you ever wondered if your pet is lying to you? Why is my cat not here? And I go in and she's eating my lunch. Or if hypnotism is real? We will use this suggestion in order to enhance your cognitive control. But what's inside a black hole? Black holes could be a consequence of the way that we understand the universe. Well, we have answers for you in the new iHeart original podcast,

Sighing Stuff. Join me or Hitcham as we answer questions about animals, space, our brains, and our bodies. So give yourself permission to be a science geek and listen to science stuff on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2020, a group of young women found themselves in an AI-fueled nightmare. Someone was posting photos. It was just me naked. Well, not me, but me with someone else's body parts. This is Levittown, a new podcast from iHeart Podcasts, Bloomberg, and Kaleidoscope about the rise of deepfake pornography and the battle to stop it.

Listen to Levitown on Bloomberg's Big Take podcast. Find it on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Are you hungry? Colleen Witt here, and Eating While Broke is back for season four every Thursday on the Black Effect Podcast Network.

This season, we've got a legendary lineup serving up broke dishes and even better stories. On the menu, we have Tony Baker, Nick Cannon, Melissa Ford, October London, and Carrie Harper Howie turning Big Macs into big moves. Catch Eating While Broke every Thursday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your favorite shows. Come hungry for season four. I'm ready to fight. Oh, this is fighting words. Okay, I'll put the hammer back. Hi, I'm George M. Johnson, a bestselling author with the second most banned book in America. Now more than ever, we need to use our voices to fight back.

Part of the power of Black queer creativity is the fact that we got us, you know? We are the greatest culture makers in world history. Listen to Fighting Words on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.