The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #51: State of the Sixers and more with Blake Wexler

Episode Date: March 16, 2023

Jack and Producer Jabari were pleased to be joined by podcaster and comedian extraordinaire Blake Wexler for the latest episode. Beyond discussing the potential for this to be Philly's year, the trio also dove into Giannis being the best player in the world regardless of the eventual MVP voting and the Kings making postseason noiseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry.

Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Elf Beauty, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's basketball.

And on this new season, we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you get your coffee.

The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolf. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Well, well, well, it's that time again. And we're talking my Sixers. Joel Embiid and James Harden are playing good basketball together.

The Nuggets have hit a rough patch. Giannis still looks absolutely unstoppable when he gets it going. We're going to discuss that much more with comedian, podcaster Blake Wexler on today's episode. I'm Jack O'Brien. And I'm Jabari Davis. And this is Miles and Jack. Miles and Jack sometimes got mad boosties.

Sometimes. Well, you know. Three on one. Davis. Love. LeB. Well, you know. Three on one. Davis. Rob. LeBron. There you go. He can be driving, spinning, fading, hitting.

Curry, a three-pointer. Bang. Steph Curry from downtown again. Giannis with the take. Uh-oh. Look out. A little showtime. What you got, Giannis?

Wow, wow, wow. Listen to that new intro. We're almost a year in and we finally sound like a real NBA podcast. We are pros here. We are pros. I mean, I feel like that kind of sets too high a bar, actually. If I had one note, it's like, man, this is going to be an exciting podcast. Nobody who's stupid is going to talk at all. Hello. You are incorrect right off the bat.

Hello, I'm Jack. I'm an idiot. And Blake Wexler, what's happening? What's up, guys? Thanks for having me. I, too, am a moron who knows nothing at all. You fit in well. I, too, am a moron who knows nothing at all. So, yeah, I fit in perfectly in it. This was not a coincidental booking. This was because of my lack of intellect and inability to be articulate about the NBA that I was on the show.

So thank you for having me. I'm very excited. To make me look better. And we did say that specifically. We need somebody to make me look articulate by comparison. That's right. Blake is one of our favorite guests on the Daily Zeitgeist, one of our favorite comedians. And he has this quote that I'd like to read. I have been following the Sixers season closely this year, and I'm sure it's going to soon burst into flames in a freshly devastating way.

And that is very close to my heart. That is how I feel as a Sixers fan at all times. So I want to preface this episode where I think this is going to be a great episode. And I also want to preface this by saying, as a sports fan, I am a diehard sports fan to the point where sports did in some way figure back into the fact of me moving to my hometown of Philadelphia after living in Los Angeles for 10 years. When it comes to the Philadelphia Eagles, when it comes to the Phillies, when it comes to even the Philadelphia Flyers at the Philadelphia Union, I would say that I am an anxious but generally extremely positive fan.

When it comes to the Sixers. It's, it's interesting. I want them to win, but they do make me sick, both morally and physically. And I think there as an overall thing, bad for the world for society.

They hurt my friends. They hurt my family. They hurt me. I don't see a reason why they i remember when there was these rumors that josh harris might move the team to new jersey or something because he also owns the new jersey devils i think he's also putting in a bid for the washington commanders i almost felt relief yeah where i was like just get this this specter this weight this awful awful force in my life away from me and my family that being and and they do horrible things over and over and over again i am going to stop talking in a few seconds just as a matter of mental health, but they are universally, I would say, without any merit.

And there is no reason to cheer for them. Thank you so much for having me. And that's all Blake came by to say. That's all I really need or can say at the moment. I got to be honest with you guys. Having two Philly fans to have the conversation with is beautiful because look, LA fans have been accused of being toxic at times, and

we certainly are. I'll 100% cop to that personally as well as toxic to other teams. There you go. Not to ourselves. So while we expect and hope or at least somewhat cautiously optimistic about winning every year, I love Philly fans because doesn't matter like this it can be a great stretch it can

it can look incredible and you know joel and bead who we'll talk about here shortly uh can you can be playing some of the best basketball of his career you know harden looks the most comfortable he's looked in uniform and you guys will sit here and say yeah yeah, but no. Yeah, but no. I think Blake and I are specifically neurotic people and neurotic about the Sixers. Mine is built on... I've been living and dying with basketball teams since I was a child because my dad coached basketball. And so my relationship to the basketball teams that I love the most was formed at a time when my brain like did not have object permanence, you know? And so it's just very

dumb. It believes my, my basketball brain believes in magical spirits and magical forces, and there's not much I can do about it. Uh, and then, yeah, I have always just felt a certain darkness around the Sixers in particular because it's been a steady rhythm of getting very excited, having a player that I would have, like when I was playing on my little hoop in the driveway when I was a kid, I invented a seven foot three person with like amazing touch who like played like a guard and just, you know, could do anything on the bed. And he has arrived in like their time. The highs are so high. But then there has been this steady rhythm of them not being able to get out of the second round.

So I think it is. I think it's hard for the for the pessimistic Sixer fan out there. And I think Blake and I are both that, for sure. Yeah, I really like the fact that you use the word beautiful Jabari to describe our Sixers fandom. And I would imagine you're using that phrase in the same way people use the word beautiful to describe Guernica, the painting.

Where there is just a be just just dead everywhere this is funny their bodies we've gotten to guernica and the sixers have won five in a row and exactly this is this right here is why it's beautiful there was a little bit of bless your heart in there in that beautiful, but I mean, I understand. We felt it. And like a Lakers fan cannot talk about another team without being insufferable. It's just kind of important,

impossible. And I don't, I don't blame you at all. It's, it is the, like listening to a Lakers fan described the Clippers is, is unbelievable. Lakers fan described the Clippers is, is unbelievable.

It's just a master class and passive aggression and backhanded compliments that are just devastating and cut right to the heart. So, um, but we're not here to talk about the Lakers. Uh, we're here to just worry about the Sixers. Yeah.

To puke about the Sixers. Um, we won't be talking about the Sixers. Yeah, to puke about the Sixers. We won't be talking about the Sixers the whole time, though. Thank you. You read my request. Thank you so much. Can we stop this right now? Yeah, he was on his writer. I mean, so these are some things Jabari wrote down.

He wrote, hottest team in the league, winners of five straight, third best point differential in the league, 15 games left, five home, 10 away. Not great. Team is currently 19 and 12 on the road, which doesn't seem that great until you realize that like nobody has a record on the road this season for some reason. So I don't know. I don't think they're going to catch either the Celtics or Milwaukee. They're doing much better than I was expecting them to be doing at this point because they've had a lot of really difficult games over the past couple weeks and they're hanging tough and winning close games. And the thing, Blake, that I was saying last week, I think, was that this team, the thing that they've done this year

to trick me into believing that they're different from teams in the past is that they come back. Remember for the past five years, how even when they had a lead going into the fourth quarter, you were like, going into the last five minutes, it was always like they're going to find a way to lose the and it feels reverted like it does feel like they're closing this season pretty well in a way that they haven't before so that's the thing that i'm going to be holding on to until they exit the second round uh what what about you yes i i agree

with you where that is probably the most alarming thing that's going on with them right now is that they for the first time have a semblance of a soul and for so long this team was just a machine of finding new ways to shred you and to torture you and okay that this number one pick didn't work out because he didn't uh he forgot how to shoot this one before that didn't work out because he never knew how to shoot this guy had there's so many things where that should be the most devastating thing about this team that isn't even in the top 15 of like the fact that they drafted Mikhail Bridges, who was from Philadelphia, his mother worked for the team.

And then they immediately just traded him right after that, right after they drafted him. He had to put on the little hat and everything. And he thought he was going to play for his hometown team. That is one championship with Villanova, I believe. Yeah. Yeah.

Great Valley high school. Yeah. And which, which we, I, which I had to bring up, but I didn't go there, but I do know which high school he went to.

And then he was traded for a guy who we draft instead of him, who was nearly killed by sesame seeds because the team cook didn't know that he had that allergy. So, yeah. And that's number 19 and 20 of the most horrible things. So you now have a, you got rid of ben simmons and that was also

all sorts of sad where you wanted things to work out and you now have this team where james harden who i thought best case scenario andre miller at the beginning of the year and he is all andre miller and much much more so he has been great they're coming back from 20 point like i think twice in the past week or two they came back from 20 point deficits and joelle and bead who is the only person on this team that you could possibly have any love in your heart for was leading those those comebacks and i am i am going to try to stop being so negative i am going to try to do it so now you have this team that you do feel oh wow like there is some magic to them where i think before it was a lot of this it was why you can't pair the two stars together and you were so preoccupied with that and now you

actually have a team where oh i actually you have a player who's capable of putting a smile on your face and tyrese maxi and it is a very it it's and this is why it's gonna be so much worse when i'm falling into it myself just like you said jack where's yeah, I'm pulling for them and they have a heartbeat now and that should be very exciting in a vacuum. In a vacuum. The Embiid game winner against Portland, was it? This past week was very fun.

Maxi gets knocked to the floor, no whistle. In it comes to Joel. Nurkacanin, five seconds to go. There you go. Embiid driving, spinning, fading, hitting! 1 five seconds to go. There you go. Embiid driving, spinning, fading, hitting! 1.1 to go! Absolutely unstoppable! Yeah, again, comebacks are really fun to watch.

There's, I don't know, the MVP conversation is so weird at this point, but Jabari did put together a compilation of people just scoring on yokich like he's not there that really warmed my heart warmed my cold broken heart like the one thing i will say is one of my favorite moments of the season was when you know the sixers played Milwaukee, 16 game winning streak on the line. And Giannis kept going at Embiid. And every time he would run into Embiid's body, he would lose the ball because he just like didn't, he was like, what wall did I just run into? Embiid is a force like that. Like, I think he has a gravitate, like they talk about, well,

this guy's a good shooter. He has his own gravity on the court. I think Embiid has gravitational pull from physics because he's that much bigger than everybody. So that was exciting. He's immovable even for Giannis, who's the best at scoring when he gets to the rim and gets his body into somebody. And Jokic is not.

No. I didn't expect to use this sentence today but yannis does you're talking about someone who has the best body in the world like yannis has the best body out of any human being in the entire world and his best body ran into joel's body and bounced off of it which is saying a lot and i wonder yeah with the mvp thing just another just just another issue in the scheme of the sixers but what do you guys think about the fact where a lot of people whether yana or i'm sorry whether jokic uh deserves it or not people have compared it to the steve nash mvps often where if're a voter, I don't know if you guys are or not. But if you are a voter, they know better than to give us votes.

They're smart. They've heard. They're fans of the show, and that's why they will not give you a vote. Absolutely not. How much should that figure into as a voter? It's like, can we give this guy three MVPs or should that not figure in at all? I'll be honest with you. That's the part that bothers me the most. And the reason is, is, you know, what has happened in the past or what

has not happened in the past shouldn't impact this. It's kind of the same conversation that we were having. Was it 60? It's crazy to think seven years ago now when Steph was just about to win his unanimous MVP and people were like, well, Jordan never won a unanimous MVP and Hakeem never. And it's like, yeah, well, all those things may be true, but that has nothing to do with how Steph played in that individual year. I get it on the Jokic thing. If people want to say, well, last year or whenever it was, when they were like a five seed or whatever, he shouldn't have gotten it then. And if you want to have that debate, that's fine. But I don't think it's fair to Jokic if that is the reason why you're not going to give it to him i'm not saying you know that he's the you know he's a

clear-cut guy and you have to vote for him but if that is your reasoning that that just seems unfair i think it's fine to not give it to him for any number of reasons yeah i agree yeah i think you make a lot of sense already javari just gave a long thought out answer but you just saying that i seem to connect with what you're saying a lot more for some reason I think his performance against Embiid when Embiid dominated him I think this compilation of people scoring like he's not

there and in fact seeming to design their offense to attack him that I have sent to league office every day for the past three days I don't know I think it's all fine I think the MVP award is like that I have sent to league office every day for the past three days. No, I don't know. I think it's all fine.

I think the MVP award is like a sports writers like narrative award. And everyone's like, well, we're talking about this with our grandkids from like years from now. And I'm like, I won't be talking about this with my grandkids. You're showing your grandkids your old timeline like your archive timeline like look hey i was on the right side of history with this yeah yeah i have a tweet somewhere after we drafted jalil okafor or i was like we're so big that was factual yeah i think we had girl it's noel and jalil okil Oak. We're so big. Yeah, that aged well. And then Embiid was a draft picker on there. They were just big centers.

We had all three. We were big. We anticipated the future of the league there. Light years ahead. What we need is a center who can score with his back to the basket. We need New Orleans, Noel at the three.

We need Jalil Okafor at the four. Joel at the five. And we'll have Dario Saric at the two. There you go. A 6'10 Croatian who can't move. And then whoever. And Michael Carter-Williams at the one. Who also can't move.

Yeah, I think if we had kept that team together, we would have won two, three titles. Alright. In terms of playoff matchups, Jabari was asking me, do I have a preferred matchup? I feel good about anyone except the Celtics. Like, even if we

could get the Bucks in the second round, I would feel better about that than I would getting the Celtics in the second round. I would feel better about that than I would getting the Celtics in the second round. I just don't, they, the Sixers don't match up well with the Celtics. It's,

they will lose a seven game series. Everyone else. I feel like the Sixers have a chance personally. I completely agree with you. And the Celtics, not even matchup wise, which is also why we would lose with points, how they count points,

right? Just mentally, wise which is also why we would lose with points how they count points right just mentally any nationally televised game that the sixes are playing the celtics i will not go near because there's just no right there's no new parts yeah i don't want no parts of it so yeah hopefully i mean i don't think the seating is going to work out this way like there's no way they'll get knocked out we because right now we would face the bucks right in the second round is that no we would place the face the celtics in the second round oh jesus yeah we should fix that yeah yeah we would have to drop to the four seed to play be careful trying to get cute with that position. I know, exactly. I don't, like, and probably the Bucks would also beat the Sixers, but I just, the Celtics, I have no hope, personally. No.

Out West, the matchups are interesting. Currently, it would be the Kings hosting the Clippers in the 3-6. Give that to me. Give that to me. I already sounded hungry and horny. A little bit, a little bit of both i'm i'm i'm hungry for that matchup okay and then sons warriors in the first round is that one too bonkers yeah i feel like king's clippers a lot of the talking heads uh not the most important talking heads like us on this

show the ones you know we're the ones that everybody pays attention to and will sway the Vegas line once they hear our take on this. But like, I feel like a lot of the ESPN talking heads will have the Clippers in that series just because, you know, the playoffs typically go half court and determined by defense. And the Kings are one of the worst defenses in the league. But Jabari, you're, you're saying you'd go Kings on that.

Yeah, I would go Kings there. And, and you know, this isn't, I promise you, this is not, you know,

Lakers Clippers stuff. This is, this is actual analysis, not fan races for this one moment. You were saying you would go Kings because they're a real franchise. I think that helps clearly their own stadium. Clearly that, yeah, their own city clearly their own stadium clearly that yeah already their own city their own stadium but no uh look i i recognize you know kind of to the point that you're making a lot of people are going to say well the kings haven't been there before right you know and and while yeah you know experience does factor in you

know of course i look at the clippers and say well neither have they you know like yes yes they have kawaii but i mean like as a group as a group it's not like they've done you know like all of this Of course, I look at the Clippers and say, well, neither have they. Yes, they have Kawhi. But I mean, as a group, it's not like they've done all of this winning together. And from the Kings side of things, I hear you in terms of whomever they match up against, that team's going to score a lot of points because Kings play with pace. They get up and down the court. They like to push the ball. But I look at this Kings team as I honestly think they're going to hurt somebody's feelings in that first round specifically because they can attack you from all over the court

whether it's you know you know anchoring domus in the block and letting him go to work having them up at the high post and you know kind of operating and and moving you know moving the ball around that way obviously you know dearon fox has taken his game to another level this year uh they've got all types of other pieces it you know, the thing that makes them so dangerous is basically they can get you in the fast, you know, like you're like in the up-tempo game, but they can also like attack you in the half court set. Like, you know, for example, Darren Fox is Mr. Fourth Quarter this year. There have been other guys that have done well, but when, you know, when the games get

down to it and it gets close, he's already worn you down to the point where more often than not, the Kings have pulled it out. So I say all of that to say, if they lose, we're going to scratch this from the record. And this never, you know, this never happened. This conversation never existed. But if they win, I will absolutely be the guy that says, hey, look, pat myself on the back because I told you. That's interesting that they also are calling him Mr. Fourth Quarter because I'm more familiar

with that nickname for myself. But that makes sense. Predominantly so. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's one of those Supermanman situations where like shack was superman and then dwight howard was superman sure you're the shack in this case obviously so of course of course i hear what you're saying all right all right i just want to end on that that's enough let's end the episode all right that's funny yeah i really really really like this king's team i've always loved the errand fox i think he had a year or two down and i remember

they were on the radar for possible ben simmons landing spots right i was halliburton with them at i forget who but it was when they had them and it was either fox or halliburton and i even i mean i don't know how well this is going to age but i just really have loved the errant box so much and sabonis is a who knew that he would be able to put up numbers kind of similar to his dad's like his game obviously it's not as uh the Iron Curtain as Arvidius was, but it is like an Americanized Arvidius Sabonis' game. And I was just looking at the team. In my mind, Malik Monk is 38 years old.

He's 25, and he's another guy who I thought was going to be so good. Kentucky Connection. Yeah, the Kentucky Connection. Exactly. He's kind of had a rebound year also, but not because of Malik Monk do I think this team can go a little bit in the playoffs, but I do think that they're a little bit

flying under the radar for how good they are. Blake did tell me that he was going to use rebound figuratively at some point because this is a basketball podcast. So swish on that one good work yes thank you for the assist let's take a quick break and that wasn't assist i did help that by pointing it out after the fact you did lobbed it right to him that's right uh let's take a quick break we'll be right back to talk about some great performances from the week.

I'm Carrie Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them boys. I just come here to play basketball every single day and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game?

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And I didn't want to only talk about the nickname controversy having to do with Mr. Fourth Quarter changing hands a little too soon, maybe for some people's tastes. So, Jabari, you pointed out that Donovan Mitchell has scored 40 or more five times over the last month last week joined lebron james is the only player in franchise history score 40 or more in a game nine times in the same season but you called him spider and i i just this is a nickname that i've been having problems with since I started hearing it. You looked up Jabari, how he got it.

And it was because he had, during college, incredibly long arms and was able to steal the ball from all these different positions. And I think every time you go to a new level in your game, at least this was true for me, because everybody in the nba has such long arms he doesn't stand out as having long arms and so it's just it's not working and i think we need to come up with a better nickname for donnie uh which also not a great nickname let me ask this had kd accepted tarantula would you would you have okay that's what i'm saying like so i bet you wouldn't have as much of a problem with it

because the real Durantula or spider-like individuals, it's still Katie. But also Slim Reaper also was a fantastic one that he said no to. He said no to. He said he wanted the servant, and that's neither here nor there.

Good night. Durantula is an incredible neither here nor there. Good night. Yeah. You have a nice show on, Fed. Durantula is an incredible nickname. Best. Slim Reaper is somehow an even better nickname.

It's just an embarrassment of riches. Yeah. And to, I was trying to think of a team with more than one rich on

it and to say they were also an embarrassment of riches, but I couldn't couldn't cut. Rich Buecher was the only, and i think his name's rick so yeah it didn't even work but i was thinking about how in terms of oh this guy was obviously a spider in college like you just said jack that worked there but now when you get to the nba it's kind of standard across you know

like massive wingspans where it would be like if when I was a kid, we would call my best friend Jeff's dad pool shack when we would play pool basketball with him. But then it would be like if we brought him to an actual basketball court, not playing with children and called him pool shack. Might be weird also. Yeah, very, very strange. Yeah. Shout out pool shack. Shout out to pool shack. One of the best to ever do it thank you like i love a dad who like just uses his physical size

to dominate the pool basketball game like and to the degree that oh in the pool down just like get me out of here sliding off of his just pull up take the. I don't care. I don't care. You got it. Get away from me. All right. Some highlights from this week. Clay Thompson. We love a good clay game.

Clay locked in clay 18 in the first quarter. Just that quick trigger release. 33 at the half wound up with 38 because Jabari texted us all and was like, Clay's got it going. And so we all turned on our TV and immediately he was like, oh, we don't need to do this tonight. It's not game six yet. Warriors rounding into shape.

I think a lot of people suspected they might heading towards the postseason, but they seem to be the team that is getting the hottest at the right time right now. They're so scary like they're always just so scary you it's a team that you can't ever that's they're the one team where their seed doesn't matter in the playoffs as long as they're you know they get past i don't think they'd be in the play-in game right or are they in the play-in tournament right now or are they 36 and 33 but um yeah i also have right now they are in okay cool yeah it's just a

team you have to be afraid of no matter what the suns you know obviously wouldn't want to see golden state in the playoffs also so yeah also shout out to uh dante di vincenzo the big ragu one of the one of the finest players to ever come out of delaware for my money yeah love it and you do have a lot of money on that i have so much money related to that statement because it's tax-free that's right oh gee uh so just really quickly on the warriors i look i've been i try it all year to you know convince myself no no someone else is coming out someone Someone else, Denver, or at one point we were high on the Pelicans. At one point we were high on the Grizzlies. The Warriors are the team out of the West where, you know,

even though my heart might not be in it, I don't have to squint, you know, very hard for them to make it. You know what I mean? Like the parts are there. They've been there before. They've done it. If Andrew Wiggins is there and, you know, they can apply some pressure on some of the scores that they would conceivably match up against, I have no reason to count them out.

So shout out to last week's guests that claimed that they were absolutely going to come out of the West or no, we're going to represent the West at Western Conference Finals. Yeah, Western Conference Finals, because the longer we go, the more that feels probably accurate. I still think it's going to be the Nuggets coming out of the West. I don't like all this other guest talk. Hot take, right? The team that's first. But they have been struggling. It does feel like for the past couple weeks,

every time I say I like a team or am impressed by how well a team is doing, they then proceed to lose multiple games before the episode comes out. That did happen two weeks in a row. Nicks and Nuggets, yeah. Glad that we're doing a Sixers episode this time. Sabonis versus Giannis was a super fun matchup, Bucs and Kings.

It feels like this is one of those games where the Bucs are just like, yeah, but we're still the best team in the league, right? Everybody knows that, right? Oh, you don't? Okay, I'm going to prove it to you. And Giannis looked unstoppable, as he does every time he's playing someone who's not Joel Embiid. 46-12.

He still has that gear where, like I said, when he puts his head down and just goes, there is nothing that you can do, if your name isn't Joel Embiid. Yes. And he definitely showed that in that game that matchup was a lot of fun all throughout you know sabonis almost had a triple double at halftime and then yannis just came out and said no that'll be enough yeah it is different in the playoffs as great as joe because mb looked amazing in the fourth quarter against yannis you can't and not that you were saying that you could but to have him beat on him

the entire game yeah you just can't do it yeah you just can't do it either but that's why you pay PJ Tucker all that money that's right it's good to have PJ Tucker out there it is good he's spent 95% of his paychecks

on the greatest sneaker collection of all time I do have to give that up for him. I do wonder when it is because I remember even wearing Jordan ones. Now, if I'm walking around my feet without an insert in them, my feet are killing me. And he wears these shoes that don't have, he plays basketball at the highest level in non-

Antiques. Yeah, in antiques, right? There's dust flying off his feet. No, he's been a treat to have on the team. Doesn't score, but I think in the playoffs, he'll be a valuable asset for the Sixers. And the Knicks got right against your Lakers. Jabari, you watched the game. What was it like rooting against them? What'd you notice about the Knicks? The against your Lakers, Jabari, you watched the game.

What was it like rooting against them? What did you notice about the Knicks? The Knicks are tough, man. I know that there's always going to be people that doubt Julius Randle. And Julius will give you reasons to at times, but this is one of those bounce-back years. I think we discussed it last week on the show. He was great in that first half. The Lakers were slow to adjust.

And then when they decided, oh, we do have an Anthony Davis, Discussed it last week on the show. He was great in that first half. The Lakers were slow to adjust. And then when they decided, oh, we do have an Anthony Davis, he was able to slow him down in the second half. But by that point, R.J. Barrett got it going, and they just outlasted the Lakers in a game where, quite frankly, the Lakers absolutely needed. So it was a little bit embarrassing, but good on them. Good on the Knicks.

Yeah. Where are we at in the standings? The Lakers the plan okay back in the nine back in the nine baby hell yeah that's where you want to be every loss is going to be like okay they're out and then if you know when they win okay you know they're in it it truly is and you know what our listener of the week you know he kind of alluded to this it truly is going to be a matter of who's healthy at the end like who has who has enough of their guys healthy at the end. Like who has, who has enough of their guys left at the end for the, you know,

bottom half of the West bracket. What am I watching? The, the hokey pokey here. Yeah. You put your whole team in, put your whole team out, put your whole team in,

shake it all down. They did shake things all about. They shook it all about. They did. Shook things up. All right, let's do our broadcast call of the week from Mike Breen. We've got a little bit of a streak of a Mike Breen Appreciation Society happening with Mike Breen banging his way across the league

with this shot from Steph Curry to tie things up. With a back screen by Thompson on green. Curry, a three-pointer. Bang! Steph Curry from downtown again! And we're tied with 15 seconds remaining. And then Billy Mack on the Lakers broadcast on AD doing it on both ends.

This was an awesome highlight and got me excited. Banging on both ends on that one as well. Yeah. All right. Let's take a quick break. When we come back, Blake, you know,

you have a show called Blake's takes for God's sakes. And we're about to get your takes fast and furious in the fastest segment and podcasting, uh, the rapid fire segment of miles and jack up Matt boosties. So we're going to give you 15 minutes to stretch out, get a nice like pre-workout in, and then we'll be back to make you work, sir.

We'll be right back. I'm Kerry Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil.

I ain't really near them. Why is that? Just come here and play basketball every single day, and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire?

Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. All right, here we go. It's Cam Jordan from New Orleans Saints here to tell you it's going down on season two of my podcast, Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan.

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

We'll give you a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did that really just happen moments from around the league. And you know we'll have fun doing it. Ha! Yeah! Oh, and I'll have a special guest each month join me to mix it up a little bit. Who is it? None other than... Psyche! You'll have to tune in to find out.

Who is it? None other than... Psych! You'll have to tune in to find out. So tap in to Off the Edge with Cam Jordan's podcast, your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Mike Wright from the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast. You heard that right. The Fantasy Footballers have officially entered the Dynasty space.

Every week we bring you the same in-depth analysis and entertainment you've come to expect from the Fantasy Footballers, only now from a Dynasty perspective. Maybe you've been living in the Dynasty Fantasy Football space for a while. Well, we're here to take your game to the next level. Maybe you love fantasy football and you've been feeling that itch to jump into the dynasty format, but it feels a little bit intimidating. No matter where you're coming from, the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast

has something for you and you're going to have a great time listening, I promise. Join me and the rest of the crew every Wednesday for a new episode. Listen to the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. Jabari told me during the break that he's disappointed in me for not making a Fast and the Furious family reference at the end there. Because I did say that the segment is Fast and Furious. Anyways, that digression right there is exactly as fast and quick-paced as this segment is.

It's the rapid-fire segment of miles and jack got mad boosties it's good that we have like such a just concise way of introducing it that it conveys how fast it's going to be i still don't understand the whole speed situation that's going on here i relate to the fury you'll get you but i want to go more into the fastness and the quickness if you had a hat on your head it would be spinning around right now in the air. Does that put things in perspective for you? Well, thanks for telegraphing my closer when I do stand up.

Well, you can always switch the arrow through the head. I guess, yeah. But you know how litigious Steve and his team is. Yeah, that hat's turning all about. What is this, the Hokey Pokey? That's another one for you, a free one, if you want to use that in your stand-up set. A lot of Hokey Pokey references.

Somebody told me they didn't even know what, like, I guess not everybody grew up with a Hokey Pokey. Yeah, the younger audience is going to say, I don't know what they're talking about. I don't know what you're talking about I don't know what you're talking about sir anyways we should tell them to get up off their butts and get jobs

go buy a house why don't you yes invest alright should we start the clock alright zoom zoom zoom zoom zoom zoom there it is there's the catchphrase that is all ours and nobody else's. Jabari, do you want to start?

You want me to start? Why don't you start this time? Okay. Sounds good. Blake, you can take any former Sixer and pair him with Joel Embiid. Which former Sixer would you like to see play with joel m bead todd mccullough next question todd mccullough next question that is fantastic we're not saying ai we're not going barkley we're not going dr j i might go with uh jimmy butler actually if only that was possible to pair him

if i think that might be the best answer i know know. I know. I was saying that to be a little catty. That would make me the most confident of the people that we could put with him heading into the playoffs. It might. I think it might have to be. Because here's the thing. As cool as it would be to see Allen Iverson with Joel, that's obviously not an option. Right. Yeah. Not enough shots to go around.

Mo' cheeks. Mo' problems, to be completely honest. If I'm talking about that for a long time yeah i can't it's destroyed relationships and romantic um yeah no i think it might be all i did say butler to be a little a little shyster there but i think it is it might actually be jimmy butler i kind of like that answer. Yeah. Now, Blake, we didn't fully explain what the situation is here. It's really incumbent upon you to keep us on

pace. Incumbo, sir. We are going to need you to keep us going. All right, guys. I'll name more. Eric Snow, I think, he could really blossom with Joel Embiid. I think Matt Diver's whole vibe whole vibe jabbar what did i

did i tell you this was a bad idea you did yeah tim thomas would not honestly probably wouldn't be that bad of one because he's you know dangerous from three uh who else would i oh dr jay i told you all right it would be very cool a little bit clogging in the way if you don't mind. Okay. So you were waxing poetic about Jalen earlier in the show, and we are going to continue our blood feud with him. Is Jalen Rose's hair too good to be true? And I ask that as a follically challenged man.

I'm losing my hair at a rapid rate. A lot of it comes from watching this team over the years. A lot of it comes from watching this team over the years. I believe Jalen Rose had a quote that if you're not spending $100 on your haircut, or was it $100 was the number? At least $100. At least $100. Excuse me.

His hair is a distraction. It really is. It's too good i agree and i do believe what they're trying to do at espn with get up trying to modernize and you know really bring the disney walt disney company into the 21st century i think that his hair none of these things can happen while he's giving that level of detail and attention to his hair. So, yeah, I think that you're going to see Bob Iger step aside again because of the until this hair situation rectifies itself. So, yeah, it's too good to be true for sure. I am truly distracted every time he's on camera. It's too much.

How great his hair is. You were saying you read Jalen Rose's biography? Autobiography? I told you that in confidence. I told you that in confidence. If he released it. All right, Blake, try and stay on track. I know that's an impossibility, but let's just...

Yeah, just try. Let's just pretend we're trying. Could we pretend we're trying? That would be great. You can pick any player from throughout history just try let's just pretend we're trying could we pretend we're trying that would be great you can pick any player from throughout history to star opposite you in a buddy cop movie which player or we'll even throw coach in uh which of them are you picking i the first player who came to mind and this is actually going to be my answer is r Rick Smith, because he looks the most like a cop.

It's the mustache. It's mostly a casting decision more than on stream chemistry between the two of us. I think another option could be, you know what? Whatever joke I was going to make there would not have been appropriate so yeah i was going through like the bat actually oh you know who it would be would be like bill lambeer because i would be the good cop obviously in that situation and he would be the horrific cop. And everyone would hate him. And I think I could rise up the ranks quicker that way

just by the juxtaposition of how much easier I am to get along with. So I'll go with, I know I said Rick Smiths at first, but I'm going to go with the only other white player I could think of. They are officially, and you guys are officially the bad boys. So I'm not mad at that. Who we are, who we are. We officially the bad boys. So I'm not mad at that. All right. We are, we are, we're very bad.

Keeping it going. If you could bet on any fan base to make the in arena challenge shots, you know, the layup, the free throw, the three pointer half court, which fan base or fan bases are you betting on? I'm,

so there's different ways to think of this here, where you could go, where are the basketball hotness? Where, where are the players from i would this is interesting i actually think before they move i might go with the new jersey nets because you just have guys from newark you know yeah just in in the stadium and it's not the nets in their current state yeah just a bunch of bloggers. A bunch of guys named Xander.

Yeah. Yeah. With their little wrists. So I might actually have to go with what is the fittest city in the NBA? And that would be Denver. I would actually go with because I believe you think of what people look like in Denver. Most of them are probably working on jump shots. So I would go with the good folks in, in Denver for that one.

Plus you got the thin air. So a lot of, you know, you let it fly. Yeah, I got you. Yeah. I like it.

Love it. So I have this persistent nightmare. This has nothing to do with the show. I just want to tell you about my dream. Uh, that's basically a reverse like Mike, where I suddenly switch bodies with an NBA player and, but I have my skills still. Yes. What would you do in that situation if you suddenly switched and you were in Harden's body in the fourth quarter with your skills? I would carry myself in a way that was, that would be more confident than anyone in the fourth quarter with your skills? I would carry myself in a way that would be more confident than anyone

in the entire world. And also, defensively, there would be no difference between it by... So I do want to say that. I would also... I would insist upon inbounding the basketball. So the other team scores... Because really, to answer this truthfully

you want to hide who you are so yes i would insist on inbounding the basketball and then right after i do that i would start tying my shoe and i'd be like you take it and then damn so pointing at your shoe exasperated i keep like just i can't believe it so And here's the thing, too. One benefit about Harden is that the guy sometimes has not maybe hustled as much as most people. So I think I could pass the barrier of reasonable doubt that, oh, James is just loafing at this game. Or I think I would just go from top of the key to maybe top of the key. That's going to be the entire. And if I passed it, I would just immediately pass it away.

I think that's what I would do. All right. I like that. But I've always said that I would fake an injury. But that's... You're braver. Yeah. That's a good one.

I had a dream. I always have laughed at the scenario where when you have such bad self-esteem as a person that in a video game, when you create yourself, you give yourself all really, really bad ratings, which is going to be the whole purpose of doing it and then I would make the popular kid that I grew up with in the game and then he'd have amazing ratings and just beat down on anything else is just unrealistic I agree I agree 100%

yeah it was like oh you gotta go to therapy I was gonna say I feel like we could spend the next 30 minutes unpacking that but what i will say what i will say in response is guys we have solved the mystery we now know why traditionally jim harden has turned into a pumpkin at the you know yeah in the post it has been because people have been switching it's guys like me going yeah that's good enough that's good. I have had that thought while watching him that is there a body switching? Is there a body switcher root comedy happening right now? Yeah.

That's why I feel good heading into the playoffs. Thank you, Jabari. All right. Last one here for you. And this is the most important one. Just so you know, some people get this wrong. Some people get it right. Let's hope that you're on the right side of things.

Me too. Jack or Jabari? Damn, Jabari gets close to the camera after he asks it. Makes a cute face. When he was coming out of Duke and was drafted so highly that Jabari, I thought he was going to have his career take off again when he went to his hometown of Chicago. Yeah. Oh, it's between you two. I'm going to go with sometimes Jack when I do the daily zeitgeist is not there.

And I don't know what other commitments you could have in those situations i sometimes get paired with a guest host which i think is disrespectful so i would never do that to you for the record no no and i every time you've ever been on this and guess who was here one for one with jabari jabari is is one for one. My percentage is better. Yeah. Yeah. Cool. So I'm going Jabari.

And Jack, that's not a knock on you. Yeah, no, definitely not. It's a one, one, a situation. Yeah, yeah. No, well, I can't wait to have you back on Daily Zeitgeist, man. Well, you don't. It's definitely going to happen. Jack, someone's got to be pipping.

Okay. You know know he's got he's got six of them things too yeah yeah it ain't easy that's where that phrase came from actually it is all right jabari why don't you uh close the episode oh close it out okay yeah man why don't you do it since you're uh you know clearly the most important part of the show see what you've done See what you've done? See what you've done? All right. I'll look at this.

Sorry. I don't know. That's my crying noise. We went polling this week on Twitter, and I'm going to be honest with you. Some of these results don't really make sense, but you know what? They were a heck of a lot of fun. Mike Breen went polling this week. There you go.

Sorry. 52% of listeners that responded to the polls think that the Lakers are going Mike Breen went polling this week. There you go. 52% of listeners that responded to the polls think that the Lakers are going to make a conference finals run if they get into the playoffs. All right. So this is where I'm not laughing at that being impossible. But the fact that 52% and this is where I am with this. I love you guys. I appreciate you guys. Well, come on,

man. Hey, look, it might be, it might, it could happen. We'll just say that. I just think we might have a,

a sample sampling bias because we have a podcast that is basically a Lakers Sixers podcast, but this is true. 96% of you guys think the Kings win a round and lose in the second round. It's just definitive. Wow. Seriously. 73% of you guys think the sons will make a conference finals run.

Okay. This is going to, this is starting to be a mathematically impossible. Oh no, it will, it will officially be mathematically impossible when I get to the end of this. Uh,

70% think the Clippers win a round, then bow out in the second. We don't really need to comment there, because that's probably going to be true. 82%. 82% of you guys think the Mavs barely sneak in, but lose either in the play-in or the first round. Okay. And here's the part where that math ain't math, because 38%

of you guys think the Nuggets will rep the Western Conference in the finals. I think all of those things are true. Yeah. Yeah. True, true, true, true, true, true. Yep. Fair enough.

All right. Our Boosties listener of the week was at NBA Loverboy because he said, and we kind of alluded to this earlier. Mike Breen. Go ahead. There we are. No, that is Mike Breen's alter ego. So yeah, shout out to you, Mike Breen. Thank you.

You were making your second appearance on the same episode. But NBA Loverboy says there's so little separation between the western conference team that is really going to come down to whoever is healthiest and to be honest that's probably the case you know we can talk back and forth over these next couple weeks but that's in all likelihood that's how it's going to shape up yeah i was going to say something mean but i won't i'll go for it i was just thinking about how much I hate the take of like, well, I think if healthy,

the, and like, if it all comes down to health, because it's like, yeah, that's obviously true. And that's a piece of randomness that we bake into the conversation and don't necessarily get anything out of being like,

I think if Giannis gets hurt, the bucks are in trouble but um yes this is not that nba lover boy i don't know why i'm being mean to you uh i think i just heard we don't put a microphone in front of kyrie irving's face until the end of the year i think they might be able to pick up a win in the playing tournament fair enough but for the listeners out there make sure you give us a follow on Twitter at MadBoosties. Blake, thank you so much

for joining us today. Aside from catching you in stand-up, where can the folks follow you? First, thank you for having me. This was so much fun. A true pleasure. Pleasure is all mine. And give me that pleasure.

Sorry, that was my screen. You took my microphone. but yeah no at blake wexler on all social media like sakes for god's sakes i've recently come into possession of a twitter account uh no i'm in a tiktok account which also is not true but yeah i'm on tiktok as well and uh that's very anyway before the government takes it away from me i will thank you you can check me out on there thanks a lot and yeah and if you uh just look up blake wexler wherever you listen to music all my stand-up albums that aren't in the middle of a lawsuit will come up so you can listen to those and yeah but seriously i could not have enjoyed this more jabari you're awesome

jack i've always adored you so thank you so much for having me thank you you guys you guys heard it he said i was awesome and i'm just gonna take that i'm gonna take that and run with it jabari you are awesome i'm standing here in front of god and everyone telling you you're awesome and on that note it has been another fantastic episode of Miles and Jack got mad. Look, I'm in a weird place. So while we unpack all of this, your teeth are bleeding,

not your gums, your actual teeth. Blood is coming out of your teeth. A lot of clenching happening, you know, the sixer seasons really. And then you picking me at the end, that was just the straw. That was it.

I just fall apart. It's over now. One of my eyebrows just fell off my face. Just in a clump. He's got clump head right now. Alright, back next week. Bye! Bye! Bye. Bye.

I'm Carrie Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry.

Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Presented by Elf Beauty, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. I'm Carrie Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's basketball.

And on this new season, we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis

delivered by the time you get your coffee. The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolfe. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.