The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #57: Lighting the Beam with Fan Duel's Ken Rudulph

Episode Date: April 27, 2023

Jack and Producer Jabari were pleased to be joined by Fan Duel's Ken Rudulph for today's episode. The trio discussed each series, De'Aaron Fox and how he changed the trajectory of the franchise in Sacramento and Jimmy Butler's dominating performance from GM 4.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. 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.

I'm Keri Champion and this is season four of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese.

Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game.

Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry, Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Elf Beauty, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. 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. We are back. The playoffs are the best they've ever been, in my opinion. I am still coming in off the high of a Celtics loss. I answered the question, what feels better?

Sixers win or Celtics loss? Yes. Celtics loss for me because, yeah, I felt real good after that. It's been an amazing playoffs. LeBron, AD, Jimmy Butler. We're going to talk about it all on this week's episode featuring a first-timer from FanDuel, Ken Rudolph, on today's episode. I am Jack O'Brien.

And I'm Jabari in for Miles. And this is Miles and Jack got mad. Boosties. Three on one. Davis. Love. LeBron. Take it, Joe.

And the 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?

Ken, thank you so much for joining us. FanDuel analyst, former Sacramento-based radio host. What's going on? Everything. Everything. Everything is going on. Yes, it is. My squad's got to get game five so that's all i'm

focused well that and the derby the kentucky derby is coming up too so that's part of my job for fanduel tv but that and of course getting ready for this game five messing with the warriors and the kings i'm just ready to go to the kentucky derby no not this year i've done this so many times that i'm i'm i opted out and you're over it i was pretty great about that i opted back to stay in the studios in los angeles California, and my colleagues, they all hit the road. They're in Kentucky right now, getting ready for everything. Oh, man. What a blast. Well, it has to be an exciting

time to be a Kings fan. Just overall feelings. I mean, also, maybe a pessimistic time. I don't know. How are you feeling ahead of Game 5, which is happening tonight as we're recording this? So listeners will know what happened in game five.

We do not. But, you know, obviously, De'Aaron Fox with a broken finger. Bummer. But he's going to play. He's going to gut through it. How are you feeling? Not good. All right.

Because, look, everybody in Sacramento has deep insecurities. And I think that you can see that in the social media activity from every single fan, every single analyst, anybody who's got anything to do with this team. We know that we've never won anything. And in order for people to respect us, we have to win something. So it starts here. So we needed to take the 3 it starts here so we needed to take the 3-1 lead we had to do that we needed to sweep this team to be honest with you if we really wanted it to be a factor we needed to sweep this team and now that we have not we are in trouble and

then we got our point guard with his tip of his left finger like come on man like are you serious sports gods really y'all want to do this to us right now come on man now it sounds like you're mad at the sports gods as opposed to steven a smith who seems to get mad at the players who get injured seems to be his approach where he's just like kawaii is a disgrace ad la will never forgive him if he gets injured in this playoff he's kind of got a point about some of that in the sense that these are these especially those two players you're talking about ad and kawaii man i love kawaii because he's just so under the radar but these are two marquee players

who with all due respect you can't count on when you need them like what is that like so i get what he's saying but it is pretty tough to put it back. The onus back on the player. Like they don't have the heart. They don't have the heart. They just, well, stuff's just not working out for them. It's tough. That's exactly where I was going to go with this.

It's like, yeah, it's one thing to point out the fact that they're not available. It's a whole other thing to say like, Oh, you piece of junk, you know, or make it sound like that.

Yeah. That's not cool at all. Cause we know why he's got heart. And we, we know he's got that dog in him. As they say, we know that dude that's around. So if he can't go,

man, there must be something really going on. But then again, we got the problem of dealing with the legacy of Kobe. And so we saw a guy like Kobe play through what ever. Right. And you know what I'm saying? It didn't matter what was happening with Kobe.

He's like, Oh no, I'm playing. This is happening right now. I'm like, so we kind of measure all these other great players up to that. That's awesome. There's no way.

Anytime we are trying to compare anybody that's all-time at something, and he would have been all-time, not just on the court, but specifically playing through pain, it's going to be difficult to compare. It really is. Absolutely. But I feel like De' dearon fox is he's a really special he's really really special and people don't understand what it feels like for these young players at the age of 21 22 to be quote unquote handed the keys to a franchise and then have the confidence to look in the mirror and look at that owner's face and be like, I got you. Let's go. And then to take you there. Man, can you imagine what that's like as a young

person, the confidence that's like, Darren Fox took those keys from the Vecron and Diva and said, I got you, boss. Let's go. And then four or five years later, here we are. And he had to make a lot of improvements. I have to say one personal thing about De'Aaron Fox that I really, really like. Two seasons ago, on social media, we were talking, myself, my friends in Sacramento who do radio for the Kings, and I was saying, look, I just need one thing from my point guard. I need my point guard to make his free throws in the fourth quarter. That would be great.

That was my tweet. De'Aaron Fox came through and liked that tweet. And I was like, that dude right there knows exactly what's supposed to happen. He knows exactly what his responsibility is. He didn't shy away from that. He didn't send some comment to me. He just liked that tweet. I think he just kind of recorded the fact that he needed to do that. I wasn't being personal. I wasn't talking about his mama. I wasn't talking about his family. I wasn't talking about nothing but him making free throws in the fourth quarter as the point guard. That was it. And I was like, you know what?

Okay, he knows what's happening. He knows what he needs to do. Yeah. All right. Well, before we get to Western Conference, the Eastern Conference has been entertaining, unpredictable this week. Let's check in. Heat Bucks. Giannis has missed a couple games, missed game two, and Milwaukee was able to win it.

But then up 2-1, Jimmy Butler comes through in game four, puts up 24 in the first half. This game, Giannis is back. And I'm going to say this is maybe the best individual performance in a playoff game I've seen since either Giannis against the suns in the finals, or maybe even LeBron against the Celtics that one year where he just came in, like completely locked in,

came into Boston and just 2012 kind of assassinated them. But I don't know. It was really like a singular experience watching him in that fourth quarter where the bucks knew what was happening he knew what was happening he was the only person he just fully put his team on his back and there's something that like did you see the post-game interview where the sideline reporter was like why how do you make it look so easy? And he was like, it's not easy. He doesn't make it look easy.

He makes it look hard. And that's what's crazy. He always looks like... I don't know. It reminds me of how in Fast and the Furious when Vin Diesel appears to just be driving harder than the other person. He's just flexing and holding the wheel. And then he just presses the... It just like flexing like holding the wheel and then he just

like presses the like like it's like the harder you press the pedal the faster the car goes but like that's what jimmy butler actually feels like it feels like he is playing like he's just decided like all right i have 20 extra percent to give and i'm going to try that much harder to make it go in. And he looks like he's using every last cell of energy in his body, but it's just never been as effective as it was in a game that like, I don't think anybody thought they were going to win. They were, they were down and then suddenly they were up one. So look, I'm going to be completely honest with you. When I heard that quote, I thought, well, how the heck is that possible? Not that he makes the impossible happen,

but it very much looks like he's working and grinding for each one. He's basketball Tupac. Remember how Tupac, in every lyric, he was just like, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh. Yeah. Just felt it. Just intense. You felt it.

Pac could just be coming on the track with a regular thing but it just felt a little different that's how it feels for Jimmy when I'm watching him

especially in the postseason yeah probably looks that way because he's doing it by himself yeah yeah it looks hard at least on the offensive end

for sure man so we were looking at the history of 3-1 comebacks in nba playoffs there hasn't been any since the bubble i don't think where the nuggets did it twice but it's pretty rare and yet i feel like we're about to get a 3-1 comeback as much as i wish it was the hawks it's probably

not going to be the hawks but i could could really see Milwaukee coming back from this. This reminds me of last season's Heat Celtics Eastern Conference Finals, where it felt like Jimmy Butler was the only person who could really do anything in that. And he only had a finite amount of energy and intensity to give. And he just kind of saved it all for the very end of game seven. And it just wasn't enough. It was like two inches short of being enough. I just wonder if he's going to have another game like that in him. And if he doesn't, then how do they beat Milwaukee? And again, they might have already ended the series by the time people are listening to this.

But I just, I don't feel like it. It's wild. They are up 3-1 and 12 point underdogs tonight. That's unheard of. Yeah. That's the heat series. No big deal. Just one of the best performances I've ever seen from an individual player in the history

of the NBA. Nick's calves. Again, I have no idea what's going to happen in this series. What we did, we delayed the recording this week and the day that we chose to record on has four playoff games that are all closeout games except for except for the kings series so three three of the four closeout games so basketball gods well let me let me ask this you know to the point that you've been making jack if we were to pick a series that we could see the team coming back from 3-1,

I hear you when you say it's probably not going to be the Celtics, but as funny as it seems, they being the Hawks, they're the one team that has at least started to reverse course. They're down 3-2, but Ken, I'm interested in your opinion. Do you think any of the other 3-1 series that the team that's behind has a chance? Well, I mean, obviously in Milwaukee, they definitely have a chance to turn that around. That's the only, well, yeah. To be honest with you, Milwaukee is the only team. Milwaukee's the only team I feel like they can turn that around

because of just the way that team plays and, of course, the presence of Giannis. If he's ready to go and get things going in his direction, meaning he's dominating down there low, he's athletic and moving around. I think Minnesota can turn, I mean, Milwaukee, excuse me, can turn that thing around entirely because they've got that championship DNA. Everybody else, I really don't know.

And I got to be honest with you, I do not pay attention to anybody else except the Sacramento Kings. I'm the opposite of the national media. The national media pays attention to everybody but the Kings. I pay attention to the Kings and nobody else. I don't care about nobody getting 50 points in the playoffs if your team doesn't win the championship. I don't care.

So it's ring or bust or Sacramento or bust. Got it. Yeah. Right? Like Jimmy Buckets can get 50 points to you as he wants to. When are they going to win a championship in Miami with him? When are they going to have it? So I'm just like, ah, man.

I don't care. Probably not this this year but we'll see no well they got their second best scorer is has broken hands so yeah um nicks calves i mean my friends who are calves fans think that this might be the one that's coming back from 3-1. I don't think that necessarily, but we'll see. It seemed more evenly matched heading in than it has looked to this point. And that's the thing. Coming in, we went back and forth about this heading into the postseason. Specifically, we thought the Cavs would fare well. Not that we were discounting the Clippers, but given the fact that the Cavs had all of those offensive

weapons, we thought in a series in particular, that might make a difference, but we just haven't seen that. Even though the Knicks, they haven't gotten great performances out of Julius Randle, they haven't even gotten great stuff out of IQ, if I'm not mistaken, he's actually out for Game 5, they have still

found a way to grit and grind it, I guess. That's really a testament to Tom Thib and grind it i guess um and that's really a testament to tom thibodeau and the defense that he has those guys playing and jalen brunson i mean oh well brunson is you know he's been good all season but like what now we're looking at where the knicks are versus where the mavs are without him no like and i i just feel like he's got that game manager and that dog in him. Both things. Which is a good combination. But game manager to the degree that not an insult, but more of a Tom Brady type game manager.

Where game manager and really an effective player who might end up being something absolutely special. He just gets wins. Yeah. I would take him on the Sixers. Oh, you would, huh? Yeah. I would take him. Same with the Lakers.

You know, I know it's crazy, but I would take Jalen Brunson. Right now. Nick's fans, you heard it here. If you want to get the talk started, we would take him with the Sixers. Speaking of the sixers this is my team i do pay attention to other teams because i can't i can't put all my eggs in this basket ken it's it's too painful this is as pessimistic as i've ever been heading into the second round with as since i became a sixers fan and they've never made it out of the second round

in my you know in modern history and none of those have been a surprise and yet this is as pessimistic as i've ever been i also think this is as pessimistic as i've ever seen a fan base coming out of a sweep the only team that swept the only team that swept and every sixers fan i talked to is like we're screwed man, man. This is terrible. Like the Celtics are going to kill us. And also when I say that to people who aren't Sixers fans, they're like, yeah, man, you guys are screwed. The Celtics are going to kill you.

And I will just say, all of that being said, I've never wanted them to defeat a team as much as I want them to beat the Celtics. The last time I can remember something like this is the year that the Red Sox went down three Oh to the Yankees. And they had just gotten beat by the Yankees over and over and over again. And, you know,

as a Red Sox fan, we were just like, it's, it's over. It's not happening. But there was just the sheer amount of belief and want and desire from the fan base just kind of carried that fan. That's the only thing.

I'm having to resort to cross sports magical thinking here. But that is what it feels like. And when you listen to like bill simmons talking about and bead getting hurt on his podcast with just an audible like beaming grin on his face and like he had herela boss vulgaris like the guy who was like a professional gambler he was like well the sixers aren't a serious team like just every six and every celtics fan you hear from is so dismissive of the sixers he gave him the logan roy the you're not serious people like he was like the sixers aren't a serious team like they're not i think

the thing that is painful is that i agree with him, but I really would love, would love for them to give the Celtics a series. Yeah, it is painful. It is painful. Ken, you just, you just alluded to something Jack and I were discussing in the pre-show.

What is it about doc that you, cause you, you said you tried, you straight out said it's their coach to this point. He's done pretty good, you know, pretty well this season, this season. season okay yes man i don't know what it is about doc i don't know why he can't get over the

hump and i think a lot of it might be for some reason he's still in his mind like if you listen to him talk he still references boss yes he still references there the perk wouldn't hurt we would have won like bro if you can't get your team to push through without your big man that that clogs things up in the middle there if you can't find a way to get that team to push on through then i don't know why you're still referencing that theory um and then you know just the history that he has i don't know if to be honest with you i'm obviously not a coach but we've all watched enough basketball to be able to throw these things around i feel like I don't know if he makes adjustments.

Yeah. Right? Like if things aren't working for his team, I haven't seen a situation where Doc Rivers went into the locker room and made an adjustment that made a difference in either the second half of the game or the second half of the series. And he has to be able to do that. He's been a coach for 30 years, so he must be incredible at something.

I just don't know if that is the thing that he does well. when we were looking up all the teams that came back from 3-1 down i will just say as the person whose team currently has doc rivers as a coach uh was not promising to see how many of the teams that were the victims of people coming back from 3-1 down were coached by him and And I think that is the, that is the rap that you hear is that he doesn't make adjustments. So, you know, they can get three wins,

but then the other team figures something out and he doesn't in turn figure something out on top of that. And so you have situations like with the Clippers twice or with Orlando. Yeah. It almost happened the year that he won with the Celtics. They had a really rocky road through the playoffs. Like they almost didn't they like go to the game seven and round one like against Chicago. I feel like like Chicago was giving them.

I feel like they had two game sevens during that run. Yeah, and they were dominant. Like they should have been dominant. But anyways, even in round one, even in the series that they swept against the Nets, they looked incredibly, Embiid looked bad in every game that he played in because they kept sending a double team

and they didn't try anything different. Every time they sent a double team at him, they didn't try anything different. And it was just, he looked exactly the same every game, which was a little bit confused. I mean, he had a game where it was just, yeah, it's, it's not confidence. Inspiring gives me nice resentment, which will fuel me to, uh, root really hard and round two when they face the Celtics,

I guess. Jack, I'm, I'm going to stick with this. I still say that in bead, he knows how to pass out of the double team. They've got plans for, you know,

like how to counter that. They were just holding back because they knew. We got this. We're up 2-0. We're up 3-0. We got this series. We want to hold this back to stun or surprise the Celtics with it as a strategy. I'll go out on a limb and say it for you.

If Embiid is healthy enough to play, you guys are going to win that series. The Celtics are going down next round. You don't put like $10,000 on it? I won't put $10,000, but I'll put $10. You don't got 10 stacks for that? I have $10 that I might be interested in. All right, I'll put $10 on it with you. If you measure those by the way that they call a joke, it's jump.

Those are 10 stacks. If you can jump over a $10, about $1. Yeah, that's right. When do we get to the hater segment? All right. We're about to get there. We're going to take a quick break. We'll come back and we'll hit on some of the Western Conference matchups. I'm Carrie Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports,

where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them boys. I just come here to play basketball every single day,

and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke.

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Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, here we go. It's Cam Jordan from New Orleans Saints here to tell you it's going down on season two of my podcast, Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan. Can't stop it. You know what's 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. 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. Sight. You have to tune in to find out so tap in to off the edge with cam jordan's podcast your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football listen on the iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever and we're back and all right you asked ken when do we get to the hater section with during the break this is the hater section what are your thoughts on joel mb he's your mvp you were saying during the break uh so just to elaborate on me no you're saying you're not a fan, never have been. And even you don't get it, which I feel like he's pretty easy to understand the appeal of a seven foot two person with feathery touch. But what your thoughts, your thoughts are that he's fool's gold.

Okay. He's not, he's obviously got game, right? There's no doubt about that. You don't even get to this level if you don't have game, but for what he's supposed got game, right? There's no doubt about that. You don't even get to this level if you don't have game. But for what he's supposed to be, which is the franchise player, right? League MVP,

the big man that's supposed to carry you through the playoffs, right? I don't see him doing that enough. I don't see him dominating in the playoffs. I know I'm going to sound like Shaq on TNT. Big man's supposed to dominate. But he's supposed to do that, man. Joel Embiid, when we get to the playoffs, he's supposed to dominate everything that's happening inside there.

He shoots way too many jump shots. And he doesn't just take everything on his back in the fourth quarter and say, I'm going to the hole. Foul me. I'm going to make you foul me so I can get these shots. He will bail them out with a jump shot. And then he's hurt all the time. So I'm not quite sure what foul me so I can get these shots. He will bail them out with a jump shot and then he's hurt all the time. So I'm not quite sure what's happening with the modern day player. I don't know how

many games Hakeem Olajuwon missed, but I don't think he missed anything in those two year run for the Rockets. The point is, your big man has to be durable. He has to be dominant. He has to be a force in the playoffs and I don't see that with Joel Embiid at all. I'm sorry. Alright, and now Nikola Jokic.

Yeah, let's just go down the line. Let's just run down. He's different, though, because his game has never been anything other than finesse. There's nothing physical about Jokic at all, and he doesn't pretend to be a physical player. Including his defense. Very little physical about that. Exactly. So I don't expect him all of a sudden in the playoffs to be this dude that's going to bully you down low.

He's just going to finesse you all the way through and then get his teammates into the game. So asking him to be something other than what he is in the regular season or asking him to be a different version of what he is in the regular season when it comes to the playoffs, not fair at all. But for Embiid, there are times during the regular season where he is a brute force down low. He is physical. And then he gets away from it and he goes back to it.

Then he gets away from it again. And I'm like, why do you keep doing that? And why does doc let him do that? Yeah. Doc should be like, get down there and sit in the paint and don't move till I tell you to come out of there.

Or after three seconds, one of those two. And, you know, I feel like he just needs to do a lot more. And it's the process. This is the end. Yeah.

This is the end. This is supposed to be the end result. All right. On the Nuggets right now, they are into the second round where they will be facing the Suns. I do just want to, you know, say a fond farewell to Anthony Edwards,

who was doing it on both ends to avoid the sweep in game four. And his defense has been on some, like, I've never seen that. Like, with anticipation with the blocks. Like, that block, Jabari, that you linked off to, where he, like, comes down, the dude jumps into him, and, like, he jumps before the ball handler jump to like put up the shot and blocks it on the way down like it's just the craziest is the wildest thing but he like there's something he's doing defensively like this season and increasingly at the end of the season

wasn't enough for them to salvage their season but with like anticipation steals and blocks like he was doing some things at times where i was like i've never really seen somebody look that dominant defensively just in terms of like anticipation and like just stealing like intercepting things like it was pretty cool i'm still super excited about where he's going. Off the steal, Edwards trying to get back, and he does! What a rejection from Anthony Edwards! Now Edwards running the break, euros, and finishes! A sensational two-way highlight! Well, yeah, at his age in particular, you know, year three,

you look at swingmen or shooting guards in particular, you know, year three, you know, you, you look at, you look at swing men or, you know, shooting guards in particular, the true greats that he is, you know, whether you feel it's fair or foul has been compared to generally year three is, is that Turner is that year where it's like, Oh, you know, that was the case kind of with D way, the case with Kobe, the case with, you know, the other guys. And I only mentioned them because they've been mentioned before, not to put that pressure on him, but no, you're exactly right. He's obviously showed promise in those first

couple of years, but this year it definitely felt like he kind of turned it on. And actually, I'll turn that to Ken. We made a lot, and by we, I mean the general conversation. We made a lot about what they gave up for Gobert and them really going for it. And I recognize that offensively, it may still be a little bit clunky and they probably need to figure out what to do moving forward. But on the defensive end, I think having a guy like Gobert back there for the first time, I think that can only help a young guard or a young wing that is in particular trying to elevate on the defensive end.

I know that you didn't pay attention to anybody else, but what did you see from that situation? Well, the thing about Minnesota is they were absolutely a problem for the king. Anthony Edwards was a king killer. We could not stop that dude. And I remember getting into like a debate or an argument. Every conversation I had with my friends in Sacramento, specifically my old radio partner, Damian Barling,

who still works in Sacramento, ESPN 1320. Every time we talk about basketball, we argue. And so he's like, man, Anthony Edwards is the future in Minnesota. I'm like, man, no, man, can't kill the dude that we're talking about. And then I started watching. And then this year, man, that dude put it on the Kings and we could not stop him. He's the Western Conference Jimmy Butler, right? He feels like, yeah, like in terms of physical tool strength.

Right. Yeah. And that will that I hate this stupid phrase, but that dog, that makes little things like you just mentioned. Making things happen in the passing lane, making things happen,

anticipating other players and getting blocks and steals and all these things, getting his body in the way, and then knocking down the key shot. Like, there's something about that, dude.

But as far as their defense is concerned, I think that it's going to just absolutely improve because they have the bodies now, right? They've got that weak side shot blocking aspect and Gobert, who sits on the other side, has to do all that now when they're both on the floor together. And so that's what you want.

You want that. They call it a lurker. So Gobert's just going to lurk over there on the weak side and then come over and handle that business. I think it's going to work out great. It's hard to kind of have all those pieces come together. When you switch your whole style, you talked about giving up some offensive pieces in order to get that

defensive stability. It takes a minute for that stuff to kind of gel together. I don't care about them losing that first series, four games to one. I think that team's going to be for real next year. I think they're going to be a problem for all of us. We'll see how it develops. I feel like maybe that was one of the less watched

of the series just because I think people had a sense that the Nuggets were going to win it. But if you missed it, his last four games of the postseason, Anthony Edwards' last four games were at 29 points, 34 points, 36, and 41.

Not bad. He was doing some crazy stuff. Lakers, Grizz, Warriors, Kings. They both have games tonight that are going to severely swing. How anybody feels about this Jabari,

you're confident in the Lakers closing it out tonight, last night for the listener. Yeah. It's, it's one of those situations where this team has given me no reason whatsoever to be confident in them over the course of the year. You start out two and 10, you find a way to turn it around. That's great. But it was a grind. It has been a grind, not just for the players, but for fans of the team. But that said, for whatever reason, I do believe, and you have definitely swayed me a

bit. I'm a little bit more pessimistic as a fan than I normally am, but I'm pushing away the Philly angst. I say the Lakers finish it off tonight. I'm actually more intrigued, and honestly, even if it doesn't happen, they're up 3-2 coming back home, but I'm more intrigued, admittedly, by the 2-2 series. The main reason why we brought Ken on here today. Do either of you still feel confident in the Kings coming out of this series? Confident? No. I think there's a scenario where this is the worst it looks for the Kings,

is 2-2 coming off the two Warriors wins with Fox's broken finger. And then they just find a way to gut it and like keep the pace high. And Mike Brown continues to out coach Steve Kerr like at home. And just like, I think there's a world where like they've both been really good at home teams and the Warriors have been terrible on the road and have not been able to do it on the road, including in this series. And I don't know. I could definitely see.

It feels like the popular opinion has swung to this is the Warriors series because the popular opinion wanted to be that heading into this series. Right. Like Clay Thompson was like, when we're healthy, I don this series right like clay thompson was like when we're healthy i don't see anyone beating us and everyone was like yep clay spoke that's that's our pick now in vegas and everything it's like i don't know man like yeah the the kings look really good and the warriors were wildly frustrating all season and every time you guys thought they were putting it together they weren't they they turned around and did something inexplicable usually on the road so you know the kings still

have home court advantage i'm 50 50 on this one but if i had to pick a team i'd probably pick the kings i'm a kings fan and i wouldn't even pick the kings best two series. Best two or three, you don't feel good about it? No way. Like, look, we're all grown men, and we've all been watching basketball since we were kids. And we could probably remember certain series. And when we became, like, intuitively aware of how things work with momentum and champions and how you just can't get past it,

the first time I realized that there were sometimes things you just can't control was when jordan and the bulls faced magic and the lakers in the early 90s i love magic i love magic and at that time i hated michael jordan but when i watched them you remember how the lakers got away with game number one yeah sam park into the three-pointer or something like that they got away with a victory there vladi divas hit a layup and then ran around with his finger over his mouth yeah i was i was a huge jordan fan and i i was burnt in my memory i was like no but then after that it was a wrap yeah and you could tell when you got to game three of that

you're like man y'all are done y'all can't do nothing with the bulls and it's same thing when i remember in 93 when the suns played the bull and barkley is playing his absolute brain out i mean he's just crazy every night i'm just like man y'all can't beat the bulls dude yeah it's just one of the things you realize when you watch you're like man you just can't you can't beat them and so i have that feeling with the kings and warriors i'm like man they got championship dna we had them on the ropes you got knocked the champ out when you got them on you got a boom on the ropes and we missed our opportunity and now it's even man we're in trouble can we get a full-on prediction well i think it's one of those things where it's the reason why we all have such anxiety and we

hate the the god's force right because if the if the the reason why we all have such anxiety and we hate the God of sports, right? Because if the Aaron Fox doesn't have the issue with his fingertip, Kings fans are feeling supremely confident. But the fact he's got the issue with the fingertip, and it may be because of Draymond Green, man, come on. Unload the bus. Everybody fight in the parking

lot. That's the only chance that we got to get anything. Everybody unload the bus and fight in the parking lot. Man, we can't win on the court because they got away with their tricks and they got us they just had to get the one or two games with their tricks and they got and now they got us what they wanted it is wild how effective draymond green continues to be if i was an nba player i would do nothing but study Draymond Green like game tape because it feels like it's just things you can learn to do that. Like he just, it's, there's like a magic to it. And even, I don't know, man, it's, it really is crazy. He's so effective.

So this is the funniest thing about Draymond Green. And I'm so glad that you brought that up with all the antics and everything, people are going to have their opinions about him. But you're not going to find very many smarter players out there. He knows the angles to take. He knows how to position himself. He knows what he can get away with. He knows where the refs are positioned so that he can do certain things that are advantageous for himself

and ultimately his team. But no, that's a great point. Look, I don't care what level I'm at, but especially if I'm a guy that's struggling or trying to stay in the league, that's the game tape that I would definitely be watching because it's a winning formula. You guys, like I said, we all grew up watching basketball. We also grew up playing basketball.

Look, I'm not a very big guy at all, so it wasn't an option. I'm not quick. But here's the number one reason why i stopped messing around with pickup games because every five minutes somebody wants to do what they want to fight oh yeah right you know this yeah i don't know parts you know i'm not messing around there no more i'm like man this is my money maker uh i'm not trying to have you mess with my money maker right now so no elbows and some punching me in the mouth. I'm out. But then you get to the NBA and all these dudes that had to play through all that toughness.

You had to get to play through the toughness at parks. Then you get to AAU. You got to be tough on the court. High school, college, you got to be tough. Then you get to the NBA and you let one dude dominate you in every aspect on the court. I'm like, what? How is this still happening in the NBA? Let's take a quick break. We'll come back and we will do the fastest segment of podcasting rapid fire.

Oh, we will be right back. I'm Carrie champion. And this is season four of naked sports where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them. Why is that? I just come here to play basketball every single day, and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports.

Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things

sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily

with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game, every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media. That's Patrick Claiborne, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe. This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they trade him away?

Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen. Catch the podcast at NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today, and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, here we go.

It's Cam Jordan from New Orleans Saints, here to tell you it's going down. On season two of my podcast, Off the Edge. 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...

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 iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts and we're back and i guess the one series we haven't really talked about is sun's closing out the clippers they will be facing the nuggets that's going to be a great series absolutely i feel like booker is the story of that first round series i like on the sun side the clipper side was obviously a mess but you, it's injury stuff that I don't feel like

is as fun to discuss as just how good Devin Booker is. They seem like they are starting to put some things together on the Sun side, which makes me excited about that series. Cause I thought, I thought the Nuggets kind of had it wrapped up if, if they looked as bad as they did in like game one. Yeah. From the Sun side of looked as bad as they did in game one. Yeah, from the Sun side of things, I won't lie. After game one, I said, oh, well, maybe I jumped the gun. Maybe they're not. But the rest of that series felt like a...

Remember when Roy Jones came out with the rap album, Y'all Must've Forgot? I don't know if y'all remember that. I used to love that song. And it might still get bumped right now. In fact, Brian, put that track underneath what i'm saying right now but it felt like a y'all must have forgot series because so many of us so many of us were guilty of this we're like hey they got kd now so kd's the guy and devin booker while kd is still fantastic and you want and you you want him on that wall you need him on that wall devin booker on that wall, Devin Booker's still the guy.

Devin Booker is the best player on the Suns. So many 90s references in a row. That's all I'm here for. Few Good Men. That's all I'm here for. So a Roy Jones reference to his rap album that is not about people overreaching, but is just like, that's a good song. Damn right.

Damn right. You know what, Jack? Just wait. Next next i've got a demolition man reference i'm gonna work it in there somehow oh that's good stuff remember when dennis robman was in that van damme movie well his character once said something that i think about all the time what was that called double trouble no what was that called double impact double team double team something that no one ever did to Dennis Rodman. Yeah. I love me some Dennis Rodman. I mean, think about it.

If you want to win, if you were coaching one and you're like, I need that dude. If I can just find a way to control that dude. Oh, and then Phil Jackson realized I can't control him. Let him do whatever he wants. Just harness it. Just harness it. Then you'll realize some other things while watching Fox News. It would seem.

He did. He and his posse. But with the Suns, I mean, you know KD's going to be the difference maker, even though Devin Booker is definitely trying to assert himself as the man. They're not going to win unless KD comes through, and he'll have to steal the deal on a couple of those games. Ken, I'll put it to you like this.

Not to push back, but to push back a little bit. I saw Devin Booker take a team to a little bit. I saw Devin Booker take a team to the finals. You also saw Devin Booker get swept after going up. I recognize that. And I'm saying it like that on purpose because Suns fans

will get a little upset about it. I saw Devin Booker take a team to the finals. KD has won some titles, yes. He's never led a team, you don't think? Yeah, he led that Warriors team, right? I mean, it doesn't feel like...

No, no, you can't say that now. Come on now. Which is the reason why I said it like that. Not to take the conversation into a terrible place, because there's enough of that on NBA Twitter. And, you know, bus driver versus non-bus driver. He won the finals MVP one year, right? Twice, Twice.

Yeah. I don't know. It does feel like he is, like I've heard, you know, certain commentators be like, they don't know who's driving the bus. And like, KD's just kind of like, it's kind of like the new guy at the bachelor party.

You know what I'm saying? This is, you'll never guess who I'm doing. I was like, who are you trying to be? Bill Simmons. I'll doing. Bill Simmons? You know the new guy at the bachelor party doesn't really know which group he fits in with, doesn't know his role. That's kind of how KD is.

I think he also might just be letting Devin Booker be the man. Understanding that he needs to let Devin Booker be alpha and he can just be the greatest complimentary scorer that has ever been of all time because he wants another ring.

But if he does that, does he get any credit? You know how players don't get credit for kind of taking the backseat sometimes and doing other things? I think he's given up on that narrative stuff, hopefully, for his sanity. You just hit it on the head. Like he knows,

you know what it is and what it is. And ultimately, and here's the thing. They may not get credit in the moment. They may not get credit on, you know, the bird app. They were,

you know, we're on Twitter talking trash, whatever. And, you know, but ultimately when we look back at it, we're going to say KD was a champion. Like,

so like the, what I was saying earlier was a little bit tongue in cheek. We're not going to, you know, like at least me, I'm not going to say KD was a champion. So what I was saying earlier was a little bit tongue-in-cheek. At least me, I'm not going to say, oh, well, he only did this or only did... No, KD is one of the all-time greats and he's a two- or three-time champion is how the story's going to go. Perception is everything.

I was watching a clip about Kobe Bryant was talking about the perception of his legacy, obviously. And he was talking about how when he had those three rings with Shaq and then Shaq got the fourth ring in Miami, he's like, I absolutely have to get the next two rings or people are going to say

the narrative about my career is I couldn't win without Shaq. He's like, people say about Michael, couldn't win without Shadi. Right? He's like, okay, well, I have to find a way to win without Shaq. He's like, I couldn't accept that

as the narrative of my career. Kevin Durant has to do the same thing. He has to I couldn't accept that as the narrative of my career. Kevin Durant has to do the same thing. He has to say, I can't accept the narrative of my career that I'm a complimentary player that I've never led anything.

He has to accept that that's how it's going to be unless he changes it. And he doesn't seem to be willing to change it. Hopefully he doesn't care. Yeah, I was going to say, I think ultimately

at the end of things, yes, that might bother him right here in the moment or if he sees it on the timeline right i think it's good it does bother him because he he is one of my favorite just petty people like on twitter like i just love like some of the things he responds to and gets mad about i'm just like god bless you. You must have the worst digestion in the world. If you pay attention to every negative thing people say about you. I feel like the thing with Kobe and like Barkley, I think they totally underscore the fact that, man, you've got to be aware of your legacy.

Kobe was aware of it. And Kobe said, I'm changing this storyline so that when I'm no longer here, you know that I'm a champion. Barkley never put the investment, like Jordan always said, dude, you didn't put the investment, you didn't invest the time into changing the narrative of being a champion. You just play basketball. And I get the difference.

And Barkley's got to hear it every night from Shaq. Every night. Every night. That's got to suck. All right. Rapid Fire. Let me stretch. Fastest segment of podcastinging we're just looking for your

immediate thought we're just going to try and keep this one moving no hezzies on this one um jabari you want to take first you want me to take first no you go first you go all right deal this choice okay ken first question rapid fire is there there a single NBA player you would take right now over the chance of taking Wemba Yama with the first pick this summer? Yeah, I'd take Darren Fox all day. Stop it. All right.

Folks, he said it with a straight face. He's looking at me mean mugging right now at the fact that I'm saying stop it. If that's where we're going, I'm not mad at it. It's a generational player. Okay.

Alright. It said Ben Simmons was that too. Hey, they say a lot of things. Did anybody say Ben Simmons was a generational player? Oh, yes. In fact, I... Did I say that? I might have said that. No, I was going to say, well, in

fairness, I was a Ben Simmons guy, so I can't, you know, walk away sideways now simply because he's down a little bit. He's still coming back. He's still going to have that fantastic career. Just, you know, we'll see how it goes. Alright, but you know what? We've messed up because this is the fastest segment

in podcasting, and, you know, we've been d up because this is the fastest segment in podcasting. And, you know, we've been dilly dallying. So keep it going. Second question. What is your favorite NBA city to visit? And what's your must have meal in that town? Wow. NBA city to visit. I have to say it. It's Los Angeles. There you go. Unfortunately, just because L.A. does everything. Now, the meal that I would have if I'm in LA is street tacos, baby.

I'm all about tacos. In Los Angeles. I was going to say Staples, but yeah, we're still going to call it. Right outside of Staples, let me get a street taco, one of those Sonoran dogs, bacon-wrapped hot dogs. We are good to go. What are those called? They're not

Sonoran hot dogs? Well, here in Arizona, they're called Sonoran dogs because they originated here according to Arizonans. Okay. All right. Is Jalen Rose's hair too good to be true? Yes. Okay. Everything about that brother is like, too good to be true.

It's weird. In fact, he's still on television. All that stuff is too good to be true. I got you. All right, keeping it going, you can go back and attend any single game in NBA history. Which game are you choosing? Outside of Game 4, 2002. Right? Because I'm out there with a voodoo doll.

I would have to say, wow, I'm going to go, believe it or not, game seven, Lakers and Celtics the year that Kobe and Ron Artest beat the Celtics. I would have loved to have been at that because Kobe was pulling down rebounds, doing all this different stuff. That would have been a really intense game. I knew Kobe needed to have it that night. I feel like that game took two years off of my life

and then gave me a year after the fact. So I'm right there with you by the way uh jack that was another series that doc lost a three he was up three two in that series and then lost but i'm sorry keep going yeah uh all right finally jack or jabari what jabari yeah what are you talking about although jack i gotta give it to you man you're pretty awesome hey i like thank you so much and everything. I like that very much. Thank you. We go back from radio, radio, like, five, six years ago.

Personally, I would have gone with Jack, but I appreciate it. Yeah, you know what? I would have too, Ken. So, no, thanks very much. Great having you. All right. That is this week's episode of mad boosties kemp where can people find you follow you all that good stuff i'm on

the moral every single morning monday through friday on fanduel tv so fanduel tv is a brand new sports betting network that was just uh rebranded from the old tvg network tvg did only horse racing all day long so now now we're FanDuel TV. We do Everhang, Everhang, Everhang. So I get to start in the morning. I bet horse racing. Then I transition into setting the lines for basketball. Then transition into setting the lines for baseball, football.

We have football shows with Kay Adams from NFL Network. We have basketball shows with Michelle Liddle and Shams and Eddie Gonzalez and Chandler Parsons. They're all part of the crew on Run It Back. So we've got all these original programs, and I'm on every single morning, Monday through Friday, 9 o'clock to 12 o'clock, just getting started on FanDuel TV. I just happen to be part of the rebranding and getting everything going in this new direction for sports betting.

Nice, man. I'll even give you a Cat Williams reference in his answer. I do Cat Williams. Man, that's my dude. Every day I say, Everett Hines! Everett Hines! Love it. answer i do can't win man that's my dude every day i say everything everything love it all right jabari where can people find you i'm simple jabari davis nba or you know mad boosties you know hassling people trying to get you and get you to interact make sure you guys follow us on twitter

at mad boosties yeah yeah what about you jack can find me on Twitter, Jack underscore O'Brien. That's going to do it for us this week. We'll be back. We'll know more next week. I will be wearing all black and eye makeup like an emo kid if the Sixers are down 3-0 or down 2-0 to the Celtics. We'll see. All right. Thanks, guys.

Bye. Bye. Go Sixers. Go Lakers. That'll see. Alright. Thanks, guys. Bye. Bye. Go Sixers. Go Lakers. That's right. Go Kings. There you go, Kings. K-A-N-G-S. G-Z, excuse me. Yep. I'm Kerry 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 rivalryivalry, Caitlin Clark vs. 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.