The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #91: State of the Rockets with Ryan Hollins

Episode Date: December 13, 2023

The guys were honored to be joined by former player and current Houston Rockets tv analyst Ryan Hollins on today’s episode. The trio discussed the results of the inaugural In-Season Tournament, the state of the Houston Rockets and plenty more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Well, well, well. We've got the in-season tournament to wrap up. Couldn't even make it to his second well. No, couldn't even. Without coughing. I told you, yeah.

Look, that win took the life out of me. So we'll get to that. Look, you know, the Lakers, we know when to show up. Banner number 18. That doesn't count. 18.1, 17.1. But yes, we're going to talk about that.

The state of the Houston Rockets and plenty more to discuss with former player and current Rockets TV analyst Ryan Holland on today's episode. I'm Miles Gray. And I'm Jack O'Brien. And this is Miles and Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien.

Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien.

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Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien.

Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien.

Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien.

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Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. Jack O'Brien. spinning fading hidden curry a three-pointer bang steph curry from downtown again welcome to the show ryan hollins houston rockets color analyst former player former bruin you know uh hey also an alumni shout out to the ucla bruins uh and also owner of

new music clothing welcome to the show man how. And also owner of New Music Clothing. Welcome to the show, man. How are you? Doing good, man. Thanks for having me, fellas. Oh, yeah, of course. Of course. Good to have you.

Always good to have you. So, you know, you're working with the Rockets, looking at solid at home, 10-1 at home, 1-8 on the road. Solid. Spectacular. Spectacular. It's a fortress. It's a fortress.

Less spectacular on the road. Yeah. But they did Spectacular. It's a fortress. It's a fortress. Less spectacular on the road. But they did get that win on the road. But I feel like this is the team that is the most surprising to the most people, including myself. And I'm saying, from my casual

interactions with looking at the Houston Rockets and just in the offseason, I was like, okay gonna happen what's gonna happen was this gonna work is it gonna work it looks like it's it's it's percolating it's popping it's moving how do you how were you looking at it from the offseason as somebody who obviously has much closer proximity to the team i was ecstatic uh going in because maybe this wasn't the you you know, LeBron James, Durant pickup, a big, you know, Kyrie Irving box office. But we got the pieces that we needed. And if you watch the Rockets, even though the winning wasn't there, the talent was there.

From Al P to Jabari to Jalen to a number of young pieces. But there were literally, this was a roster, guys, with no veterans. So between Coach Udoka, Fred and Dylan, they have changed it. And Jeff brain shot at Jeff brain. He's been spectacular. They have changed the entire landscape in Houston. So you got to love what you're seeing. I knew it would be better. I didn't know it would be this much better in this fast. And you know, the mindset isn't like, man, let's just go out and compete.

The mindset here in Houston now is like, yo, we're going pound for pound with any and everybody. We're not looking at, you know, moral victories. There are no moral victories this year. And I think from that aspect, that's the thing that mostly shocked me and surprised me and has me excited because it's like, all right, world champs, we're going three-on-one with you. Let's go head-to-head. Like, LeBron James, let's go. We're going to give you a 30-piece at the crib, okay? You need AD.

You're not beating us this year without AD in the lineup, okay? Right. So you got to come with it. And the pieces that we had, they were complimented rather than shoved out the way. Because a lot of times you see guys make a trade, you're like, how's this going to fit? You know, Phoenix, how are they all going to work? Hey, number of moves. You know, hey, when the Nets had their big three, how's that going to work?

Philadelphia, you know, Harden and Beat, how's that going to work? Like, when these moves made, there were no questions with our moves. And, you know, for me, I like players that want to prove something. I like a lot of Dylan Brooks slander so he can come out and do the great things that he's doing with the team. I like Fred. He's not worth the money. I like that.

So now Fred is frustrated. I want a team upset, and that's why we have a lot of guys that want to come out and prove themselves and shoot a coach with a chip on his shoulder. Yeah, absolutely. Would you say it's more Coach Udoka or the additions? I mean, I'm sure it's a combination of both, but it feels like Coach Udoka is the thing that without which none of this is possible. He really seems like he came in and just immediately gave them a whole new sort of animating spirit.

I'm going to give it to you right now when you sum it up. We're going to get smarter right now when we talk about this. Coach Udoka is the culture. Yeah. High energy, attitude, effort, no excuses, accountability. you don't play well you won't be playing okay fred is the offense we're top five at least in the league all season and assist the turnover ratio right for a team that turned the ball over and couldn't hit free throws and numerous losses last season okay and then dylan's defense. He's played so hard. He's been so

effective. He's the guy you can stick on another team's guy. Okay? That the rest of the guys, it's like first, Dylan stood out like a store of thumb. Like, man, he's playing really hard. You know, everybody's kind of playing normal, but he's playing hard hard. Now, everybody's playing hard hard. So, Dylan's the defense. Fred is the

offense. Emae's the culture. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, with third overall in defensive efficiency, that's a huge improvement. So, yeah. Number one in fast break defense. And in the NBA, this NBA, fast break defense is everything, bro. Right.

Depending on the team, that's 20 to 40 points a night in transition. Right. What do you think the difference is between at home and on the road? Because they have looked kind of like different teams. Is that just a, you know, youth thing? We still have young players, of course. Yeah. We got young players. And we have the team that to be successful for the most part, like everybody kind of has to play well or do something like we don't have that.

We still don't have that guy that just carries you to a win. You know, you don't we don't have the like, hey, put the ball in Lucas hands and just get out. We don't have that with all due respect. So in these team wins, everybody's playing hard. It's the defense. It's accountability. It's those things. So as far as the road, like you said, you get it hard. It's the defense. It's accountability. It's those things. So as far as the road, like you said, you get it.

We need our young players. So as they're still navigating and figuring out what the pace looks like on the road, what the tempo looks like, the type of shots you can take versus what you can't take, that's where the road losses come from and then take accountability. Also, if you think about ema and boston it was a history major at ucla right the one thing they did they started out so slow okay and they couldn't score the basketball tatum was a little off brown was a little off and then all of a sudden like that got fired everybody looked up like dang boston is really good that's all right you got you

gotta like learn ema system like it kind of takes a while like an email is going to find a guy and push them to be better so um that's what we're still still those like bumps and bruises that the team can improve from because when the offense catches up to what you're saying from the defense oh Oh, my God. We still can't score the basketball. This is the team that's doing this on defense, dude. So when the offense comes about, oh, man, I'm telling you. As a player, what is the difference? Like, when you're young, I guess I'm curious about, like,

what that differentiating thing is. You always hear, like, well, young guys have a harder time making the adjustment on the road. Can you speak to that at all? What that difference is when you're a younger player versus when you're older? Is it just you're not used to traveling like that? You haven't learned all the tricks of when to eat

and all that stuff? We can keep it real on this podcast, right? We can keep it real, right? You may. Okay. From my experiences in the league, when you're a young guy sometimes you got to learn are you a party guy or you'll get your rest of the night before the game do you do you point out when you party all right do i need to get in early and get shots because i don't have the same at home i can go to the gym whenever now we got a certain window in which we can uh get into the

gym man referees might be a little tighter. Man, the role players, like forget the stars, bro. Like the role players play different on the road. The whistle is going to be different. Are the referees calling it tight or are they letting this plan be more physical? You got to adjust to what's going on. There's some certain times you're not going to get a whistle or a call. So that comes within experience, but you've got to understand who you are, what you're going to bring to the table. call. So that comes within experience, but you've got to understand who you are, what you're going to bring to the table. And then I think the biggest thing is mentally you figure out I'm a 10 rebound guy every single night. I'm a, I'm a defensive stopper every night, no matter what's going on. I'm a three point shooter every night, road home

playoffs, wherever it is. Okay. Like like Burger King you can have it your way I got you all right you know I'm saying so that's the the development where Fred knows who he is Dylan knows who he is Jeff knows who he is our young guys are still figuring that out for a couple of our wins it was just like hey Fred was like no no we ain't losing you know saying Dylan right you know went off and they say he can't score the basketball he went off and scored so those guys are doing what they can. But once those are younger guys adjust, and these are like close wins, dude. Like, we were right there.

I almost want to say leading the Lakers and Clippers at their place on the road, just kind of figuring out how to finish games, you know? And, dude, the West is deep. Like, Houston ain't the only one struggling on the road. The West is deep. Name the worst teams in the West. How many of them are K-pop? Name them. Right.

I'll give you some help. Portland, San Antonio, Memphis for a little while until they get that boy back. I may be forgetting, so everybody else is competitive. Right.

The one thing I've really liked to see is just how Al Sangoon is just, I feel like coming into a new, just coming to life in a way that is very fun to watch. Right now, he's leading the team in scoring. I hear things about Ime talking about how he's a calming presence,

and I've heard him say really good, Al saying really good things about Ime and things like about Emei talking about how he's like a calming presence and I've heard him say really good like Al saying really good things about Emei and things like that what is that like what is that is that like a is that kind of the special sauce right now is he is Coach Udoka really bringing something out of him does this feel like it was just about a matter of time for Al

to just kind of get into this moment because it feels there's something something happening there systems man you remember Emei didn't to just kind of get into this moment because it feels there's something, something happening there. Systems, man. You remember E-May didn't come in just singing out peace praises. He was like, Hey, if he can't defend, he might not be playing. Right. If he, if he can't get on the boards, he might not be playing.

Like, like he may push them and never let out. He get comfortable. And then, and then I'll give you two factors. Okay. He's not Yoko yet. Hopefully he gets factors, okay? He's not Jokic yet. Hopefully he gets to that point. He's got Fred Van Fleet running the pick and roll. He's putting on a master's class in the pick and roll.

And then it's dive. Feed him, feed him, feed him. And Alpe's one of the better finishers in the league. He just has the feel. He's got that stuff you can't teach, okay? He's got that stuff you can't teach. So he's got that feel for the game. And then on defense, Alpe is a better athlete than you think.

He still has his moments, but he knows we're playing in a system on defense. He knows when he goes to help, somebody got his back. And if you don't have his back, he may going to be laying into you on a bench. Right. So now he's like, all right, like there certain guys, like you put a prime Dwight Howard in the middle of the lane, and nobody scored. No matter what. So it didn't matter what you did. Nobody scored. The LP's just like,

no, I need a system. I'm not a JaVale McGee. I'm not one of those guys, but in the system, I can be more formidable, and I'm a decent athlete, so I'm going to go beat some stuff up. I'm going to go make some plays when they come about, and I feel comfortable competing because I know what so I'm going to go beat some stuff up. I'm going to go make some plays when they come about. And I feel comfortable competing because I know what my teammates are going to do.

So that's a big part of his improvement. Yeah. I mean, yeah, watching him and Fred, like, just their two-man game against the Spurs, I was like, ooh, Kate, this is, like, they've got a connection that I was, yeah. Well, you got somebody who rides with you, right? You got somebody who rides with you. You know where your partner's going to be. And it was crazy that chemistry's still not even there.

And then another thing, you know, this is like the cardinal sin in the NBA. I'll pee with short roll. So short roll means I'm not diving on the rim, not popping for three. I short roll. I'm playing like in between. And some people don't like that because sometimes it can ruin spaces. Coach Ema's like, Al P do what you want to do, bro. You want to pop, pop. If you want to roll, roll, you want to short roll, short roll. Like he's, he's, he's, he's letting him do that where there

were moments where he got caught in between and friends are you short rolling? I'm hit you in that spot. And a lot of times that's extremely frowned upon. So that's another element of him just being embraced like, yo, just be you be what you are. Right. And I think that's a lot of, you know, what we're seeing. And now he's comfortable to just play ball, you know? Right.

Yeah. what we're seeing and now he's comfortable to just play ball you know right yeah i mean because so much of it's just that man management to be able to put somebody in the right mental space to just be like just just play just do that and yeah we're seeing who yeah yeah yeah just looking at the west just wanted to reiterate what you were saying so you got the spurs and the blazers at the bottom grizz but jaws coming back next week Jazz, and then the next team. Maybe the Jazz. Yeah, the Jazz. But then you got the Warriors. Like, that's the next bad team.

For sure, bro. Then the Pelicans. Then the Suns. Then the Clippers. Then the Rockets. Then the Lakers. Then the Kings. Nuggets. Mavericks. Thunder. And then the Timberwolves. Like, it's just... I think the Rockets have only played like... Rockets got, okay, San Antonio Thunder, and then the Timberwolves. Like, it's just, yeah. I think the Rockets have only played, like, Rockets got, okay, San Antonio twice and Memphis once,

but everybody else has just been a dog. Yeah. Right. Yeah. A lot of them out west. All right, let's take a quick break. We'll be right back. Hey, this is Mike Wright from the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast.

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nfl listen to the insiders on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and we're back and shout out to the listeners we got a couple questions for the rocket section from warren shaw asked what's been more important udoka or the uh players uh the mojo king yes the mojo king uh why does houston look completely different at home versus on the road and then desmond pal talking about shangoon uh so just shout out to uh shout out to the listeners for doing our jobs. We appreciate y'all. You caught Wemby up close recently. Yeah, we do want to ask about that.

You saw that. We saw from many feet away in Vegas in Summer League, which again, I'll always say it's not even close to capturing what his essence is. What's that like? What was it like seeing him up close and personal? He got a chance to be

one of the greatest players that we've ever seen play the game. How mentally tough he is, how much weight he puts on, 100% determined on that. And even if he doesn't right now, and he plays a center position, he can be like a if he doesn't right now, and he plays a center position,

he can be like a 2020 guy right now. If we don't improve one thing about him right now, he can be like a 2020 guy. He's that unique. And if San Antonio had pieces around him, he's easily a 2020 guy. But if he goes and works, he gets bigger, he gets mentally tough, he gets it's it's almost impossible to guard

him with his touch length um ability to move like he moves he moves with guys a foot taller than him can keep him in front he's he's one of the most unique if not the most unique prospect we've ever seen um so how much stronger he gets how much more focus he gets but like he every time i've seen him he's done something i've never seen before bro he punched on chingun where he just turned and it was it was a nerf punch on like you punch on your boy right you're my boy you can play on the nerf and just get it in it was a nerf punch on it he was like oh oh god, like what? Victor rolling to the bucket!

Oh! Overshaked! Count the basket and the foul! Oh, Dan. Somebody needs a body bag. That was terrible. And we love it. We want some more of that one unfortunately whether he likes it or not his best position is probably going to be playing the five i like what pop is did

what they're doing with him and i'm intrigued to see i think what pop is doing when you really watch them and break that he just let them go what are his natural instincts does he is he a short corner guy is he trail three is he getting off the bounce now i think next year the year after they're going to tighten up and say all right wouldn't be uh we want you pulsing up more all right wouldn't be if you shoot a three we want more threes in the middle of the key you know but right now like he's doing whatever the heck he wants you know but i think assessing what's works what's natural for him and getting to know him, I think is,

is kind of scary that I think the league's not looking or guys aren't kind of like looking at that, but like there's a method to the madness over there in San Antonio. Yeah. I mean, you know, as somebody who's played like when we watch, we're like just his length.

We're like, he's disrupting players, like even the way they're thinking about shooting or passing and it's wild just to think like how sort of out of your own head a player can get merely because they're like i'm actually not even sure like what this guy's like length is what like what is even within range of him like swatting me or being able to pick off a pass something like that like what do you think that, like when you're trying to contend, like you're saying was something you've never seen.

What, like, what is that adjustment process even like? Like, how do you even, you just, you have to just come up against it and be like, okay,

now I know. And now I have to deal with that. Or is there anything you can even do before to prepare? It's not that unique. If you had been watching me playing Nerf hoops for many years, I was, I mean, I saw the mixt was on nerf.

Yeah. I remember. Yeah. Especially the anti-up, the anti-up by MOP section of your mixtape. Yeah. That was wild. Yeah.

I mean, you saw, you saw the Mavericks were practicing and I think that, uh, you know, the Rockets did a little bit too with the big long hand. Like it's, it's the only thing you've got like a wing span,

if I'm not mistaken, like that's the only way to contend. But right now, what teams are doing, they just bang him. They get into his chest and they draw fouls. But that moment where he's strong enough for you to bump in, even if he falls back a little bit, he's still in. It's crazy, bro. He's still in plays.

But the point where he gets mad and just runs to the middle of the rim turns and just just nerf hoops you right it's disgusting it's gonna be disgusting but he's nerf hooping you like like like jack right in the middle of the room right it's over that's the only way like like you gotta hold him up you gotta bang with him and then you know you put a big boy in there he's gonna be taking you off the bounce you know he can legit he can he can mix a little bit he's not he's not quite kd you know like we thought but i think the potential is there like it's crazy you'll see him go through dribbling drills like he's got a real like a real handle and it's like oh he does yeah whatever whatever he's been doing it's it's impressive he don't gotta pretend handle it it's really kind of on

a string like it's it's wild he's got the best handle for somebody that i've seen who's also leading the league in blocks or he's now tied for the lead in blocks uh as a rookie he could be he could be defensive player of the year this year it probably should be because even though san antonio is not competitive right now you have to account for him every game right yeah but you gotta count like where like when you go to me like as a former player we're like bro all right like like what impact does he have i think people are going at him but like dang i gotta worry about this guy like dang he's coming into town like dang we gotta change our game plan up like we used to play dwight howard we work we used to play Dwight Howard. We'd work on shot fakes, you know, before the game.

We work on like floaters. Like when you're changing your game plan for somebody, that's an impact. I don't think he's necessarily like there there yet, but if he gets hot, nothing would surprise me. I still think he's going to hit like another gear this season. Yeah. He's also, so he's tied for with brooke lopez for the leading

blocks and is also has the most steals of anybody in the top 17 per game um so pretty pretty crazy like yeah yeah i picked him like as an upset pick for defensive player of the year but their team defensive stats are so bad that I don't think it's happening. But part of me, it's like the impressive thing is just for him being on the court, what it's doing to people. And I think I wish that was enough to say, well, defensively, we have to kind of acknowledge what he's done. I mean, even when Jokic looked a little bit out of sorts against him, I was like, wow, it's like that, I guess. Yeah. All right.

Should we do it? Should we do the in-season tournament, Miles? Oh, Jack. I mean, look, I like to be humble. You know, obviously, I'm an unwell Lakers fan. How does a team that's about 500 in the league just get into the top of the top, the height of all heights in the league just getting to the top of the top the height of all heights uh in the in-season tournament i for a second i was like watching the pacers get there

i was like okay this is gonna this is gonna be a game uh and it wasn't it wasn't quite that way it wasn't quite that way it was actually quite comfortable uh and a fun watch but ad my goodness 41 and 20 i was i was i had tears in my eyes um because i was hoping for that consistency yeah i'm hoping that this can maybe be something but we'll question you guys won the title in the bubble like he had a game like that and then the next game it was kind of he kind of came back to earth but yeah yeah yeah if he can if he can turn that on in the biggest moments uh i i like the lakers i like the lake i mean it's all but that's the thing we're always saying is like you know like lebron i mean i like who was i was on a text there was somebody and they're like the man is he was like he

got in the delorean for that game and i thought he hopped out in like 2010 or something like that uh but it was wild to watch i mean ryan you were watching uh what like what were your like overall how did you how did you enjoy the in-season tournament because i think like for me we were our us we were like okay let's see how it goes we'll see how invested they are and then we're like oh that's right when when five hundred thousand dollars is on the line you will see people uh show up here's the thing which you gotta understand about nba players these dudes would darn their fight over a five dollar bet in a shooting game literally like scrap like you guys are millionaires multi-millionaires but y'all gonna scrap over a five like and talk trash like right so at the end of

the day i knew just the fact of new court new jersey's guys were going to play hard national media comes in you know you want to be a part of it and all those guys man i ain't tripping out like they were trying to win you kind of want to nonchalantly win like ah you know just like but yeah hats off to lebron and i don't think people are going to understand his value till he's gone, that he wants to give you all 82 games. And then like, he's laying it on the line. Like the guy loves basketball.

And I think what we've seen them, what two, two, three times this year already. Um, he's gotten better this year. It's almost like, this is like his third stage of life and or his basketball life

right right and like i will say like he's adapted to his old man body all right like like this is it like his old man body and now he's like okay pull up jumper post game pick and roll ad lob like he's knows he's he's in a nice little pocket of basketball right now. And then he's got guys that are defending and hustling around them. So he's like, cool, just, just be in my spot, play my assignment and I'm going to be good. And you're seeing that, um, from LeBron. Also, I think what people don't understand LeBron, you can now we'll say LeBron is the greatest athlete we've ever seen in any sport you may rival him with like a bo jackson like from just a talent how high do you jump how tall

right how fast you like he's the greatest athlete we've ever seen he probably could have he could have gone pro in just about anything baseball uh football but that's you know like whatever right soccer like he could have done he's blazing fast right right hockey easily easy right we can all agree to that so when you go when you're like at the one percent of athletes ever and now like lebron let's say he's like at 70 or 60 he's still a really good nba athlete right so when you guys when we look at longevity obviously skill is a huge component but those elite off the chain athletes have the longevity because now they're just good NBA athletes.

You get what I'm saying? Yeah. That's how those guys can last and play forever. Obviously injuries are, are every, every bit and part of it, but like just being a good, like Vince Carter,

when I played with Vince, I forget what year he played like three, four more years, even after that, which was disgusting. Right. But Vince had a 37 and a half inch vertical. We, we measured out a P three and set a Santa Barbara. Right. And it was like, dang, he's still killing because also Vince has a Jimmy he could shoot. So when you, when you're evaluating those guys that can go through, it's those athletes that are going to be able to be able to last. And you're seeing that from LB right now. He's a good he's like a good nba athlete like it was crazy like he's good

at nba but you got to realize the dude was a one percenter you know in his prime right i mean it's what it's also wild to hear i'm i'm like i think i'm two months older than lebron and i'm like oh that's an old man body yeah yeah okay yeah we're adapting to our old man body and i'm adapting to my old body by going to bed early and recognizing that i'm gonna wake up at five every morning right i'm like if i sit if i sit like all weird on my foot on the couch for too long i will be limping for two minutes when i get off the couch uh but yeah he's he's got it he's got the goods man and yeah i mean and also ar shout out shout out austin reeves too 28 off the bench i think and i think he was sick or something too so it was a

very the austin reeves flu game uh i do just want to say the ad stat line for that game 41 25 assists four blocks his defense is like it he speaking of defensive player of the year, this is the most I've been invested in defensive player of the year, but like there, there's some fun candidates and I feel like ad he he's never won it. And it feels like he's been doing some things that are, uh, pretty impressive that like,

especially in the playoff run last year, I found a new appreciation for what a just lockdown shot stopper he is. Yeah, he was doing it both ends. Yep. All right, it's time. We're going to take a quick break and come back with the rapid fire segment of questioning to close it out. The fastest segment in podcasting.

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And we're back. And we're back. Guess what, Ryan Hollins, UCLA history major. You've come up against another UCLA history major. And this time we're going to make history by maintaining our record as the fastest question and answer segment in all sports podcasting history. Okay. This is the rapid fire round of questioning. Ryan Hollins, we're going to ask you a question. Don't think quick. Just chest pass it right back. Okay? This is the rapid fire round of questioning. Ryan Hollins, we're going to ask you a question.

Don't think quick. Just just pass it right back. Okay? No, nothing fancy. And if we start talking and dragging things on you, you got a bit of professionalism about you, we're going to need you to keep the segment moving too because sometimes we get sloppy. So we are going to lean on you as well because you're a professional in so many ways. Is that

cool? I guess I'll be Jabari right now just call me okay okay well guess what jabari we're about to get locked in brian start the clock says it was such a mean look on his face because it's intense it's on the line it's on the line you want to kick us off? I mean, yeah. I guess we could. Wait, who went first last time? Did I go first last time? I forget. I think it was. Okay.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think you went first last time. You want me to go first? Whatever. It's up to you. I mean, it's whichever. Ryan, who do you think should go first? Jack.

Okay. See? Cool. Ryan, contenders, the pretenders, a.kers, aka teams that need to be active ahead of the trade deadline and why. We got the Suns. We got the Sixers. We got the Lakers.

We got the Warriors. Who do you think needs to make some moves? Who do you think needs to stand pat? And who do you think is secretly kind of strong because they've got Embiid and Therese Maxey? Easy, easy, easy, easy. Don't need to lead the witness. Objection, Your Honor. Yeah, sustained.

Okay, so that was a real loaded question right there. From the Lakers, I state unless they can package a lot for a third star, I don't, I don't see that just realistic unless somebody becomes very disgruntled out there.

Someone that would actually make sense. If I'm the son, let's stay packed. I think they have enough. Obviously we can't, you know, fairly evaluate them without Bradley bill in the lineup. What are the other team that you said?

Lakers. Or sorry, Sixers and Warriors. Sixers could make a move. I think Maxie's showing you that he's the guy. So, maybe even if you get another score in the lineup. If you're the Warriors, I think there's a move that they can make. I'm not sure what it is exactly.

But, I think they're not contenders right now, and I think a move could put them where they need to be. I think they've got to be a little more youthful. They need someone to take the load off of Steph and Clay, and obviously Chris is doing an excellent job, but just a third

guy in the mix. I think they're missing Jordan Poole, pool his youth his excitement his scoring but they've gotten better as far as you know the lord clearly with chris paul lower the turnovers but i still think they need that like just hyper super score that just wants to come in and that nick young you know that guy that just wants to go get a bucket that jr smith like i think they need that element of jordan pool but the other stuff you that just wants to go get a bucket, that J.R. Smith. Like, I think they need that element of Jordan Poole. But the other stuff, you know, you had to go let him be free.

Right, right. Okay. Biggest surprise team or players so far? And I'll give you, you know, like Minneapolis, 17-5. I'm sorry, Minnesota, 17-5. Orlando, 16-7. OKC, 15-7. Golden State, 10-12.

Who surprised you as a team or player so far? And those are just some options, but from your heart. I would say Chet Holmgren in OKC. I think that, you know, there were a lot more questions than answers with Chet. He got injured, and I think he's very unique in Oklahoma City. Like, man, I wouldn't say they're contenders right now, but like they're in the mix. And it's like funny. We just played them and they're like, yeah, we're just developing.

This is a developmental year. But like they are. They're really, really good. And they just got a unique style. They built a culture there. I would say they stand out. Really, really stand out with the success that they had uh they've had over there so i'll give them that and and chet i think he's been he's been balling he's kind of

like showed you some flashes and if any of us were like chet's gonna be better than wimby like we didn't like you're crazy you know but like right now like he he likely should be the rookie of the year so i would say chet wow being better than wimby is something that i don't i don't think anybody was rolling with that take you know that week even for you jack yeah even for me which you know i'm a wimby homer uh in the camp for all right who's the most underappreciated of the all-time great like give us a guy that deserves to be mentioned, but often left out of the all-time debates. Kareem. Kareem. People forget Kareem was Wimby before Wimby, bro.

He didn't play that style of basketball. But if you drop Kareem in today's NBA, he's pushing the ball 94 feet. He's crossing you over. He's pulling up for three. If you can shoot a sky hook after 15 foot you can shoot they said he could shoot his sky hook to the three-point line it was that like his touch was that crazy so like imagine kareem coming down off the bounce talking about magic you set the pick and roll this time like right he was that type of athlete there's a poster in poly excuse me is it is it still poly ply Pavilion? Or did you rename it? Forgive me. Yeah, I played in Pauly Pavilion.

Yeah, yeah. We're like, Kareem, his whole head and everything is above the rim. Like, Kareem was Wemby before Wemby. When they talk about that GOAT conversation, I need more respect on Kareem's name. Yeah. All right. People, I've had older people tell me, like, watching Wemby, they're like, man, it truly, just like the way he runs is a lot like watching Kareem, like, move on the court.

Like, everything about him. And they have very similar bodies. Like, 7'4", very thin. And it makes sense that he was even, you know, asking for guidance. Or Kareem was offering him guidance on, like, you know, longevity. And, like, what to do with a body like that in the league. And low, low key, Kareem was ahead in the physical fitness game because he was doing martial arts which added a lot of breathing yoga stretching so all this stuff we pay all this money for and put these names like kareem was

doing that a long time ago right yeah so i guess flexibility right right so maybe some of these guys need to get in a movie with jet lee or something. You know what I mean? Like how he was with Bruce Lee. Just make sure you tick all the boxes. All right, Ryan. What is the most underrated NBA city to visit? And what is your must-have meal in that town? You know, honorable mention, dude. I just had stir fry in Denver and I was blown away.

It's the best stir fry I've ever had in my life like ben had nothing on this denver stir fry i think it was like mr fuji or fiji mount fuji phoebe something like that i forget what the name was okay forgive me if i butchered um the name but low key city fellas miles you're a bad one for this one. I miss Seattle. I miss Seattle, obviously. If I know Chicago, you know Miami. I know New York. Dang, you know Dallas

is popping. I did not know Dallas was popping. Dallas is definitely popping. Dallas is definitely popping. Dallas is definitely popping. Hey, you guys are disgusting. Why would you ask me this? You've been there. That's why we got to ask.

I haven't moved out of this studio in seven years. Orlando is really spread out. I like Orlando, but it's spread out. I will say, it's funny. A lot of people move to Orlando. They play there and they always buy houses there there's a lot of guys that live down there um oh hey charlotte is turnt now oh yeah it's different now bro charlotte okay when i from when i was drafted there to now it's a whole new city bro what was it like then and what's it like now the downtown area there was like nothing like kind of to do it was kind of like there you had

to like kind of drive somewhere whatever like charlotte is like a meat like a low low-key mini atlanta like charlotte oh okay because it's just three hours it's like three hours and then you got california weather in charlotte because it's very comparable to california weather-wise nice wow people don't know that yeah that's like yeah all right you heard it here great answer um all right fun fact for you guys and finally you can retroactively space jam yourself into having Robert Ory's career or Charles Barkley's career. Which one do you choose? Charles Barkley. Give me the bread.

Give me the bread. And I get to commentate after. I get to be better after. Yeah. Give me the bread, fellas. Shout out, Rob. Big shout out, Rob. Yeah.

Good times. Friend of the show. Friend of the show for the show robert ory obviously oh man well ryan holland his way too yeah yeah for real for real uh well ryan thank you so much for joining us i'm also jack got mad boosties uh where can people find you follow you check you out and also you know new music clothing let people know what's going on with that yeah man um check me out uh they're ryan hollins on twitter ryan hollins on instagram uh i don't mind you guys debating with me but don't like call me wild names or you will be uh blocked with tumbo style block with the finger yeah you see me again shout out new music clothing we have some cool stuff going for some tall people for some regular sized people like like you two yeah and jabari um um comfortable pants clothing uh where's the name new music comes from there's

nothing like new music right on that new music right there you got that you got that uh you whatever your favorite song is there's nothing like new music so nothing like the clothing see the synergy there goes through basketball we come out and play we got music on driving your car new music good thing right new music on driving your car new music good feeling right new music nothing like that new music miles got that new music yeah so we want that feel um with the clothing and and shoot check out support these rockets man um this has been a fun really fun season and um again i'm interactive y'all write me i'll likely write back and uh you guys keep doing an amazing job man fun fun stuff, fun stuff. You guys got going here,

man. Keep it up. Oh, I appreciate that. Appreciate that. And, uh, yeah,

you can follow us and the show. Uh, just follow the hashtag hashtag bad boosties. B double O S D I E S for show links and updates. You can follow me on Twitter at miles of gray. You can find me at Jack underscore O'Brien and that's going to do it. It's going to do it. We'll see you next week.

Thanks for listening. And we'll have plenty more because the season never ends. I mean, it does end, but you know what we're talking about. We're around and we'll be back. All right. See you guys. Bye. Bye.

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