The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #97: Most Improved Award Talk and Record Scoring Nights with Raj Chipalu

Episode Date: January 24, 2024

Miles and Jack were pleased to be joined by NBA analyst Raj Chipalu on today’s episode! The trio discussed this year’s Most Improved Player award race, some historic offensive nights from around the league and plenty more!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. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry.

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

And on this new season, we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. There's so much beauty in Mexican culture, like mariachis, delicious cuisine, and even lucha libre. Join us for the new podcast,

Lucha Libre Behind the Mask, a 12-episode podcast in both English and Spanish about the history and cultural richness of lucha libre. And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, emperor of lucha libre and a WWE superstar. Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. Well, well, well, we told you we would be back and we promised.

And look, promises kept, promises made. I think that's how the phrase goes. In that order. Exactly. Promises kept and then promises made. But we kept them. But today, we've got career highs and a record nights of scoring. The Sixers are streaking in the good way.

The Cavs and Suns are also on theirs. And head coaches are being replaced. And plenty more to discuss with our guy, NBA analyst Raj Jopalu on today's podcast. I'm Miles Ray. And I'm Jack O'Brien. And this is Miles and Jack O'Brien. there you go driving spinning fading hitting lebron's got it with five he's gonna try another three mr lebron james let's go oh wow someone is feeling good well we got raj topalu you welcome back to this show you cover the l Lakers, but as people know, this is obviously an informal Lakers podcast.

We won't be talking about them because there's much healthier things to discuss in the league today. Man, I remember when scoring 70 used to mean something. I just saw someone tweet. Truly get out of here. Get out of here with that. Stop watching basketball. Get out of here with that. MJ never basketball. Get out of here with that.

MJ never did it. MJ never put up 70. Yeah, that's true. Because he stinks. What, 69? 68? Yeah, he put up 69. Yeah.

But still. Just one point off. But yeah, I mean, that's definitely, I think, the biggest news as of today, as of this recording. Embiid. Joel Embiid, putting up 70. Oh, Joel Embiid. Yes, Joel Embiid. We'll get to my plans for Joel Embiid when we inevitably welcome him to the Lakers. Big couple weeks for him.

Last week, Miles and Jabari decided that he was worthy of wearing the purple and gold. He responds by uh honoring kobe bryant putting up 70 on the anniversary of kobe's 81 um just when he in the post game was like you know kobe was my favorite player like you you're you must have known that that was a clear message to you and other lakers fans that was that was him giving the green light get me yeah exactly come pick me up i've been here forever i'm so bored i want to be lakers 100 and also jabari points out something very uh true also that joellen be clearly a listener of this podcast oh just based on all that he knows he knows he's seen He's seen. He's heard. He's a very popular podcaster, Emily.

100%. With the players? Even today. Oh, yeah. 100%. I mean, I can't stop getting DM'd by players saying, hey, please keep my name out your mouth. But yeah, with that, 70 points breaks Wilt Chamberlain's franchise record versus Wemby and Yama. Before we talk about Embiid, Wemby and Yama also had a really good game

despite the loss. Offensively, yeah. Defensively, I think this game officially puts my prediction that he was going to be Defensive Player of the Year away. I don't think that's happening after he gave up 70. But

yeah, I mean, he looked good. I love the clip of Embi mb walking out seeing how tall he is and uh everybody yeah like mb i think it was both that was before the tip right when mb was walking behind him and he did this face like what is up with this okay he was sort of like being like all right dude that was like his dispositions are looking at him like, we get it. You're gigantic. We get it. And then Kelly Oubre Jr. doing the, let me just see how I stack up to you. And then I like how his face, it was like a full comedic performance. He's like, okay, a lot taller. Okay.

All right. I see that. I see that. And Bede is now averaging more points per minute than Wilt Chamberlain did in his 50 points per game season. So, wow. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. He's not durable. That's what I'm saying. Raj, would you make a play the guy? What'd you make of that 70 pointer? Well, I was just going to tell,

you know, Jack, welcome to the club of having your favorite player score 70 plus, you know what I mean? That's like a very exclusive club to be a part of and uh we are part of that club no 70 is 70 you're donovan mitchell guy right yeah i forgot he did he did it as well um 70 is 70 man i've seen people try to downplay it with the free throws or the the flailing which in beads definitely is a part of but i mean 70s is tough that's a legit point total

no matter you know how you get to that, get to that range. And Beats is one of the best scorers in the league. Has that 30 and 10 streak going crazy. Yeah, I thought that was, I thought that was nuts. What it tells me though, I still don't think anyone's touching the 81. Like I just, I just don't, I don't see it. I just don't think anyone's getting to that number. I know.

Part of me felt a little bit like, I mean, he had time to get close to 80 but you know jack wanted like he was definitely the the tank was emptying rapidly he was gassed at the end yeah i mean that's a lot of that's a lot of body to be moving around i think somebody's gonna get to 81 because of three-point shooting the thing that was wild about this is how much of the damage he did from the mid-range. Shooting what are in today's NBA seen as low-value shots. But he's just completely

unstoppable from those plays on the court. He just ate and ate and ate. It was lethal. Towards the end of the game, just just taking kids lunch money in the second half just like just bullying these i was really like okay you're really oh we get it joelle you're doing it all the jab step is lethal you're giving people their covid jabs and now you're taking the kids lunch money doing a little bit of old-fashioned uncle ball we'd like to see that we like to see that but yeah uh it's true though 70 is 70 points so as

much as like you have weird like i really don't understand people who are trying to like be like yeah well it's the thing about that is i'm like really we're doing that there's more hate there's more hater-ism than there is, like, fandom, I feel like. Yeah, for sure. Or at least it's louder and gets shared more. As a Laker fan, I 100%... I've seen this. I think it's really disturbing.

I don't... You know, I think it's really weird when people do that. It's really, really strange. But, like, I mean, speaking of which, 70 is difficult. 62, like, obviously getting there,l anthony towns got to 62 yeah but it's not 70 not 70 and you can't lose the game you can't lose you got 62 and lost like yeah well i mean he is the 21st player to ever score 60 plus points in a game in a loss um 62 put him at the 14th highest and i don't like i guess the timberwolves again they started the year defending and now they're like yeah just maybe not so much right now just because i heard there was a rumor

a report that they were also kind of clocking what imbeed was doing and trying to be like all right let's help cat like let's see if we can help cat out and that's what it looked like towards the game because i thought to bring back a wu-tang interlude it looked like they just couldn't stop feeding him and feeding him and feeding him even to the point where it's like i yeah he might I think we've rung every little drip out of this thing. I don't think they consulted their coach on that because he was not happy with how the team looked after that one. What did he say? It was like the saddest defending I've ever seen or something like that.

Yeah. Yes. That's a hard one. I mean, like what I, I don't understand. Was it just basically them being too focused on like trying to get cat to like, you know, as many points as possible? Or they forgot like they also have to win the game and not allow Charlotte to put up like shoot 56% or something.

It was tough. You know, I'm going to say Jordan put up 63 in the playoffs against the like one of the best Boston Celtics teams of all time, and he lost, but that was still a moral victory, and him announcing himself. This is similar. Charlotte is something. Nah, they shouldn't have lost to Charlotte.

They're supposed to be one of the best teams in the league. This is just me being mean. It's still impressive. He's still a great shooter as a center. It's a tough time. Raj, how do these Timberwolves end up?

I think they're more of a regular season peak team to me. I don't believe in the Gobert Towns pairing. I just don't believe in the Gobert-Towns pairing, and I just don't believe in Gobert as a defensive matchup in the playoffs. I just think you're going to eventually get to a team that's going to be able to take advantage of

what he struggles with, which is switching on the pick and roll, and their whole defense is kind of based upon him and Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards, and I think they're just a year early, but they're the one seed there, but they're tied with the Thunder in losses losses and the clippers are starting to roll and starting to catch them so we'll see but uh i think they're having a great regular season i just see them as like a second round probably exit um to like i don't like i don't think they'll beat

denver i still probably would have oklahoma city above them but anthony edwards is having a great season i just like i don't believe in Gobert. I didn't like the trade when it happened. Like, it's working out this regular season. I just think like his deficiencies in the playoffs have shown out way too many times. You saw it with the Utah Jazz. Consistently, every single series, that series they lost to the Clippers with Kawhi out, I believe. And with Paul George and Terrence Mann dropping 40 in like a game six to eliminate them.

I just, that's where I think they'll struggle. But they're having a good regular season for sure. I'm just not high on them in like a playoff type atmosphere. Right. Do you feel the same way about OKC? Or you think OKC is legit like playoff contender? Yeah, they're probably also a year early,

but I just like their style better than Minnesota. I just have liked how they played and I like their pick and pop ability, which at home grin and shade to me is like played like a top five player this season he's averaging 30 on the year so i'm higher on them just against minnesota i just still think denver is better than the crowd like i don't think um anyone's beating denver in four out of seven but i like oklahoma city a little bit better than minnesota for sure both of those teams those teams have a young superstar rising, where this year still feels like

Oklahoma City, forget about house money, they just bought the whole casino. This whole year is just for them. They're way ahead of schedule. But yeah, I'm higher on Oklahoma City than Minnesota, for sure. Shea feels different. Just his ability to get

buckets down the stretch feels... I could see them making a deep run. Obviously, I still think Denver's the favorite, but his ability to just score whenever and the fact that nobody has come up with anything to stop him at any point that I've been able to see. There's just no scheme to really slow him down. I think they could be pretty pretty scary but yeah raj uh how you feeling about the crosstown team the clippers yeah they are they're putting it together russ i was i said this i think like

earlier on when they were starting like russ was kind of coming back i had to say like i'm i do i do appreciate like seeing russell kind of re-emerge um just because it was such dark days at the lakers that i was like oh no like i don't know if this i don't know if he's right anymore but he has fully like come online for them and then plus just the rest of that team just looks so good they are eight and two over the last 10 games um what do you are you look jabari's like we'll see we'll see what happens part of me deep down is like a laker fan i'm like it's not gonna happen but like i'm like saying that with like tears running down my face too but right what how are you looking at them because it just seems like they're really figuring it out and they're staying But how are you looking at them? Because it just seems like they're really figuring it out and they're staying healthy.

Yeah, it's sad because I was kind of off of the Harden move as well. I honestly didn't think they needed James Harden. I was wrong. And I think a lot of people were on the rough point that you just brought up. I don't like seeing it. Like, it annoys me. I watched two years of... It's a great NBA story, sure.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And people are starting to rewrite what the Lakers stint was because of what's happening now. Um, as a person who had eyeballs in every single one of those games. Yeah. And you would agree with me as well. This is not the Russell Westbrook we got at all.

Like no, not a, not a bit like this is Russell Westbrook fully, um, engaged on the defensive end. He's there like, like he's there their Tasmanian devil just coming off the bench and creating havoc.

People are saying an all-defense team for him, which I don't think he'll make because he's playing 15 to 20 minutes a game and guys who get on the all-defense don't make that, but he just comes in and be super energy, doesn't take bad shots. I don't know what Voodoo Ty Lue has done, but if Russell Westbrook comes in the game

and it's full-on, I'm going to be a playmaker. I'm going to run pick and roll and I'm going to be an yeah, Westbrook comes in the game. It's full-on. I'm be a playmaker I'm gonna pick and roll and I'm gonna be an assist man doesn't take a lot of mid-range pull-ups His threes are corner threes only like how many do you take on the Lakers which are terrible? But the Clippers have really found something where it's almost unfair They have Paul George in this Michael Porter jr. Roll, which just is very unfair in this Michael Porter Jr. role, which just is very unfair. Paul George is their off-ball shooter.

And their whole offense is funny. It's James Harden, Zubach, which, again, another knife to the heart. The zoo traits still hurts me. I met Zoo in Vegas, by the way. He was the first summer league. I remember it looked like he just got to America. And he's in the middle of eating crab legs.

I remember meeting him. So I'm so I'm like super sad about zoo. One of the guys that like, I heard salutes, but like their whole offense is hard and zoo pick and roll. And then however you react to that, whatever you defend that, that's where their offense plays out of. So if you help off the strong side corner,

it's Paul George. It's the weak side. It's Kawhi Leonard. Um, and you know, they just, and Norm Powell has turned into the best shooter in the league. Somehow he's shooting 48%

I'll catch and shoot threes Please go look up that norm power over at Covington trade that the Clippers did like out It's it's absolute highway robbery. I still don't understand that from the Blazers perspective But yeah, the Clippers are legit. I think the only thing that's holding back Clippers is Jabari's point is there the Clippers like Something goes wrong with the Clippers every single year. Just something breaks for them. But they look like just the most connected team. And they played the best team in the league

the last month and a half since their six-game losing streak ended. They have three centers that are good. And we're playing Jackson Hayes and Christian Wood. It's upsetting to me. They got Daniel Tice for free from Indiana. Right.

And I'm over here, like, please, let me see Callum Castleton. Like, I'd like to see him. Right. See who's our two-way guy. Let's see Les Cam Reddish, please. Yeah. Yeah, they're 24 and 6 over the last 30, I think. Yeah.

Absurd. Absurd. Absurd? I say obscene. That's what I have to say. The Suns, 7-3. They've won the last six. They're in fit now.

They're making some noise. They're doing their thing. What do you think? Is that sustainable? Or do we think it'll get wobbly there? I think it's as sustainable as their health. They can remain healthy. I feel like this is who we expected them to be. Yeah.

The Suns are interesting, too, because I think the whole story for them was, do they need a point guard? And kind of Devin Booker got promoted to their main point guard, and I think that's not who he really is. I just think Booker, Beal, and KD is so much offensively

it probably doesn't matter like you're gonna have to you're gonna have to send two to all those dudes bradley beal just didn't look healthy to me to start the season and like people haven't what like uh like adrian griffin just got fired today right with milwaukee um phoenix kind of had has had a similar type well milwaukee's 30 and 13 which again just insane to think about a coach got fired for that but um phoenix is like 25 and 18 they've won a lot of games they probably shouldn't a lot of close games against bad teams just caring because one of their three stars has been out pretty much the whole time but they're starting to click now frank vogel like inherited the most non-frank vogel team to ever exist just of a team team that's fully offensive focused. But they're playing well. 25-18.

We're seven games back to the Suns. God. But yeah, they really started to click. I swear, like, two days ago, we were tied with them in the standings. Doesn't it feel that way? I swear I thought we were right next to the Suns. You're not seven games behind the Suns.

You're three and a half behind the Suns, right? Well, yeah, there's seven games above 500. We're at 500. That's what I meant. Yeah, but for sure. It still feels like they're so far. Hey, you guys are in the play-in. I'm...

Come on, guys. This is great. Hey, chin up, huh? Chin up, pal. You guys are in the play-in. That's exciting. I'm just happy the Suns and the Lakers are in the plan because I think a week ago, they were both on the outside. They were under the 10 spot. That's kind of a bummer.

You want those guys around in the postseason. I mean, yeah. In the Western Conference sort of playoff play-in race, Raj, who do you think is more likely to have a second half surge? Is it the Jazz? Is it the Lakers, Rockets, Warriors? What are you thinking? Yeah, I think it depends on what move the Lakers make. The Lakers are playing at this. I guess they're going to have enough of a floor to me because LeBbron and ad are just gonna care about enough games to where they're going to win um but i think whatever trade they make is going to kind of determine that the vibes just look strange i think a lot of west teams are starting to kind of normalize i think the kings are starting to fall off a little

bit dallas um i think luca's back as well utah i just don't think that's real also like i don't not sure you don't want to see colin sexton in the plane jack is that not just that you don't think that's real also like I'm not sure you don't want to see Collin Sexton in the plane Jack you don't want to see Collin Sexton killed in the plane but yeah like I think the Lakers should have like at least some type of bounce back because I just don't think they're going to stand still

I think the top four is locked though like I'd be surprised if Minnesota OKC Denver and the Clippers fall out of that top four i'd be i'd be pretty sure they're there the pelicans will see like you'll never you never know what zion's health but um i think the top nine are also locked like i think the warriors are done in my opinion like i i just don't think anything's going there memphis and then all those other teams are kind of tanking but that's what the lakers do they had a big trade last season

that turned their season around and they're going to have to rely trade another Russell, most likely another Russell this, this season to turn their team around. Yeah. Let's, let's see if it's the right combination of things to just keep, keep kicking the can down the road and seeing how far this thing goes. Cause it ain't going to be too far.

I don't think. All right, let's take a quick break. We'll come back. Talk a little bit about uh the top five most improved players because there's some some interesting ones there right back 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 Schuch, 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

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 Syke. 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 iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Mike Wright from the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast. You heard that right. The Fantasy Footballers have officially entered the Dynasty space. Every week we bring you the same in-depth analysis and entertainment you've come to expect from the fantasy footballers only now from a dynasty perspective. Maybe you've been living in the dynasty fantasy football space for a while. Well, we're here to take your game to the next level.

Maybe you love fantasy football and you've been feeling that itch to jump into the dynasty format, but it feels a little bit intimidating. No matter where you're coming from, the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast has something for you and you're gonna have a great time listening, I promise. Join me and the rest of the crew every Wednesday for a new episode. Listen to the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back.

Most improved race. Maxi. There's some moments from Raj in the just talking about the We're playing Jackson Hayes The pain in your voice When you said that Just looking at the Lakers

Being seven back These Lakers fans Suffer for it yes they can be difficult To you know We feel it all It's an illness You know what I mean It's not a super power they can be difficult to uh you know we feel it all yeah but it's an illness that's why it's an illness you know what i mean it's not a superpower it makes me either insufferable as a fan or my

life becomes just pure suffering um it's hard look six in a row by the way i don't know that's uh the second best point differential in the league and have won six in a row. I know. Jack, I love that. That's what I was saying off mic. Jabari and I were like, yeah, man, let's go. Give me my Sixers merch. Because I could stand by that. But that's a tough road. And then you wouldn't feel as bad

once Embiid leaves and comes to the Lakers. Yeah, yeah, obviously. Everybody's got to come home eventually. You know what I mean? But Maxie, I feel like everyone's saying it's his to come home eventually. You know what I mean? But Maxie, I feel like everyone's saying it's his to lose at this point. Most improved player? Yeah. I don't know how...

Did I just not think that he was going to keep getting better? I don't think I picked this. Maxie is most improved. But yeah, he feels like a shoo-in at this point. Not a shoo-in. I mean not a shoo-in i mean there's a lot of uh a lot of other options here that look great halliburton makes a lot of sense to me because he's just had such a great season and sometimes they do go with like person who has gone from

all-star to like all nba first team candidate um like they did with jaw a couple years back. So that would be the other option that would make sense to me is Halliburton. But you know, Maxie is kind of in that same ballpark, maybe not quite as high as Halliburton, but he's, you know, single handedly,

like obviously MB has been incredible this season. He was also, he was the MVP last season. I thinkb's been incredible this season he was also he was the mvp last season i think he's playing better this season by kind of a lot yeah but maxie being taking it up to like a whole another level is really the thing that makes uh what the sixers are doing so far this season possible that i don't think a lot of people were expecting. Well, I was clearly, but of course,

you know, and your children who are big fans, I think that's a huge part. Yeah. They love Maxie. Yep. It is, even though it isn't,

but spiritually it is. But, but yeah, I mean, it's like one of those things that like every, you know, fan of every team is like, Oh man,

if, if this guy can make the leap next year like this is we got something and like the way he's doing it is like to your point i think it's only just because embiid is doing just uh putting up obscene numbers that people completely are kind of like oh right right right max i think it's also that he seems like kind of a jerk you know every max he just seems like he's no fun in a wheelchair. No, he's like the most impossible person not to love. Like, he just seems like the best dude.

Like, he'd be a lot of fun to just, like, go out with, you know? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Like, for anything. Like, I feel like he'd go bowling. Bowling. Pinball. He'd be a blast.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Totally. Because he'd probably be doing some fun trick shots. Like, watch how much English I put on this one. Like maxi he's got like little brother energy you know yeah yeah yeah he's even though how tall is he i don't mean little brother but like you know but i just i like like just his stature you know despite that even though what he's uh yeah he's like six foot three yeah four right or no six two apparently oh okay that's a little bro yeah we can if i if i Even though, what, he's 6'3"? Yeah, 4'. Right. Or no, he's 6'2", apparently.

Oh, okay. That's a little bro. Yeah, we can... If I wear Timbs on with lifts, I might be able to tower over him. It's his award, for sure. I think Tyrese Maxey gets it. I'm jealous of the Maxey experience, just as a Laker fan. I really like players that are drafted and develop in your system. The Lakers are just hired gun after hired gun after hired gun.

They just continue to flip their rosters. Which is why I think Austin Reeves has such an attachment to Laker fans. Where it's like, hey, we saw this dude undrafted and playing summer league games. And now he's up. But yeah, I think that's what makes... I don't know if Jack, you agree with this. But I think watching Maxie, that's probably a little bit more special about it too right you saw tyrese maxi kind of have to give james harden the ball a bunch at first and now maxi's like feels like a free

kind of bird out there he's like oh like there's no harden around oh it's just me i get to create everything i can take as many shots as i want and i think he's um really benefited from that but yeah i think max is the clear-cut winner of this he's become like he i had doubts honestly i know you both you didn't you both didn't but like i had doubts of him becoming just this type of offensive option i thought he was more in the emmanuel quickly no disrespect but i thought like that's i thought like he was in that kind of vein of a score but he's obviously way past that and uh he's like a movement shooter he's an elite movement shooter he's an elite off the dribble shooter and that pairing pairing with Embiid is so tough.

But yeah, I'd have Maxie as the winner. Yeah. Not fun to play against. Not fun to play against. He torched us. There's a humiliation. We also have a Korean prince on him, which, you know. Look, look, look.

Look, I've been doing a lot of work about not crying on Mike, man. Let's just stay focused on other teams that might also be struggling like the bucks huh we should talk real quick about the calves because i've just on the subject of like addition by subtraction right harden getting out of there letting maxi fly free like a bird the calves needed to lose two of their three best players uh to injury to go suddenly they are the best uh hottest team in the league 13 and 3 since losing mobley and garland to injuries how sustainable do we think this is i mean it sounded like from when jabari the way jabari was speaking like it it seems like this might be working out in their favor yeah i don't know again I don't know how much of that is like obviously you get that bounce

from being like okay it's on us to do something but the redundancy of sort of like their play styles may be the thing that's helping but I don't know I don't watch enough of the Cavs to have a fully informed toxic opinion like I normally would yeah I don't watch a lot of them either but I'm like you're if your guards are that small, the amount of offensive production you would need to make up for that is a ton. I think just having a more system approach to their offense

has helped. Yeah, I mean, they've won eight in a row, so they're just killing it right now. I think their defense is starting to settle down as well, and Mitchell has gone just absolutely nuts. That's another future laker shout out like it's another yeah every single jersey swap that that exists um like you said the impede got the future laker treatment just recently so he's kind of entered that club but um

yeah donovan mitchell another guy that i'm a big fan of so i don't i don't think it's that sustainable i think they're gonna need those guys back to make any type of real run but they've kind of separated themselves at least from the like bottom pack because they struggle I think they're going to need those guys back to make any type of real run, but they've kind of separated themselves at least from the bottom pack. I think they were struggling to come out the gates. There was a little bit of a drop-off from last season. Yeah, but they've really picked it up. So maybe they just

give you Mitchell now. This isn't sustainable. Why not just flip him over? Yeah. We have a nice Gabe Vincent waiting for them just yeah yeah future rights to brani james and uh if you're interested if you're interested let's say we got we got a lot on offer tommy burger have you had the chili there it will destroy your insides but if you survive you will have superhuman powers just like me and raj um

but yeah i guess you mentioned earlier, Raj, the Bucks, they fired their head coach, Adrian Griffin, despite having the, they were 30-13. They're 17 games above 500 and you just get the sack like that. From what I was reading,

like, Giannis was big on him. It sounds like he was big on him because he was really not wanting to play for Nick Nurse. So that's why apparently maybe his support for Adrian Griffin sort of had manifested. But what? I mean, what? Yeah. I mean, to fire a coach halfway through their first season, like, I think the last time I remember that happening was Jerry Tarkanian with the Spurs.

Do you remember that experiment? But like, that is a quick trigger. Like, usually things have to be going disastrously for that to happen. So,

30 and 13 is, is wild. A lot of people are speculating that Doc Rivers was advising him at the Bucks request behind the scenes, and then

that's somehow involved here, and it's going to be a Doc Rivers hire, which, as a Sixers fan, man, that hurts. Oh, you got Doc. Dang it.

And we're going to have to face you in the second round of the playoffs. Come on, man. That is not what I wanted for one. Dang it. Oh, well, we'll have to just figure out a way to game plan against Doc in the playoffs. Look, I think you stamp your ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals. You know what I mean? I'm not going to say it's done, done.

But I think the reason that Sixers fans were kind of maybe excited to see another look, see another coach on the bench was the playoffs. Right. And the irony too is like, we don't want to play for Nick Nurse. And then you're like, oh, well,

what's going on over there? Whatever. We got maybe Doc Rivers now. But yeah, like Raj, I know. What did you think of Doc? Because it felt like he was auditioning for gigs left and right recently.

Oh, 100%. With his desert thirst approach to his commentary. What do you think of the whole situation and where the bucks go from here? Yeah, so it's interesting. I was looking this up. I think David Blatt was fired pretty much in the exact same day in 2016. Yeah. Yeah, and he was fired in 2016 january 23rd which is which is today

so i think like it was very similar kind of uh approaches and i think the way i look at this is there's things that are right um and there's things that are fair is it fair that he got fired at this time no but i think was it right probably like what he was doing was some we had malik beasley on their team last year and he was having Malik Beasley as their defensive ace, the guy that they throw on other teams' best players. They were not running Damian as pick and roll. The offense looked really clunky. I think he just kind of lost the locker room, no matter what the record is.

I think that's, I think, like, if you talk to Bucs fans, they'll kind of tell you there are a lot of issues. And it was the first time I had coached, so they're kind of admitting a mistake there. It is wild. Doc Rivers, if you listen to a Laker game, you'll hear him pretty much ask for the Laker job. It's wild. Not directly, but as

direct as you could. If I were to be there, it's like, hold on. Easy, easy. We get it. You're calling Darvin Ham out constantly yeah exactly yeah exactly yeah he's like one of the best people to hear talk about basketball like i get i get exactly why he keeps getting higher man he's so fun so interesting to hear talk about basketball yeah were there not a competitive advantage in it i would be

wishing that he stayed doing podcast appearances and doing the games uh but you know being a fan i do have to hope that he is the new bucks head coach yeah i think i'm i i think it could it could be a thing yeah but yeah just it, it is wild just when you hear about the informal consultant role that he had at the Bucks behest. Is that legal? Is that even allowed? Is that allowed to be a consultant? Well, it was informal. That's dirty, man.

Just the feeling of being like, hey, so look look you're new uh it's your first time head coaching we just want to bring this guy in here to talk to you he's not after your job that like can you imagine the net like how many assurances they had to give him to be like yeah doc's just here to help man that's cool yeah uh and, yeah, it's like being in a relationship. And then like the person you're with is like, you know, I feel like my ex could really help our relationship go to the next level. If you just,

you know, let's just bring them into the picture real quick. It's not, don't be threatened by it. Oh my gosh. Tripping cut to here. I am. Terry thoughts like,

you know, wishes he stayed on like Terry starts. I think, right when Dane came on. Or yeah, right at the game. Yeah, in the beginning of the season

he just left. They just parted ways. He might be the head coach right now if he stayed on. It's just a weird situation. This was touted as Giannis' guy too, right?

Wasn't Adrian Griffin kind of Giannis' first head coach that he handpicked? yannis has looked very unhappy this year i feel like just yeah yeah so that's why yeah again i think we gotta we're seeing look the player is gm thing not not the best let's we're not seeing a great track record here um but hey look we gotta gotta stick to what we know. From what the reporting I'm hearing is just because it wasn't so much that Giannis

wanted Adrian Griffin, it's that he didn't want Nick Nurse. So it's like, let me put my weight behind Adrian Griffin. It's a chin rubber, for sure. It's a chin rubber. We'll see what happens there. Well, we shall see. And me talking all this trash is of course going to mean

that the Sixers get knocked out in the second round by Doc Rivers and the Bucks. Honestly, that happens. It was fun while I was doing it. A black hole is going to just appear in the fabric of space-time

because it would be so anom anomalous it's like well what happens is it is it it's a doc or is it the sixers who's supposed to go out yeah probably rather that than the celdics losing to the celdics again but yeah um anyways uh these are the things that i think about at night when i'm trying to go to sleep um um well one thing i think about uh is some recent images of victor wimby llama yeah um i i i'm still processing these images against the wizards yeah there's this image of him dunking over marvin bagley i don't think he actually ends up making the dunk but it is straight up space jam yeah it's the space jam dunk it's very strange he's marvin bagley 610 yes marvin bagley is 610 and he looks like a child

it looks like when benyama got like the mushroom in mario to go like he somehow was also growing on top of being like seven five or whatever we're officially saying he is. Yeah, it's just like one of those pictures. You're not sure how to process mentally. I feel like it'd be... Have you guys seen him yet in person? Have you seen Weminyama in person? We went to one of his greatest performances, I think, of his career, which was his first game in the Summer League.

Okay. We just bought tickets off Vivid Seats, so we weren't that close, uh, close enough to like really see him. Plus there are a bunch of people standing in front of us during the game. And we had to be like, Hey man,

sit down, man. We're all trying to see what we did lie to ourselves and say that we got the high up seats so that we could just see him eye to eye. Um, right. That's, that's why,

um, no, he's, he's in crow. I saw him. Yeah. In summer league as well then i saw him i think play the clippers here in los angeles he just he makes no sense haven't

seen anything like that ever yeah guy with that type of handle step back threes um uh just dunks while on his tippy toes uh super super insane insane prospect there was even a moment against the sixers where like imbeed was just was defending and then he just kind of was like well i use my long arm just kind of put it around your body and just like laying in it was like it was like and even imbeed was like what golly he's like i was up straight up and he just was just like no sir my arm is actually four feet longer than you expect it to be so yeah there yeah. He's confounding. He is confounding.

Shall we take another break and come back with the rapid fire? I just wanted to... The Lakers tweeted out that LeBron has played against 35% of all players in NBA history, which is wild. I saw somebody replied

crazy that he's ducking the 65% other players. What's he afraid of? Exactly. I wonder what numbers, like, what that percentage would be for, like, Vince Carter. For Vince Carter? Yeah, yeah. Because he played. He played a long time.

That's true. Many decades. 21 years? Yeah, yeah. you know or like harder yeah yeah because he played he played a long time that's many decades but i'm just yeah yeah i'm curious just to see like how that stat stacks up to other players like long careers too but yeah when you look at him look father time you're doing your thing shout out to all the 39 year olds out there we're doing us i mean he's still one of the best players in the league i don't know he looks awesome I think maybe I haven't been watching as much Lakers basketball as you guys but he looks okay he looks he's good yeah I'll say that

LeBron James is good he's pretty good he's pretty good yeah it's time it is time for rapid fire to close it out so let's take a quick break we'll be right back wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast NFL We'll be 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, 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. Wednesday all season long. That's what you look for in year 14 to do more. 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 psych. 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

iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Mike Wright from the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast. You heard that right. The Fantasy Footballers have officially entered the Dynasty space. Every week we bring you the same in-depth analysis and entertainment you've come to expect from the Fantasy Footballers, only now from a Dynasty perspective. Maybe you've been living in the Dynasty fantasy football space for a while. Well, we're here to take your game to the next level.

Maybe you love fantasy football and you've been feeling that itch to jump into the Dynasty format, but it feels a little bit intimidating. No matter where you're coming from, the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty podcast has something for you, and you're going to have a great time listening, I promise. Join me and the rest of the crew every Wednesday for a new episode. Listen to the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back super producer jabari with the facts the stats comes through old vince carter he's played against 37 of all the players in the league yeah so nice try lebron maybe try a little bit harder um yeah bow down to the real goat bc bro that's true i's true That dunk contest, we talk about it all the time Vince Carter, please come on the show, we love you Yeah, patrons of the All-Star Weekend Speaking of And Raj, you have stepped in

It is the rapid fire round of questioning We're going to do a little bit All-Star Weekend theme To some of these questions That's more prep than most of our guests get so uh you're welcome um this is we're in the final minutes uh the heat is on you just gotta react you can't you can't think about it don't embarrass us man just immediately respond do not humiliate us right now okay we're trying're trying to get Vince Carter on the show.

And hopefully he will hear this and recognize that he would be a great fit. But are you ready for this? Let's do it. All right. Do some brain stretches because it's time. Brian, start the clock. It's going to be fast, Raj. This is going to be so fast, bro.

I don't even know how to warn you, man. I hope you're wearing a helmet. It's going to be ugly, man. It's going to be fast, Raj. This is going to be so fast, bro. I don't even know how to warn you, man. I hope you're wearing a helmet. It's going to be ugly, man. It's going to be ugly, man. You'll be slipping and sliding like Luca when he got crossed up. Did his headband fall off or did it just fall off in my mind? I think his headband came on. Like, you know, like in a cartoon thing.

The first time I noticed it. Yeah. Or like, you know, like a cartoon thing. Like suddenly a guy like walks in and like you hear a bunch of chaos and comes out they have like their arm in a cast and they got like one crutch and their heads wrapped up like i feel like luca just like suddenly had his head wrapped after that um but anyway the speed raj you got to keep us on point man and i already had ryan start the clock man this is on you bro yeah that's my job yeah all right all right yeah that's my job exactly raj who should go first jack or me job. Exactly. Raj, who should go first, Jack or me?

Yeah, you go ahead. Too slow. Jack, who should go first? Wow. No, I think he said, I think Raj told us who he wants to go first. Sounds like a few miles. Okay. Well, then guess what?

Raj Tripalu, question number one. Wow. What's your favorite All-Star Weekend moment? I've never seen him like this. Yeah. What's your favorite All-Star Weekend moment or game him like this yeah what's your favorite all-star weekend moment or game bro all-star weekend moment or game uh yeah that's that's a good one i think i like the last the kobe you know it's a good one yeah that's true move it along man stop adding your answers with these compliments i i love the kobe

um lebron one i I thought that's my favorite one where I think LeBron didn't shoot it at the end and Kobe was kind of pissed at him because they were having this one on one kind of mano a mano fourth quarter match and Kobe was kind of going at him and like he wanted the one on one against LeBron I think LeBron kicked it out

to Carmelo or whoever it was and Kobe kind of gave a look at him like hey we're like having this one on one moment here you're supposed to take the shot so that's my favorite all-star game moment uh for sure i i really like cherish that one that's that was a really cool moment yeah and that was the right answer just for people listening at home so that was the right you've regained our trust and now i can ask you another All-Star Weekend question. Throw them off, Jack. Throw them off. Pro Bowl, the NFL football's

All-Star Weekend kind of does like, I think I saw that in their commercial, like a game of dodgeball that the players are playing in. What schoolyard game, Raj, do you want to see added to the NBA All-Star Weekend? Schoolyard game, Raj, do you want to see added to the NBA All-Star weekend? Schoolyard game.

Well, I'll give two answers. Number one, I'd like to see, like, pickleball. I think that's really competitive, at least when I play. Like, that's a really fun matchup. But, like, I'm just going to cheat and just go quickly. I'd love, like, a one-on-one or a two-on-two. Like, that's schoolyard basketball. Like, one-on-one is, like, that's, like, the most popular. Or, like, two-on-one or a two-on-two like that schoolyard basketball like one-on-one is like

uh that that's like the most popular like two-on-two i'd like to see some sort of that like incorporated into all-star weekend like it's fun doesn't have to be super serious but yeah i think you'll get guys being competitive and not this bold that we're seeing sometimes we're like guys just don't play hard shea was asked after an all-star game he said uh like what will make you guys play harder he said said, more money. I was like, Shea, this is your first All-Star game. I love that. What do you mean, more money?

Look, this is kind of my answer, too. We're letting everybody gamble now. Various gambling outlets are the key sponsors. These guys will fight each other to the death to win

a shooting contest after practice for a $10 with $10 on the line. We know they like to play cards. We know they like to play NBA 2K against each other. I'm not saying there's definitely money on the line. I'm just saying

I could theoretically conceive of that um so like i would love to see a televised 2k tournament yeah 2k tournament you know them streaming on twitch that would break the stuff they're competitive about behind the scenes like that's the stuff i want to see like that, them turn into somehow and, and do like a heads up poker, you know, like that would be fun. I'd love to see who's the best card player in the NBA. They could play heads up seven up.

Yeah. For money. You know what I mean? Just bring it back to a rainy day school games. You know what I mean? I, I, I just think that would work anything.

Uh, I think we just, I think the weirder the game, the better. Like bottle flipping. You know what I mean? Bottle flipping would be fun. Yeah. Yeah.

But you put like 100 racks on it. It would be. Right. Exactly. It would be monumental. And it has to be their money. Yeah. 100%.

It's a 10G buy-in. Yeah. Woo! That would be something else. Raj, you got to keep this segment moving man sorry man that was really poor form on your part but guess what we will forgive you uh which brings me to my next question if you could have any players skill set for a day who's and what oh i think like if i had um kairi's handles i don't think i'd ever leave the gym like i i don't think i'd

ever i'd take a basketball with me wherever i went i would not i'd bring it every single place if i can dribble i do that sometimes now and i don't dribble as well as kairi but like if i could dribble like kairi or even steph who has just i think really underrated handles um i'd dribble basketball so that that's what I would, I would do. Cause I feel like you can bring a ball anywhere pretty much. Um, I would like to have their, um,

handles for, for a day. That'd be, that'd be something I'd like for sure. You shout out to the people who really are the ball is life type people. Like the way you said it, like you can pretty much bring a ball anywhere. Like,

like I've seen where like a teenage dude has a basketball in the movie theater. Yeah. Yeah. And it's like, bro, really? Like bro really like i mean they were respectful once the trailer started they stopped dribbling but like there's a dude drip i remember seeing a dude dribbling and by the concession stand i'm like oh you're really you're on that life you got the hoop sack too on you like i used to have in 98 um but that's a different wearing strength shoes into those jump shoes yeah i got I got jump soles and I have a full Laker uniform on with a headband. They're like, what is wrong with

this 16-year-old boy? They're like, I'm trying to get on JV. Yeah. Alright, you could recommend one Southern California restaurant to someone visiting. What is that place and what is your order when you go? One California restaurant restaurant i think the

main one would be in and out that you you tell them and when i go to in and out i get people haven't tried this and they call me crazy but sometimes i'll get the grilled cheese just no meat on it and it's it's really good actually the grilled cheese at in and out um is awesome especially if you don't want something too filling. You can just get that, and they make that really well. So In-N-Out would be the one I would tell people to go to. The line's a little bit long, but it's the main one. I like how you go. I would recommend In-N-Out,

and the thing I would recommend is not the burger, but just the grilled cheese. Oh, and make sure the fries are well done. You got to tell them that. No, light fries, light fries, light fries, light fries. Yeah, light fries. I'm a goon. I will eat the...

I ask for them light. I like soft. Give me those fries rare. Mashed potato sticks. Oh, yeah. I'm nasty. What, soggy then? Yeah.

Really? Yeah, you call it light fries. Mashed potato sticks. that's what i'm calling yeah mashed tater sticks and also i like to get chopped chilies on my burger that's the other one because then you can actually make it spicy because i love a bit of spice are you an animal style person or no do you guys get it no the fries the fries i go animal just because i want to max i just want to freak out my doctor by eating like that all the time. But other than that, for the burger, no, I mean, I like the grilled onions and stuff, but it's not an always kind of thing.

I always get animal fries, though. Light fries. Hey, hey, hey. Mashed potato sticks. Sorry, y'all. I think we just lost some listeners with that. But hey, you got to live your truth. Well, Raj Chapalu, thank you so much, man, for joining us on Miles and Jack

on Mad Boosties. Where do the people find you, follow you, see you, experience you? Because there's a myriad of ways they can enter the Chapalu-verse. Yeah. We do live shows and have cool guests on playback at All Access Lakers. You can just follow all my content

at Raj Chapalu on Twitter. I post videos and stuff there. I've been going to the South Bay games, which has been really fun. Our Lakers have a rookie jail at hood. If you know, which if people in LA, I would,

you know, tell them to go, you know, watch a game. It's, it's fun. South Bay games are really nice. You can go watch a first round pick,

um, playing those games. So yeah, just follow me on Twitter at Raj Chapalu. And yeah, this was fun. It's a lot of fun. Um,

always fun having you, man. Thanks for doing it. Please come back and make sure for you, the listener, give us a follow on Twitter. You can find the show at hashtag Mad Boosties, B-double-O-S-T-I-E-S for show links and updates. You can follow me at Miles of Gray. I'm at Jack underscore O'Brien on Twitter. Yeah. And guess what?

We've reached the end, my friends. That's it. Guess what? We did it again. I know you said you didn't think we could. I know you said 70 points doesn't matter anymore. Well, guess what? It does.

Well, guess what? Newsflash. Tough guy. Newsflash. That's right. Well, Newsflash also, we will be back next week, despite what you may think. But we will be back. You said we couldn you may think. But we will be back. You said we couldn't do it.

And here we are on episode 97, a mere three episodes away from 100. Wow, I didn't even think about that. And if I know us, we will do absolutely nothing special to commemorate that 100th episode. We are really bad at show-aversaries for people that follow our other shows. We're out here just talking. Oh like oh man did you know yesterday was our thousandth episode no nah that would mean we're getting old uh all right points is nothing 100 episodes nothing but we will be back thanks everybody for listening we'll see you next time or hear you next time bye or smell you next time all right you next time. Bye. Or smell you next time. All right.

You stink. Okay, right. I got the implication there. I'm Carrie Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history.

People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese on the I heart radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast presented by elf beauty founding partner of I heart women's sports. I'm Carrie champion.

And this is season four of naked sports up first. I explore the making of a rivalry. Caitlin 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. Do you ever wonder where your favorite foods come from? Like what's the history behind bacon-wrapped hot dogs? Hi, I'm Eva Longoria. Hi, I'm Maite Gomez-Rejon.

Our podcast, Hungry for History, is back. And this season we're taking in a bigger bite out of the most delicious food and its history. Saying that the most popular cocktail is the margarita, followed by the mojito from Cuba, and the piña colada from Puerto Rico.

Listen to Hungry for History on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.