The Daily Zeitgeist - Playoff Talk with Serena Winters

Episode Date: May 5, 2022

Miles and Jack were joined by Bally Sports Cleveland's Serena Winters on the latest episode of Mad Boosties. The trio continued breaking down the playoff action and discussed some of Serena's experiences covering the Kobe/Pau Lakers, the Blazers, Sixers and Cavs throughout the years.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 Capital One, 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. Kaitlyn 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. What happens when a professional football player's career ends and the applause fades and the screaming fans move on? I am going to share my journey of how I went from Christianity to now a Hebrew Israelite. For some former NFL players, a new faith provides answers.

You mix homesteading with guns and church. Voila! You got straight away. They try to save everybody. Listen to Spiraled on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Uh-oh. We've gone even deeper into the playoffs. And we're going to have to talk about a few people. Finally, I know you've been waiting to hear us talk about people like Giannis.

We'll get to that. But before we do, got to let you know, this episode, we have a fantastic guest. The Cavs sideline reporter for Valley Sports Cleveland. We got Serena Winters in the building. I'm Miles Gray. I'm Jack O'Brien. And this is Miles and Jack got mad. Boosties crushed it. And this is Miles and Jack got mad boosties.

Crushed it. Okay, welcome, welcome, welcome. Thank you. We are deep. We're deeper into the playoffs, shedding some teams. Some players are emerging even more. But yes, I just have to say thanks for joining us again. And we are thrilled today to have with us someone who is talking about the league in a very very professional way unlike us which we appreciate it helps class

the joint up please welcome today's guest serena winters yo yo yo yo there she is hold on fellas i'm glad to be here thanks for having me on. Great to have you. Yeah, thanks for joining us. Serena, are you from SoCal originally? I am from SoCal originally, a little town called Huntington Beach. Okay, HB. Okay, I hear you. I hear you.

I'm from the San Fernando Valley, so I'm savvy. I'm savvy. Okay, you're TA savvy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, good to have you on. Good to have you on. And I lived in Dayton for five years. Yeah. Dayton, Ohio. yeah. Well, good to have you on. Good to have you on. And I lived in Dayton for five years. Yeah. Dayton, Ohio. Ohio. Yeah. Ohio represent. That's where I am right now.

You know, not exactly where Dayton is, but it's sitting here in my Cleveland, Ohio. So, hey, we're repping all around. We've triangulated precisely, precisely. A little different than Southern California and Dayton, Ohio. So my largest chunks of my childhood were spent in Dayton, Ohio and Wheeling, West Virginia, which I'm told is the Huntington Beach of West Virginia. So yeah, yeah, yeah. Beautiful, beautiful country. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for joining us. Exciting season of Cleveland basketball.

But before we dig into it, we got to talk playoffs. We got to talk Giannis, I think. It's about time. So we've done the Ja episode. I think that was our first episode. We've done a Kyrie episode. And we had a feeling we were going to have the opportunity to

do a Giannis episode at one point. And Giannis hath provided with an amazing closeout game against the Bulls. 33-9 on 11 of 15 shooting against the Bulls. And more importantly for

his team and just generally uh you know game one against the Celtics I think a lot of people think the Celtics were like two to one favorites to win the series and then Giannis was like oh yeah sorry I I'm playing I'm playing in this series I don't know if y'all remembered. How's it been for you, Serena? Just feasting upon the wonderful playoff basketball so far. I mean, it's bittersweet, first of all, because to not actually be covering the playoffs, it's been a while since I haven't actually covered playoff basketball. So it's weird watching it from my couch or from a bar in ohio city or wherever i get to watch the playoffs so i it's you know i watch it with a with a different lens like you

watch it with a fan lens right uh some of these games have been absolutely incredible i mean boston has had some incredible games i, should we dissect maybe one of the more interesting moments from the Bucks Celtics game one? I think which I certainly have my eye on it because I thought I was watching a highlight clip of me playing NBA Street on

PlayStation 3, which I think is the backboard. Let's play. Yeah, Gianna's going off the backboard game one. Let's play that. Yeah, Giannis going off the backboard, game one. Let's roll the clip. Atena Kumpo. Williams. Step through.

Off the backboard. Threw it to himself. Invigorating the Celtics inside. Wow. Great bench reaction, which I always appreciate appreciate i feel like that always adds a little bit um but yeah i mean heading into the series people were like well you know the celdics have the toughest defense in the nba and the celdics were very tough on defense and he was just like making up new new things you could do on a basketball court in a

playoff game um to to get around it in this case stepping to an up fake step through off the back board dunk i think people have done it before but it was pretty it was pretty remarkable moment yeah it felt very from our superstars though in the league yeah right like that's exactly what we want to see in playoff basketball those moments right where you're sitting on your couch or whatever and you get up and you're just like oh my god did you see that right exactly i flipped my couch over when that happened yeah i'm one of those people who stands like ridiculously close to the TV. Oh yeah. I don't know if you guys are like this or not.

Arms crossed, arms crossed, like in front of the TV like this. Yes. And I don't know if it drives my husband crazy or if he just enjoys laughing at me, but I don't even realize that I'm that close or that I'm doing it. And I'm,

I'm, I'm a solid this close, you know, right, right, right. As I'm watching it, especially in the game at the end. this close you know right right right as I'm watching especially in the close game at the end um how do you guys do you guys watch it like that or do you sit back

on your couch how do you watch the playoffs I have no stress when I watch because I'm watching as a neutral as a Laker fan I've I've had my injuries and wounds that I've addressed and I can watch this with a neutral eye so I'm relaxed relaxed. And yes, it does get me out of my seat. But when I'm a little bit more invested or like at the end of that Grizzlies Timberwolves game, when I was like, oh, this is a game, I stood up a little bit. I started pacing a bit. But yeah, I've been mostly relaxed with intermittent screams. Yeah. My body doesn't know how to watch basketball neutrally. So I am watching the game and then I will look down and realize what I'm doing with my body.

Oftentimes it is standing up. I will shout at the top of my lungs like I did in a couple moments in the Grizzlies Timberwolves series, the jaw dunk. I think my wife thought something terrible had happened because of my reaction and then when he actually closed it out with with a game-winning layup um you know then she called the police uh but that was about a series oh my gosh that series was incredibly fun to watch so fun i think do you ever do you ever do the thing where you watch where you physically get involved too like where you start like a shot goes up and

you bend your torso like maybe that can or like i sometimes like my leg is straightened at certain points i'm like what do i think i'm doing from this end of it but clearly i'm like no no no no just get that leg out and now i don't know maybe it'll stay in bounds i don't know i just get i just get awkwardly close to the tv and even though i can be neutral watching these games like for example watching that grizz timberwolf series i was neutral but i get so excited about the big moments of the games that i don't want to miss anything and i'm worried that if i'm sitting back on my couch, I'm not close enough to the action.

I think it's like FOMO of not being there. Right, right, right. I've got to be as close as possible so I can see the plays develop. But, I mean, it's NBA playoffs, man. Do you have any rituals or superstitions as it relates to watching your teams or before? I know Jack has a magical hat that he's currently having a bad relationship with. Yeah, it's cursed. I'm a Sixers fan.

It is a cursed hat. I've kept it off for the entire playoffs after they closed out Toronto, uh, I put it on and immediately read that Joel and B, uh, had a fractured orbital and was out for game one. And I take all blame and I'm, you know, I'm here to, uh,

atone by, by putting out this incredible podcast. I did burn it and bury it in my backyards. As you should, as you should, especially, I mean, I,

now I'm a little upset i'm a little upset at you but you wore the hat and that's the reason i thought i was safe it was after a closeout game you know unbelievable selfish selfish exactly i was also having like a bad hair day so i just i needed to throw it on and uh i paid the price i mean we have a clip of yannis closing out the bulls um that's exciting his passing has gotten really good his mid-range game has also gotten really good um which is exciting because he reached you know he he kind of just outed himself as the best player in the world in the finals last year came back from the offseason was like oh and also i'm better this year um and i think we saw that we're we are seeing that in

in the playoffs so far in first round series and great success on their home floor as well bobby portis gets up the first shot and yannis with a throwdown to get us started i'm such a Giannis fan. I'm such a Giannis fan. He's so much fun to watch, but also, you know, one of the things that we expect from our players in the offseason is for them to work on something and then come back better and be able to see it that next year.

And not everybody does that. And I think that that's what separates him as well. I mean, besides his ridiculous athletic ability and what he can do on the court, but the fact that he comes back and like you're saying, we're seeing him in the playoffs right now, get to a new Giannis level. I just have so much respect for him, him improving the weaknesses of his game and us getting to see that right now in the playoff scenarios. Like that's everything. You know, I just, I just love to see that. Um, so I just have so much respect for him and I'm such a Giannis fan.

He's so strong. Like, I think he got stronger that, that one play where he just spinned and Jason Tatum was on the ground, like three feet away afterwards was also exciting. I mean, like the Bucs are really giving him problems. And I was like this again, you couple that with Giannis and I'm feeling very good. I mean, I'm watching as a neutral. I have no vested interest. As a Lakers fan, you don't have any relationship to either the Celtics or the Bucs. You don't. No interest.. No interest. I'm not putting my chips behind one team or the other, but I love Giannis. Gotta say it. Gotta give it to him. He's doing fantastic.

I love that I get to talk to the Lakers fan and a Sixers fan. Two teams that I have worked for. Right? Yeah. This is why we were so excited to talk to you because later on, I'm going to be like, what was it like? For sure. So, I mean, i think to go along with it do you want it do we want to play one of the clips or should we go into some of the funnier yana stuff we're talking about yeah i mean the

finals block we have but i think everyone's seen that i do just want we were talking about reactions so after the finals block where he's uh you know guarding booker as he comes into the lane booker throws the alley-oop and then he gets over and uh manages to block aiden at the at the catch as he's going into dunk is um there there have been some there have been some blocks this year that are like you know obviously supernatural and uh spooky like John Moran jumping and almost hitting his head on the top of the arena. But that one was still like every time I watch it, I'm like, wait, like you, it's almost like you do. You just want to keep watching it to see how he did it.

Like frame by frame here. Yeah, we can play it so i think the easiest way because this is a podcast i understand the easiest way to describe what is happening is any other time i was like oh that looks like a clean alley oh my god he blocked block uh because there is the passer and the receiver uh in um in one second which usually can't be done that one i found myself just running down the middle of the street uh you know three blocks from my house when i when i came to uh that was my reaction to that one i just burst through the front door. As a neutral, not having any history with the Phoenix Suns in that postseason at all, I was like, this is

fantastic basketball. And I too was very celebratory in that moment, I must say. And then you started spreading rumors that he was going to sign with the Lakers, as Lakers fans are wont to do. Immediately. They start putting the jerseys up spreading rumors no no that's not me

i don't i don't have enough of a following to start a rumor i can barely you know start rumors about myself that are good but i think to go along with that though i think like we're saying on top of already his just you know fantastic ability i hate to use the word freakish because that word is used all the time with him. But for me, the other thing I really love about Giannis is obviously it's easy to connect to his, you know, his talents as a basketball player, but his authenticity as a person is like this other thing that is very intoxicating about him

that you can really tell that he, I feel like I'm seeing the authentic person as he is every time i see anything of him off the court and that's something i really appreciate because the person that he kind of is off the court is a very fun loving sincere kind person so we got we got a highlight reel of yannis being yannis is what super producer jabari called it and i think that's a good description i love you mommy what do you think of your first bobblehead i think they make me a little bit ugly i'm more handsome than that he's so young and so hungry i'm going to get some pasta for the game lunch roast beef

looking forward to taking my day off tomorrow you know enjoy my uh pepperoni pizza, my chicken wings, you know, my smoothie. You okay? This one is good. Hey, give me the steak one with the mustard and the cheese, American cheese, please. This is the whiz whiz? I got it, I got it. I got the whiz whiz. All right.

So just a series of Giannis enjoying food. At one point, he takes a sip of a smoothie and makes a it's it's the face that john travolta makes after he drinks the five dollar milkshake and pulp fiction right he's just like oh my what the the person's like are you okay like right are you having gastrointestinal issues and he's like no this is just a really good milkshake he He just, he is somebody you get the sense really enjoys being Giannis Antetokounmpo. Right. Which is like, I think that's fun to see

because I think we all feel like, yeah, I'd enjoy that too. That looks fun to be able to eat whatever you want and be the greatest athlete in the world. There's also clips in there where he is four inches shorter than he currently is and has not baby fat, but right now he appears to be chiseled from fine marble. And back then he just looks more like a...

Boyish. Yeah, boyish. Yeah, still growing, which is pretty wild. I think Jabari put it like that's one of the fun things about his career is, you know, it's a great joy of the social media era that you get to just like watch the literal development of one of the all-time greats in real time and then like go back and uh watch him be silly i mean how about his recent obsession with oreos wait what's his how obsessed is he with oreos right now oh you haven't seen oh he's very obsessed with oreos he discovered or it's like it's like he discovered oreos like yeah yeah you got to watch him discover an oreo discover oreos and also the trick of dunking them in milk

that's see that's i'm like how can you not what is there to dislike about him and his love for the card game uno which is a personal favorite of mine so it's ticking all the boxes how does he stack up for you serena like with players you've seen in your time just reporting on the league in terms of like a likability factor do you rank him as up there with some of the goats of likability in the league oh my gosh yes absolutely i think that as nba fans what we crave from these athletes is the vulnerability is the feeling like you actually kind of know the person, right? And Giannis gives us kind of that window into who he is, what it's like to be him.

And then we all appreciate that. And not all players do that, and especially not all superstars. So I think that what's so unique about Giannis is you have this superstar MVP player that you get to laugh with about their love of discovering Oreos and smoothies that loves to tell these dad jokes in post-game press conferences. Like we don't just love the NBA because of the game. Most of us fell in love with the NBA because of our love of the game. But I think that all of us, whether you fell in love with the NBA because of basketball, some people fall in love with the NBA because of a guy like Giannis, right? Like there's people out there who love the

Bucs because they fell in love with Giannis as a person. That got them interested. And I think that that's what makes him so unique. And for me as a reporter and covering the league, I mean, I mean, what more can you possibly ask for an incredible athlete, um, you know, championships in a small city in a small market and somebody who's so much fun. Right. So, I mean, he ranks right up there for sure. And there's like also the rookie of the year factor where you feel like you're watching him discover he has superpowers kind of over the course of his career where he's almost like, whoa. Yeah.

Holy cow. That was cool what I just did. Like Peter Parker, 72 hours after the spider bite. Yeah. He's like, hold on. I was like, hold on. How do I put this together? You're like, yeah, keep going.

Keep going. And also he's like, so joyful, like the stuff with the Oreos, the stuff with Uno, the stuff with that smoothie. There's also, during the final celebration last year,

there was like, I think he was just FaceTiming with his brother and was singing that pop smoke song for the night, which I had heard before, but like seeing the joy and he wasn't singing it well by the way he was uh not hitting all the notes but he was just so happy and it like became my favorite song for like the last year because i don't know i just associated with like the pure joy of watching janice like really be in love with that song all right let's take a quick break we'll come back.

We'll talk about a couple other playoff performances and we will get to know you a little bit better. I'm Carrie Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history.

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Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask as part of my Cultura Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. And we're back. So Luca continues to be amazing. Chris Paul, I mean, I think that was one of the coolest things we've seen in the playoffs in a long time was Chris Paul going 14 for 14. One for one from three,

four for four from free throws in a closeout game. Anyone else expect him to decline and then he just doesn't. Yeah. That's this is after he was supposed to not be Chris Paul anymore. And he's better than he's ever been, which again seems impossible.

Like it doesn't, it does it. That, that is another way. Like we've talked about like some of the things like outlet passing and like dribble moves where they're putting English on the ball. And then, uh, the heights, uh, the jaw jumps on, on, on blocks, like as being progressive and like things we've never quite seen before in the league, uh, longevity of, of players who really, you know, take care of themselves and uh you know push the limits of sports science is also

something that like we don't know the ceiling yet we don't you know we we don't know how good he can be for how long but uh he appears to be better than he's ever been before yeah is it i mean i don't know if you agree serena like it it it, it feels like there's a, he's intersecting with this, like in turn, his desire to win is like at the highest it's ever been along with his, like just time generated wisdom of the game. And they're like feeding off of each other to make his just very efficiently effective. And if that's kind of like what we're seeing, it's wild. You know, you growing up in SoCal and being a Lakers fan, you know, I think when I think Chris Paul, the first thing that pops into my mind is Chris Paul was almost a Laker, right? And I mean, that's a story that battle situation is a story for a for another day but i think about that that time

being potentially like what his prime yeah exactly what we thought right right and that was so long ago that was so long ago you look at him now where he is at i mean i i can tell you that when the suns got chris paul i didn't think that they were going to be a championship team. I mean, I thought they were going to be much better than they were, but I didn't think they'd be contending for a championship. Yeah, I don't think anyone did. He proved me wrong. He proved all of us who didn't think so wrong. You talk to anybody around the league and players that have played with him and they'll talk to you about his, his, his competitive desire. I think it just goes back to what,

what you said. It feels like they're meshing right now. And look, we don't know for how long, but then again, I don't know who would have thought this would be happening right now. happening right now. Right. Yeah. And for us old heads, uh, being me, uh, you know, I'm, I'm in my forties. I like to think I'm only getting smarter with age and brag to young people about like how you have to get up much earlier in the morning to, uh, pull that crap around me. Um, and, uh, you know, Chris Paul i i can now say i'm the chris paul of this podcast stuff but you haven't you haven't gone vegan yet though that's the next part that's next yeah that vegan podcast diet i think they googling that like crazy um all right let's move on to uh just get to know you a little bit better serena uh so you're currently working for ballet sports cleveland previously you've covered the lakers blazers

sixers we like to ask each guest this like just one moment one thing that someone did on the basketball court that was like the wildest thing you've ever seen someone do on a basketball court like it can be a single play it can be like a game that someone had like i'll be dropping 60 in his final game kobe dropping 60 i've heard about this yeah miles did you know that this had happened no i i've heard tell of this kobe bryant but i not of this Kobe Bryant, but not of this mythical game. Were you covering the team at the time? Oh yeah, I was there. Oh my goodness. Oh yeah. Wow. So, I mean, I know where I was. I was screaming up and down, like embracing all my friends because we couldn't believe this fairy tale that was happening. What was that

sensation like for you as a human being who likes basketball, observing with your own eyes what is happening right there? I can tell you that being in the building for Kobe's final game and watching him drop 60, I mean, I'm actually getting goosebumps. I can see them over this Zoom call. And we're not even in HD right now. And I'm sweating because I have a beanie on and I'm just talking about it. And yet my, I mean, I'm literally have goosebumps. It was the single most incredible experience. I mean, no, I'm not saying even sports experience I have ever been a part of.

The energy in that, in Staples Center, when Kobe dropped 60 in his final game, it was like the only time where everybody was there for one thing. Right? Like, so I was there for Game 7 um 2010 championship not everybody is there for one thing right mostly lakers fans there right not everybody there was a lakers fan right i was at that game and i was there for the hot dogs actually i just really am a big fan of hot dogs everybody in that arena right was there for one thing and it's hard to even put into words the feeling um i remember like kobe started off the game and everybody's kind of like oh man like kobe's final game he's gonna go out like this he's jacking a bunch of shots missing shots and then all of a sudden he's at

like you know 35 points and you're kind of thinking like oh okay like he could drop 40 in his final game like that that'd be a good that'd be a good way to to go out dropping 40 and then he surpasses 40 and all of us who are sitting by each other like with each point we're just looking at each other then he's getting close to 50 and we're like, no way he's going to have 50 in his final game. Like that's incredible. And then he passes 50 and then he just keeps going. And then he encroaches on 60. I mean, you just can't even, you can't make this stuff up. Right. You can't make it up. Right. And we all felt it. And I mean, I know that when you're standing up as a media member or like your jaws dropped as a media member, and I'm looking over at, you know, guys like Jay Adande or Bill Plaschke, like, you know, we are taught to not

show our emotion. Right. We are covering the game, right? All bets were off for this one because that was, how could you not, how could you not show your emotion? You were seeing something that you couldn't even put into words. So it was, it was like 20 years of the most incredible basketball player packed into all the emotion from 20 years packed into those three hours. I mean, for me, it was more like 24 hours because the whole, I mean, I was there from sunup till sundown. I pulled an all-nighter that night. I didn't sleep. I stayed at Staples Center and went straight from Staples Center to the practice facility actually, because we had extra interviews the last day. So I think I took a half an hour nap in my car at the Lakers practice facility. But yeah, that was single-handedly the most

incredible experience I have been a part of. Even your description of it, it's very clear. Like you trying to find the words, I was like, I was there too now. now i feel like thank you for that i was yeah i can just off of your even you trying to find the words i think even for somebody who made you know we have listeners who might not have seen the game or are new to the game in that just your description alone i think is a very compelling uh the argument is why people should watch go back and see that again but no it was incredible so that that for, as I was older and covering the league, favorite moment, as a fan, as a kid, my favorite moment was point four, D. Fish.

I mean, that was my favorite basketball moment on the court before I was covering the league. But in terms of actually being there, I mean, nothing compares to Kobe's final game. way bright for the lead yes colby bryant gives the lakers the lead i tell you something this is you know he was legendary before this game this is this takes it to an absolute another level an absolute another level and like in your time

reporting you interact with a lot of players you're in moments where you're like I'm not surprised that I see Giannis play so well or I can't believe I'm here for Kobe's game what's been like the most surprising interaction or experience that you've had like with the game

where you learned about a new dimension of a player or something you hadn't considered and what is there's anything like that you can share with us sure you know it's it's funny not that this would maybe be the the most interesting one but for me it's the first one that comes to mind when you ask the question because it's probably the most recent um and it's actually getting to know rajon rondo a little bit is i grew up playing basketball watching the lakers lakers celtics rivalry and so when you're younger right when you're in high school when you're in college and you're not covering the league yet and you're watching Lakers Celtics games and you're just a fan.

You see your opposing team or your enemy, you know, your mind's made up. And getting to know Rondo a little bit over the past couple of months after the Cavs acquired him, that was really interesting for me. Because I didn't know him at all, except from being a fan of the NBA and growing up watching the Lakers and Celtics rivalry. the Lakers and Celtics rivalry. Um, so getting to see him as a person and be around him, um, and have a completely, I don't want to say completely different opinion because I, I didn't know him to have an opinion before the Cavs acquired him, but getting to be around him and, and see how gracious that he is, um, versus the player that i grew up watching and yelling at the tv that was kind of eye-opening for me right and he's like incredibly smart right like isn't it i guess he's like a very smart basketball player but very smart basketball player yeah like there was a story who is which coach was telling this story I want to say it was Carl it was either Carlisle or

it might have been Doc obviously he played for Doc for so many years but um one of the coaches pre-game I was asking about Rondo and he said usually there's no player that would ever watch film more than a coach like coaches watch more film than any player ever would, except Rondo. And he was a guy where like in film session, you better know what you're talking about as a coach, because if you make a mistake, he'll call you out. Right.

There's a Scalabrini anecdote where like, I mean, Scalabrini tells it, I guess it's a Mark Jackson anecdote but Mark Jackson called a play that was a bluff he just yelled 42 cross for his team but it was like a bluff they didn't actually have that but he was just trying to like you know the way that

like a baseball catcher will like throw out multiple hand gestures and like try to try and confuse anybody trying to steal signs and like nobody would know that it was a bluff. Rondo looked at Jackson and was like, 42 cross, 42 cross. You don't have a 42 cross.

Mark Jackson was like, how the hell did he just know that? But he knew their entire playbook and also knew that they hadn't added it somehow it somehow which is why who are you talking to did you ever roller skate with rondo because i was the one little thing i learned about him when he was at the celtics that i was like he loves roller skating and he's like good at i'm like okay okay no no no roller skating and probably a good thing. Cause he dealt with plenty of injuries. Yeah. Hammies can be, it'd be, it'd be a tough thing.

So maybe too much roller skating, you know, was affecting the hammies. Could be. Yeah. But you hear about him mentioned a lot as like, if this guy wants to be a coach, he's going to be like a all time great if he's in the right situation, and his teammates like always seem to respect him a lot. So, yeah, he's like, you know, I'm in, I'm in the timeouts and huddles and I'm always listening in. And, um, he's that guy that's always, always yelling or not necessarily yelling, but just like, he's always involved in the timeout, you know, like coach would come over and he's like, all right, Rondo, like, you know, sit down.

I got to hit me coach, please. Yeah. Things like that. And I mean, it sounds like you've I know I saw a post where you were talking about Pau Gasol and that you two were close as a Laker fan. That warms my heart because I've always been an admirer of his and always suspected he was like a very genuine person. And it was very nice for me to see your heartfelt post

where you're like, no, this is a very sincere, sweet person. He's so sincere. He's so genuine. Possibly the most genuine player I've ever met in the league. Look, so I was a, I interned for the Lakers when pow was there as well. And as an intern, you know, you quiet, you keep your head down. I, I was, I think I was, I don't know. I was working some event and it was by myself and Patrick's came over to make small talk, like just, you know, something as simple as, Oh, Hey, nice shoes, like something like that to, to go out of his way to make me feel like, Hey, it's all right to talk to me. And we're just

human beings too. And I can't tell you how much that means to somebody, me. So from, I mean, I knew him as an intern, obviously I covered him for many years. So I can tell you that whether I was just a little intern or a reporter or whatever stage I was at in my career, he was always the same. He was always genuine. He was always gracious. And he was like that with everybody. So whatever you've heard about pal, in terms of the genuine stuff, I can tell you firsthand, it is all true. Yeah.

He was, I remember, so my dad was coaching the Celtics during his draft. And like, they wanted him more than anybody in the, in the draft. And he went over and interviewed him and he was like, I think he's going to be a doctor if he doesn't get drafted in the draft. And he went over and interviewed him and he was like, I think he's going to be a doctor

if he doesn't get drafted in the NBA. He was saying that and his grades are that good. He's just a super, again, like Rondo, very smart, interesting guy. I feel like with the Rondo thing and the intelligence,

I feel like we've seen that a couple times in the playoffs this year where people predict plays before they happen. There was the Jokic thing where he said that something was going to happen. Yeah, that's been happening a couple times. I feel like that might be something we're also seeing with just so much more tape available. Right. You guys are watching so much film now, right?

And in the playoffs, you know, with the Cavs, for example, they had books, right. For the plan for the teams. So books that had plays in them and they're, they're watching film. The assistant coaches are going over what the plays are at shoot around. Right. Like there's so much more of that now than there used to be. Yeah. I mean, uh like my dad's career develop like it went from when video first became a thing like they were the only people who could

get like the cut down of like all right every offensive play like every offensive series where they run this play but now like everybody can like you could do that on your iPhone. Like that's no big deal. It's wild. I was saying to scouts, oh, the Cavs playing game against Brooklyn. And I had a couple of scouts next to me. We got to chatting and it was wild listening to them because we're watching the Cavs nets and they're writing down every play. And I asked them like, you know, as excited,

as exciting for you guys, when you can call what the out of bounds play is, right. Because before the play comes, like I can hear the guy next to me, call the out of bounds play to the scout next to him. And he goes, no, he goes, what's most exciting for us is if there's ever a new play, we haven't seen because usually we've seen all of the plays and it's amazing you know they it's like they don't miss a thing um when they're there but i don't know if they're sat next to scouts that are watching a game for all their plays but it's and then they give it to the team and so everybody knows everybody's place right so it's a matter of studying them yeah who is the more studious that's like yeah that's the next thing we're going to see on the back of a basketball card.

It's like studying studiousness. It's off the charts. Well, Serena, it's been such a pleasure having you on Miles and Jack got Matt Boosties. I know you have to run, but thank you so much for joining us. Where can people find you, follow you, all that good stuff? Find me on Twitter at Serena Winters. If you want to go to Instagram, we're out at Serena underscore Winters.

Someone took the old Serena Winters. We hate that. We hate that. Yeah, yeah. All right. Well, thanks so much for joining us. This was fun. Thanks for having me, fellas.

All right. And we are going to go to a quick break and then we'll be right back to wrap it up with a couple funny clips i'm carrie champion and this is season four of naked sports where we live at the intersection of sports and culture up first i explore the making of a rivalry caitlyn clark versus angel reese i know i'll go down in history people are talking about women's basketball just because of First, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball

just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them. Why is that? I just come here to play basketball every single day, and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way

we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better.

This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. 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.

Season two. Season two. Season two. Are we recording? Are we good? Oh, we push record, right? Okay. And this season, we're taking an even 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. So all of these we have, we think, Latin culture. There's a mention of blood sausage

in Homer's Odyssey that dates back to the 9th century B.C. B.C.? I didn't realize how old the hot dog was. Listen to Hungry for History as part of the

My Cultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. is known globally because it is much more than just a sport and much more than just entertainment. Lucha Libre is a type of storytelling. It's a dance. It's tradition. It's culture. This is 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, the emperor of Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar.

Join me as we learn more about the history behind this spectacular sport from its inception in the United States to how it became a global symbol of Mexican culture. We'll learn more about some of the most iconic heroes in the ring. This is Lucha Libre Behind the Mask. Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask as part of My Cultura Podcast Network on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you stream podcasts and we're back um and that was dope i was like i it's there's nothing better when i'm, what were they like in real life? It's like the only thing I want to know, really, half the time.

Right. Yeah. We're blessed to be able to pick people's minds. Hey, Miles, you know, one of the best ways to find out what people are like in real life is putting a microphone on them. Hey, there he is. And micing them up. That's right.

It's Miles and Jack up, Matt Boosties mic'd up. Mic'd up, Matt is. No, I just turned into a morning zoo DJ. So one is the ref, Scott Foster, is talking to Ed Malloy, I'm told. And it's the Celtics, Bucks, game one, I believe. Scanning the crowd. Who's that over there? Who's this guy?

So Jack Harlow was at the game and like big uh celebrity presence and that yeah i i was personally i know who jack harlow is i'd like his verse on that one uh little nas x song um but i i'm kind of with scott foster in the sense that like i did i i was a little surprised by the amount of coverage that his presence at a playoff game was getting. Yeah. But here's Scott Harlow's mic'd up moment. Scott Harlow mashup.

Scott, Scott Foster's. Who's Jack Harlow? I don't know what it is. There's a guy over here, right here. It's in that white shirt behind you. Yeah,

who is he? I don't know. Go ask him. I've never felt more like, I never thought I would say this. I've never felt more like an NBA ref in my life. I mean, I know of Jack Harlow, and I know what he does. But that resonates with me as I become an elder geriatric millennial, and I'm not up on all the new celebrities.

And I'm like, who's that? Huh? In the white shirt? Okay, and they're cool okay cool cool cool yeah i knew that uh and then i just liked you know jordan pool is we we've talked a little bit about uh you know him being the third splash brother but like he's you know he has continued to be like maybe the most dangerous weapon that the Warriors have. Like, I don't know. It's a, it's hard to compare, but, uh, he's been so good. And, uh, at one point during, so he was mic'd up and, uh, there, there was a jump ball that he was involved in and he was going up against Jokic and uh he he had a funny moment

so they're about to do the jump ball and he like puts his hand up like like the players you know like when they're about to do the jump ball and he puts his hand up. Like the players, when they're about to do the jump ball, they both put their hand up a little bit. But he did almost like a kind of... It felt like a renaissance painting of a bohemian dandy. Yeah, yeah.

So you're supposed to lock arms with them? Or what is it? I've never do this. I've never done this. And by the way, that was Ed Molloy that he was asking. Look, I'm a big Ed Molloy fan, all right? Big Ed Molloy fan. Don't make fun of me just because I have an Ed Molloy ref jersey.

Most people don't know that that's what it is. But I got the number. People don't know. They said, and you always post it on Twitter. You're wearing it, and you take a picture of the number, and you always tag it IYKYK. If you know, you know. All right.

Give me a second there to do that joke, and I'm done. All right. And then Luca was mic'd up well during the first round. And I feel like we see a lot of luca highlights but you don't you don't get to see the man behind the luca and this is a fun mic'd up moment he's just like talking about people looking nice he's just he's he's starting to talk like a like my old uncle or something yeah he's like all right man new suit every night must be nice like you're a millionaire but i still like that the humility that you operate from, which is very endearing, Luca.

Yeah. You're telling me it looks nice? Yeah. Nobody doesn't like to hear, hey, man, you look great. That's a nice suit. No. Just don't tell them that if it's not nice.

Because if you tell me a nice shirt sarcastically, I will be wearing that shirt three times a week for the next five years. So just like don't mess with my emotions like that. It's just, it is what it is, man. All right. That's another one in the books. Another one.

Another classic, all-time great, maybe the greatest, maybe the greatest NBA podcast of all time. But another week of playoffs to look forward to. Is there anything that you're... This Bucs series I'm very excited about. I'm excited to get my boy Joel back. Yeah. I'm excited for...

Honestly, there's always something fun to watch. So I really can't complain. I mean, as of now, as of this recording, we haven't seen the Warriors-Grizz game two. Yeah. I mean, we went through this whole episode and didn't even talk about all-time classic game one, the Warriors-Grizzlies.

That game was incredible. Yeah. I mean, look, they've seen, they've heard, they know. But what a game. Man, I almost bit my nails off at the end. I thought you weren't nervous, Miles. I thought you didn't care. Yeah, I am.

I was just really hungry. That's why I almost bit them off. You were really hungry and waiting for this game to be over to get a whiz whiz. I couldn't just leave in the middle of the game. So I said, you know what? I'm going to eat my fingernails. That's what happened. Never nervous. Nerves what happened. Never nervous.

Nerves is steel. All right. Well, that has been another episode of Miles and Jack got mad boosties. We'll see y'all next week. Obviously. Bye. Bye. I'm Carrie Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry.

Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry, Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's

Sports. I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Caitlinlyn 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.

Captain's Log, Stardate 2024. We're floating somewhere in the cosmos, but we've lost our map. Yeah, because you refuse to ask for directions. It's Space Gem, there are no roads. Good point. So where are we headed? Into the unknown, of course. Join us on In Our Own World as we uncover hidden truths,

navigate the depths of culture, identity, and the human spirit. With a hint of mischief. One episode at a time. Buckle up and listen to In Our Own World on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Trust us. It's out of this world.