The Daily Zeitgeist - State of the Lakers with Raj Chipalu

Episode Date: October 6, 2022

Miles and Jack were pleased to he joined by the writer and podcaster for Silver Screen & Roll, Raj Chipalu on the latest Boosties! The trio discussed the state of the Lakers, why the Dubs might be scarier than ever and news/notes from around the league.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's basketball. And on this new season,

we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke.

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

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

Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry, Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Elf Beauty, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. Señora Sex Ed is not your mommy's sex talk. This show is la platática like you've never heard it before. We're breaking the stigma and silence around sex and sexuality in Latinx communities. This podcast is an intergenerational conversation between Latinas from Gen X to Gen Z.

We're your hosts, Diosa and Mala. You might recognize us from our first show, Locatora Radio. Listen to Senora Sex Ed on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Preseason has sprung, and so are we for some of these new teams, or at least teams that look different to me, to my eye. And we're going to talk a little bit about preseason action. We're continuing our team breakdowns expectations and predictions with the los angeles lakers this week as we are joined by the writer and podcast for sb nation silver screen and roll raj chapalu i'm miles gray and i'm jack o'brien and this is miles and jack got mad boost yes yeah fantastic we nailed it uh But let's welcome our guest,

Raj Chapalu. You might know him from Oz Jams, a writer there, also a writer and podcaster for Silver Screen and Roll. You might know him from the I Love Basketball pod with Sabrina Merchant. Raj Chapalu, welcome to Miles and Jack. I'm at Boosties. How are you, man? I'm doing great, man. Thank you for having me. I love your guys' intro. I love that you just do that every single time. I'm not sure how you guys hit it. Every single time. Perfectly. It's like we become... There's a brain meld where we become...

Our mouths begin operating from the same brain. Exactly. I've listened to the last few and I thought that was just something you put in, but no, that's something you actually record. Oh, yeah, yeah. No. It's actually that chaotic when we record it. Yeah yeah thank you though you honor us with that observation man that's awesome uh raj man uh so talk to us you you write about the lakers are you a laker fan

are you are you mixing business with pleasure okay now this is one thing i gotta ask you up top because every person we ask who's a fan who writes they say i'm less of a fan now of a team i'm a little more objective how did where do you put yourself in that i know if you support the lakers then you probably can't extract yourself from being a fan sometimes yeah so i go the complete opposite honestly i'm like even more of a fan now than i was before like covering the covering the team to me like i get more into it right i'm closer with like understanding the players and what's going on when you're watching growing up and i grew up as a fan of the lakers of course but um i wasn't really into basketball that way the way i am now

um yeah i hear that a lot too and i would hate that i would hate to like lose my love of the game i think that's kind of what makes me want to you know dive in and watch every single game watch a game a team last year that stopped really caring after february you know i mean like those are the things that like make me you know still want to watch so no i'm the cleopatra i'm i'm still an absolute huge fan um i kind of fell into like this type of you called it a business i kind of fell backwards into it right i really just started posting online i just like wanted a community to kind of join right lakers twitter was kind of coming up when i started in like 2017 um and i just wanted

to be a part of it honestly and i kind of fell back into really cool opportunities but no man i'm still just a you know as big a fan as i was before and i think there's ways obviously there's ways there are people you're going to be biased and i think as long as you acknowledge those biases right like of course i want the lakers to win like i'm like that's like definitely and that shows out in any content i do um and you might lean a little bit more positive in some ways but in some ways also you're a little bit more honest right you're like yeah let's get this guy off my team there's no like oh yeah like he might be good or not right right yeah you know you're like okay if i want to win i'm going to be serious about how we get there so i'm not going to mince words i think some nba fans are definitely biased but i've never met a biased lakers fan like no never never pretty much

like you know clear our feet are just on the ground just thoroughly ground connected to the ground 10 toes down you know that's just how we are. Raj, how did you fall into your Laker fandom? Just by being an LA guy? Yeah, so obviously growing up in LA, you know about the Lakers, right? You know about Kobe and Shaq, but when I was a kid and I played youth basketball, but I never really got into watching

the Lakers until my freshman year of high school. I was trying out for the team or whatever, and one of the guys just told me, I was trying out for the team or whatever. And one of the guys just told me, I want you to go home and watch Kobe. Go watch Kobe play. And to me, just being a really arrogant, dumb ninth grader, I was like, why would I go watch Kobe? I'm not trying to be in the NBA.

I'm just trying to play basketball. I'm not trying to be in the NBA. I'm trying to be the first Raj. I'm just trying to play basketball. And I went home and i just fell in love with the game i this was in 07 08 and i don't think i've missed a game like on purpose since then it's what 2022 so um yeah that's kind of how i fell into it and just really fell in love with it and uh watching every single game and being able to grow up with the lakers and then obviously

they had their their downturn obviously once kobe um went on and retired. That's how I got into it, really. I fell in love in high school and I just never stopped. I worry one day, will it end? As I get deeper and deeper into this and into the business of it, I fall more and more in love with the game. I'm still a huge fan of it. Yeah, love to hear that. How are you feeling heading into this particular season?

You said you were at the preseason game? Yeah i i like to go to that to the first preseason game i went uh i went last year as well um last year lebron didn't play played uh played last night it's strange right i mean i think everyone expected the lakers to be different than what they are now uh russell westbrook obviously dominates any headline, any conversation around the Lakers dominates around a Russell Westbrook trade. But, you know, last night I think that was like the best I've seen Russ play in like a year. Like I thought

he looked okay. I understand all the caveats. I still don't like getting 30-piece by the Sacramento Kings. I totally get we benched our second unit, but I'm hopeful this is a better year. Garvin Hamm, obviously, I think is trying to implement things that you know work better for russ hopefully hopefully we get uh lebron and ad healthy which i think is the number one thing but i'm a little bit higher than i like i think the expectations are so low right now like it's hard

not to pass that bar right yeah the expectations are just to be competitive which uh you know i think lebron and ad you'd hope for higher you know bars to reach but that's kind of the bar right now that's the most realistic one i was telling jack before this when i was talking to jabari about the game i said hey we look different from last season and i like that there's we there's there's clearly some kind of there's a new ethos within the squad. Now, the time it will take for that to get to whatever level of competitiveness is yet to be seen. But like you said,

I've, I felt heartened enough that at least the ship was beginning to turn in direction. Now, again, I don't know where that goes, but at least that was enough for me to feel less panicked. This is the point in the season that is like, I love overreacting in a positive

way just imagining like a me like i oh yeah the net the net sixers game like watching ben simmons back out there like playing just watching the highlights of ben simmons like throwing some passes like behind his head and like you know yeah that got me so excited and i'm just like picturing the season where like that's all that's happening is just Ben Simmons, just as the queen in chess, just like moving all over the board, like getting the ball to different people and like weird positions at just the right time.

That's what, that's what's fun about this part of the season for me. Yeah. Yeah. It's so the same thing, like how I overreacted to Quinta Brunson posting a picture of herself on Twitter as James Harden. And I was like, I think the Sixers could win

this year. That truly was my take. There's something going on in Philly. There's something going on in Philly. I said, what's happening with the Eagles? You said the Eagles are doing, they're killing it right now in the NFL. And I said, what about the Phillies? First playoff berth in 11 years. I'm like, okay, so the Sixers definitely getting past

the second round. Off the strength of that Quinta Brunson pick, for sure. I heard, I think, one of you is a Sixers fan, correct? Yeah, I'm a Sixers fan. Not the person who is frothing at the mouth when you're talking about the Lakers. I think there's some interesting

through lines between the Lakers and the Sixers. You guys are trying to rely on James Harden which you know good luck um on that right now I think I think so James Harden the Russell Westbrook in this uh metaphor so obviously James Harden is seen as a lot better than Russell Westbrook which is totally fair I do agree um with that I just think like old guards there's not like a ramp down right it's more of a drop right the cliff is it's a cliff drop it's not just like a steady drop and decline um so i'm interested when that happens with james harding he said he's lost 100 pounds which obviously i think was i was just stretching it out but um i'm really interested and i think you know imbied wants to win the mvp

i think that's something that's definitely in his grasp um i think anthony davis kind of sees himself in that anthony davis was in that imbied yokich tier and it's crazy something that's definitely in his grasp and the Anthony Davis kind of sees himself in that Anthony Davis was in that Embiid Jokic tier and it's crazy how he's dropped in terms of like just his Reputation around the league, but I think you know when he's at his peak and kind of reach those levels But I just think like it's an interesting kind of look at it Cuz I think Philly has a lot of expectations this year a Doc Rivers led team I'm not really, you know, i'm not really high on but uh okay all right i'm really interested in how they play because they have no biases detected

players that is by the way that that is my exact thought said back to me but said back to me by a lakers fan i'm like you're like i don't know about that. Oh, yeah? Well, yeah. I agree with every single thing except the source. Right. Exactly. Yeah, no, the Sixers are very excited. I feel like the Sixers got people in the way that I'm talking about watching a couple of Ben Simmons highlights got me excited for the season. I think there's just something about them and like the idea of like a return

to peak form, James Harden, and then the promise of Maxie that just has, has everybody excited. I feel like I am uniquely situated as somebody who has like been, uh, you know, living and dying with them since Embiid came into the league that I,

I, I feel a certain ceiling that they can't get past, which is the second round of the playoffs. Miles is right. Maybe this Quinta Brunson, James Harden, Halloween costume.

Take a little bit out of my Lakers fan bag and indulge in some magical thinking. Sometimes it helps. It's like prayer. To touch on the lakers again for a second raj between lani walker and want to scano anderson thomas bryant troy brown which which of them do you think is going to have the biggest impact yeah so it's interesting they brought on a bunch of guards right i mean this team was like built

for westbrook trade right it's kind of that's kind of the build of it um i'm you know actually i think the name i don't think you mentioned there i think patrick beverly is probably the most like known guy right sure on the team like he's the one that i think you know what his skill set is like yeah i think kendrick nunn fits really well as well like he started last night i think he's a perfect like you want another ball handler out there it was interesting watching yesterday there I think Kendrick Nunn fits really well as well. He started last night. I think he's perfect. You want another ball handler out there. I was interested in watching yesterday. There was a lot of possessions.

Russ was just in the corner, which I think is interesting how they're trying to run the offense through other ball handlers. I think there's some diminishing return to that where you're not going to get anything out of Russ if he doesn't have the ball. Lonnie Walker, he's been interesting. I just think any team that gets let go by the Spurs, I'm kind of look at it and through a side eye. But yeah, I think Patrick Bradley is going to be have the most impact.

But I'm really interested in like if they can throw Lonnie Walker in a room with Phil Handy and see what comes out. We had Austin Reeves. He played yesterday as well. It's just like a bunch of guys who need minutes. That's where it goes. GTA looked fine last night. I think he's minutes and that's where it goes gta looked fine last night i think he's a guy that's gonna need to play with like starters like because he just

can't shoot has very he doesn't really have much offense to him but uh a lot of just unknowns man and it's really just lebron and ad are gonna have to carry again and hope that russ can have some kind of bounce back uh for when she's in there but yeah pat bev is probably the one i see having like the best impact from the from the new guards that we got and that's just not in sound bites no i feel like that's going to be the other blessing the memes are going to be self-generating for sure again this is the time when the unknowns can you know it's like watching a movie trailer where you know so often the movie that i see in the trailer and fill in all the blank spots with like uh you know they'll work that out uh it's oftentimes not quite as good uh you know once you see it up on the screen but that is the point that i'm at that's why i love

this point of the season uh the warriors like you know james weismman came through with a 20-9 in the preseason. I'm like, oh, boy. The West's in trouble. It's the Warriors from last year. And Weissman putting up at least 20-10 every game. Kaminga in there. Everyone's in trouble. Did you see the clip from that game though when rui was talking to the crowd intro oh my gosh as somebody who's black and he's that clip couldn't

resonate with me harder as somebody who is japanese speaking half black person being there and sometimes you speak they're like wait you speak in japanese like they'll look at you like is that japanese coming out your mouth and then to for the mic to be passed to Draymond and just say, konnichiwa to the crowd, and they lost it. I just got to play this really quick for people who haven't heard it because like Rui is being very Japanese.

Like he's doing the thing that athletes do when you address a crowd. It's like, like you kind of basically, you're selling the crowd on what the team's going to do. He's like, hey, just to let you know, like we're working really hard. We're trying to take it to another level and we're going to give it our all in this game.

So, like, I hope y'all will have our back, too, is what Rui is saying in Japanese. And they're like, all right, yes, we root for you. Tremont. Konnichiwa. Much louder. Much louder response. But brilliant, brilliant moment. What was everybody thinking about the Dubs this year?

Embarrassment of riches, man. It's crazy what they're able to get. I do think they're going to miss Gary Payton. I do think that was a loss for them. They let him walk, obviously um and auto porter as well i think you know was an important part of them but cominga i think can step right in moses moody they get uh clay thompson back for a full season they're just gonna them and the clippers i think are the two top of the west to me and i think they're just coming in with a whole bunch of chemistry and stuff. You just can't buy. I mean,

Clay, Clay, Draymond and Stefan playing together forever. That's just stuff that like no team can catch up with. The sons were like the closest and they look like they're burning. Like no pun intended, but like the sons just look like they're going to tear down. But the Warriors,

I think are going to, they're going to run the season again. I mean, they have all things going for them. They have young talent that can, you know, call them through a regular season. Yeah. I just, I think they're going to be season again i mean they have all things going for them they have young talent that can you know hold them through a regular season yeah i just i think they're gonna be really good again yeah one of our recent guests pointed out that there hasn't been a team that goes back-to-back years to their conference finals so for the past four seasons basically

since lebron left cleveland no team has gone back-to-back to either Eastern Conference or Western Conference finals, which blew my mind. It also put into perspective what LeBron did for nine years. Nine out of ten years in a row being in the finals was so wild.

But yeah, there's just so much parity, so much talent in the league this year. I mean, that also gets me excited because it's like we're going to see something new. We're going to see new looks. Teams are going to come out of nowhere and surprise everybody. But the Dubs looking as good as they did and Wiseman looking as good as he does makes me think we might be headed for a back-to-back Western Conference appearance from them at the very least. All right, well, let's take a quick break and we'll come back to talk some other.

Let's take it down under when we get back from the break after this. I'm Kerry Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game.

Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them boys. I just come here to play basketball every single day, and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black.

I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better.

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or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. In a galaxy far, far away. far away no babe that's taken we're in our own world remember right in our own world we're two space cadets and totally normal humans sure totally normal humans embark on a journey across the stars discovering the wonders of the universe one episode at a time.

We'll talk about life, love, laughter, and why you should never argue with your co-pilot. Especially when she's always right. Right. And if we hit turbulence, just blame it on Mercury retrograde. Or Emily's questionable space piloting skills. Hey, join us on In Our Own World for cosmic conversations, stellar laughs, and super corny dad jokes. Listen to In Our Own World as a part of the My Cultura podcast network available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And don't worry, we promise to avoid any black holes. Most of the time.

Señora Sex Ed is not your mommy sex talk. This show is la plática like you've never heard it before. We're breaking the stigma and silence around sex and sexuality in Latinx communities. This podcast is an intergenerational conversation between Latinas from Gen X to Gen Z. We're covering everything from body image to representation in film and television. We even interview iconic Latinas like Puerto Rican actress Ana Ortiz. I felt in control of my own physical body and my own self. I was on birth control. I had sort of had my first sexual experience. If you're in your señora era or

know someone who is, then this is the show for you we're your host diosa and mala and you might recognize us from our flagship podcast locatora radio we're so excited for you to hear our brand new podcast senora sex ed listen to senora sex ed on the iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast. And we're back. Jack, who was the one that was Ben Gulliver who pointed that out about the no back to back in the conference

finals? Yeah, I mean, the six or the not the six. I'm sorry. The Celtics have been there like every other season. But you know, there's been a lot of the same teams there, but it doesn't happen back to back because it is incredibly hard to do that because, you know, you're running, you're making a deep run. Your best players are getting a lot of miles.

And then it's hard for them to come back and play at that high level without breaking down the next season. So exciting times. Yeah, for sure. Speaking of down under, another preseason action was a team I had never heard of. And I thought, I was like, oh, I like that name. The Adelaide 36ers.

They defeated the Suns in a preseason matchup that had me thinking there was a typos. I'm like, oh wait, they played the 76ers in Adelaide? And then that's what happened? No, this ad from the national basketball league in australia uh yeah off the back of uh 35 points from craig randall uh it was it was an interesting interesting game pretty competitive jack i feel like you had a bit of a theory as to what we might be seeing with the suns i mean it's not a theory. It's just interesting. The last game was Dallas.

Game 7 of the Dallas series. That was one of the strangest performances from a team. Prior to that series and even prior to that game, I think most people thought they were going to win and continue on and like reappear in the finals they didn't know about the stat that we just said that ben goliver told us yeah yeah but um it's yeah it's just a wild like i don't know if it's a mental block or you know what what particularly is happening but an nba team hasn't lost to a non-NBA team. And, you know, even in preseason for, for a long time.

And, you know, Monty Williams came through and was like, this is good. This is a learning experience. And maybe it is, maybe it's what they needed, but it's,

you know, having those be the back-to-back home games, like appearances on your home court is, it's just pretty wild. It's going to, again, like may makes it really interesting to watch them and see what happens with them. I think this is one I'm not overreacting to.

I like to overreact in a positive direction and be like Ben Simmons for MVP, Dark Horse candidate. But with this one, I think they'll bounce back. But even so, once they get back going, it'll be interesting to hear them talk about, okay, so what was happening in those two games months apart where you guys, a world-beating team, were suddenly couldn't make it work.

It's crazy that they were supposed to get Kevin Durant this summer. That's kind of forgotten now, but that was all the sourcing. Kevin Durant picked them as their team in the offseason. It it looked like um that's who they were gonna get and obviously the eight and stuff it's just really strange i mean that the suns won 65 games last year like that's an insane that's an insane amount of games um i don't that's why i don't think they'll drop off that much uh in the regular season i think you know they'll be fine like their playoff issue to me is like chris paul obviously is going to break down which is expected he's like what 35 36 or something like that um

i don't know his exact age but just him and booker and then i don't think they feature aiden enough and the mavericks kind of were able to shut that off along with luca being amazing so i certainly have playoff concerns but i think they're gonna win a ton of games in the regular season again. Aiden looked like a guy that knew he was going to be gone in February. Oh, just Paul's 37. Wow, that was charitable. Call Charlize Theron

because we've got another old guard issue happening. You're welcome. Wow, shout out Netflix. What a reference he just pulled. Jabari just pulled the plug on the podcast. He said that's the end. That was the last episode.

Netflix originals references. So about how long do you think it'll take? Do you think this is like temporary blip, like losing to a team that went 10 and 18 in their previous NBL season will serve as like the bottom in which they will begin to bounce. Or do you think maybe just give them a few more weeks and then we'll start figuring it out? I mean,

the thing I'd be thinking about as a, you know, somebody who wants the Lakers to perform well is, uh, Craig Randall. Like what, what is his, can we get him on a contract?

Uh, the guy who is just lights out, scored 35, like eight threes um i was like i'd like to see him in a lakers uniform next year yeah we could use that against the suns for real against everyone man oh man yeah i mean i i believe we do we don't have an open two-way left we We do have another roster spot left. So I believe Cole Swider and Scotty Pippen Jr. currently are our two-way spots. But yeah, Craig Randall, he had an incredible game.

It's just we have so many guards. I mean, it'd be another guard to throw into this like 7-8 guard man rotation. But I saw that game. He killed them. Phoenix was playing real players. It's not like they had their actual guys who were going to be in their rotation out there um tory craig was like trying to lock him up and he was still able to like step back cross and three him so yeah i think the

sounds are gonna be fine though i like i don't think preseason for a team that went to the finals and then lost in the second round the next year uh i'm not sure how serious they're gonna take the preseason especially with the amount of games that they brought back i'm not sure how serious they're going to take the preseason especially with the amount of games they brought back i'm interested what they get for jay crowder though like i think that's an interesting i think that's important uh i think you know his loss is actually like i think he brings similar stuff that like pat bev brings to your team where like you hate you hate him watching him but i think on your team he's uh one of those glue guys so i'm interested what they what they do with that uh but i Cam Johnson, Mikael Bridges, just

dudes that are going to help you win a ton of games in the regular season. I think this brings us to our dumb pitch for the NBA this year. Not necessarily dumb. It's a left term from last week. Last week, we pitched that Zion has warm-ups that are overalls.

Overalls? Yeah. He has a tear-away overall and rides a fan boat into the stadium. And also substitutions. Yeah, substitution is not like he's sitting on the bench. Substitution happens when they start playing Zion's theme music,

which we just kind of put it credence, and then the announcers are like, oh my god, what is that? and then a smoke machine starts going zion rides a fan boat into like in through the tunnel and he's choking out a gator too yeah choking out gator choking out a gator then bite his neck and throw him in the crowd and then throw up the talcum powder in the air like a like a bayou lebron james yeah um so this is a little bit more straightforward.

This is one that, you know, the NBA hasn't gotten back to us with notes on that one, but they might want to get back to us with notes on this one because this made us ask, like, what about relegation and promotion? You know, what happens in a lot of soccer leagues in the world? To keep it competitive where it's like, to do well is not good for your team.

You know, we can't incentivize a poor performance you actually need to play for your survival to get out of the bottom and i would love just to see a rotating thing where suddenly the 36ers or you know we have an interesting uh group of eligible teams that can come in to be promoted to the nba and then the suns for for the loss are relegated to play on the prison island of Australia. I don't know if they technically still consider themselves a prison island. That's probably not something. No, not anymore.

Okay. But anyways, I think that's fun. It's good promotion for the NBA abroad. Right. The economics of promotion and relegation don't work in US sports because of the stadiums that have to be built to house these teams like you can't you can't build a crypto.com arena get relegated and then be like well what are we doing with this arena now because we're not in the nba like that would be a massive detriment so i wonder if it's like a hermit crab yeah it's like yo bro you lost your you lost your turf and then now guess who's playing there? The Adelaide 36ers.

Yeah, they're occupying your stadium now. And everybody wants to come at you if you have a really nice stadium. So it comes with great responsibility. The Los Angeles Knickerbockers. Yeah. They finally figured it out. It's LA weather plus the Knicks brand. I like it, man.

Yeah. So they would not only take your spot in the NBA, they'd also take your arena. Your arena, yeah. That feels like gangster stuff, you know what I mean? Like, guess what, homie? I'd take your spot and your arena. Yeah. You know, the United Center? Put a sheet over MJ's statue, because right now

this belongs to the Tokyo Apache, or whatever the japanese team is uh should we should we talk about so si did their annual top 100 list or you know part of it i haven't seen the top 50 yet but um they they released 50 through 100 uh maxi was in there i think insultingly so man needs to be in the top 10 at least. But big movers, Westbrook was left off of their top 100 list after coming in at 34 last year. I don't think Westbrook needs bulletin board material at this point,

but that certainly could be motivation. Westbrook was left off the top 100 list, which feels right from last year, honestly. I think that's fair. And again, the Lakers are hoping that he bounces back and gives them some kind of leverage in whatever deals. They had the Indiana deals that they were talking about. Hopefully, if he plays well,

they don't have to give as many first-round picks. But that feels right. Westbrook was just not good last year so top 100 feels really like that that feels kind of terrible for a guy who won mvp a few years ago but it fits for his game last year right yeah and then who else was like lonzo also wasn't on there but i guess you know with the season he had you'd have to sort of compartmentalize to be like well just injuries yeah yeah you know you get first half of last season they specifically say through the first half of last season he's top 75 but right with the injuries it's tough and still having trouble right yeah yeah i think he's

had another surgery at the beginning of this season so he's that they don't i i don't know what the timetable is for his return but but still having trouble. Yeah. Tell you who's not having trouble. Blake Griffin. Oh. One-year deal with the Celtics. Where the number 91 got the 9-1 on him. Yeah. First player to play with that.

I mean. Yeah, that's the. Yeah, look. That's. The Celtics fans, they've come a long way. I know they've been wanting Blake Griffin for a minute. I remember when they would post Photoshopped images of him in Celtics, like in the Celtics uniform. Yeah. So I'm sure for the fans, it've come a long way. I know they've been wanting Blake Griffin for a minute. I remember when they would post Photoshopped images of him in the Celtics uniform. Yeah.

So I'm sure for the fans, it's one of those things like, it's finally happened, but years later. All right. Yeah, let's take a quick break. We'll come back. We'll do rapid fire. And Raj, I feel like you're ready, man. You're on the top of your game.

He's quick. Yeah, yeah. He ready for this. We'll be right back. I'm Carrie Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese.

I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them. Why is that? I just come here to play basketball every single day, and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch.

She is unapologetically black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. In a galaxy far, far away. No, babe, that's taken. We're in our own world, remember? Right. In our own world,

we're two space cadets and totally normal humans.. And totally normal humans. Sure, totally normal humans. Embark on a journey across the stars, discovering the wonders of the universe one episode at a time. We'll talk about life, love, laughter, and why you should never argue with your co-pilot. Especially when she's always right. Right. And if we hit turbulence, just blame it on Mercury retrograde. Or Emily's questionable space piloting skills.

Hey, join us on In Our Own World for cosmic conversations, stellar laughs, and super corny dad jokes. Listen to In Our Own World as a part of the My Cultura podcast network available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And don't worry, we promise to avoid any black holes. Most of the time. It was December 2019 when the story blew up. In Green Bay, Wisconsin, former Packers star Kabir Bajabiamila caught up in a bizarre situation. KGB explaining what he believes led to the arrest of his friends

at a children's Christmas play. A family man, former NFL player, devout Christian, now cut off from his family and connected to a strange arrest. I am going to share my journey of how I went from Christianity to now a Hebrew Israelite. I got swept up in Kabir's journey, but this was only the beginning. In a story about faith and football, the search for meaning away from the gridiron and the consequences for everyone involved.

You mix homesteading with guns and church and a little bit of the spice of conspiracy theories that we liked. Voila! You got straight away. I felt like I was living in North Korea, but worse, if that's possible. Listen to Spiraled on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And we're back. And get your joints ready. Stretch your neck out. Open that chest out. Because guess what, Raj? It's time for the rapid fire round of questioning in which we are going to ask you a succession of questions you just react give us your first response just chest pass that answer right back without thinking because we do not

have time for you to explain the answer further okay i don't care what we say after that's just not how this works and if we get off task it's on you to keep us on task okay raj for sure um before we start the clock actually let's just start the start the clock jack should we go for who wants you want to go first i could go first yeah i'm happy i'm happy to go first unless you would rather go first to be honest i was thinking i might go first this time if that's cool with you okay yeah that's fine with me man okay well hold on now you said oh no no no now you sounded like you didn't really mean it seemed like you really want to go first no no no no that's okay you go first i'm not playing okay great okay that sounds awesome i appreciate you letting me that's not

fair but i wanted to go see you can't just do that see that's oh my god go first go first all right start the clock again. Raj. I should have started, though. What are we underrating about the upcoming season? How much parody there is. Oh, okay. Go on.

Elaborate. Yeah. I think the Western Conference is insane. I don't think people are understanding how insane the West is. There's like 11 teams who think they should be winning. So deep. Clippers. I mean, it sounds like you are the rare Lakers fan that

gives the Clippers their due. How are you feeling about the Wolves? They're my upset pick, kind of dark horse team. I think they're going to be great in the regular season. I hated the trade from a playoff standpoint. I just don't like Gobert and Kat in terms

of the playoffs, but I think they're going to be great in the regular season. I'm high on Anthony Edwards. I just thought that was a huge package to give up to get your one star in to join and have it be Gobert. I went to the Clippers Jazz Game 6,

and I just watched as the Clippers switched Reggie Jackson on a Gobert, and the Jazz could do nothing about it. So I'm not high on them in the playoffs. But in the regular season, they're going to be really good. Maybe we need to rename this segment, because it feels like rapid fire isn't clear enough for our guests sometimes. Yeah. You know, that it needs to be quick. And look, Raj is a young man. because it feels like rapid fire isn't clear enough for our guests sometimes yeah you know that's cool and look quick answer raj is a young man you know i wanted to make sure

i i didn't want to come at him like that all of a sudden but raj you gotta get it together man together family please whatever your interpretation of rapid fires the nba about to cancel this show because this isn't paying off on what is promising by being called rapid fire. Please, man. I got mouths to feed. Okay. Next question. This is a hard one to ask.

What's more likely to happen? The Lakers or Clippers make a deep run in the postseason? Clippers. I know. Sadly. Sadly. I know. I know.

I know. I know. I don't want to, but I know. I know. I know. I don't want to, but I know. As a friend of many a Laker fan, I'm just worried about how you... Because there's still a unwillingness to deal with the reality of the situation in a lot of cases.

Sure. There's still the Clippers. I know. And you know what? If we see our Laker privilege diminish, you can guarantee a January 6th type response from Laker fans. That's the kind of levels of denial we're in. You know what I mean? It's like, oh, we lost that election, fam.

Storming. I can't. I don't want to see this. But it's true. I mean, I can't. Like you're saying, Raj, like they've been more consistent. And aside from me wanting to be toxic for the fun of it like yeah i'm i'm embracing myself to watch them just be they're not they're not playing the same league like

look at their roster they have like 10 dudes who make you know 10 to 11 million dollars a year along with pg and kawaii they have absolutely gone all in all in um they're playing a different like level field so they're they've gone all in for this season we'll see what happens you're right there's still just a clip this is rapid fire but i mean yeah they're playing on different level fields. So they've gone all in for this season. We'll see what happens. You're right. They're still just a Clippers. This is rapid fire, but I mean, yeah, they're the Clippers. That's true.

It's surprising to see them go all in with a leader of the franchise like Steve Ballmer because he seems like a pretty reserved person. I don't know if you saw that clip of him. Absolutely. Dude, he was even going nuts at the Climate Pledge Arena for the preseason game. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

Oh, I thought you were talking about the famous Microsoft one. No, no, no, no. He brings that energy everywhere. Yeah, ballman out of control. All right, which new faces in new places or newly formed cores are you most looking forward to seeing this year of our look 2022-2023

NBA basketball season? Newly formed core. I'm definitely most interested in seeing what that Minnesota team looks like. I'm really fascinated just to see it on paper. I think it's really crazy to look. They're going from a

team that was just fun to expectations. So Minnesota, definitely rapid fire. I got to remember that. Keep it rapid. Thank you. Thank you, man. Stop with all the capping. OK, here we go.

Now, look, the league did drop the comeback player of the year award years ago. But because we do the show, the NBA, the league said that we can give out this year a boosties bounce back player for the 2022 2023 season. give out this year a Boosties Bounce Back player for the 2022-2023 season. If the league lets us present this award, give us your top three candidate for the formerly Comeback Player of the Year, now known as the Boosties Bounce Back player of 2022-2023.

Comeback player. Top three. It'd be cool if it was someone who dropped 100 pounds or something in the offseason and just looked all of a sudden like their old self. The zeitgeist via Emmy award winning sitcoms is just a thought.

I'm just trying to help you here. I'm just helping with brainstorming. I know. And look, you're helping Raj mess up the segment. Raj, please get on with it. I'm biased. I hope and I'm thinking it's Anthony Davis who's going to be up there. I think James Harden has just like his same issues. I'm biased, I hope, and I'm thinking it's Anthony Davis who's going to be up there. I think James Harden has just his same issues.

I'm not sure. I don't think Harden is a... Oh, Harden. Yeah, yeah, yeah. From the Sixers. Okay. Yeah, Ben Simmons. I think he'll be...

Yeah. Ben Simmons should be back. And can I give two Lakers on this? Sure. I'd like to see... Yeah, give nine. I'd like to see Russell Westbrook also come back to be competitive at least. Or like an NBA player.

I think it's dropped off so far. But definitely Anthony Davis. I think he should win the Boosties award. I'm hoping he wins this award. The Boosties bounce back player of 22-23. I feel like if Anthony Davis was playing at a level that qualified him for the high standards of boosties bounce back player of 2022, 2023, it would be like he's an MVP candidate also. Which, I don't know. We haven't determined all the details.

Right. The bar is not that low. Well, I guess our expectations aren't low for AD. That's for sure. Right. If we said he's bounced back, then yeah, to your point, that would be a pretty massive show. Hey, well, porque no los dos, you know? Yeah, you know, MVP, bounce back.

It would be an interesting, yeah. Future episodes, we will have this debate as we get closer and closer to the Mountain Dew Boosties bounce back player of 2022. Raj, what did I tell you about cutting us off and keeping the segment going? Please, man. I'm enjoying it. I'm listening. Raj, surprise contender no one's considering right now. No one. I think Denver's a lot better than people are remembering and thinking.

I think they're a lot better than people are expecting out of them, for sure. Jamal Murray might be a boosties bounce back contender. Maybe. Yeah, I think they might be interesting. A lot of people saw them go up against the Dubs in the playoffs, and that was a bad matchup for them. Raj, you are losing control of this segment, man. You are losing control of this segment, man.

Jack over here talking about all kinds of stuff. Please answer this question rapidly. Who's a first-time All-Star this season? Oh, Evan Mobley, definitely. Okay. Okay. Yeah, I can see that. I can see that. What is it about Evan Mobley that you see him

ascending to the All-Star heights this season? I think he just has everything. I remember watching Cavs play the Lakers early last year, the rookie year, and that dude is a defensive monster, can shoot it, has great touch, pick and pop, can roll. He was already the hub of their defense really early on. So I think he's just being incredible.

They already have a bunch of all-stars and I think he might be the best out of them. Might not be as good as Donovan Mitchell, you know, got to, but I think he had

a really special, possibly could have been an all-star last year as well. So I think he could get on the team this year. Rapid fire though. Yes.

Yeah. Oh, see, it could be like this year's Therese Max, you know, because he, oh wait, he didn't make it last year

so he would also be a candidate for this oh wow i'm trying to walk people that that's wild yeah that would have been my agree with that okay did you see him hit like three threes in a row just like you're not just excited to get the season started he was like i'm bored with people not realizing how good i am and just came through and hit three threes right off the bat. Final question, Raj. This is the one we always close out with. Jack

or Miles? You really mumbled that. Did I? Jack or Miles? I can't answer that jack or miles both it was a great show and diplomat i love that dip said in the building okay i like a diplomatic i'll take it this is the closest i've come to a victory you know this is like you know this is huge for me

this is yo wait wipe those tears from your eyes man no wipe those tears from your face big man you'll be all right i swear it's a back this is courage water coming out my eyes man i told you about this raj man thank you so much raj shepalu for joining us on Miles and Jack Got Mad Boosties. Where can people go check out your work and listen to you and all that other stuff, man? Yeah, sure, man. This was a lot of fun. I appreciate it. On Twitter at Raj Shepalu.

A lot of my work on Silver Screen and Roll.com. And the podcast I Love Basketball is also on the Silver Screen and Roll podcast network. You can find that anywhere you find podcasts. Cool. Amazing. Make sure you give us a follow too on Twitter at Matt Boosties. Yep. A lot of, you know, you get our upset pics, you get stuff like that. Super producer Jabari

out there making it happen. Also, make sure you rate and review, subscribe and do all that on Apple Podcasts to, you know, let people know that this show is a massive movement that the sporting world can no longer ignore. All right. Until next time, you do you and we'll keep doing this.

All right. Ooh, I like that. I'm Kerry Champion and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. 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. basketball. And on this new season, we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry. 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. Do you ever wonder where your favorite foods come from? Like what's the history behind bacon-wrapped hot dogs? Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. 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 an even bigger bite out of the most delicious food and its history. Seeing that the most popular cocktail is the margarita, followed by the mojito from Cuba, and the piña cola from Puerto Rico. Listen to Hungry for History on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.