The Daily Zeitgeist - We Love This Game

Episode Date: April 28, 2022

Miles and Jack are joined by Mad Boosties producer and host of NBA Finals File Jabari Davis for this week's episode. The trio continued the playoff discussion highlighting the Pelicans' improbable playoff run, the continued excellence of Joel Embiid, Jabari's new show for iHeart and plenty more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry.

Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by 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. Señora Sex Ed is not your mommy's sex talk. This show is la platica like you've never heard it before. Diet Coke. You might recognize us from our first show, Locatora Radio. Listen to Señora Sex Ed on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to a new episode of the show. This week, we're talking about some of the fantastic fun moments from the playoffs from around the league.

Obviously, you're going to talk about what's dope about the NBA and dig a little bit deeper into the mind of our guest today. Podcast producer, actually one of the producers of this show and a host of his very own show, Jabari Ali Davis. I'm Miles Gray. I'm Jack O'Brien. And this is Miles and Jack got mad boosties. Crushed it. Okay, everybody. Welcome, welcome, welcome. We are here. We are doing it. Okay, everybody. Welcome, welcome, welcome.

We are here. We are doing it. It is the playoffs. Yes. Who better to have, man? Who better to have than you and I? Oh, you mean the guest, of course. No, no.

I was just talking about you and me. Oh, yeah, for sure. Who's the guest? Someone we know very well. Someone who we've actually known for a few years. He's been a guest on our other podcast, The Daily Zeitgeist. Never heard of him. Very well known in the NBA world, especially if you're writing about the NBA.

Maybe you're on NBA Twitter. Maybe you like NBA podcasts because this man is also the host of the new podcast, NBA Finals File, with Robert Ori. Please welcome Jabari Ali Davis. What? What's up, Jabari Ali Davis. What? What's up, Jabari? Thank you, guys. Appreciate you having me. Appreciate you having me.

Wait, I'm reading this right now? I'm here to save you. Appreciate you having me. All right. It's good to have you. That's cool that you are hosting with Big Shot Rob. Yeah. Big Shot Bob.

He's good at basketball and knows a thing or two. He's been in the finals before, right? Yeah, at the time he retired, I think he had played in 1-12% of all NBA firms. Yeah. That's so wild. Wait, that's real, huh? No, that's real. Yeah, I'm actually doing the math, and I was like, oh no, that's facts.

I was like, oh no, that's fact. That's got to be hard because on this show, I can just say whatever I want because Miles has been in... I haven't run the math recently, but I don't think his percentage of NBA finals is quite that high. So I feel like I can just say anything and not be contradicted. But when you're talking to one of the all-time goats of NBA playoff basketball, how do you feel about that? I'm going to be honest with you. I play it pretty straight.

I told him from the start, I'm an NBA fanatic. I told him from where I was. But not a fan of yours. Yeah, you know, he's okay. He's all right. Lifelong Laker fan. Can't really remember anything where you really got the hairs to stand up on my neck or anything. No, but all jokes aside, he's fantastic.

It's one of those where he lies to me and says stuff like, hey, I'm a fan of yours, too. And you know what? It shows me he's been a part of a team. Yes. He's been an integral part of teams. He's like, let me give me he's been a part of team. Yes. He's been an integral part of teams. He's like, let me give the young fella a little bit of confidence real quick. No,

that's good. Yeah. All right, young man. You're like, thank you, Robert. As somebody who has talked to Robert Ory before,

uh, because that is something that we talk about on this show. Sometimes it's like the intangible, the, those things where, you know, everybody, all the ink gets used up by the like oh they added this blue chip and like that will give them a big three and therefore

they're going to contend next year and you know at least during his career the thing they should have just been tracking is oh they added robert ory he wins almost almost every year that he's on a team. Do you have a theory of the case of what it is other than him just being big shot Bob Ori? I already let him know. For one, he is the

NBA equivalent of, remember the old Kevin Bacon game? Six degrees of separation with Kevin Bacon. That's him. He comes into the league. He competed against Jordan. He competed against all of the greats of the mid and late 90s. He plays alongside Akeem. He plays alongside Shaq and Kobe.

He plays alongside Tim Duncan and their triplets. It's just, it's absolutely nuts. But yeah, he's had a charmed existence. But the reality is this. He was a versatile 6'10 guy that could put the ball on the floor as well as knock it down from deep and could guard several positions on the defensive end. So beyond him being just an all-around good guy,

a guy to have in your locker room, it doesn't hurt when you're pretty much just a basketball Swiss Army Knight. Right, exactly. Yeah, 6'10 can shoot threes and defend is pretty... I'll take that. Yeah. I think people would be less surprised if he was on a bunch of finals teams now not that they were surprised but i feel like it you know that

that has become like the one of the most sought after things in the league now yeah i mean speaking of the league playoffs oh the basketball league the nba basketball league oh the nba basketball playoffs the postseason of the national basketball association yes yes i mean it's getting i'm i continue to be spoiled i continue as a neutral i'm jabari obviously i maybe people have can deduce this at this point but you and i are both uh we're angelinos and lifelong laker fans so we are watching this as neutrals this year I'm I'm I'm liking what I'm seeing I like that we had a few I mean there a lot of stuff happened over the weekend and things are yet to happen but uh what what how are you feeling what's your how's your how's your heart

feeling watching all the games it's going to sound crazy but this is the most I've enjoyed actually physically enjoyed and you know the postseason in you know a couple years obviously the Lakers had a you had a down stretch prior to you know the most recent years but honestly to your point being in neutral makes it that much easier you can just go into you can go into each game each series just as a fan and I've been absolutely loving it right I had a few you know a few game fours where I was like come on even up. Let's not get let's not go to a three one. And I got three of them. Three of my wishes were answered. And that was I mean, again, just long may it last, because I think just the level of competition again is at a point where you can see just the sort of athletic conversation go back and forth of like, okay, you hold that L, let me go back. Now it's time for you to see what I can do. And yeah,

I'm surprised even like people like my dad who get real casual with it are now really getting in the weeds because I think it's easy to root for everybody you're watching too. Yeah, there's like a level of like young talent that are, as we've talked about before, doing

things we haven't seen before. There's also like I'm as I talk about pretty regularly on this show, I'm like against the determinists, the people who seem to think every game is the final game of basketball ever played. And like when a team loses,

they're like, blow it up. So from that respect, it was very fun to watch in one of those series donovan mitchell come through lob to gobert for the game-winning dunk jazz tie the series 2-2 not usually like earth's hugest jazz fan but that that is the team i am pulling for in that series here comes comes Mitchell. Go Bear! Utah takes the lead! Another moment I'm like, fine, you know,

go to 2-2. Just to make it interesting. Because again, my heart, my purple and gold heart, usually doesn't have me pulling for the team in Utah. But again, I even found myself like, no, no, no. I like what I'm seeing, so let's allow this to continue to cook a little bit. I've just been taking your approaches.

I'm ignoring what the name on the jersey says. I'm just looking for good basketball. Just good basketball. And to your point, Jack, the ending of that game was absolutely fantastic. Honestly, you hear all the dialogue, you hear folks, and I won't weigh it down by going too deep here, but you hear all of the stuff to your point where everything is live or die, or if you lose, you're the worst, or any of that stuff. More than anything, I just appreciate basketball. So it doesn't matter.

I'm going to place aside my allegiances for this run, just this singular run. I'll be back being my usual toxic Lakers fan self next season. But for this one, particularly, I'm going to. Right, right, right. One team, one young team that was not on my list of like, all right, I think we talked about the Nets potentially putting it together. It would be fun to see them make a deep run.

Doesn't look like that's happening. As of yet, they are down 0-3 as of this recording. TBD. And the game has already started, so their posties might be over by the time you listen to this. But Golden State was one of the teams we were like, man, if they, all three of the Splash Brothers have it going and Klay is hot and they've delivered.

They've been a lot of fun to watch. I did not have the Pelicans on my list of like, man, I am excited to watch these guys. And I was wrong. I was very wrong. I think I fell into the very sort of elementary analysis of a team. I'm like, well, Zion's out. Right.

That can't be good for them. Therefore, my attention will go elsewhere. And no, I mean, oh man, Brandon Ingram's looking real good. That guy, that kid's looking like a real good basketball player i gotta say well if we're being honest about it you know you and i have that extra little wrinkle when it comes to the pelicans while i'm i'm certainly never going to be a pelicans fan the fact that brandon

ingram is there the fact that larry dance jr is there yeah there's a kinship and plus you know it is fantastic to see brandon ingram kind of coming to his own yeah and i think i feel even in like a part of me you can see there are parts of especially Laker fans who will look at that and just like raise their fist to the heavens and things like that. But part of me also feels good. Like when he was playing for the Lakers, I was like, there's something in there.

This kid, he could do something. And to see it, I'm very happy for him because he's just coming into his own. And I can't be mad at that. So Ingram has been very exciting. He's like putting up, you know, 30 and some of these games he's doing what I think a lot of people saw for him in the future. There's that one dunk where he drove into traffic and like a split second later, his head was at the rim. Right, right. And he was throwing it down in traffic. I think, yeah, the Pelicans were up 71-68 in the third.

It was, you know, a tough moment. Like one of those playoff moments where they're like, well, you know, this is where the experience comes through. And he just came through. And there's something about the physics of him being like a little bit lighter than the other players that allows him to jump super high and super quick and also

he's much stronger than I think people give him credit for because he absorbs contact and then like I said a split second later his hand is in the net. Yes. Great. His hand is in the net.

Yes. Also, his smile coming back down the court. That's what I love, though, too, when you're like, yes! Even when you're a professional and you're doing it, it still feels just as good all the time. At the end of the day, they're playing a game. I know we take this seriously, and obviously we're taking it seriously enough for you guys to have a show about it but at the end of the day they're playing a game and to jack's point it's fantastic to see him in his first playoff action three consecutive 30 point games at one point this is this is it feels like a coming out party i'm really hoping that we get that yeah yeah and i i want to talk about herb jones so um i like it's legendary in

our office uh not let it like just i i am weirdly obsessed with that one zion block where he in college like blocked a three that the person like squared up and started their shot when he was under the rim and then he just jumped and blocked a three that had left the person's hand seemingly five seconds ago. That's always just seemed amazing to me because it's not a thing

that you see players do that often or that I could remember seeing is like jumping across the lane and blocking a three. Herb Jones just did it twice in a single game. Herb Jones is a rookie for the Pels. This was the first time I had Googled him since his Alabama days. And I remember being like, he's like, he has so many tools. Like, he's real deal. And especially on defense. Like, he has two blocks that, again, appear impossible

and appear like he's too far away for the player squaring up to shoot to even be considering that he's about to block their shot. Yeah. Like, it doesn't seem like it even enters their mind. Because, like, when I look at the blocks, I'm like, oh, right, because what is he, like seven feet tall? And you're like, no, he's 6'7".

Yeah, 6'7", with just crazy wingspan. And also, yeah, just manages to stretch his body out. Hitting you with the go-go gadget rejection. Like, let me just add four feet to my arm really quick to just stuff this. In the corner, Paul look away. Scan the corner. And protected by Herb Jones. The length.

Are you kidding me? One of two. Ping. Three. That one. That one, like, I don't even, in my mind, I'm like, yeah, that can't get blocked. Right. And that's what the offensive players are thinking.

Right. Like, the one before that, the one on Macau Bridges, for instance, when Macau catches the ball, Herb's foot is still in the lane. Yeah. It doesn't make sense. Right. Yeah. And when you look back at the Zion clip,

the dude setting up to shoot that shot has the windup that I had when I was in high school. He is taking his sweet time. There's a hitch in the shot before he releases it this is happening in NBA game with like quick releases and people who are trained to like always know the correct amount of space before you let one go and he's just

getting up there and blocking it every time so Herb Jones is very exciting Herb Jones yeah I mean it's like i as much as i i love i love some good offensive play a block there's it's because they're not as you know that's not they're not as frequent so when they're done well and emphatically like that you're just like no no no no no no that's those are those statement plays that you love to see may i offer your first mad boosties prediction from a gift okay both of those two individuals that you love to see. May I offer your first Mad Boosties prediction from a gift?

Okay. Both of those two individuals that I mentioned, Herb Jones and Mikael Bridges, will be in the Defensive Player of the Year running for the next five to ten years. Okay. Okay. Like, in the running, meaning that they will be NBA players who are eligible? Or what are we talking about here? Meaning I expect two or three awards

from them over the next five years. Wow. I think they're that impactful. And it's kind of incredible to see from young players. And look, I love the prediction. Adam Silver, I think you heard that. So this podcast will have to go for another six years to verify these claims.

But I like that. I like those odds for sure. It's also cool because like this was the one of the first years marcus smart of course was the defensive player of the year came to the game last week rocking the defensive player of the year like heavyweight championship belt robe um looked awesome but it is you know people don't win that award at that size. And like generally, it's not a perimeter player. Like the guy who wins defense player of the year, usually a big. And for, yeah, I just, the sorts of things we're seeing with those sorts of blocks,

you know, we've talked before about some job locks, but it does feel like the perimeter defense game is something we're seeing people take to a new level. Oh yeah. In the past couple of years. I mean, I mean, we didn't even talk about the Celtics,

but yeah, the defense being led by Marcus smart, there's, they play with a lot of energy and intensity. Craziest thing about that is the fact that, you know, time Lord, if he doesn't get injured,

he probably wins defensive player of the year. you know i'm talking about his teammate right yeah absolutely crazy right yeah but it's really a testament to the you know to the job that emo emo ema udoka has done yeah and back on the pels willie green uh is you know doing an amazing job with that team there There was a comprehensive attitude that they brought into that game when it came to the Chris Paul matchups and the gamesmanship. That was pretty cool to see.

And they started the season 1-12. So that's impressive to just be unwavering in the face of that, but also it indicates that they figured something out with 13 games of the season since that time. They've been pretty impressive. And then, of course, they traded for

CJ McCollum, who amazing scorer. It's exciting. It's an exciting series and an exciting team yeah whether they do it this year or not i'm up for surprises too and yeah like we said golden state is delivering on us saying most excited team potentially heading in kaminga every once in a while you get a kaminga dunk uh can we do a quick look at this kaminga dunk real quick on the breakaway? Just to be our concerned elderly viewers of the league. I'm like, you can't jump so high, kid.

You're going to hurt yourself up there. Yeah. No, you can't. Yeah. Right. Right. Exactly. I'm like, I would die if I jumped that high, Jonathan.

Just going to poke it away. Steph gets it ahead to him. Here he comes. He takes off. From outside the lane. Those fans buying the business decisions. They saw. Jokic puts a hand up,

is getting close to the ball. He just moves it to the side and then dunks it two-handed uh and it's it's as if in that moment right like joker's arm extension i'm like oh is he trying to go there with me is that what he's trying to do and i think once it processed that joker was like i don't need i don't need to get posters uh that he like that even then even cominga midair is like okay so i don't need to do like power slam and now now he's like, but I have elevated. Okay, just get it in easy.

It was just in the split second. You can see like all that control happening. Yeah. We've all played basketball at different levels. I'm sure. Well, I shouldn't say I'm sure. I don't know if you guys have almost or been dunked on before. I have no problem with that business decision because, quite frankly,

when you're coming up as a defender, you know your elevator doesn't go doesn't go up that high oh yeah so there's nothing at all wrong with that i mean i died the only time i got out the way the last the only time i had ever allowed myself to be dunked on it was clear it was like me versus the person who was just who was coming with far too much velocity towards the hoop, I was like, I can't get up static. I can't just gather from here and get up. I was like, nah, I have that. I got dunked on conservatively 12 times in a single game by Dan Gedzurik. Oh, come on.

Seven-footer. Eventually, he was a Bruin, right? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, he came out of a small private school in New England and you know I I was a I was there I was like you know what I'm gonna I'll stick him and it did not go well for me like two-handed dunks it was very Shaq like it was like you know it was Shaq like if Shaq were playing against a high school basketball team.

Right, right. So, yeah. Did it get to the point where so many dunks were like people in the audience were getting sick watching you get like posterized over and over? Like, please, Jack, just stay down. Stay down. I think it was maybe his girlfriend. I don't know. One of the cheerleaders came over to him and she had a tear in her eye

and she whispered something and he stopped dunking on me after that. But I mean, I'm not going to say he went easy on me. I think he could tell that I had had enough. Right. He knew I was a real animal, you know,

just being able to just eat those up every time. Nom, nom, nom, nom. Yeah. Yeah, give it to me. Really flip it on him and be like, yeah, you like how I ate all those dunks? Be like, mmm, sir. If it makes you feel any better, Baron Davis matched up with my

high school team in my senior year. Off the tip, he pinned our point guard against the backboard and then dunked on him. Pinned him against the backboard, took it on down and dunked right over the top of him. Shout out to my friend Aaron. Sorry. Yeah, in the playoffs

my high school against Tyson Chandler it was big problems. It was big problems for my high school playing against Tyson Chandler. And I mean it remains to be seen who, you know, which of those anecdotes is more embarrassing. Like obviously Baron Davis, one of the all-time greats.

Tyson Chandler, contributor on a championship team. Both of those things happening to other people that you knew versus me getting dunked on 13 times by Dan Gidzirich. Yeah, we all have our rough moments, but who's to say which one is more embarrassing?

Yeah. I don't know. Listeners, write in. But the way I look, did Jack get posterized, or did he eat those, gobble them up? Yeah, gobble them up. You know, those are, like, had I been a three-point specialist, it could have been part of a plan where, you know,

he's taking twos, but I'm coming down and draining the threes. Unfortunately, I was not a three-point specialist. I was 0 for 13 that night. But you were early analytics. Early, early analytics. Exactly. Yeah, I'll take that too. I also fouled him on at least a dozen of those. All right. Let's talk about

big men in a moment when we come back. I'm talking about Joel Embiid. We'll talk about him right after this. 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? 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. 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. When you think of Mexican culture, you think of avocado, mariachi, delicious cuisine, and of course, lucha libre. It doesn't get more Mexican than this. Lucha libre 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 iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. And we're back. And, you know, we have super producer Jabari on the show.

He preps the doc every week. He knows I'm a Sixers fan. This week, he came through with... Let's see what his one Sixers highlight was. It says, former Sixers Thad Young, Sixer on

Sixer crime. It is Thad Young crossing up Joel Embiid to make him fall in game four when the Raptors beat the Sixers. So I don't know if we even need to watch that. It was not that remarkable.

I think it was remarkable because I didn't know that this year the NBA was allowing players to wear winter skis on their feet while playing basketball. At least that's what it looked like based on the slipping I saw. Fred sends it to

Thad Young. Former 6-0. Being 300 pounds and moving in one direction has trouble reversing direction and Thad Young pulls up for a jumper. The game winner?

Or was that a game winner, Jabari? I was just curious if that was why you put it in. That was not a game winner. Oh, that's not remarkable. The Raptors did win that game, and that must be indicative of how the series is going, right?

Because you put it in there that must be the thing that sums up the raptor sixer series oh wait no okay so the sixers are up 3-1 as of this recording um so just one other thing that happened in this series was top three mvp candidate joel mb'd accepted an inbounds pass with.9 seconds on the shot clock and two seconds left in overtime. Tie ball game. Hit a turnaround three. Feathery soft.

This man is the size of Shaq and has just the featheriest, lightest touch. Even lighter. Lighter than a pile of spider webs. That's how light this touch was. Yes. Lighter than a pile of spider webs. That's how light this touch was.

Yes. Feathers do not do it justice. Fall away. That was clean though. That was so clean. The body control that it takes

to be able to do that and you know as a normal sized person let alone seven foot. I'm not joking. I almost hurt my back trying to

trying to wash like scrub the lower part of my back in the shower and this guy is full trunk rotation to like catch and shoot again i am the furthest thing from a professional athlete i'm a professional podcaster which means uh shooting in the gym means uh 2k while sitting down but yeah it, it's... That was very poetic too because that arena has also been the site of some terrible emotions as well for Joel Embiid. Yeah, I'm not sure what you're talking about, but

this was a... It was obviously pointed out. There was a lot of significance. This was Game 2, so this is the difference between it being a 2-2 series and a 3-1 series um this is the same uh arena where kawaii leonard put the fadeaway falling out of bounds jumper that bounced uh 14 times in the heart of joel and bead and sixers fans so it was cool for him to have this moment so that that was not was not in the doc. I had to add that one.

So the thing that was in the doc was, uh, Thad Young making Joel Embiid fall down. Like he was on skates. The thing that was not was the, uh, amazing shot. The awkward celebration.

That was one of the things I loved about it is that he has not thought through what like cool thing to do after hitting a game winner. He's just jumping around like a nine-year-old who just opened an N64 on Christmas morning in the 90s. Just jumping around. Just pure joy. And then also

has done away with throwing punches in the air, which I think is better for the health of him and everyone around him. Since there, there've been moments where he like fist pumps and it comes within like a, an inch of like ending the game because somebody's face is right there. Uh,

so I, I love it. I loved this moment. Uh, it put me in a good mood for three days in a row. Great. Yeah. Now, Jack, do you love this moment?

I wasn't clear on that part. It was the touch feathery soft. It was spider webbly soft. Right, right. Just a spider web drifting in the breeze. Truly, truly, truly. Again, I like the diversity of clips that we talk about on the show um because it gives us moments like this on one hand jack you had to gather yourself to

to watch that young put joelle and bead on roller skates and then that gave you the emotion you responded you know what i mean that was game one jabari then game two is jack saying well what about this clip really it was a test it was a test because remember a few weeks ago, we all agreed we were going to go into this and essentially cheer for other teams other than our own. So I just wanted to see how Jack was going to react. Right, right, exactly. I see how it is.

Okay. Right. Could you hand out some roses right there with that? Like, does that mean that we can't even talk about when one of our teams has the defining game-winning shot of the playoffs so far. We just leave that out? Is that? I guess you got a point there.

You've been making content a lot longer than I have. And at a higher level than I have. I mean, come on, guys. You're going to sound like that one guy. Bobby from another sports podcast. Never heard of it. So, I also want to talk about the Nuggets and one Nikola the Joker Jokic

because they've had a rough go because they're playing the Golden State Warriors. Yes. And with six man of the year, Steph Curry. Down 0-3. Exactly. Down. Oh,

three. They put together a gutty win in which he made the perfect pass for the game winner, which is what he's been doing all season. He also predicted so that they pulled him for defensive reasons. And also, I think just to like, give him a little extra gas on the offensive end.

But he was from the bench telling the players who remained in the game, the Nuggets who remained in the game, exactly what play the Warriors were about to... Lob over the top. And they intercepted the lob.

Then he came back in through the perfect pass. And we've had on here for a while. Jokic's passing this season is one of the coolest things I've seen anywhere in basketball. He has these bounce passes

or outlet passes that seem like they're traveling around people's legs or just passing through their bodies like they're force around people's legs or just like passing through their bodies, like their force ghosts. Right. It's, or it's like the timing of like,

it's the equivalent of like those, like, um, those like optical illusion things are like, focus on this thing in the room. And they're like, I bet you didn't notice there were 19 bears in the background playing hopscotch because you were focused on this.

It's like the timing of his passes is like the same equivalent of those kinds of exercises like well that's not that's not an angle that's not a passing angle or that's not the moment to pass the ball and then he exploits that with the mastery that we've you know not really been able to see for some time yeah the outlet passes let's start with the outlet passes here real quick. So that was a look off where again, the look off is so complete that he throws it right through the hands of an opposing player. It's audacious because this speed is not moving out of inhumane. Like I could barely keep up with where the ball was.

It's just a quick, no, I'm looking over here. I was like, okay, but no, no look. Boom. He's not a good passer for a center. He's a great passer. He's a great general. Yes. His feeling for the game is that of like one of the great point guards.

It's absurd. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we were talking about Mello a couple weeks back with Roy Wood Jr., their passing reminds me, when Mello's at his best and throwing those passes that, again, feel like

how are they not getting picked off, but it's because nobody saw them coming except for the player. Those two remind me of each other, but Mello is a point guard who his passing was the most heralded thing about his game, and Jokic is

also putting up 28 and 10. This one is he gets a pass in the high post and immediately, I think this is the one where he immediately throws it over his head without having looked

behind him to see that there's a teammate there or where the opposing players are. Yeah, it looks like, again, a move I would have tried after seeing the Harlem Globetrotters for the first time as a kid and trying to do something like that in the game, except I would have just

threw it out of bounds. I'm like that this year and the parton couldn't convert but the placement of that as well you notice he doesn't just catch he doesn't just hit him he throws it to a location where only he could have caught it the defenders on his on his back for those who are watching he catches it kind of looks over one shoulder and then gives a second where he's looking in front of him and then throws it directly over his head like you know like somebody who's never played basketball before and is just giving up um right right but and it goes within one inch of the three defenders between him and his teammate that he's passing it to.

Um, but because the timing is so perfect, it's like one of those like Aaron Rogers passes where he drops it into like one square inch that only his receiver could get it, but he's doing it without looking over his head. Right. Um, and when you watch it in extreme slow motion,

you notice that, like, the ball will pass over a defender's head and then, like, his reflexes will catch up and he'll, like, put his hands up, but it will have just passed over his head. It's too late. So, again, like, just a level of having figured things out that, I don't know. It seems inhuman.

He has that thing, when I'm talking about LeBron, I think LeBron, when he has the ball in his hands, is making it's like a chess computer that knows every single angle and is 30 moves ahead. He's always making

the right play and I feel like Jokic is doing that too and it's it's wild to watch and to miles's point he's doing it like at like half speed for nba players he's just like just methodically plodding along and got you it feels like like me playing with like older uncles or cousins who like weren't as fit but they were smarter they're like i've played so much more basketball than you. Watch me just face my chest in this direction, and you're going to be completely disoriented when I start just throwing no looks and things like that.

And I really enjoy watching him because he's such a cerebral player, and he's playing in a way that feels like he has his own way of playing. And even to that point of him calling out that lob that Austin Rivers ended up intercepting, he said it after the game. He's like, you know, we watched so much tape. And he's like, I could just see the shape and I knew what was going on.

And I think the fact that he's so intuitively already doing all that kind of analysis all the time. And his, you know, real asymmetrical passing is just, it really put those people off. And I, and I always say this about European players. I really, I really think the reason that their passing is so good is from soccer because that's a bigger sport out there.

And that's all about predicting where someone's going to be putting the ball. They're drawing a defender out by first, you know, rotating like a lot of those, sport out there and that's all about predicting where someone's going to be putting the ball there drawing a defender out by first you know rotating like a lot of those a lot of those fundamentals apply to basketball but we see them in different ways like i feel like paul gasol really brought that to the lakers too early on and i was like wait a second and this is like coinciding when like the spanish national team was doing very good in soccer i was like no this all makes sense like the fluidity of passing is... People are using different parts of the brain

when they're coming from Europe. Yeah. There's another pass we'll put in the footnotes for this episode where he throws it, again, at a weird angle that travels all the way across the court. And it's also not clear how his arms are making the ball move

because the pass is at such a strange angle. It's sort of a sidearm behind him pass. But again, it just leaves the defenders looking like my kid chasing a butterfly because the ball is right

there. They're just like, ah! One more time. Joker, I'll get it this time. You're not going to get me this time. Like, even more demoralizing than getting dunked on 12 times in a single game. Exactly. Nah. More demoralizing than eating up 12 dunks and not getting knocked down? Nom, nom, nom.

Nom, nom, nom. Every time he dunked on me. Nom, nom, nom. He's like, this dude is so weird. Why does he keep making that sound? So, that's Jokic. That's Jokic. Turns out he's pretty good. Yeah.

But passing does feel to me, I don't know about you guys, but it feels to me like it's just getting better and better. They're shooting from deeper. People talk about that a lot. But the passing is just like some of the passes are so dope and next level and like it doesn't make sense with the conscious mind how they knew to do that i wonder if it has to do with i mean obviously there's still one-on-one play there's still plenty of isolation ball but there's less and less of it in more of you know motion offense i wonder if it has

to do with that you know players and teams just simply having to pay more attention to detail yeah when it comes to those things. The players are becoming more and more complete. We're seeing these big men with soft hands can just have ridiculous vision. I can only imagine what that's going to do down the road because we're inherently just kind of like the sport is evolving because we don't see kids developing.

We're like, I'm going to learn to don't see like kids developing. We're like, I'm going to learn to do this one thing really well. It's like, no, I want to, I want to be as complete as I can. Ted Holmgren. He's coming out.

He's coming out this year in the draft. He's seven foot three or seven foot four. Right. He has ball skills, can do everything on the court. I agree with you. All right. Let's take another quick break and then we'll come back and talk about some,

some Mike ducks. Another quick break, and then we'll come back and talk about some mic'd ups. I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game.

Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them boys. I just come here to play basketball every single day, and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game?

And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. 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.

When you think of Mexican culture, you think of avocado, mariachi, delicious cuisine, and of course, lucha libre. It doesn't get more Mexican than this. Lucha libre 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. Santos! Santos! Santos Escobar, the emperor of Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar. Santos! Santos! 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 iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. And we're back. And before we get to favorite mic'd up moment of the week, Jabbar, we do like to ask our guests,

as you know, what's the craziest thing you've ever seen somebody do on a basketball court honestly over the years there have been so many things but i'll say my favorite of the crazy things was it came on a play i think from the 2003 season if i'm not mistaken where it's all it's it's on an inbound or he's taking the ball out he throws a length of the court pass to Kobe, catches it in stride, goes around the back with it, and then does like a 180 on top of a Denver Knuck.

I don't even remember who the guy was. But being able to do all of that at the same time in one fluid motion, probably the craziest thing I've seen. And again, since we love making comparisons to other sports, that's like catching a like hail mary pass but then still having to put it around your back and then do a 360 all in one motion with the defender right there in your grill right yeah because jabari you grew up in la i'm from la we very quickly we're like okay we're both from the valley we started talking we're like wait

where did you play who do you know what have you seen and very quickly we realized that there are parts of the valley where we may very well have been at the same place at the same time and I guess what's interesting I want to ask you right because I respect your basketball

pedigree your acumen and that you do know the Valley. Is there a basketball culture in the San Fernando Valley? And what have you seen by being in the Valley playing basketball? Without a doubt. So for one, back in the day, the Tarzana Recreation Center Adult League, all types of former players or guys that were playing overseas and all types of actors that actually had some game, you know, they used to play in that. But in particular, you know, one that we, that we've shared the same experience. Do you remember the old Janesta Park days? Yeah.

Where I'll be honest with you out there, for instance, you might have Shaq and Pete Rose watching you play basketball and in, out of nowhere, Brian McKnight will come up. Like, like, so there was one you know i can remember a saturday and making night brian mcknight brian here you go cross your mind that brian no time yes that brian mcknight was he counting out the buckets as he made them yeah no what he did could you keep score for us yeah keep score exactly no what he did was he came up to a park where there were four games waiting and he said who's got next i told him me he offered me five bucks and i said i think i'm good man i'm not gonna wait i'm gonna wait an hour and a half also brian sir aren't you brian

mcknight you're giving me five dollars i'm just saying let's negotiate something here but janessa park was the you know at least at the time when we were coming up, was definitely the spot. Did you ever catch the eye of any of these luminaries who were courtside? That's what I was saying. Well, for one, as crazy as it sounds, Shaq was there on a semi-regular basis. He would roll up at 10.30, 11.30 at night, sometimes even 12 o'clock. But there was one night in particular, and I think we determined that this is the time where we were in the same space at the same time,

you know, 20 years before knowing one another, where the example I gave wasn't a joke. Pete Rose and Shaq were watching and critiquing us play. I don't know why, but I chose to dive for a ball. This is an outdoor court, you know, asphalt. Pete Rose loved it so much. He stood up and Shaq gave me, you know, and Shaq gave me the, you know, the,

that's right. Good job. Good job. Charlie Hustle and a big Shaq diesel thumbs up. Wow. That took place. Yes. I would get that.

I mean, those are two people with some of the most famous diving onto, like, obviously, you know, Pete Rose, Charlie Hustle just you know he revolutionized the sliding game right

head first just reckless and then Shaq had that one I mean he's had a couple but when he would just slide across the court and nothing was stopping him because he is he's a pretty big guy so yeah I had my Shaq and

Pete Rose moment. I know why you dove on that court. You were inspired. How did you not dive on the court? That's very cool. I'm also a madman. It was one of those where I just didn't think about it and said, oh, well, you're here. Here we are.

You're a madman. You know a lot of injuries from reckless diving, but hey, it happens. There are a couple clips like you you pulled um once again kevin durant big fan also great at calling out like when a young player is going to be good that you pulled out this clip from november where he played against NBA Rookie of the Year Scotty Barnes. And somebody was like, what do you think of Scotty Barnes?

And he just had... Here, let's play the clip, actually. It's like very just clear and concise and a great description of Scotty Barnes. Hey, Kevin. So this Scotty Barnes,

can you tell me what you saw from him tonight in terms of his competitiveness that he brings to the court and just the will to win? Barnes. Hey Kevin, from the Scottie Barnes, can you tell me what you saw from him tonight in terms of his competitiveness that he brings to the court and just the

will to win and is that at all rare for rookies in this league? I think it's rare. I mean,

you got a lot of guys who love to compete and love to win, but what's more rare about Scottie

Barnes is his IQ for the game, his length, you know, his enthusiasm for the

game. All of that stuff shines bright when you watch him play and, you know, his enthusiasm for the game. All of that stuff shines bright when you watch him play. And, you know, you could tell you just want to be there for his teammates. He makes winning basketball plays. But I think a lot of young guys in the league had that competitive fire, but he has something a little extra as far as just seeing the game a little slower, you know, and that's rare for a guy. How old is he? 19? 20? I mean, geez, you know, he knows rare for a guy how old is he 19 20 i mean she's you know he knows

how to play the right way and he's only gonna get better honestly beyond him having a clear eye for talent i appreciate that he just gives it up you know what i mean and i'm not saying that other nba players don't do that because you you do see you do see that but kevin durant considering you know he's literally an all-time, considering, you know, he's literally an all time. Great. He showed, you know, he shows the new players, the old player, he shows everybody the same amount of love.

If you, if you basically, if you're a Hooper, you know, you're, you've got a Kate, you've got Katie as a fan. I really do appreciate it.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's, I think, I mean, but I think that comes with you, like the great players who know they're great.

They have no, they have no issue with watching the game progress past the things that they could do you know what i mean like i think that okay jack's pulling faces over there sometimes sometimes i'm talking about you know but i'm saying the that is a sage like wisdom that comes with it putting your ego aside now that's its own thing obviously but i think you can only arrive at that level like where duran is giving it up like that because he understands that things evolve that things change that he also has his own level of skill and talent that he possesses and is able to identify that and

doesn't have to be like well i wouldn't have done this or this and thing he's like wow that's cool okay wow okay you know it's like it it feels like he feels good that he sees the game being put into the hands of people that he also feels respected and are going to, you know, push it forward. Yeah. All right. Well, that has been another episode of Miles and Jack. I'm at Boosties in the book. Jabari, such a pleasure having you on mic. Where can people find you, follow you, hear you, all that good stuff?

The pleasure is truly mine to be on the mic with two legends. Jabari Davis NBA on Twitter, a.k.a. Joel Embiid's biggest fan. Easiest place. Again, I appreciate the opportunity for, you know, it was mentioned earlier, but make sure you check out NBA Finals

file. Episodes will drop each Tuesday and Thursday. It's with myself and Robert Ori. And basically it's me fanboying with an all time great about the greatest moments in matchups and final system. I can't imagine a better person to like pair Robert Ori with who has like the wits about them to pick that brain. So y'all definitely check that show out for sure.

Yeah. Yeah. Miles, where can people find you i just at miles of gray and uh check you know jack and i always doing the daily zeitgeist you don't need to know about i'm just i'm just nobody i'm just in the they might they might yeah anyway yeah or you know come uh unleash your your hot takes at me at miles of gray g-r-a-y though and you can find me on twitter at jack underscore o'brien uh and we really would appreciate it if you would go rate review subscribe yes to uh the podcast miles and jack

i'm at boosties yes this one um yes because i i keep trying to use this as proof that uh i have mad boosties but i think i think we need more uh reviews and ratings please we need y'all to comment in the reviews write us a review because right now dan get zurich is only talking about how many times he dunked on jack so we need to offset some of those reviews with people saying it sounded like jack actually gobbled up those dunks every time and you came like hungrily yeah with his green oh good america gobbled up those dunks. America runs on Duncan. Yep.

All right. We will be back next week. Thanks, guys. Bye. Bye. I'm Carrie Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese.

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

we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. There's so much beauty in Mexican culture, like mariachis, delicious cuisine, and even lucha libre. Join us for the new podcast, Lucha Libre Behind the Mask, a 12-episode podcast in both English and Spanish

about the history and cultural richness of Lucha Libre. And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, Emperor of Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar. Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts.