The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Big Suey: Valerie's List of 13 Centers Better Than Bam

Episode Date: April 22, 2024

Dan got sent a list of 13 centers that are better than Bam, nine of which are non-debatable but the crew has plenty of debate about them. Most importantly, who sent him the list? Stan Van Gundy? Nick Wright? VALERIE?! Hmmmm. Plus, Stugotz is tired of Joel Embiid, Dan wants to give the Heat's fanbase more credit than it deserves and discusses the quality of studio shows on NBA coverage. Brian Scalabrine joins the show to defend his take that Erik Spoelstra ordered a code red--or maybe a code dark orange--on Jayson Tatum. He also answers the all-important question, shot for your life: Sam Hauser or Larry Bird. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Please drink responsibly. Welcome to the Big Sui, presented by DraftKings. Why are you listening to this show? The podcast that seems very similar to the other Dan LeBattard podcast. I'm sorry, I'm not going to apologize for that. In fact, the only difference seems to be this imaging. I have been tempted in restaurants just walking past tables to grab somebody's fries if they're just there.

That hasn't happened to you guys? I've done it. And now, here's the marching man to nowhere, fat face and the habitual liar. We're going to do two live hours over the course of this week, so it won't just be on DraftKingsNetwork.com or YouTube for an hour. We're going to be going basically 9 through 11 over the course of the week. And I do want to get to Stugats's thoughts on Joellen Bede, but before I do so, the source whose basketball knowledge you guys do not trust, but I generally do, knows that this

person, he knows that he's in the minority with this, and says nine of these aren't even debatable. That he can give you five if he's being charitable, but nine are not debatable. So which are the four that we can give you five if he's being charitable, but nine are not debatable. So which are the four that we can debate? I'm just gonna give you the list and you guys can. Will you tell us the four so we know? Cause if it's not debatable,

we shouldn't be allowed to debate it, but when we get to the four, then we can go. Jokic, Embiid, Anthony Davis, Wemba Nyama, Embiid, Anthony Davis, Wemba Nyama, Holmgren, Sabonis, Porzingis. That's where the debate starts for me. You were cooking. Porzingis? I got two debates already.

Can he be moved off Porzingis? Is that one of the guys? Nerkic. Whose list the guys? Nerkic. Whose list is this? Nerkic? Just telling you. That's obviously one of the debatable ones. How are you feeling so far? I got four debatables already and one get the hell off my list.

Jokic. Jared Allen. Lopez. Lights Too bright, Jaren Allen. Feel like we've gotten to the debatable ones. Splash Mountain. Zangoon. You have got to be kidding me. Zangoon.

Hartnestein. No. I'm not, I'm, I'm, this is not, it's not my list. I'm just passing it along. You guys do it. You sure it wasn't the other way around? Four debatable and then nine absolutely not?

It's the same thing. It would be nine debatable and four absolutely not. I think we do a very poor job in general of analyzing the defense of players, but I also would say, Stu Gott, that in the modern age and you're seeing it presently with the difficulties the Heat offense is having and why it is that they need to be trading for Rozier, I think spreading the floor is something that is more important now

than it has ever been. And he's more limited there than the guys then then some of the guys that I mentioned who can continually bring out Somebody else's rim defender because they are on the perimeter again. That's not That's not my list but the reason that I was having the conversation is at least in part because I was legitimately confused in that game against Philadelphia how it is that Bam is having a game where he's taking nine shots and getting no free throws and he's being paid like that. The payment comes with expectations.

You've seen Tyreek Hill say recently, Stugatz, on a podcast, he was saying that Mike McDaniel questioned him, called him out after the Kansas City game by saying, among other things, like, why are we paying you like that? Aren't you one of the best-paid players in the league? Aren't you one of the best players in the league? For those of you who think that Mike McDaniel is meek or too buddy buddy saying like, I would never say that to a player of any kind, never mind Tyree Kill.

I would not remind him how much money he is making while questioning how good he is in a playoff game. Yousef Nurkic? Better than Bam Adebayo. That is absolutely insane. Bam is on the Olympic roster, and a lot of these guys are. Captain Bamerica.

I like that. Don't take it up with somebody else. Tell Stan, by the way, that he can never put a list together ever again. Bingo! And a couple, Billy. Wasn't Stan? Not 14. Tell Jeff.

I'm not playing this game with you guys anymore though, where I continually deny the sources until you find out who it is. I mean, it's just a little like, oh, I'm just gonna give you this list, but you can't make fun of who made it, because maybe I made it, and then I will sound crazy for putting Nurgich on it.

Whoa! Oh, what a theory. It's not my list. How many times did somebody play the Washington Wizards the last few years and say oh no Porzingis is gonna make life difficult on me get out of you, Joseph Nurgich Again five of these are debatable, but if I'd said to you before the segment started that nine weren't If I said to you before the segment started that nine weren't, if I said to you before the segment started. You would still be wrong.

That list is not correct. I would not put him outside of my top nine. I value him, his defense, and the things that he does. But your name on the list. Does Nerkic spread the floor? He doesn't hit threes. He's worse than Bam, I believe. He got Draymond suspended, basically.

It's all he did. So Donnell leaves Miami for five minutes and all of a sudden, secretly throwing shade. The Lakers Nuggets series, Dugats, after all of the disrespect throughout the offseason of Mike Malone and when they were playing last, you realize the Nuggets have now beaten the Lakers nine straight times.

I don't believe that the Lakers have anything that can beat Denver four out of seven games even though I think Denver is worse than they were last year. Not by much, Dugats, but I think the things that Bruce Brown and Jeff Green gave them are things that can be missed now when you have young people but denver is a is not just the reigning champion of the reigning champion disrespected the lakers in a way that was fairly obvious but now you'll get you is saying that the lakers gave us more trouble than anybody last year even though they

swept the lakers and again haven't. Those were very close games though. I mean all four of them. But the Minnesota games for Denver were close too, and some of the Miami games were too, and they swept the Lakers. They haven't lost to them in nine straight tries. Tell Nick Wright we don't agree with his list. Right?

Why do you think Nick Wright is somebody who is? Well they're not close anymore. He didn't invite Dan to his vow renewal. Oh, no. You think of Nick Wright as somebody who's very good at basketball player evaluation? I don't know. You won't tell us who it is.

There's one way to quickly end this speculation, Dan. Yes. Thank you, Billy. I'm not going to do that. I've already mentioned that I'm not going to do that. I've already mentioned that I'm not going to do that. You can keep doing that if you want. Did I get a ballsack or is this Francis Weiss quote right about Joel Embiid and how mad he is about Joel Embiid?

At one time asking to play for the French national team and Frederick Weiss, what do you think of when I say that name, Stugats? Anything? Vince Carter dunking. Yeah, that's basically the only thing I think of. Speaking of getting ballsack'd. That's correct.

Vince Carter jumped over this person in an Olympic game and just jumped over the entirety of his head. It wasn't even like the draping of the dong on the shoulder. It was just right over his head. And this is how Frederick Weiss is quoted. This is what he's quoted as saying. He's the Olympic silver medalist. The French won the silver medal

after he was jumped over by Vince Carter. Again, he's seven-two. So it was a pretty memorable dunk to be jumped over. I consider this boy a great player as much as he is a dirty guy. I hate him for the things that he did. I think he doesn't have any respect for France and also for all the people who are asking for a French passport and don't get it and under the pretext that he is a great athlete he got it. I find it scandalous, I find it embarrassing, I don't care about his excuses,

because they are his words, and his words mean nothing. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha It's legitimately the only thing that I know about Frederick Vise is that. I mean, boy. Yeah, that's not great. Get out of here, man. Yeah, that's not great. Yes, that's not great. I do feel though, Joel Embiid though, I guess Cameroon, we're not playing for Cameroon.

Joel Embiid is playing for America. We're not playing for Cameron. Joe L. Embiid is playing for America. Yeah. We're not quite overwhelming enough. I'm tired of Joe L. Embiid. I gotta be honest with you. Every 10 seconds, it's drama. He's either hurt, he's on the floor, he's grabbing his shorts, he's grabbing his ankles, he's bent over, he's tired, he's mad at a teammate, he's mad at a referee. He's never mad at himself though Stu never mad at himself and then that boneheaded decision when you're already hurt to toss one off the backboard and Throw it home at the Mecca. Are you crazy? That was the dumbest decision in the history of NBA decisions

It was and what's he doing at the free throw line on the tech where he thought it was short and goes immediately to his knees? I don't think I could do that with two healthy knees, especially not at his size. That was weird. You're tired of Joe L.M.B.? Just everyone talking about this generational big man. He does things that no other big man has ever done.

You know what he doesn't do? He doesn't win. He doesn't stay healthy. He doesn't stop complaining. He doesn't every 10 seconds reach down and act like he's the most exhausted guy on the NBA court. It's annoying Dan He's become annoying. You want to know why he hasn't won anything Bams better you said that's the dumbest decision in the history of basketball decisions Roy you're already hurt and you're doing that type of dunk at Madison Square Garden. What are you doing?

You forget about J. Osment. Oh, it just looks like it hurts to be Joel Embiid. That's my take on him. Yes. That looks painful. Just being him. Yes. Yeah. There is no one in the sport better at letting you know he's tired. I mean, thank you. That Luca. Enough of him too. Embiid is good at it. If I have one more That, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he? If it was, you probably would say it wasn't, to protect him. If it's Matt Barnes' list, that's okay, I'm not gonna tell him anything. This is not a stand, it's Justin. Have we named the person already? I'd be so, no, I'd be so tired of hearing from all of you if I were Joel Embiid and my body just didn't work right,

and I'd had eight straight under 50% efficiency games, because I keep trying to get out there, because it's an important time of year, and the process has nothing to show for the process other than me. There's like nothing. They had all these first round picks, and they needed to hit on two of them

and they only hit on one. Well whose fault is that? Not his, not his. What, you gonna blame him? If he played for the Heat you guys would be like, oh my, everyone's so mean to him, he can't control how his body has failed him. I'm doing that.

If he played for the Heat he'd be at 9% body fat and probably wouldn't have all these issues. I'm doing that and he doesn't play for the heat. He'd be at 9% body fat and probably wouldn't have all these issues I'm doing that and he doesn't play for the heat. I do feel bad for him. He doesn't play for the heat yet No vows it is it's Valerie's list Hey everybody, it's Mike and typically I record these Miller light spots in the, but I requested that I specifically record this one from my home office because I got a window and I'm looking outside at those beautiful fishtail palms knowing that in just a few seconds I'm going to go out there and crack open a can of Miller Light because while

sitting outside by my fishtail palms is usually a good time, I like to take it up a notch and make it a Miller time. That's right, you crack that puppy open and you don't have to think about what you're drinking for a darn second. A lot has changed over the years, including my backyard. Lots of landscaping being done right now. But the one thing that hasn't changed is the undebatable quality of Miller Lite.

You don't have to choose what quality is the best. Miller Lite has great taste and it's less filling. Tastes like Miller time. To get Miller Lite delivered right to your door, visit MillerLite.com slash Dan, or you can find it pretty much anywhere that sells beer. Celebrate responsibly Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories per 12 ounces, fewer cales and carbs than premium regular beer. Don LeBretard.

You know how these late season games are. We don't know. It's a big game for the Knicks. We have absolutely no idea how Boston will play. I don't know who they'll play, who they won't play. Stugats. Okay. All right.

That's fine. That's an excellent promotion. You know, I love that. That's great. Sold! That's it. That's perfect advertising for the game, the national game on TV tonight. I was going to watch.

Now I'm not going to watch. Holy shit. That was a shitty sales job. This is the Don Lebatar Show with the Stugats. I heard for the first time, Stugats, a theory I had not heard on the bogus and unfair claim

around the nation that has sort of sunk in to the Miami Heat fan base where people say of the Heat fan base that it is not a fan base that is present all the time. Even though they've sold out every game since 2010, it's a longer streak than the Warriors. It's the sixth longest streak in NBA history. You start playoff games early for the Miami Heat.

If you know anything about what's happening in Miami traffic these days and the specifics of how poorly we're built Bayside, you would know how hard it is to get to that arena on time. But my mother, who is somebody who is constantly helping people, Stu Gatz, and adults who come to this country and end up in the life of my mother,

she gave a couple of guys new to this country from Somalia some heat tickets. And I now have a theory for what's happening at heat games that leaves it somewhat sparsely populated because I think this is happening all over the place at heat games. They hadn't been to a heat game before and are new to this culture in general.

Everybody at halftime got up and so they got up and left because they thought it was over. Oh no. I didn't know about that. Thank you Billy. I wasn't serious. Thank you Billy. At least you didn't say while eating your breakfast. You don't know about that. You're questioning it. You don't think that's what's happening with 10,000 people? Was it your mom's list? Have we gotten to the point yet, Stugance? I was asking Jessica this, where Jackson Dart and Quinn yours, the Texas quarterback, they're getting private planes

now as part of their NIL deals. I love that. I do too, but I'm wondering when the backlash is gonna start on not loving that, on people not loving that because sure I'm I don't I love that for college football less for the environment. But for college football, it's great. But you think people are gonna start getting angry at how much college kids are making playing college sports? I would think, Stu Gots, that if you were gonna get angry about that, about the place that you would get angry about it,

is Ole Miss' quarterback getting a private plane NIL deal. I'm old enough to remember when people said, if you drove a fancy car, if you were part of a college team, that your teammates would resent you. I remember Teddy DuPay at the University of Florida I guess his dad was a doctor something driving around Alexis and he also had a little like illegal gambling ring whatever but yeah people were saying wow Teddy DuPay like why are you

showing off all this money? It was a big deal you're right. Time to throw away all journalistic credibility and get reckless. Here is something we like to call reckless speculation. You're good. I mean, yeah, I'm good. It was reported, and it's already out there. You have to say it again, though. 25 years ago. You have to say it again.

All right, but I mean, if you're going to accuse someone of a gambling ring, I just I'm not getting out accused. I'm just telling a story that actually happened. Also, we share the same birthday. It was a big deal when Cory McGinty was driving around Duke with a Corvette. It was a big deal. People were upset about that.

Izzy, go ahead and sit in the penalty box. Put it on the pole at LeBittard Show. Do you care at all that Izzy and Teddy DuPay share a birthday? And Derek Jeter, Corey Mavetti. Remember when LeBron James couldn't play high school games because he got a Hummer? Is that true that he couldn't? I remember it was a controversy, but I don't remember him actually being suspended. Yeah, they suspended him and then I think that they went. I'll look it up.

Are Cybertrucks the new Hummers? Like they're an ugly big truck that don't make a lot of sense to own and now they're being recalled. The Hummer is and always has been hugely confusing to me as a vanity vehicle, so uncomfortable, so clunky, so ridiculous, just not a comfortable ride in any way. Really? I saw one as a kid and I always thought it was kinda cool, but like the old, like the H1, like the original like army style Hummers, now they have electric Hummers,

which I feel like Mr. Hummer is like rolling over in his grave the idea of an electric hummer They really they really try to make that into the next Jeep Which is a military vehicle turn into a civilian vehicle. It just did not work. I tried out a Hummer I've been in a test drive a Hummer and I found the shock absorption Not to be great. Just like I don't find it to be great in the Jeep either, because I find that a little, but the Hummer is a ridiculously boxy vehicle that doesn't, he doesn't know where the penalty box is,

is he just walking around? I saw him ask for directions, I saw the rest of you just point out to him where it is that he has to go. I feel like if you were mad about athletes being paid by brands, you were already mad. And the private jet is not going to find a new group of people that are newly angry.

Those people have been angry for a few years. Greg Cody. I mean, the idea, Stugats. Is it Greg's List? Of a private jet for a college quarterback is a space that I never imagined in my wildest imagination of when the injustices stopped in college sports, that they would stop so thoroughly,

that they would over correct there is a place that I did not have anywhere in my wildest imagination. As I mentioned, Brian Scalabrine is going to join us. He has said the thing. He has accused the Miami Heat of dirty play, Caleb Martin of dirty play, Eric Spolstra of ordering the Code Red. Every time I now hear of Code Red, what I think of, Stugatz, is the missed opportunity of our show to sign Shannon Sharp to a long-term contract

when he asked for some money after doing this on our show. We live in a world that has walls, and these walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You, you, Lieutenant Weinberg. I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom you weep for Santiago you have that luxury you have the luxury of not knowing what I know Santiago's death while tragic probably saved lives my appearance grotesque and

incomprehensible to you saved lives you don't want the truth to be sat in places that party, you don't talk about it. You want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words on a backbone of a lifetime's fit to feed something. You use them as a punchline. I have the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man that rises and sweeps a little blister of freedom that I provide in the the question of the matter which I provided. Ethan Skolnick's dugots of Five Reasons Sports, they do a great job covering the Miami Heat.

They are feuding with Kendrick Perkins and in general ESPN, saying that ESPN's coverage is embarrassing, at least in part, because Kendrick Perkins is saying that the Miami Heat can shoot 100% from all parts of the field and they will still get swept by the Boston Celtics. That is ridiculous. I mean, the Heat would win.

That is correct. If they shot 100% from the field, they would indeed win. That is true. That is not great analysis. I very much enjoyed all of the basketball coverage from ESPN. I do think we get very used to difficult things being done well. So when they have a glitch in audio at the beginning of the Orlando Cleveland game, they catch a lot of slack because their playoff coverage is beginning that way, but I thought the coverage, the games especially, great. Not, I'm talking about the coverage of the games, not the actual games, I'm talking about the games, but the studio shows in general,

that's something that Adam Silver and the NBA has had a problem with almost the entire time that I've known of ESPN and that they've had studio shows because it's always compared against the standard, which is Barkley and TNT, and it always pales compared to that. But you're just filling a lot of studio shows with noise and noise in tight spaces

and so some dumb things are gonna be said because you just exist to get to the next batch of commercials, you're there giving 90 seconds of analysis and getting out, it seems like a waste of time. It's an unfair comparison or standard, isn't it, from Adam Silver, like to compare what ESPN is doing against TNT, it is the greatest pregame show in the history of pregames.

I'm just telling you, the reason they've had so much turnover over the years with those studio shows is at least in part because of the NBA's dissatisfaction with those studio shows. They've wanted something better. Don LeBretard. While I was gone, a third Zagacki was born, and I think I heard, correct me if I'm wrong here,

Jeremy trying to partake in a fourth Zagacki, and I am here for a future where I'm surrounded by a chorus of clucking Zagacki. Stugatz. You know what it means when you have four Zagackis dead. I don't. You don't have one. This is the Don Lebatard Show with the StuGats. ["Dirty Play," by The Coderellas plays.]

Brian Scalabrini is in the middle of it right now. He is catching heat from every angle. Clearly, Drew Holliday pushed Caleb Martin into Jason Tatum, but Scalabrini is out here calling dirty play. He is saying that the code red was ordered. So tell me how you imagine Scalabrini. It's good to see you again. Tell me how you imagine that code red was ordered.

I should tell you on the front end that the reason the timeout was called with a minute and a half left is because he was challenging something on the court. It was not, I don't believe, to tell somebody to injure Jason Tatum. No, no, you guys gotta understand the code word in the NBA is not, we're gonna go out there and injure your best player. It's, we're getting blown out. We're gonna go out like this. This is a seven game series. We gotta make a stand. And, I mean, listen, I don't have a problem

with the play just like I thought the play was Bush League in the sense of he ran into it. He took advantage of it. He braced himself. He ran into Jason Tatum while he's in the air. Normally that would happen with Tatum falling into the cameraman in the front row, but he got his legs taken out from underneath him. So I thought that was a Bush League play. But also remember, see, I'm not jaded by all

this. When Jalen Brown did that thing to Duncan Robinson, I thought that was Bush League too. And my response when that happened was, I'm not sure the Miami Heat are the team you want to do, you know, like questionable fouls against because they always will get the last laugh on this one. And that's exactly what happened in that game. And I didn't want a foul to happen to our superstar player where he ends up being out because Jalen Brown, you know, yanks on Duncan Robinson's arm. But I'm sure when you guys saw that play,

you were thinking, oh, I can't believe Jalen Brown would do this and then I'm sure when D Wade rolled up on Rondo and almost dislocated his arm. You probably had this. Well, what was Rondo doing in the way? So I see it from both sides and my problem with with the people who follow the Miami Heat is you guys only look at

it one way. Well scale, let me ask you this because if it's one thing is that you is as you said, Caleb Martin was trying to be overly physical Maybe you know, it's not really in his history He doesn't really know how to do it and went a little over the top But I think where people might have had an issue with what you said is the idea that Eric Spolstra who? You know many people believe is the best coach in the league and who has been through this before you know, many people believe is the best coach in the league and who has been through this before

would then order that at that point of the game. That to me sounds like a disrespectful element of your take there. And so I'm just wondering what it is like, what it sounds like you touched on it there when a coach does order the code red, let's say at the beginning of a playoff series like this. Okay, so let me ask you this question.

They show the Jaylen Brown twist on Duncan Robinson's arm. Let's say the Miami Heat show that play six, seven times in a row before the series. Okay, is that planting a seed? Is that saying we're not going to let this team do this to us? Is that saying look at this is what they did to us. This is what we got to do to them. Are you guys, are you guys thinking that Miami Heat went into the series and did not show that play to their players? I'm thinking that yes, that play might have been shown.

I don't think that they said retaliate in the same way. No, well, okay. And then do you think that during that timeout or during any timeout, by the way, do you think that Eric Sposter says, come on guys, we're down by 32. We're just going to lay down and get punked. We're not going to send a message. I'm not saying he said go run over Tatum and hurt him. I'm saying come on guys. We're going to send a message to these guys.

We're on a long series right here. This is what we're going to do. send a message to these guys. We're on a long series right here. This is what we're gonna do. Now, if you think that that was not said throughout that game, when they're getting punked by the Celtics, if you think that that was not said,

then I think you guys don't like buy into your heat culture of the biggest, strongest, nastiest, toughest team in the NBA. They're the ones that put it down in the paint, right? They're the ones that laid it out there. I believe that was said throughout the game and I believe the response you saw was in the fourth quarter where they got the game

back to 14. This element, this part of the game where Caleb Martin took them out, that was after they showed, hey, we got some fight in us, yada yada. So this, again, to me, was Caleb Martin just trying to do something, be a little bit overly physical,

not really great at it and maybe got shoved by Drew Holliday. So I just think the implication of the coach ordering that is probably where people are like, I don't know about that. So this is how you would feel if Draymond Green ran into LeBron James? Draymond Green and Caleb Martin,

two totally different resumes. No, no, no, I'm just asking the simple question. If Draymond Green went up and just bam, trucked, let's use any player, the national media is saying, ah, it's all good. It's not a dirty play. They're not saying, they're saying Steve Kerr ordered the code red though.

No, I wouldn't, I wouldn't definitely, no. That historic, the Golden State Warriors don't have the baddest, meanest, nastiest team in the NBA. They don't have that on their, in the middle of their court. Scott, let me help you out. They don't have, and by the way, like, listen, you guys don't get it twisted there in the middle of their court. Scott, let me help you out. And by the way, listen, you guys, don't get it twisted from my point of view. I love what the Miami Heat do.

I love the way they play. Jimmy Butler is a hard guy for me not to like. The way that he brings it every single day, I get it, he's hurt and all these things. I have zero problem with the Miami Heat. I got zero problem with them. I know that this thing had gone back and forth before. And I told you guys, when the Duncan Robinson thing happened

and I was on the post game show, I was like, dang it. Cause if we face these guys again, they're gonna use this play. And I would hate for one of our guys to go down and them using this play as a rallying cry. You really think that the Miami Heat did not use that? Which by the way, I thought that was a Bush League play by Jalen Brown as well.

So I am just bringing up the simple fact that no one from the Boston media brought this up and no one from the Miami Heat media brought this up. So I have to like make sure that you guys understand what the real story is going into game two because it is not the Miami Heat Beating the Boston Celtics in a seven game series Is this this is the story of the series a sky let me help you out is he what he's saying is a code red

Is not directly ordered. He doesn't say Caleb. Hey go hurt that guy. He insinuates it. That's all scallop So Kelly Oubre did not get the code red. He just accidentally hurt Jimmy, right? This is from Tim Reynolds Scalabrini on Sirius NBA radio repeats his claim this morning that Caleb Martin was dirty and Eric's bolster ordered the team to not lay Down in the timeout even made the code red allegation again He also goes after Miami media for ignoring this and then the dismount. Hold on. That's not true.

Hold on and then the dismount. You're gonna say, no, no, no. Hold on, hold on. One more word. No, no, no. One more word. Yawn, yawn is what Reynolds says. Yawn.

I don't care what Reynolds says. I am mad at the Boston media at this one. I'm not, Miami, why would they call out Eric Sposter? I get that. I'm mad at the Boston media for not challenging Joe Missoula in saying, do you think that was a dirty play 31 seconds after Eric Sposter calls a timeout? That's all I said. Look, I have no problem.

Miami Heat Media. I do not expect them to make this a story. The Boston media. I expect them to make it a story. So listen media, I expect them to make it a story. So listen, I'm just gonna be as clear. I'm not ducking or running. I'm saying if you're gonna get my word, just get it right. Yes, I think Erich Boster challenged his team.

Yes, I think Kaila Martin made a dirty play. Yes, I expect dirty play throughout this series because of Miami Heat are in an uphill battle. And yes, I was mad at the Boston media for not making this more of a story. You can't handle the truth. I've got a couple of questions for you that might be a little bit sacrilegious.

Is this the best Boston Celtics team you've ever seen? I mean, I was on the 08 team, so the best team I've ever covered by far, by far. But I would say the margin between them and the next best, you know what? Like I'm a big fan of the Denver Nuggets. I'm a big fan of Jokic I just think like they're much better than people want like whatever reason people don't love Jokic and love the Denver Nuggets that dude is nasty, man. He is tough to stop So the margin between those two teams and the rest of the NBA is is wide

So the margin between those two teams and the rest of the NBA is wide But I don't I don't I don't this team is the best definitely the best team that I've covered and I started covering a team In 2012 here's the other Conversation I want to have with you and I'm really interested in what your answer is to this you proved to people a long time Ago in a challenge how great you actually are at basketball people who call you a scrub whatever, by going after a bunch of guys who challenge you and dusting all of them. When I say the following, you agree or disagree, Sam Houser is a better long range shooter than Larry Bird. He'll never agree, he'll never agree, ever.

Yes or no? No, I agree with that, different era. Yeah, that's easy. You said three point shooter? I said long range, I said long range shooter. Now, Larry Bird grows up in this era, I don't know the answer to that, but you, Howser's nasty from three.

He grew up living on that line. Larry Bird grew up playing one-on-one, and they played in the paint. So you can't compare the two. Shot for your life, Scal. This is how we settle it, OK? It's not how we settle it. The guy has to hit a, you have to choose one of these two

guys to hit a three pointer. And if he misses, you're dead. All right? Larry Bird all day. Thank you. Case closed. You're living, Scal. Well, wait a minute.

What are you doing? Yeah, 100%. What are you doing? It's a different game. It's a different game. For sure. For sure. I'm taking Larry. You want me to live, live or die?

Come on man. Sam Houser. Sam Houser. You know why? With your life on the line. You know why? I think Sam Houser's such a good guy, he would go into it being like,

I better not kill Scalabrini. Larry Bird would not give a you know what. Okay, so the reason that Larry Bird is someone you're trusting is because he doesn't care whether or not he ends your life. He just knows he's going to make the three points. No, that's what you're wrong. That's what you're wrong. He doesn't care whether he ends my life, but he does care about winning basketball games

there and that means more than the pressure of someone dying. That's just the way Larry Bird was, that's how he rolled. Again though, those are two different games because you just said flatly something I'm not sure people are willing to agree to because you're right, different eras. But once you start sacrilege against Larry Bird and Michael Jordan's era,

I believe a lot of people won't go that way with you. And I'm saying, and you would say, that Hauser as an efficiency specialist is better, period, than Larry Bird from distance. Yeah, that's like saying, are people faster than Larry Bird? Yeah, some guys are faster. Larry Bird can shoot the ball, there's no doubt.

This is not really a real conversation. You can't compare the arrows because one guy probably shot threes his whole life from the time he was 10 years old. And the other guy probably didn't have a three point line when he started playing. So it's like, it's not actually fair to do the comparison. I'll decide what's fair and what's not fair around here. You came on here talking about code reds and dirty.

You invited me on. You invited me on. It's not like around here. You came on here talking about code reds and dirty pieces. You invited me on. You invited me on. It's not like I got nothing to do. I got a million things to do today. So you said, by the way, how funny is it? And people, they didn't invite me on after I said what I said. They invited me on before.

That's amazing. You guys are amazing. You're kind of making it sound more like it's like a code yellow or maybe like a code dark orange Yeah, it's a yeah, but code red sounds better, you know Like how many people do you think know the reference of a few good men a lot or a little? Put it on the pole, please do to at lebatard show Do a lot of people know what the code red reference means from a few good men

It is 30 years old the movie Nice scale how many senators in the NBA do you think are better than BAM? Too I love you again stand being Gundy said there's 13. That is not true. No way. No, that is not true. Some guy sanguine from the Rockets. That is not true, that is not Stan Van Gundy.

Dude, he is, like people, even though I'm a sheltered guy and all that, dude, my key to the series is Bam Adebayo. I think the guy is ridiculous. And what people don't factor in is points created by Bam Adebayo. I think the guy is ridiculous. And what people don't factor in is points created by Bam Adebayo. That's the problem with stats. Like the dribble handoff series, the screen series,

like all that stuff is created by him. He goes away. If the Miami Heat were good, it wouldn't be Jimmy Butler that deserves the MVP, it would be Bam Adebayo. People are crazy. How do you compare him to Yusuf Nerkic? Not even close. Not even close.

Can you imagine if Bam was on the Suns, they would be a championship level team. Seriously. Can you tell me when you say you were on the championship Celtics, as I recall, that Celtics team took more games to win the championship because of how often you went to seven games and the changes in format

than any other team ever had to win a championship. I believe these Celtics are better, Brian. I believe they've been more crushing to their opposition, that there's bigger distance between them and everyone they're playing. The game they played yesterday, they've been playing all season, just like that, where they win by 20 and 30 points and make it look super easy because if they're not the best three point shooting team ever,

they're right there with any that's ever shot a basketball. Yeah, so sometimes there's like adjustments to that, right? Like when the Warriors first started shooting the three, like it took the league a while to catch up. You know, the Celtics are at a time right now where the teams have been searching for five guys to play all five out three point shooting and defensive versatility. The Celtics just happened to have like a good group, like their draft assets and they were able to land like a poor Zingas in a holiday to push the move the the needle. So what I would say is like, when you look at the margins, like the margin between them and the next team, they're a year ahead or two years ahead of everybody else,

just like the Warriors were when they won that first championship. They were just lapping the field with their motion offense. So I do think this is like the first time we've ever seen a team like that. I think it becomes really difficult to guard. The difference between our team is we weren't very different than any other team. We walked the ball up.

We executed just like most teams. Defensively we were arguably one of the better defensive teams in the history of the league and that's what we hug our hat on. But also when you go through those game sevens against Atlanta, like we got blitzed in transition, turnovers killed us. Like there wasn't enough offensive margin for us to sweep teams four, four, four. So that's where if you match us up, you know, our physicality is very different,

but let's be honest, like our boy Kendrick Perkins, come on, he's not playing in a series against this team. I mean, he was like a catalyst for us defensively. So the game has changed a lot. Brian, good talking you always good talking to you thank you sir. I'm sorry Scott I love you Scott I listen to you and Frank every day. We're good we're good we're good. Don't apologize to him stand your ground don't apologize to him. We're good I just want everybody to know like I'm a fan of everything that he, but it's odd that everything gets swept under the rug. That's all I'm saying.

That's all. He's the co-host with Frank Isola of the starting lineup these days on SiriusXMNBA radio. He's also the Celtics analyst on NBC Sports Boston. Clearly biased and compromised. Thank you, Scalabrini. See ya, later. Hey everybody, it's Mike.

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