The Mismatch - Moving Into the Second Round, Zion and LaVine's Future, and Music Talk with Logan Murdock | The Void

Episode Date: April 30, 2022

Hey it’s Kevin, thanks for listening to The Void. Today’s guest is Ringer Staff writer and Real Ones co-host, Logan Murdock. He joins the show following the Grizzlies Game 6 win over the Timberwolves. You can hear Logan with Raja Bell Monday nights during the NBA playoffs on the NBA Ringer Show feed. Here are today’s timestamps: (06:10) - Anthony Edwards needs to become the number one option with the T-Wolves (12:13) - Grizzlies-Warriors preview (18:52) - Zion Williamson and Zach LaVine’s comments (29:43) - Joel Embiid’s injury and the 76ers-Heat preview (36:18) - Music talk Host: Kevin O'Connor Guest: Logan Murdock Producer: Jessie Lopez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's popping, everybody? This is Logan Murdoch, and I'm here with my co-host for the Real On The Ringer NBA show on The Incomparable, the realist, the man who invented the pregame Red Bull Snow Cone. Raja Bell. Thank you, Logan. You're far too kind, sir. Did you know that the Ringer NBA show feed now has six podcasts a week? Six. Every Sunday, Big Was has a different guest from the NBA world on weekends with Was. And you can find me and Rajah every Monday and Thursday on Real Ones where we cover all the most interesting, NBA storylines. On Tuesdays, Jay Kyle Mann and Jonathan Charks discuss up-and-coming talent in college basketball and the NBA. And on Wednesdays, you can hear Justin Vary or Rob Mahoning and Big Was discuss any and everything going on in the world of hoops. Man, and on Friday, Chris Ryan and Syrac, so he asked the big questions on the answer. So head over to the Ringer NBA show's

Spotify page and take a listen. There's so much to dive into. And while you're there, just go ahead and give us a follow too. Hey, thank you for listening to The Boy. My name is Kevin O'Connor. And joining me today after witnessing the Memphis Grizzlies ending the first round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves of the 114-106 victory is Logan Burdock from the ringer.com. Logan, what's going on, man? What is up, bro?

I'm honored here. I'm honored to be here, dude. You know what it is. You know, I've been a longtime subscriber and fan of the void. I, when I came into the record, I played Kid Cuddy's The Void. I've been waiting to say, Follow the void with Kevin O'Connor in front of Kevin O'Connor. So hello, Kevin O'Connor.

I am honored to be in the void. Logan, one of my favorite things is on Twitter or text, whatever it might be is like you're just sitting the Kid Cuddy clip, fall in the void. It makes me so happy every time. We didn't even name it after the Cuddy song. But, you know, it works. We should get it as a theme song.

That's what we should be. When are we going to get Kid Cuddy as a guest? Like, when you get Kid Cuddy as a guest on the Boyd, can I just be here? Can I just, I don't even have to be, like, can I just be in the Zoom record when you interview Kid Cuddy for the Void? I know Kid Cuddy means a lot to you. And I want to ask you about Kid Cuddy later in our conversation today. Let's start off with Memphis, Minnesota, because, dude, this game tonight, the two plays that

stick out in my mind when I'm thinking back, towns with under two minutes left, taking that 30-foot shot with 20 seconds left from the shot clock. Minnesota down four, he's trying to get everything in one play instead of playing smart basketball. Meanwhile, on the other side, with Memphis, they're moving the ball, they're getting smart shots,

and I'm thinking about that play where John Morant ran a pick and roll with Brandon Clark. Clark short rolls near the free throw line. Morant hits him. Clark drives to the basket. He's met by Jada. McDaniel's great defense, just like we saw all game long for McDaniels.

Daniels, and he makes a beautiful wraparound pass to Jaron Jackson, Jr., who goes up for the dunk. And it's just those two plays in my mind, it's like the wolves taking crappy shot after crappy shot down the stretch, whereas Memphis just seemed like they were taking smart shot after smart shot, making the extra play. That summed it up for me, Logan.

What were your main takeaways from tonight's game we saw with Memphis closing out Minnesota? I think tonight's game was a microcosm of the entire series, right, where Minnesota has control through. throughout the game only to lose a big lead, whether that means an erratic shot by Carl Towns or also a very curious shot at the end in the corner by Patrick Beverly. He gets the pump fake, gets the guy in the air, and then just hunts a three when a two-point of float or anything was right there. There were so many times where this team was talented, this team being the

Minnesota Timberwolves, was talented enough to win this series in five or six, but they couldn't get out of their own way. They couldn't, I think about game five when Anthony Edwards goes for the steel and just gives John Morant a free lane to the basket. It said everything you need to know about the Minnesota Timberwolves, which is they got a lot of work to do. They are a very talented group. They could shock the world in a couple of years, but they have to go through growing pains. They got a lot of work to do. They got to figure out the identities of that team because I feel like we are finding out that Anthony Edwards, if they're going to be successful, he's going to have to believe and know that he's a number one option. I think that that's very clear throughout this postseason from the

playing game all the way until tonight. When he figures that out, I think that's going to unlock the Timberwolves. Yeah, I mean, Anthony Edwards, he's sort of through this whole season, the play in, the postseason first round series. It's become apparent that he is on the path to becoming the face of the franchise. And Carl Anthony Towns, he has his spectacular scoring nights. You're not going to take anything away from him on those particular nights. But the fact is that some of the decision-making with the files earlier in the series, the shot selection, the inability to create for others.

I know in their last game as well, just settling so often instead of using his size when he was defended by Brandon Clark in that game five, It's just so frustrating with a guy like Kat because it feels like he should be even better than he is because it's not like he's not a great player. He is like a top 30, top 35 guy. It's just there's so much more in there that he hasn't been able to get out of himself.

And I'm wondering if I'm Minnesota here, I wonder how that dynamic develops over the course of time. Is Kat going to be fine with Edwards being the clear number one on this team? but even then with like that Logan with Edwards where does he need to get better though to become that actual guy who can lead a team to a playoff victory

because we see Jaws improvement this year what is that next step for Anthony Edwards I think the biggest thing is he needs to be a bit more poised right he he he does a lot of things that a young player does and I think that when he tried to jump that John Morant pass in game five that told you everything you need to know about where he is

in his career he is a guy that wants it very badly, but he doesn't know exactly when to, you know, sometimes discipline defense is way better than getting a steal, you know? He needs to figure out just the nuances of those games. But the most important thing right now is he has the mindset that Carl Towns just hasn't had during his time in Minnesota. And that's no knock on Carl Towns. Carl Towns is a boy. He is a baller. And, you know, he got a 60 piece. He is a really, really good player. But when you find out that you are a number two. You just kind of got to go with it with it. If that's the best thing that's for your team, then that's just what it is. He's still got love in Minnesota. It's still what it is.

But we, it was so apparent from the playing game to now that Anthony Edwards is going to have to pick up the pieces and make sure that this team stays afloat as a number one option if they're going to be successful. I think poise and I think also just, yeah, I would just say poise. I think that's what he needs. He has everything else. He has all the physical attributes, and he will develop into a great player if he just finds poise. It's just a matter of time in development, and staying patient and not rushing that process. And for Minnesota, I think D. Lowe is the other part of that equation there. Tonight, seven points for him, three of seven from the field.

It was a very unspectacular night for DeAngelo Russell, as it often is. It's up and down with him throughout his career. With this Minnesota court, I mean, to me, like the obvious keepers, are Anthony Edwards Jaden McDaniels, who I love. Tonight he had one of the best games of his entire career, 24 points, 8 of 9 from the field, 5 of 6 from 3,

some excellent defensive plays. I'm open to move in Cat if it's a monster package. He's probably a keeper. I think he's a keeper. I don't think that they find. What do they find? There's no, like, especially what the NBA is now. I don't know if it's trade. Maybe two years from now,

like three years from now, more stuff opens up, more opportunities. I don't think there's anything out there right now. But, you know, just in the big picture, you want to keep Ant, you want to keep Daniels, and you prefer to keep Cat. But it's about finding those other pieces that can complement them. And that's what Memphis has done. You look at this Memphis roster, all of these pieces fit. In that first half of the game tonight, John Morant gets off to a little bit of a slow starty as four points on one of six, but Desmond Bain was 15 points on six of nine in the first half. Bain ended with 23 points. I saw some tweets throughout the series of people saying,

Bain is better than Morant. Like, obviously, that's not the case because of what Jha has done over the course of the full year. But in this particular series, I think we saw with Desmond Bain a higher level of what he could be with greater usage. For the series, he attempted 16 shots per game. He attempted nine three-pointers per game and averaged 24 points. He had that 34-point game and their loss in game four, 23 points tonight. Bain and Morant just complement each other. so well and and bain's three-point shooting ability in addition to his ability to handle just

provides that perfect balance like to me i i hate to make the comparison skills wise but i'm sort of reminded of like bane with clay in terms of like he's selfless he's got a flamethrower from three he plays hard he plays smart he makes the right plays and he compliments his primary ball handler in the back court and marant carrie are way different obviously but you see where i'm going with that with like how those guys kind of interact i see where you're going i see in terms of the role right i'm not yes not in terms of not not the skill yes yes the ability yes i see where you're going with this and it's so interesting with the uh with the memphis grislies i got to see them one uh i think i got to see them twice this week this year and the biggest thing that you

you see with that team is they're so young but they are not scared i love that about the memphis Grizzlies. They are, they, even if they don't, they feel like they are supposed to be there at any time. And the second time I got to see them was in Memphis and it is a different, it's a different environment in Memphis, man. I really think that, and we talked about this when you were on the, when you and Verna were on the show, it's just an energy about that team, man. And I really love what Memphis has got going. It's going to be fun to see them grow in this postseason. Yeah, no doubt about it, man. And next round again, the Golden State Warriors.

Golden State will be favored in the series. They just switched their new, brand new edition of the death lineup with Draymond, Wiggins, Steph, Clay, Poole. Do you have a preference for the name for that? What is it? The PTSD. One of I heard was PTSD, which was funny. I don't know, man.

I think it's too tryhardy. I mean, like, I don't even think, like, I think that the death lineup was such, it lives in such infamy. Shout up to Tim Kawakami. You know, bro, I think it was him who made that up. But I just think that it's a nice lineup, okay? Let's see, they got to earn that name. They got to earn it.

They're like, it's very new. It's the lineup. It's a lineup that works at this point. That's what I call it, the lineup that works. The lineup that works, yes, it is working a lot this postseason. So, Bruno, when him and I were talking about that lineup earlier in the week, this was before, obviously, we knew Memphis was going to be advancing to the second round to face them. but he expressed some skepticism

with how that lineup could work against Memphis. What are your thoughts on how these teams do match up in their second round series, considering how much Golden State has changed what they're doing, and also consider no Stephen Adams in the starting lineup for Memphis since game one. Will they go back with him? We don't know that yet,

but what are your early thoughts on that matchup? My early thoughts right now is, you know how I said that the Memphis, not the Memphis Grizzan, the Timberwolves lack poise. They don't really, they're not, they're not there yet as a team. Yeah.

I kind of feel that way in regards to this series about the Grizzles, right? Because they are not as smart as the Golden State Warriors at this point. And that's no knock on their intelligence. I'm just saying you have guys that have played 10, 12, 15 years in the league, combined with a young core that has seen some stuff, right, with the warriors. And so I think the warriors have an edge in terms of just being battle tested early on. I think that the warriors will target Jaron Jackson, who was known to be in foul trouble. I think that what I'm curious, though, to see is who inevitably that they put on John Moran, who the Warriors put on John Moran?

Because they like to play small on John Moran. They'll put GP2 on John Moran. There's also Wiggins. You can do a lot of things with that. that what I do like about the Memphis Grizzlies, though, is they're not scared of Golden State. They actually won Golden State. They want that matchup, and they honestly believe that they can win. I was talking to a staffer with a – not a staff.

I was talking to someone within the Golden State Orban, and the two teams that they express that, you know, maybe not that they have a fear of, but the two teams that they have their eyes percolating tours are the Memphis Grizzlies. in the Phoenix Suns, who if things go right, they're going to play both of those teams going in there. But Memphis, you know, played the Warriors tough in the matchups. But I do think that the Warriors just holding edge just because they've seen a lot. And I just, I don't, I think that the Grizzlies are a year away.

I know Verno might be coming out here and he might be on my head about that. But I don't know if the Grizzies are ready just yet. I think that they're going to be a finals contender for years and years to come. But I think this is the one last growing year for them, growing pains year for them. And you know what? That's incredibly fair. This is such a young team. And you talked about their poised.

The fact that they are this poised at this young age with so little experience is really a testament to just the greatness of these young players. The fact that, like, you know, Brandon Clark, 25 years old is one of the vets in the lineup tonight. Dylan Brooks at 26 is one of the vets getting heavy minutes tonight. I mean, like you got Melton 23, Bain 23, Morant 22, Jackson 22, Aldima, 21, getting some minutes deep off the bench, you know, throughout the season. Zaire Williams and Williams started all year. He's only 20 years old. Like this whole Memphis team is young.

I'm curious just to see, I'm curious to see how the Memphis Grizzlies weather storms. And I know that people are going to say, oh, Well, they came back from this deficit and this deficit and this deficit against the Timberwolves. But it's a different, it's a different matchup when you're playing against people. That's Minnesota. That's Minnesota. And it was funny because I was watching the Warriors play the, the nuggets. I was at the, I was watching the game.

I think it was game for the close, when the nuggets ultimately won. But the nuggets weathered storms, but the, the, the, the warriors kept coming. Now, in this, in the series that the Memphis Grizzies just, one, it was more so, Timberwolves come out to a great lead and then can't do anything, then they collapse every single time. The warriors are not going to collapse. They're going to keep coming with their best punches and best punches and best punches. And I'm really curious to see what Memphis does with, which is haymakers and haymakers.

That's going to be interesting in a postseason environment. One thing you mentioned earlier is who defends Jha during the regular season. The primary defenders the warriors used against him were Gary Payton for 88 matchup. Andrew Wiggins for 52, and then Iguodal. I got him for 19, obviously. Iguodal is hurt. Yeah, exactly. Not there.

And, you know, different guys have been in and out of the lineups for those games. But that is something to think about as we approach. And Curry and pool were the primary guys that defended Desmond Bain. And on the flip side of things, it was often Zaire Williams. As we saw, I remember that matchup earlier in the year with Zaire Williams, kind of locking up Curry for a few possessions. He was the primary guy. Anthony Melton and Dylan Brooks

who were the three primary guys against Steph. So, I mean, like, the back court really is one of the keys, as you said. I'm fascinated though to see how the Grizzlies defend the Warriors, right? I don't, I want to, because especially in the last round,

they put a bigger guy on pool down the stretch of that last series, and I think they put Aaron Gordon on them for stretches, and that really slowed pool down. I'm curious to see who they do, because Poole is obviously X Factor for the Warriors. I'm curious to see who they put on him and try to, because they're,

I don't know their lineup, but I can imagine that they're trying to make sure, because Poole is the biggest X Factor, they're going to try to kid him out of the series early. And I think, you know, in terms of X factors, you're right, for the goal on state side,

it's Poole. And you mentioned in passing earlier with Jaron Jackson Jr. He's the guy on the Memphis side of things. And these six games, he had five balls, four, five, six, six,

and five. They're going to target him on that pick and roll, man. He's going to get targeted every single time. He averaged 5.2 fouls per game in only 24.5 minutes throughout the series. Five files and 24 minutes against goal and say that's a whole different problem. And this was, I don't want to talk about awards necessarily here, but this is one of my issues with Jaron Jackson Jr. is a defensive player of the year candidate. I don't think you can file that much during the regular season. And as we've seen in this first round, postseason series. You can't follow that much

and be a DPOI yet. Granted, he's still amazing because he's blocking shots, the turn shots around the room. He's incredible. He just needs to figure out cutting down the following. Yo, that Draymond,

that's going to be a big test. That Draymond Jackson, Jr. match that was going to be hell of fun. It's going to be so fun. Especially Jaron Jackson is like Draymond's little brother, the Michigan State ties.

Like he really wants to be Triple J. It's going to be, I can't wait for this series. All right, Logan. And so on Thursday night we saw three games sixes and none of them went to a seven, which means on Saturday there are no NBA games today. No NBA games on Saturday.

But we did get a lot of news on Friday related to some of these teams that did get eliminated and one of them that advanced. Zion Williamson talked to the media and he was asked about his contract situation this summer. He can be offered a max deal, a max extension. And he said if he's offered that deal with a big smile on his face, it looked like he couldn't wait to say it. Of course! He says he's going to sign that deal.

You know what? When I heard this, Logan, after months and months of all the drama and everything that transpired leading up to this, I was like, no kidding. Because how do you not want to stay on this team after everything we've seen from them, right? Well, more than anything, like somebody, how much is it like $180 million max deal? Yeah, $181 million five years. Listen, man.

For a guy that's playing, you know, under eight, 90 games, three years. Exactly. Yes, you're going to take that as eye on. But it was funny because I had an opportunity to go see the Pelicans in Phoenix a couple weeks ago. And they got something building, man. It was my first time seeing them up close. I didn't really get to see them when they came to debate. But the maturation of Brandon Ingram, the guys like CJ, but also the Larry Nance Juniors of the world to have that mix of guys, a little vex. veteran presence, but also guys like Herb Jones. You know, I think if they, they need Zion, I was talking to, I was talking to David Griffin, the GM. And one of the real reasons that they got CJ, one, because Griffin wanted him from the moment that he got the job. But number two, they needed a primary ball handler with Zion out because they were going

point Zion heavy and they couldn't rely on that if Zion was going to get injured. And they got CJ as a, as a primary ball handler. I think that they need, they're probably a point guard away, not just to have Zion back in the fold, but they need another point guard. I think that a guy that can, because Alvarado was good, but I don't think he's a start. So I think that they want that that, I think that they get Zion back into the mix as a point, point Zion, and then get another solid guard there. I think they're going to be in good shape. Yeah, I'm with you there. And I think with New Orleans, they're in a situation now.

They suddenly have the culture, at least this season they did. Like this team bought into each other. There's love for each other and an acceptance of roles and responsibilities. That's a foundation you can build on and create a winner. Then when you add on a guy who averaged 30 points, you know, six assists, seven rebounds for the last 25, 30 games that we saw him last year, you had that on top of CJ and Ingram and Herb Jones, one of the best defenders in basketball and Jonas Valanchunis.

Like, I mean, suddenly... Willie Green is also a great coach. He's outstanding. You know? Exactly. Year one was a huge success. Huge. Yeah.

And so, like, why would Zion, I think, I think it's time to kind of like mute the Zion as leaving talk. Maybe someday that'll come back. But for now, but especially to the Knicks. I just want to do a quick aside right now, right? Because the, like, when you see Zion to the Knicks and all these, like, guys to the Nix, I promise you their current situation is better, right? When you talk about even Donovan Mitchell, right, wanting to go to the Knicks.

No, Utah is better. Trust me. You talk about Zion wanting to go by himself to go to the Knicks. No, you see proofs and the pudding right now. New Orleans is a better situation, assuming that they keep this going, right? Assuming that they don't make any rash decision as soon as they just trust the process and keep building year over a year, they're going to be just fine. We also heard from Zach Levine on Friday, who has asked similar questions as I. I see Levine, it's different.

He can be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and he didn't fully commit. He came out and said he's going to explore free agency, look at all of his options, and said he's going to talk with his agent, Rich Paul, from Clutch Sports, and make the best business decision. And the first thing on my mind here, Logan, and this is like a very basic thing to think about, but I thought about the Lakers because Levine went to UCLA. He chose Southern California to go to college. He trains in California during the off seasons.

And them Seattle boys grew up Laker fans, too, by the way. You talk about him, Isaiah Thomas. Those Seattle people, they love the Lakers up there. And the reason why I bring that up is obviously the Lakers don't have cap space. But I bring up the Lakers as kind of the big example here as, like, you can't just think about teams that have cap space as potential landing spots for Zach Levine. you need to think about the 29 other teams because like we saw with Jimmy Butler

when he went from Philadelphia to Miami and the sign and trade for Josh Richardson, you don't have to give up a lot if a guy says, I'm going to you, I'm going there. Granted, Miami would have been able to create CAP so they had a little bit of leverage in that situation. But the fact is, is that

every team is on the table here for Levine. And that's a young, sharp-shooting, athletic, guard, who could add a lot to a lot of teams here. For Chicago, you got Lonzo here saying his knee is still an issue. You have now Levine entering free agency. It was a spectacular year for them until it wasn't.

Now we're at a point here where it's a crossroads for Chicago. How are you feeling about the state of the Bulls? It's funny because me and Roger talk about this all the time with the Bulls. It seemed like if there was ever going to be a year for them to do something, it was this year. But they seemed like all the Bulls teams, since Michael Jordan left, which is really good, can be really good, really scrappy, really, like, respected bunch, but ultimately they have a ceiling, right? They, or a six-seat. They could be, you know, there was the height when they were the one C with Derek Rose, but ultimately, there are teams and stars better than them in their conference.

So when I think about the Bulls, I think about a team that just didn't meet the moment this season, and I think about a team that is now aging, you know, that DeMarter Rosen deal is about to start looking really, really hard. It's not going to look as good as it did this season, right? And then you have, and you have the Lonzo injury. It's not, you don't have, it's a bit older than, say, the Pelicans or someone. So when I read those comments from Zach Levine, it doesn't seem like a guy that's going to stay. It just doesn't. It doesn't seem like a guy that is committed.

If you say I'm going to, I'm the last person to, the most famous example of somebody being really reticent and not wanting to, you know, being very coy with their answer if they're going to stay somewhere was Chris Weber way back in the day. And he ended up signing with the Kings. But I just don't see it when I read those comments from Levine. It doesn't seem like a guy that wants to stay. I have a question for you, though, KOC. you set up an interesting point about the Lakers. Do the Bulls just say, hey, man, well, we had one good year, but the writing's on the wall.

We're just going to trade them for Westbrook, get up off of that deal, and then just regroup and then rebuild again? Because if they sign and trade Levine to the Lakers, then that means they're just going to start from scratch again. That means they have to. Unless it's part of a bigger deal with AD going home to Chicago. something like that.

I mean, like, where instead of the Lakers... No, no, no, I mean, like, you know, you're adding picks. You're adding other pieces than a deal to dress it up and make it look nice and make it even. But, I mean, there's different types of scenarios there. Like, you mentioned the Ross idea where the Lakers have to give up more. They have to give up a pick in that situation. But the flip side is like, well, what if A.D. wants to go home to Chicago? And he wants to play there.

Like, maybe that's the best business decision for him. And I'm just speaking hypothetically here. I haven't heard anything about that, to be clear. but it's just fun to think about. I would think, though, that Clutch would want their guy, if they're going to want three clutch guys on the roster, which it seems like they want, they want Clutch guys with the Lakers,

that they would trade the non-clutch guy to out of town. That's what it would seem like. I don't have reporting on that, but that's what it would seem like. Yeah, it's going to be very interesting because he is unrestricted. There are not a lot of teams that are more appealing than the Bulls that have cap space. So for Chicago, I think they have to feel some level of confidence that, hey, we're going to be able to keep this guy. You tell Zach Levine, right now you're sharing the ball with DeMardo Rosen, but you're our guy. We want you for the next 10 years.

That's what you're telling Levine right now. Right now, you're sharing, but you're going to grow into an even better player than you are today. But does Zach Levine want that? Does he want to be sharing the ball with DeMarta Rosen? Does he want to be on this roster with multiple ball handler? Or does he want to be more like the guy we saw last season when he averaged 27 points per game and became a first time? star. You know, he shot two fewer times per game this season, did not have the use that he did it in the past. What does Levine want? That is ultimately what matters more than anything

else, more so than Rich Paul and LeBron and Clutch. They might not even be the destination or the target for him. But it's intriguing because every player that has to do with Clutch, you have to tie them to L.A. You just have to, especially because L.A. isn't a year of change as well. But we'll see. That would be a coup for L.A. if they could, they could get off Westbrook and somehow get Zach Levine. Oh, that would, I would not be, like, I would be disgusted unless they gave up their two first roundings. You would be disgusted with the league. If that happened, I know, I'd be disgusted. I'd be disgusted. I'd be have to get them, the 27 and the 29. They'd have to give them both up, in my opinion.

I mean, that would be a great deal for the Lakers. That would be a great deal for the Lakers. Yeah, to get Zach Levine. Yeah, I mean, you hope for the Chicago Bowl as it goes far better than that and they're able to retain Levine. or if he does want to leave, you get a real strong package in return for him. Let's move on to the other news we heard late Friday afternoon. Joelle Embedde suffered a concussion in an orbital fracture in his face that has him out. Currently indefinitely, we'll see about his status for game one on Monday against the Miami Heat, but he suffered that with four minutes left in the game with the Sixers up, 29 points over the Raptors, still in the game, takes an elbow from Pascal Seacum,

when the game's essentially over. I was just, I feel sad. I feel sad for Sixers fans because this is just another instance of bad luck after a long run of everything, whether it's Simmons asking, you know, asking out, you know, demanding out from Philadelphia, whether it's Embedd missing his first two years, Zaire Smith, peanut allergy, or whether it's Markle- Why are you doing this? Why are you doing this to them?

Why are you just doing this to them? I mean, I'm just, I'm just like, it's just sucks. Like, it's just so many, how many things could have gone wrong? I don't know, man. I don't know, man. How many things could have gone wrong? You know what? I'm not a religious man, Logan.

I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. But, like, the basketball gods, they might be real because of the process, because of tanking. That might be what this is. I don't, that's all I can think about. How else could you have this much bad luck? I don't know, man.

And, you know, it's funny because me and Rob... Kauai's shot bounced four times off the rim, Logan. Why are you... And then, you know, then the James Hardin trade might not... Like, might not be working out either, too. I know. Philly's going to hate us, bro. Philly's going to hate us right now.

Look, look, I think it's important in life to embrace your feelings. It's important to embrace... We embrace our feelings on the boy. Yeah. I do think, though, I'm more concerned about the concussion than the orbital bone. Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm really, those symptoms have to subside, the concussion symptoms have to decide. But M.B. is playing.

Let's be, like, M. B, he's going to play by game two at least, right? He has to. I would think so. I would be surprised. Just knowing M.B., just knowing Wazzyam play, like, he's going to be back. He's going to have a mask on. It's going to go, it's going to be like a helmet. But he's going to be in the series.

He's going to play. Yeah, and they're going to say, Yeah, you're fine. You're good. He's going to be like, yeah, I'm good. I can see. You holding up three fingers, too. Oh, yeah, you're good.

I'm good. I'm good. But like, what do you think, though, about that series? I'm interested in that series. They're playing the heat. That's going to be fun. That's going to be a fun series. I don't.

I don't have a good gauge on this. What do you think? I don't have a good gauge on this series. I don't, I'm trying to, I don't know who has an edge. I don't know who wins it. It's going to be a tough matchup. I mean, I'll be honest with you. I have no.

idea. And the reason why is because we don't even know what the status of Butler or Lowry is going to be. Friday. Butler, Lowry, Hero, and Tucker all missed practice on Friday. Oh my goodness. And we really don't know what their status will be on Monday. So it's almost impossible to say

hey, here's what to expect. The first two games of Miami versus Philadelphia, like it's hard to do a game preview, but like let's just assume at some point all of these guys are back. You know, Butler should be back at some point. Lowellie should be back at some point. Lowry has not looked like his full self.

That's concerning for me. But with Embed, if you get the version of Hardin we saw in their last game against Toronto, I feel much better about Philadelphia's chances in this series against the Miami Heat. If you get that version of Hardin, where he's showing a little bit more burst, a bit more aggression getting to the basket, and that created these kickout opportunities to open shots for shooters.

But again, like it's still hard to gauge right now we don't know the status of Balder and Lari. If we see the Hardin that we saw in that last game, or we see the Hardin that we saw just after the trade deadline. Oh, yeah, those two games? Yeah, exactly. Those, like, he was running like a 4-240. He was getting layups.

He was throwing dimes. If we see that and beat is good, I think the Sixers are going to win the series if that happens. But, of course, it's like something that's just poetic about James Harty. than going to Miami and playing playoff basketball there right when he gets to Philly, right? Like, he has to overcome just the perception that he's going to mess up just because of what these types of cities provide in his reputation. He's, it's, it's, he's battling perception.

Well, what is he? Is he a beach guy, Logan? What is he like that? It's a tech? But what does he like that on Miami? What is it? I mean, you saw the finals in 2012. I don't need, do I need to remind people?

Oh, club and clubbing. I mean, it's popping in Miami. It's popping. It's popping. And it's right there. They got to, they should just like put the team in Palm Beach or something like that. They need to just put them way up in there and have the hotel there. Just do that.

Yeah. I'm trying. I would love to get down there for the, for part of that series. They're having the, uh, the all in summit. One of my favorite podcast, the all in podcast. They're having a summit down there, dirt like almost around the time of the, the end of the east. You're Miami guy, KLC? I've not a Miami guy.

I've never been to Miami. Never been. You have? I've been to Miami a couple of times. I'm not a Miami guy. I just, I, I, it's, I'm not a humidity guy. I can't do humidity. I can't.

I'm a California kid. I don't know nothing about humidity. It, it just, it brings out the worst. Well, I mean, I grew up in, I grew up in the Northeast in Massachusetts, so I know humidity. But when I first time, I remember it was like Summer League, 24th. or 2015. And I believe my first flight was to Orlando for when they used to have the Orlando Summer League.

I'll never forget getting off that plane. It's like, early July. And it was like, did I just step out of a shower? Like immediately. And then the airport down in Orlando, you get the Disney tram that takes you to, oh my God, it's so tough. When you go to Florida, it's like you're putting on a Canada goose of just in like 80-degree weather.

That's what it sounds. That's what it feels like. All right, no slander for Florida. I'm sorry. No, I mean, it's not slander. It's just, like, some people like humidity. Some people don't like dry heat. It's just, it's just taste.

It's not slandage. I'm more like, if I'm going to take heat, I'd rather like desert heat than the- Oh, like Vegas. My first time in Vegas was the opposite. I landed like 11.30 p.m. at night. And I walked outside thinking, oh, my God, it's like 100 degrees at 11 p.m.

I was like, this feels nice. It feels good. Summer League, KOC. I'm going to see you there, bro. It's going to be lit. It's going to be lit. I'm excited for Summer League. And I did say at the beginning of the show, before we go,

I wanted to ask you about Kid Cuddy. You mentioned him up top. He, of course, has a song called The Void. And you wrote an amazing article on the Ringer. Was it your first year with the Ringer, I believe it was? Yeah, it was what Kid Cuddy means to you. I read that again today and listened to Man on the Moon because I was like,

Logan on tonight. I got to get the Kid Cuddy vibes in me. I did work. I took care of errands around my apartment. Yeah, man, I love Cuddy, bro. I'm a huge fan of Cuddy. I got to meet him opening night Warriors Lakers.

It was staple centered in. And I remember I went up to him who was sitting at Korside and I said I'd like, I told him, I was like, thank you for retweeting the story. And I don't think he had any idea of talking about. I was like, thanks for reaching. And I was like, he was like,

It was like, what was the story about? I was like, bro, you got me through a lot of shit. And I like, you're Man on the Moon. Man on the Moon series got me through a lot of shit is what I said. And then he responds. He says, that's why I made it. And I was like, bless. Thank you, bro.

And then, like, no, I introduced myself as, hey, I'm Logan. He says, hey, I'm Scott. He was the sweetest person of all time. So shout out to Kit Cuddy, man. Shout out to the void. Fall in the void. What's your favorite Kid Cuddy song today? I know it probably changes.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, my favorite Kid Cuddy song is probably, damn, that's hard. I like Intergalactic, but I really like Solo Dolo 3. Solo Dolo 3 is like really great. Solo Dolo 3. Yeah, like I know that's his most recent solo Dolo, and I know like everyone's like, well, no, man, like Solo Dolo 1.

Like Solo Dolo One is tight. Solo Dolo 2 is great. It's one of my faves. Solo Dolo 1 is tight, but I really love solo Dolo 3. It's a great song. I love it. I don't know how to say it, but I think that's my fave right now. You know what song has a special place in my heart?

It's a song that becomes, that is before Mr. Rager. And obviously, that's a huge track. Everybody knows that song, but it's maniac. Oh, yes. Because it features St. Vincent on it. And that song, listening to that album, I remember one of my best friends, my friend Jordan introduced me to the song. He's like, you heard the album, listen to this artist that was featured on Maniac.

And I was like, okay, I'll listen to St. Vincent. And I fell in love immediately. Bro. Like St. Vincent became one of my favorite artists because of Kid Cuddy. That's phenomenal, bro. Can we, before we get out of here, we don't just love Kid Cuddy. We also love Odd Future. Can you tell the story of when you went to go see Odd Future and,

in Boston, was in the Boston area? When they were like, you sent me the video, you're in a video somewhere. Can you tell the people the story? So I think I saw Odd Future Wolfgang kill them all. They got to give the full name. Yeah. Straight up.

Three times, I believe, over like a two-year period, like 2012, 2013. There were multiple instances, like two real quick stories. One of them, the first time seeing them, they had a signing at Newberry Comics. And we went to the signing. I think it was after Goblin came out by Tyler, the creator, and he signed the album. They went on the roof of the Newberry Comics in Boston, and they were jumping up the roofs, and like a SWAT cars came, like literal, like SWAT police came. Like, you could look up the news story.

It was like seven news in Boston, like was there interviewing people about what was happening, this video of like, Tyler and all, everybody on top of the buildings. And then we saw them that night in concert. There was another time at the House of Blues in Boston where we saw them. Previously, our first two times, my friends and I, we saw them from afar. We didn't go in the pit.

We watched them from afar and watched all the action. All these crazy kids jumping up and down, kicking, you know, it's amazing. It's a great scene. But we're like, at the House of Blues of Boston, if you eat at the restaurant right next door before it, if you eat there or buy something in the store, you can cut the line.

It's like a pasta line thing. And so we were like, we do it for every show at the house. I suppose we have to do it for our future. So we go front, we're like up against the railing. And you know the internet with Sid the kid, right? With the internet, they're chill. Like it is so relaxing that band.

But we felt like pushing behind us during the internet. And we're like, that's not a good sign. That's not a good sign for what's about to happen. And I forget the song that On Future opened with when they came on, but like almost immediately, like within 10, 20 seconds, feet are flying. Next to us. People like get, you know how like the security guys have to pull people off or crowd surfing or catching us?

So they don't slam their heads up to the ground. Like there was like three or four, like there's so many security guards in front of us. So many people's feet flying. I remember one of my friends turns. They're like, they're like, I think I want to get out of here. And I was like, me too. And I'm and I'll always remember. This is some concert advice.

Life advice for a concert, Logan. I tried to escape by going back from the stage. Yeah. And someone like an angel said to me, go sideways. And I went sideways and I got out easy. So if you need to get out of a concert, go sideways, not from the stage, if that makes sense. Bro. That was a lot of future stories.

I have a similar. I have two out of future stories. I have a similar one as the Mosh Pit one. I went to a show in Sacramento. It was at the, it was at the, was it called? Asa Spades. I don't know. I forgot the place. I think it's called Asa Spades. But anyway, I went there and I got there really early as you do when you're 1920. You get to skip the shows very early. Just wait in line. Just waiting line. I got in and I get to the front railing and I see a guy

who's probably, I'm like 6.3. This dude was like 6.5 and it was built. And my man put a mouthpiece on. And I said, I said, I'm going to be here. his friend. So what I did was I was in the middle of the Mossbitt. This was, this was, I think it was odd future tour and it was Tyler and Earl Sweatshirt was also on this tour. And I made the decision when he put the mouthpiece in his mouth, I was like, I'm going to be his friend. And I'm going to make sure that wherever he goes, I'm rolling around with him. I'm just going to go the way where he's going. And that's how I got out alive. And in another story, I was with Justin barrier in November. I was in LA. And we're eating. I forgot the establishment. But we're eating. And I go.

And I see Tyler. Like, I see his feet because he's walking out. We're on this outside portion. And I see feet. And I look up. And I see loafers. And I'm like, oh, that looks familiar. And then I see socks. I'm like, oh, that looks familiar. And I look up and I see a hat that has an F on it. And I look up. And I look up and I see a hat that has an F on it. And I'm like, oh shit, that's Tyler. And only thing that comes out is, I fuck with your music, bro. You can't help yourself, right? I was like, I fuck with your shit. No, I said, I fuck with your shit, bro.

And he looks perplexed. And he goes, right on. And he gives me a dab and he walks back in. And I was like, oh, shit, that was tight. That was like a full circle moment. His really deep voice right on. Right on, bro. That's a bad impression.

Yeah. He's got a deep voice, dude. It really does. What's your favorite Tyler album or EP? Favorite Tyler album is Flower Boy. Power Boy. Just because I wrote about this, you can read this on Theringer.com. Where with Tyler, I felt like he did it.

For this first three albums, he didn't grow with me as I was growing into an adult. I think Goblin came out when I was like 18, 17, 18. And I felt like he wasn't growing up as I was growing up. He was still just saying stupid shit on records and, like, great. Like, great songs, but his EP, right? Yeah. Like, yeah, he was still doing bastard. And then Wolf, he was still kind of saying the same thing and same with Cherry Bomb.

And then Flower Boy, he just, he finally felt like an adult. And I was a kind of that I always wanted. And now he's like, he's great. He's the best rapper in the game now. And I'm really happy to see that journey and transformation. So shout out to Tyler. It's incredible. It really is because, like, when I,

first fell in love with Odd Future at the time. It was like, bastard. It was Earl. You know, like, that's all that was really out there from the, from the main guys. And then, and then Goblin comes out more the same, like you said, but I loved it. It still's a special place in my heart. Still enjoy this thing. It has some bangers on the album. But Flower Boy is when like that evolution of Tyler the Creator really happened. It's as if like all those past albums were, you know, high school, college, and then he gets drafted to the league. And that's like his MVP season or whatever, right?

That's what it felt like to me when Flower Boy came out. It's like he figured it out. Things began to click and he became a true artist. Like you said, he was a kid. And then he became a man with that album. It was, yeah, extraordinary. Man, hey, hey, Charles Holmes. Just let me and KOC come on the ringer music show.

Okay? Let us come on the ringer music show and talk this shit. All right. If you listen to this, Charles Holmes, put us, bring us on. We got takes. We do have takes. I'll tell you what, Bastards still get some great songs, though.

I can't. It does. It does. It does. It does. It's got some great songs. I might listen to it tonight after we sign off. Wolf has some wild shit on it,

but it also has tree home 95. Okay? Like, it still has, it has like, I'm going to go listen to Tyler. I think that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to listen to Tyler and Cuddy. Yeah, I'm going to listen to Tyler tonight.

That's what's going to happen. Logan, thank you for joining me on The Void, man. This is fun. Worker people here. on Real Ones, which days of the week on the Ringer NBA show? We are on Monday nights throughout the playoffs. Real Ones after dark.

We got the Jill Scott popping, okay? We got that we got, we got vibes. Look at this lamp. We have a great, we have stuff. I can't even, you can't even see the lamp. We have viby lamps, okay? We have vibes. We are here.

Come check us out, me, and Rha, Ra, and maybe Jemmy might fall through. Maybe you never know what's going to happen. Y'all know what it is. All my Mad Hooper's out there. come through for real ones after dark because we pop in, we ain't stopping, and we mobbing. Let's go.

Monday nights, real ones, Logan Murdoch and Roger. Hey, we need to get you on the show. Y'all, y'all lagging, bro. We need the crossover when the streets have been saying that we need the real mismatch to come back, the streets have been asking for it. Yeah, we were trying to do a playing tournament week,

but that didn't work out that week. We'll have to do it again very, very soon. We'll maybe we'll do the crossover week, you know, maybe conference finals or maybe maybe a little finals preview or something. Yeah, finals previews, something like that. Yeah, we'll figure it out. We'll find, we'll find time to do that. In the meantime, though, you and I are going to listen to some time of the creator. This is an honor, bro. This is an honor, sincerely. You're one of my favorite people. Thank you. You as well, Logan. Thank you for coming on, man. Thanks again to Logan Murdoch for joining the void. Thank you to Jesse Lopez for producing on this late Friday night. We'll be back again on Tuesday with another.

episode of the mismatch. By that point, we're going to get all the game ones in because on Sunday at 10 a.m. Pacific is Milwaukee, Boston kicking off the second round, then Golden State, Memphis, fired up for that. And then on Monday, Philly, Miami, Dallas, Phoenix. On Tuesday morning, I'll be recording again with Chris Vernon reacting to all of it, really looking forward to it. Have a good weekend, everybody.