The Ringer NBA Show - Are the Lakers Going to Be OK? Plus: Deandre Ayton and the Case of the Missing Bag, KD vs. Giannis, and More! | Real Ones

Episode Date: October 21, 2021

The NBA is back, baby! Logan and Raja investigate Deandre Ayton and the curious case of the missing bag after his less-than-stunning performance against 2021 MVP Nikola Jokic (0:30). Then they debate whether Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant is the best player in the NBA (20:38) and Raja wonders about the possibly muddled leadership hierarchy on the Celtics after Jaylen Brown dropped 46 points in their season opener (32:40). And finally, Logan recounts his experience at the Warriors-Lakers game and invites Jomi to air his concerns about Russell Westbrook and the new-look Lakers (38:50). Hosts: Logan Murdock and Raja Bell Guest: Jomi Adeniran Associate Producer: Sasha Ashall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Ringer Reality TV podcast is the home for all things unscripted TV. The feed will feature challenge recaps with Johnny Bananas, Bachelor and Paradise Recaps from Amelia Weddemeer, and a weekly survey of the reality TV landscape with Juliet Limon and Callie Curry, and much more coverage across the reality spectrum from Survivor to below deck to selling sunset. Check out the Ringar Reality TV podcast on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. What's popping? Logan Murdoch here. Roger Bell. Real ones. Rajah, we're coming in on this one on 10, baby.

This is the first pod after the NBA season is tipped off. I'm ready to go. Are you ready to go? We got games, baby. I got cats in my DMs. Everybody all up in their feelings about how we have a senior preview. And you ain't talking about that, da, that, blah, that. Brah, you got that too?

Why did you tell about the sons? Why did you think? Why are the clippers you're like? I don't care. It doesn't matter because we're in the season right now. It's going to sort itself out, Logan. It sorts itself out. Bro, you know what, man?

Let's get right to the shits, dog. I don't want to do no small talk, no how we're used. Let's get to the shits. Yeah, why would we? Let's go. Okay, so I want to talk about the Phoenix Sons, okay? The Phoenix Sons. A lot of things have going on.

We'll get to the game in a second. But something that I've been waiting to hear your opinion on is DeAndre Aden not getting paid. Now, this happened right after we had our Monday real ones. And we got the Sasha Max put it in the chat that we were, that Aiden is not getting to Max, what she asked for. And your boy Joub said that, you know, we don't know if he's a Max player yet. It's not about Robert Sarver not wanting to spend money,

what's Rosabel has said time and time again on this program that he is a little stingy with the bag. DeAndre Aden not getting paid while McHale Bridges gets his extension, while Landry Shamit, who did not play on the team last year, got his bag. We also see in this landscape that people from Aden's draft class, Luca Donchich, Trey Young, Michael Porter, Jr., just to name a few, have got A bags.

What is up with the Sons right now? Chris Paul also got his bag. What is up with the sons right now? Is this a case of Robert Sarver being a cheap skate, or is this a case of Aiden having to earn it right now? And he just hasn't earned it in the way that he should have earned it. I watched Joubs last night as I was watching the game get up doing an interview. Drew's just a little constructive criticism

maybe a little more personality. I know that's who he is. But give me a little bit more, Jrups. I know you better than that, bro. You don't got to be buttoned up like that all the time. Get that man his money. Like, let's stop playing. Let's cut the shit.

Now, I know he came on TV and said it was about about the amount of years that they couldn't agree on. You just named all of the names in the draft class that were extended, right? We talked about SGA, Luca, Jared Jackson Jr., Michael Porter, Jr. none of them have been to the finals.

In some instances, not out of the first round. And while I get it, those names are more marquee names on their team. They're more carriers of the male than D'Andre Aden. And I would argue that he's equally as important because the sons don't get to the finals last year without him. It doesn't happen. It doesn't happen. And so I am a little fired up about it.

Let me scale it back a little bit because I don't know the ins and outs of it. I'd like to think because Robert Sarver paid literally everyone else in Phoenix, that it's not a matter of him being cheap, right? You paid everyone else. So I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. Joubz has no, or James Jones, let me stop. Let me refer to him with a little respect. But my man James Jones has no track record of fumbling the bag so far.

So I'm not going to lay that at his feet right now. I say they get it done. Why? Maybe it's something above my pay grade and they just have to work it out. but it's not a good look at all. No. And I think if you're a son's fan, I mean, at minimum, you got to be a little concerned.

Yeah. I saw another interview with James Jones and the athletic. Sam Amick had a Q&A with James Jones. And one of the questions was to that effect of why aren't you guys paying money when Robert Sauver has said over the summer that he will spend the bread?

And James Jones has said, Hey, man, we are not afraid of spending money. We have spent money on other players. We have spent money on Chris Paul on a new practice facility and all that thing. We are not afraid to spend money. Yeah, that sounds good. But you got to actually spend money, dog. Like, you actually have to break bread to do it.

It's okay if you've done it with everybody else. But you have to do it with Aiden. And the argument about years doesn't make any sense to me because here's the thing. He's 23.1. And we've seen throughout this league, years don't mean a damn thing. You can get off. We saw Russell Westbrook who we say, who people say has the worst contract in the league. He's got traded like three times over the stretch.

John Wall's bag got moved. John's Wall's bag got moved. Chris Paul's bag got moved. And he got another bag. It doesn't matter, man. As long as just make this person feel good. That's what you need to do. We saw yesterday, Aiden was getting his ass kicked.

and I can only imagine what was going through his head. You want his mental to be fine, and the way to do that is to cash him the fuck out. I think you said something that's very important there. I think it's very important, and it trumps to some degree the money and all of that. Because money can be earned somewhere else, right? Like, while I might not make dollar for dollar,

I'll make enough to feel happy because it made me feel good, not having to come back here. Do you understand what I'm saying? And so when you're talking about his contract negotiation, you want him feeling good if you're the Sons. Not just about the immediate game against the Joker or whoever they have tomorrow night or whatever that looks like a month from now. But overall about the Sons organization and being a huge part of that moving forward and carrying this franchise into the next chapter, You don't want the cat looking at you sideways because y'all squabbled over a year on the end of his rookie extension.

Like you don't want that. My thing is this. And this is an outsider who has heard, you know, heard you talk about the sons, you know, have seen the sons from afar. The biggest thing I've seen from the sons and watching them over the last 10, 15 years is they hire good people by and large, right? They hired to Steve Kerr's. They hired Mike Dan Tony, Steve Nash. And they've gotten good people in the building. Their training staff is great.

Their biggest hiccup is when it's time to pay people what they're worth, they don't want to do it. And that's always been their Achilles Hill. Whenever they feel like they're about to, you know, we need to take care of these people, these lifers, they don't do it. And that's the difference between what we've seen, say what you want,

but you've seen that with the Lakers, right? When they take care of Kobe, right? They take care of their legacy dudes. It always seems like whenever there's time to just take care of their people, even if you have to sacrifice some wins, just so you can make sure that you show that you have a great organization, they kind of fumble the ball on that. Am I wrong in thinking that?

Because that's what it seems like every time it seems like to pay somebody or seems like to finally just go over the top. Because if they paid Aiden, if they just paid them when it was and just figured the shit out later, then they would be happy. then they probably go on a run real quick. And they probably, now they have to just manage Aden's, you know, psyche and things is a young dude. And he feels like he should be rewarded.

I feel like there's a disconnect there. I am going to fall short of saying that they always fumble the bag in this instance. I'm not ready to say that they always do it, historically speaking. I can't say that. What I will say is sometimes it's not always about what you say, but how you say it. and I can say that the way they say things at times comes off in poor taste. It's happened to me. It's happened to friends of mine.

It's happened to my wife while we were around there. It's not always said well. And that's kind of what we're talking about with Aiton here. If you left those negotiations, like, hey, man, put a pin in this. We're going to get it done, do we love you. And James said, at least coming from James last night, he said, that that's the way it was left. He knows we love him.

He knows we want him here. Boy, I sure hope so. I do, because it's got to be about the way you say things, sometimes not always about, you know, exactly what came out of your mouth. Now, I just want to draw a comparison between the way players are treated with the sons, or at least when I was there, okay? Because I can't speak to the culture that's in the building now.

And I want to be clear from Mike DeAnonnie, staff, locker room, equipment dudes, like trainers, everyone that was in our bubble, man, it was a fabulous time in Phoenix. Like, it was great. You couldn't have asked for anything more. But then there's another level of kind of, you know, the way things are handled from above, right? And I would just, I remember being there and then also having been in Dallas. And Dallas did everything that they could. Mark's mantra was to make it as cool and as plush of an environment and as like player-friendly as he could make it so that the only thing you ever really had to want or worry about

was was like your performance on the court. Everything else was going to be taken care of locker room, decked out, PS4s in the locker room. And people, I get it. Like that's, you know, you're spoiled. And yeah, uh-huh, I got, yes, that's what he does. He spoils you. He makes you feel like this is the great.

greatest place on earth and that you would do anything in the world for him. And so that was his philosophy. Not everyone subscribed to that, not just the sons. Like the jazz didn't. He was probably more the exception than the norm. But the point is, like, there are organizations out there that do that kind of stuff and really, really make you feel like, man, this is great and they love us. And then there are other ones that are sometimes like, I'll tell a story. Let me tell a story. We get on the bus. Storytime or rah-rah. Storytime or rah, let's do it. We get on a bus every night. Everybody has, they're not assigned seats, but everybody knows where they sit, right? Like, everybody knows where they sit. So, like, I typically sit all the way in a back.

You know, you got Steve back there. We got Amari. We got tricks. And there's a couple of people. We get on the bus one night and everybody's going to our seats. I think we lost. So one of the rare losses out there, but everyone was in a little bit of a funky mood. We had a flight to catch somewhere. We get to the back of the bus. And Robert Sarber, one of his young sons is sitting in somebody's seat. It wasn't mine. I'm not going to say any names. He was sitting in a seat, like taking up the whole seat. And said player was like, yo, you know, what's going on? A little buddy, like, you know, can you head up there?

And, and dude was like, he said something. And he was like, no, my dad owns the team. And that is sometimes the way you're left feeling in Phoenix, you know? Yeah, yeah. No, it's funny because we're talking about money. And, like, at this stage, and I'm sure NBA players would get it. It's not about the bread. It's not about the bread.

What it is is about how you feel and how you feel respected or disrespected. You talked about Mark Cuban. And on a human level, when all your basic needs are met, you will go to war for somebody. You will go to war for an organization. Right. So that's why it's really disappointing right now because the sons are talking about, hey, man, we are trying to change course with how we are perceived around the league. And the way to do that, sometimes at this stage right now is probably overpaying people. You know, even if it's, even if you think Aiden is overpaid, you got to do it.

You know why you have to do it? Because you're setting a president for the next players that are trying to go on. The next iteration of guys are looking like, hey, oh, Phoenix takes care of their guys. And I wouldn't mind living in Arizona. I wouldn't mind living in Phoenix. Phoenix is a great place. I love Phoenix. Fantastic. Right. But you have to, you have to, you have to, you have to, do it another way. You have to make sure that your guys feel like they're taking care of. That's why people want to go to San Antonio, even though it's San Antonio, right? That's why people when Kevin and Russ were in Oklahoma City, some people wanted to go there. Maybe not the Pal Casals, but people wanted to go there and play alongside that because they like that organization,

right? And so when you're trying to build your organization back up to a standard, you have to pay your people, man. You have to take care of them because if you pay them in a long run and you show that they'll take care of them. Maybe they'll take pay cuts down the line, right? If they want to win a title and they think, hey, man, you guys take care of this is a great opportunity. I'll take less money to come to Phoenix, but it's not like that right now.

Right now you have to overpay to make sure that you have a standard for other guys to want to come to your city. Those are all great points. And I would just add to that that it's really important to recognize that you're in your window. This isn't, you're not saying, you're not saying that, you're just overpaid a break,

like, we got nothing. on the horizon to really play for. We're in rebuilding, but we're going to overpay to be a destination. No, that's not what we're saying. You're in a window right now. You're in the finals last year, and he is a cornerstone or one of the pillars of what you do there. You can mess around with my bread in that situation.

You can mess around with Landry Shamid's bread in that situation or any of the fringe players, but not the cornerstones of what you're doing. You didn't mess with McKell Bridges' bread. He got his bread, as he should, because McCell Bridges is balling. Landry Shamit, You got to get, if you give Larry Shaman his bread, you have to give Aiden his bread.

Well, yeah. You got to make that work. I mean, absolutely no shade at Landry Shaman. No, no. But this makes, this means, though, it reminds me of Oklahoma City, right, where when you pay all these other dudes, and I'm not comparing players, I'm comparing cultures. When you played all these other dudes, you gave I Baca his bag. You gave Kendrick Perkins his bag. Rightfully so, front of the show, Kendrick Perkins got his bag.

but then you have to lock in James Harden. You have to. You have to. How do you let that go? How do you underpay that? That's stupid, right? And so I don't care if you don't want to pay the tax. If you want to win in this league or any league or in any form of profession, you got to spend bread.

You got to spend the necessary bread to make that happen. So I'm very disappointed at Phoenix for that. Let me just add to this. Yeah. See, sometimes ownership or executives take the human. element out of the equation. I've had this conversation with owners and front office staff when I had to sit on the other side of the desk. They take the human element out of the equation. So what you're going to say to me as ownership or as the executive, we're going to get this done.

Like I don't even know why we're tripping. Like we're going to, we're going to get it done. He's going to get his money. Like he knows he's going to get his money. But what you've forgotten is the human element on the other side of the table watching everyone else get their money and then the perceived dragging of the feet with getting him his. money, right? And that's a real thing. So when it's time to then step up to the plate, when it becomes 200 million versus 160 million, while some people are like, yo, that's 40 million, I would never give it up. Other people may say, I don't like them. I ain't like the way that shit was handled. I'll take the haircut to not be here. I'm not saying that's

going to happen with DeAndre Aten. I'm saying that they often discount that when they're dealing with players, the human element. The perception from my side is like, damn, you paid everyone else and you're going to start dragging your feet when it's my turn. That's internalized. Players, players feel that. Not everyone acts the same way about it, but they forget about the human element way too often. Look at the human ramifications of this, right? You watched some of the game last night in Phoenix. I watched a little bit more than you did, didn't want to fool him. But what one I saw was, Aiden was not playing well, man. The first game after this news breaks, he has to play Yokic.

And as he knows and the rest of the league knows, when Yokic comes to town, you better fucking be right because Yokic is the MVP for a reason. And he was fucking bawling. Whenever he saw Aiden, he saw food. And how was that going to happen? How does Aiden get his swagger back when this happens? He's a young kid who earned a contract. earned his way to something

and then for that not to work out with him, what does he have to do and what can we expect from him at least in the first month of the season where he tries to get his mind right? He's got to separate the two. I mean, we talk about compartmentalizing all the time. But a basketball player can never play or an athlete professional,

can't play with money on their mind. It's just not a good place to be. Yeah. And while it's always there because you know you're in a contractor year or you know you don't have stability moving forward. You can't play with it on your mind. So you got to bury it somewhere and you have to go out and just submit to the competition, submit to the matchup that you have that night, submit to the team goals,

and just be in the quest for the championship. Let the chips fall where they may with your play. You're good enough. You've gotten to this point. You've had success on this level over and over again. So you've got to kind of put the money. And I'm not, I don't know that money was on his mind. and that's why he played poor. Nicola Yokic does that shit to everybody. He does it to everybody. And he's a matchup nightmare, particularly for players like Dianne.

Also, one of my favorite players in a league to watch, Yokic. I just love watching him play, dude. He's really good. Yeah, he's got some funk to him, man. But so what DeAndre has to do, and hopefully,

and again, this is where you're rolling the dice as sons, like, as the sons. Kent, is he mentally capable of separating the two? and playing his best basketball while this looms over his head. They'll find out. I don't have the answer, but that's just a variable that I would not want,

given the opportunity to not have it, in the quest for a championship. He's a young player. He's still to some degree trying to find good footing and figure out who he is while he's on a team vying for championships. That in and of itself can be confusing. Because I've talked about players on their arcs and trajectories in the league and when they're younger, really wanting to cement who they are, right?

Like, that a lot of times is in juxtaposition to, like, the quest for a championship. Do you understand what I'm saying? Because on those championship teams, we're all submitting and giving up a little bit of ourselves. We'll talk about this later with the Lakers. We've all got to give up some of ourselves for the greater good. A lot of times young players aren't ready to do that. So he's already got that going on. Hey, man, I want to be great.

I want to take this next step into NBA all defensive team or whatever NBA stratosphere a player, All-Star, you're already navigating that, and now you're worrying about your money, too. I just wouldn't want all of that going on in his head. I don't know that it is. I imagine he'll be fine. Yeah, last question on this. Does this affect Phoenix's window at all, do you think?

I mean, if they step back, no. No, Aiden, okay, for sure. I mean, because I think they get it done. I'm giving Robert Sarver and James Jones the benefit of the doubt. I think they're going to get him done. I think you could have handled it better. It didn't need to, it didn't need to be where we are, now, but provided they go ahead and get that done and and James was being forthright last night

in his statement that everything is good, I don't think this is a problem for them. If they don't get it done, yeah, absolutely, 100%. For sure. I'll say a quick break and we have a great debate on the other side of this break. And we are back. Rajah. I was watching opening night a little bit on Tuesday. I was in the, I was watching it from Staples Center just a little bit. Just a little bit. I will get to that in a second, but I was watching bucks nets, just snippets of it. And then I watched a bit of the highlights later. I don't know, man, I am a firm believer right now that Kevin Durand is the best player in the world. But Janus had a look to him. Yonis just had a look that post-championship glow look where he's like, okay, this is my league right now. Y'all

We're sleeping on me for far too long. Nah, fam. It was like a comfort that I'm here and I can play here. And I'm going to beat the shit out of the nets and just to prove a point. Where are you at with this? Because it's unequivocally right now. It's KD and Janus right now. It's KD and Janus.

I got KD with a slight edge right now. But Janus has that look in its eye. Where are you on this great debate right now? Oh. This is a tough one for both of us. This is a tough one. I see it in your face. The worst thing that could happen to those vying for best player on the planet titles

is to let Janus get a championship. It was the worst thing that could happen. It was the worst thing that could happen. Because Janus, for me, and I've heard people compare other players to Kobe, Janus has a Kobe mentality. When Janus smells blood in the water, it's just a feeding frenzy. there's blood in the water in the NBA right now, so to speak. Janus smells it, and he's here for it.

I still take KD. I still take KD, too. I still take KD. And I mean, again, we are talking about an elite stratosphere player. This is not, you know, this isn't throwing shade at either one of them. But the conversation almost comes down to how do you aesthetically like to watch the game? Because they're equally unguardable. I take KD because he can do it.

on more levels than Janus can, meaning, you know, KD, it's just, it's a bucket however you want it. Mm-hmm. But Janus is a bucket however he wants it. Mm-hmm. So. Yo. No. I mean, it's like that.

Yeah. So it's kind of like, it's a tough. I'm still taking KD. But, you know, I don't know, man. It's one of those things like, if you got somebody down and they don't believe they can, but you know they can. but you just got a little mind control over them. Don't ever let them know that they can because then it's on.

Yeah. Yonis knows he can. Big, my name is my name, energy this season from Yonis, at least in the first game, right? Because a lot of, this is my thing with Yonis. A lot of, he's been playing largely the same for the last three, four years, right? His teams just haven't won, right? And now that he is, his game, I feel like,

with the postseason, it's been validated with a title. So now he doesn't have to give a fuck what Roger thinks, what Logan thinks, with such and such thinks. He's like, fuck you, I have a title, and he's just, he can double down on what he's done. And there's a bit of confidence in that. And you're starting to see that now where he's like, you know, he's still saying the right stuff. You know, LeBron, James, or Kevin Durant, whoever, I'm not the best player in the league. These guys are really, our way are greater.

But what he shows on the court, my goodness, I love this. And to your point about aesthetically pleasing games, I want to tell you what I've been doing over the last summer to get my NBA love back. What I do is I'll go on YouTube, right? That's one of my favorite things to do. I go on YouTube and I like watching NBA mixes. And you know the NBA mixes where guys are playing, there's usually like a montage of them and things.

like that. And usually have their music that they play. I will mute the music from the YouTube channel. And I'll just play a playlist, a song on the backdrop of just watching an NBA player play. And I tend to do that with Kevin Durant. And what I do with him, I do that with Yonnas. I do it with Kyrie, just a lot of just great players. And I'll put a soundtrack to to their game. When I listen, when I watch Kevin play do the mixes, I listened to Curtis Mayfield, to Marvin Gay, to just 70s vibe, because he has just a beautiful game in that way, man. A beautiful game.

And I just think the thing with Kevin is he just hasn't been able to stay healthy enough to, at least during the regular season. Now, you can make the argument, and this is the reason why I think that Kevin is the best player in the league, is because when Janus and Kevin went head to head, it was just Kevin and Janus by and large playing. And Kevin is literally just, it wasn't a shot away, just a toe away from beating Janice.

And I just think that Kevin, I think that Kevin hasn't been proven that he can be outthrown as the best player in the league just yet. Am I wrong on that one? No, I've sided with you. I think you've had some really good points. And I would say, you know, when you were saying that, and I was thinking about music types and what,

KD has like a jazz type of game. Like it's a, it's a smooth, like, I don't know what, I'm trying, I'm going to date myself,

but let's say, what is that? Like late 90s, maybe mid-90s, like when you had like diggable planets and all of that kind of stuff and it was just, it was just kind of,

yeah, all of that, right? Like, and then Janus is like onyx. Yes. It's just, they're two different styles.

They're both great. Both are beautiful, though. Both are. beautiful. Absolutely. But I tend to go aesthetically with KD. So I agree with you. Because again, I do think KD is a bucket any way you want it. Like, you know, and I want to be able to articulate what I'm trying to say here. When I say a bucket any way you want it, I'm saying as if I'm guarding KD and I'm physically able to dictate some things to KD, just. because of his frame. I'm not saying that I can. I'm saying this is the way I see it, right?

He will give me a bucket any way I want it. And I'm saying I want it because I forced him into some things that he might not have wanted to do on his own, right? Like I've taken this away, you know, maybe I got under his legs and I got some weight to me and so he can't get where he wants to go. He's still going to give me a bucket, but it's any way I wanted it because I was able to do something. His repertoire is just that deep. Yeah. Janus, again, gives it to you any way he wants because I can't do shit to stop him from getting to the rim or wherever he wants to go. And that's where I see the difference in the two of them. But I think KD obviously has the deeper bag and the ability to score it in more ways.

But Janus is virtually unstoppable. And I come on and I say this all the time. It's real scary hours because he's just like I don't know what the actual prime is. I know they have the numbers for the NBA player, but he's just entering. it or he's in it at the beginning of it, and he's still adding to his damn bag. And it's crazy, though, because like, not to say he stole a title, but he got a title early, right? Where he's, I think he's 26, 27, and he got his, he just got his title real quick, right before

the prime really gets in. So he has a chance to go on a big run. Another thing, we got to, this is, I think, Janus versus KD is a, is a, not a rivalry, but a matchup we need to cherish, I think, because as someone who's seen that matchup in person, it's beautiful. It's such a class of styles. It's a great call. It could go down as one of the, like, you know, when you're talking about historical matchups that were fun to watch, provided they both stay healthy,

like it could be a really good historical matchup, so enjoy it. Yeah, I go to, you know, I like to go to it on the YouTube private holes and watch, like, you know, Barclay versus Malone, right? I think Barclay also had a great game against Golden State back in the day. But those types of players, you know, Alois You on versus Shoehl versus Shal. Shaq. Just stole Shaq versus David Robinson. But I think that that KD versus Janus and even Janus versus LeBron, Janus versus LeBron,

Janice versus LeBron and KD versus LeBron and these guys, you got, especially in this era that we're in right now, you've got to appreciate these types of things. Step versus LeBron. I saw that on Tuesday. You've got to cherish those moments because these guys are starting to go out of the league now. They're starting to get a little older. Got to cherish this now.

Before we get done with this segment, I want to ask you, are we forgetting about the bucks here, man? Because we, I've, I've penciled in the Nets just to win the title. And I feel like I, I, I disrespected the Bucks and I feel like by and large everyone else has. And I think the Bucks are, are a team to be reckoned with that we need to stop, that we need to not overlook. We need to stop, stop playing with their name. What makes you say that you, like, overlooked them? Did we say any, I mean, I don't think we, we didn't pick like who was going to win, did we? And, well, I did the, uh, I did the interest.

survey and most of the people on the ringer, most of people said the nets were the shoeing. It was the Lakers nets that everybody was looking for for the finals. That's the one. If everybody stays healthy, that's going to happen. I got you. Now, I don't know now. I don't know. I saw it. It's just the first game. It's just the first game, but, you know, Kyrie not playing really, you know, we could say that Kevin and James together can go to a title and they can, but, you know, it was a glaring absence with Kyrie not in the lineup. And so I'm just, It's just something to monitor there.

So I think the Bucks can win a title with all them healthy, but we need to give them more respect. I think as a whole staff record label. Well, you guys do that because I've never, I'm not disrespectful. I ain't disrespectful. So the rest of y'all, if you need to go ahead and make amends, do what you need to do. Where is your seat on the bandwagon?

Is it in the front? Are you alone right now? Where are you out on the bandwagon? I'm middle of the pack. I didn't hop on that immediately, but I got on early enough. I think where I could... Okay. Yeah, I'm not embarrassed about it.

I ain't hanging on the back of the bus hoping for the ride. They also... It's... Like, that's a matchup that... You remember we had heard at some point that, like, Brooklyn didn't really worry about the bucks. You remember we had heard that?

Uh-huh. Remember we had kind of heard that? That is not a... I watched those games. Those aren't comfortable games for the Nets. The Nets can beat them. Just like the... You know, the Nets can beat them.

That's one of those that goes either way. You talked about it being a tow away, but they're really uncomfortable games. Like, those are good games. It's funny because you can tell when you met their match, in my opinion, by the physicality of the games, right? Where you saw that last year with the Bucks in the Nets where P.J. Tucker is just in Kevin's shit, bro. Pia Tucker's in Kevin's shit.

They're not scared of the Nets. The Bucks aren't scared of the Nets necessarily. and it's just it's just a great matchup. And by and large, they're just not scared of the Nets. And that's the biggest thing, right? Because a lot of teams can be on part talent-wise, but they're scared of you. You're going to run all over them.

I never got that from the Bucks. The Bucks are like, nah, bro, you got us fucked up. We hear and we win the season series. Oh, you didn't think that was enough? Hey, check this out. I don't care if you if you guys got injured. We're going to win. We're going to win this series.

And I like this, man. I think there's a nice little budding rivalry going. That's something that I'm going to pay attention to Nets bucks. That's a matchup that I want to look into. Can we sidebar real quick? I know this wasn't on a rundown, but I feel like I need to do it before we go to break. Yep.

Last night's game between the Knicks and the Celtics, because you just talked about the- Thank you. Thank you. You talked about the physicality and the way they were like evenly matched. And that was a damn game. Yes. That was a game.

And we did not. full disclosure, I told you I had people in my inbox talking about. You're not talking about the Knicks were one of those teams mentioned. Yep. Fair point, guys. Fair point.

Fair point. I would still say, I don't know that the Knicks are vying for supremacy in the Eastern Conference this year. But I do think they could take another step. They look pretty good. Evan Fornier is going to be a big addition for them

because he's another cat. You know, their problem last year down the stretch was it had to go to Julius Randall or they didn't get a bucket. Yep. Or you had Derek Rose shooting some kind of wild shot or Julius Randall. And then they were, Evan Fournier is another shot creator, a dude who could take the ball, you know, and make big buckets. He's done that over a career.

So that's really going to help them. And they defend their, they defend their tails off. So, dude, that's another thing we need to look at, though. We need to look at that, uh, that the Knicks and the Celtics because the Celtics, Jalen Brown. Jalen Brown was playing. I wouldn't say out of his mind, but the motherfucker's taking a step. Can I tell you where I was left last night?

And I don't, I'm not claiming this to be what's going to happen. But can I tell you just went through what went through my head watching the game last night? Because I felt this way last year at times. Jason Tatum was dubbed like the future of the Celtics, right? It's all we ever talked about with the Celtics. And I felt the energy last year from Jalen Brown. Like don't forget about me, bro. Like I'm not read.

Like that, that's not the way I see this. And last night, because Jason Tatum struggled and I'm trying not to be like, you know, prisoner of the moment here, but Jalen Brown still looks like he's on that energy. And I wonder if the success of that team ultimately is going to depend on whether or not those two are vying for whose squad it is, or if they're good enough together where it's just, hey, man, whoever rocks out that night, because it could be the case, too. I'm not claiming it to be what's going to happen, but that's how I felt watching it. Like, will these two always fight over that? I don't, I don't think, I don't think so. And this is, this is not, this is not

I'm not in Boston. Me and Roger are not in Boston. This is just an observation. I don't think so. And the reason why I don't think so is because they've already gone through this kind of tug of war of like who the fuck team it is when Kyrie was there. Remember when Kyrie got injured and sat out most of the postseason. And that's when these young guys like a Terry Rozier and like a Jason Tatum, Jason Tatum came into his own, dunked on LeBron. And then Jalen Brown came into his own.

That was the, that team is the team. team that is at those two guys are the team that is leading they're leading the boss in celtics now as opposed to they've gone through that shit already so i don't think that i think it may have been more of jason tatum had an off night we'll see but that's my gut right now is that they've gone through this before and now it's just an off night i hope that you're correct i know last night was an off night i'm not i'm not i'm not i don't mean to make last night the example of it because jacetam just played you know he didn't have a great game but even within those co-led teams, right? Think about all the, like, there's a hierarchy of who is going to lead this show,

Raja or Logan, right? If I consistently tried to lead in segments and, like, there's, the flow is off, right? That's your job. I can still be great in my job and we can co-host, but we go, we both can't lead it. And so I just wonder about that. I'm not saying that it, I was left feeling like, man, I wonder if there's a little, I wonder what it is. What's the dynamic? I'd just be interested to be in the locker room and be around them for a month or two to see. Yeah, and that's interesting, right? Because you can get into this space with a player where, hey, man, I'll fuck with you.

But also, I want to grow as a basketball player, too. And I'm not going to take a back seat. And it has nothing to do with you. It's what I want for my career. And I don't want to take a back seat to anyone. And so that is something to look at. One other thing that I want to say before we get to break and why I do, I'm glad that you found a way to bring this into the podcast.

I love that Nick Celtics game because I think in the last few years, we've been so caught up in this rings culture and things like that to where we look at, and this is something that I'd been pissed off about before, is that we're looking to June in October. It's like, no, let's just. just get, let's just find some great basketball, dude. And that game, the Knicks Celtics game was such a great basketball game. I don't think, I don't care if the Celtics are going to win a title this year. I don't care if the Knicks are going to be a free agent destination.

I just know what I watched, which was a great basketball game. And that's what I want to see throughout this season. It's just great basketball. I don't care who's going to win the title right now. I just want to, let's just build up to that right now. And, yeah, man, it was just a great, it's been a great first week of basketball for me to watch. So, yeah, that's all. That's where I'm at.

Hey, call to NBA. They'd like you to do a PSA about that. I'm sure that's what they'd love the fans to be on board with real talk. If you could get games, you could get games like that consistently early in the season. I mean, you're getting, you're getting a whole lot of people saying the same thing Logan Murdoch just said, man. Yeah, yeah. Great basketball. I'm tuned in.

Bring NBA propaganda back, baby. No bullshit. I'll watch a couple more games early now because of that game. Like seriously, I don't, yeah. It got me to come back to the TV a few more times than I normally would. Well, you know, we're going to talk about another game that's going to keep us watching the NBA for a long time. That's professional shit, boy. Yes. Get that on the next end of the break, baby. We'll be right back. All right, man. Let's get to the shits, dog. I wanted to talk to you about this. This was the game that I was at. And also, I think probably the second most exciting game of the week. I think the first exciting game was we just referenced with Celtics Knicks.

But Warriors Lakers, first game of the season, first West Coast game of the year. I was in Staples for this game. And it was my first time going to a Lakers home opener. And Raja, I got to tell you, man, the buzz was out of this world. We both talked plenty of times on how we've both been to L.A. for a regular season game. We've both been to Staples Center for a Lakers game. And we already know what comes with that.

It's funny because before the game, a big deal for me. And we already know my history. A big deal for me. I got to shoot a couple free throws on the Staples center floor after shoot around, which was a big fucking deal for me. me. Eyeballs on you or was it had the teams cleared? The teams had cleared.

All right. And it was just, it was just, no, it wasn't pressure, but I didn't either. It was an empty, by and large, an empty arena. You know that, you know, you still get the buzz, but it's an empty arena before things, workers are going. People are trying to figure out, like, you know, just set things up for the nights, right? And so, you know, it was Marcus Thompson front of the show. And he's like, you know, the, you know how you guys leave the, the ball rack in the middle

of the middle of the arena after you guys get going to go back to the hotel. And, you know, I was looking at the basketballs because Wilson is now the new provider of basketball as they ever play Spalding. And I'm like, yo, you know, I've seen a Spalding basketball for most of my life as an NBA fan just been around Spalding.

I was like, how does this Wilson ball check out? And, you know, me and Marcus were right there and Marcus is like, yo, why don't you go take a shot? And me and Mark is just two dudes from the bay, two Oakland dudes who finally gets to just, you know, like in Staples in L.A. is just a big deal for us, right? It's just just being in this moment.

It's just a real big deal. And so, he's like, go take a shot. And I'm like, oh, no, man, you know, like I'm not a basketball player. One, and two, like, you know, I ain't trying to get in trouble and thrown out, dog. I'm not trying to do that. So, but then I'm like, I got the moment.

I'm like, there's only one time I can do something like this. and I'm just going to be like, fuck it. I could take two shots before they say, hey, we can't do that, right? So I go there and I go in there and I take a shot. He's filming. Maybe I'll release the footage one day. I don't know. But he's filming and I missed the first one and then I take the second one and I make the second one.

And it was just like a big fucking deal. Just like, yo, man, we're a Staples to start the season. Let's fucking like, let's like it's like a drink. came true there, right? A dream just came true. Doesn't get much better than Staples on opening night, brother. Make or miss? I'd done both. It's still a vibe. It's a vibe. So, dog, let me paint this picture, dog. Adelae walks in, right, on one end. Lil Wayne is on the other end. Kid Cuddy's sitting court side. Justin Bieber's on the other side of court side sitting next to Usher, bro. It's, it's electric. And then LeBron and AD ball out.

But then the Warriors come in. Steph plays like shit, but you got Jordan pull a ball and you got all these things going. The Warriors pull it out. I don't know what this means. It's a great win for the Warriors and exposed a lot of holes on the Lakers. Let's get to the Lakers. We've talked extensively about the Warriors. I want to get to the Lakers on this one.

AD and LeBron went to work. Everybody else just didn't show up at all. Let me be real. I think Kent Baysmore had a really good game. he was strong. But your guy, let's just get to it. Your guy,

Russell Westbrook played like, played really bad. Everyone was just taking his lunch. He was missing bunnies. He was getting called out on switches. Jordan Poole was just a better player than him that night. And you have been a Rust defender. what is going on right now with Russell Westbrook?

He played like absolute crap and you have been at Rust Offender. What do you have to say for yourself, sir? What? I will say this again for anyone who listens to this pod if you're first time listener, if you're just tuning in, or if you've heard me say it a thousand times.

There will be absolutely no Russ slander on this pod. I am an unapologetic Russ fan. Okay. And I can say all that and still say that he probably played one of the worst games of his career. I mean that wholeheartedly. Like I think statistically, in any metric you could use to identify a good or bad game, it was one of his worst games that he's ever played. I can also say what I've said on pods leading up to this very moment.

See, because I knew this shit was coming, Logan. Okay? What did I tell you guys about the Lakers' first month of the season? season. What did I say you should do on it? Relax. And punt. And I meant punt in terms of like expectations. Just chill. Like we're going to get this back later. We're going to get the ball back. We're going to flip field on them. We're going to play field position. And we will wind up putting it in

the end zone. But you're going to have to be patient. Because what's happened to Russ and he did play like shit? I will say that again. All right? He's now in a role that he's never played before. He's never been number three. He's never been number three. And number three is there's more precipitous drop off from what you get playing the number three role from two to three than there is from one to two. From one to two, you take a little step back, but when one goes off the floor, there's more for you to eat. You could still eat when one's on the floor. I don't know. Let's say in usage rate, I'm making up numbers here, but maybe like, I don't know, from one to two, a 10% drop in usage rate. From two to three, it's like a 45% 50% drop in usage rate.

for someone like Russ that used to have in the ball in his hands, that's a lot. And it's going to take him some time and it's going to take them some time to figure out how they incorporate him and how he can be successful in that. And that's just what it's got to be. I agree with you. And the reason why I agree with you is because we both know it was a tale of just two teams progression periods, right? The warriors we know, they've been together for a long time. Who were the guys that were helping out? It was Andre Guadalach, right?

It was Kavanaugh on the floor. It was Draymond and Green on the floor. Steph Curry, guys that have been in this system, it looked like a well-loiled machine. Whereas when you look at Russ and all these new guys, Carmelo Anthony also didn't play well at all. He had some good threes, but he didn't play defense at all, which is something that we all know.

But when you see both teams, you could tell that the warriors were already in their bag and knew what they were doing. The Lakers had absolutely no idea what they were doing other than AD and LeBron. Whenever Russ went to the floor, it looked like he was very indecisive. He didn't know if he should dribble, cut, or do anything or pass it to the post. He just didn't know because he's so used to being the first or second option. He doesn't know how to be the third or maybe fourth option on a team and where he can get his shots in and get his dunk packages in.

He didn't know what he was doing in that way, and that's okay. I saw, I hope that Russ is not so hard on himself for this because I was looking at the post game presser. And he looked very down on himself, right? Because the big narrative going into this season, at least personally that he's trying to convey, he has a new documentary out. He has a big LA Times story. He has all these things. And it was looked at as this is the return of Russell Westbrook to Los Angeles and everything that that means. So the big rollout there, and then you go in as your first dud on a nationally televised game.

And we both know, people don't watch the casuals don't watch regular season games after this, right? They're not going to really tune in until maybe Christmas, right? So this was a moment for him to ball out and show people that he can fit. And he looked really down on himself. And I think that he does and the rest of the people just has to relax and see how he's, he fits within this in this building because there's a lot of smart players on that team. So, you know, we could cut the brakes, but Russell Westberg did not play a great game. He did not, he did not play great. And I take it a step further.

While I still am in the camp of it working out and winding up being like really good at the end, there's a caveat to that. You talked about the players, but this is a coaching issue too. and it's not always easy when you have LeBron James and Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, such accomplished players to really get in there and tell them what's best for them because they've won championships doing it their own way. And that's fair, you know? I think also, I want to get to your point, but also I think we've got to put into consideration where these players aren't,

when you get to a stature like Russ and Kevin and LeBron, and AD, they're used to making noes yeses. So if you tell Russell Westbrook, you can't do something. He's going to try to prove to you that he can do it his way. And he has to get out of that mindset, in my opinion. And that's tough to do something. I'm talking to, I mean, that's true. But I would say all three of them for this to work have to change the way they play.

And I've heard everyone say it's got to go through LeBron and it's got to go through AD. I don't disagree. But if you think about all the big threes with LeBron, think about how marginalized number three became with LeBron. Yeah. Chris Bosch went from, like, killing in Toronto to becoming a spot-up three-point shooter. Like, took his entire game, his entire package away. He won championships, and he submitted for the greater good,

but that's what he had to do to make that work. The same with Kevin Love. Like, I can have my thoughts about whether Kevin Love, But you can't argue he was killing in Minnesota on bad teams. Like given the opportunity, he could kill. But with the calves, he had to get in where he fit in. Now, those guys are both interesting because they both had the capabilities of becoming a spot-up shooter.

Russ, I don't believe he really has the capability of doing that. And I say that to say, the only other real big three that I can draw a comparison to is like, you know, Clay, Steph, and KD. They all could be spot-up guys too. I don't think he has to be a spot-up guy, though, Rosam. But he doesn't, but here's what has to happen. They can't be stagnant. They can't be the ISO team that they're used to being

and have it be locked into somebody's hands for the majority of a possession. There's not enough meat on the bone. He then is relegated to spotting up and shooting, and he's going to be bad at that. So that's why I say the coach has to get in there. Guys, we can't. And I know we've won like that. And it's hard to teach old dogs new tricks. but to some degree to get the best out of rush,

you're going to have to have that thing moving. There's going to be player. Just the difference in the two teams that night. One team was stagnant, standing, watching with brilliant individual play. What was Golden State doing? Flying around, pieces moving everywhere, things are going. Like, that you can get more out of people doing it that way sometimes. It's funny because I think Russell just, all Russ has to do is,

I think he has to play like he did in the 2012 Olympics, where he's just cutting, he's playing fucking phenomenal defense, and he's just being a boost of energy. It doesn't matter if you average 11 points on this team, Russ. A chip is a chip, dog. Because you will, I think people, I think stars have to realize, or at least stars that are later in their career, and like where Blake Griffin is right now is a great example,

where, yo, man, that 11 points will get you a way more glory than if you average 28 and then we lose in the first round. Like, dude, just be Will Chamberlain in 1972. Or be Will Chamberlain and just lead the league and rebounds and assist. That's all we need for you to do. You don't need to do more than that. Just play your role because if you play your role, you're better than a lot of guys at that role.

It's fine. It's not your team anymore. And that's what sacrifice comes in. And I think Russ will do that, but I think he has to undo old habits. I'm going to be honest. I don't think Russ realized how much he was going to have to sacrifice to play there. Honestly, I don't think he realized the magnitude of exactly what he was giving up.

Like the touches, the all of that. I'm not just saying, I'm not even talking about the shine that comes with that. I'm just talking about from figuring out how to be a productive player, the amount of actual touches on a ball and stuff that you were going to give up. So I would say, yes, he has to kind of buy into that role. but they can help him do that. Do you know what I mean? And this is what I said.

They can help him do that. And 34, 33, and whatever numbers they had are great. But what if it was a world where one had 27, one had 26, and those extra 13 or 14 points slid over to Russ, and it got him to 21? That's a much better end product for me. So it's got to be a group effort. That's all I'm saying.

Speaking of group efforts, Raj. we are going to check the pulse of Lakerland. We got our man, the chief meme officer, the bearer of great news for Laker fans, and also way too much of a Lakers optimist for my taste. But nonetheless, we got the voice of the streets. Joe Me is in the building. Palmdale's second favorite son?

Oh, yeah, for sure. I think so. I think so. Jomey. You guys didn't see the news release? Jomey, you heard a bit of this conversation. Are the Lakers doomed right now or not? I'm going to say no, because like you said, I am an optimist,

but it did not look good on Tuesday. Now, I want to preface this by saying I know that, first game of the season, there are injuries, you know what I'm saying? But oh my God. Russ looked awful, bad. Words I can't even say on this podcast. This is a family-friendly podcast. Because I'm not about to let you sit up here and do that shit.

He was terrible. For a lot of reasons, we ain't going to do that. Roger, you are, did I mean, I got eyes. I saw the game, Roger. He was bad. He was a minus 23. Let me just ask you this question. Because you were the exact person I'm looking for today.

What's up? You were the motherfucker I'm out here, I'm out here. You're the one I'm looking for. So for you guys, just so we're clear, this man who has a, what is it, 13, 14 year career of putting up triple doubles being one of the best basketball players on the planet. I didn't say he was cooked. Has over a four-month span forgotten how to play basketball. I didn't say he was cooked. That's what you're telling me has happened.

I didn't say he was cooked. You're just saying he was bad. He was bad. Fair, okay. Well, I had to get that shit out. Yeah, yeah, for sure. That's what people got me trying to believe. No, no, no.

This man has forgotten how to ride his bike. No, no, no, it's nothing like that. He just looked awful, right? In a game where LeBron had 34 and AD had 31, the Lakers don't lose those games, right? I think even on the broadcast, I said, this is the first time with AD and LeBron both scoring 30 plus that the Lakers have lost. That's not supposed to happen, right? And we're doing all this Russ talk. He was terrible, but also, I'm looking at Frank Vogel a little bit.

Now, again, there are injuries, right? but the Russ Rondo and Mello lineups couldn't stop a nosebleed. What are those three doing on the floor together at the same time? Like that is untenable. Right? So there's a lot of stuff

that needs to adjust it. Ultimately, I think the legs to be fine again with LeBron and AD. You can make a lot of things happen. And like you said, the Warriors are they're just rolling. You know, that's a team with continuity. You're just keeping it moving. But boy, did they look terrible on Tuesday.

It was bad. Jomey. Jomey. Jome. We're running out of time here. 30 seconds right now on Carmelo Anthony. 30 seconds on what comes to mind when you think about Carmel and a Lager's uniform.

I feel like Carmel, Anthony and Lager's uniform and it's honestly beautiful to see. I have no negative things to say about Carmelo because I would like my Twitter mentions to be, you know, safe for the rest of today.

you know what I'm saying. We just have to give it and see. You know what I'm saying? Hopefully he can come in and score 15 on a night where we need it, you know? But I'm just going to stay positive. You know, it was, it was all right from Carmelo. I got, you know what I'm saying? He didn't, I don't feel like he cost us on Tuesday.

Were you a part of the contingency with the great ovation that Carmelo received? Were you standing up clapping when he came into the game? How did you feel? I'm not going to hold you. I want to hit that first three. I did a little fist pump. I was hype. I ain't go cap.

I ain't go. Okay. You went with the three to the dome. I did the three to the dome. Yes, sir. Okay. Now, okay, thank you, Jome. I will ask you all the,

both of these questions on Russ and, and Carmelo in about January and see how you feel. Appreciate you. It's a real one of the week. I will start this off. My first one of the week, I was listening, I was watching Nuggets,

Phoenix Suns, and Mark Jones, my real one of the week. He was in a fucking bag. That's my guy, man. He is one of the, I've never met Mark Jones. I know I'm going to be in Sack in a few. And I want to meet Mark Jones because I am a Mark Jones fanatic.

I think he's one of the great broadcasters we have in this league. I've said that on Twitter. I understand his work. I think he is great. He said one thing, Roger, where he said, somebody blocked a shop. And he said, what a block. That man got friend zoned. I was like, dog.

You're in a special bag right now. Mark Jones, ruin of the week. I am going to come up to you when I come to Sacramento next time, and I'm going to come and shake your hand because I am a huge fan of yours, brother. Rewin of the week, Mark Jones, of ESPN and also does local coverage for the Sacramento Kings. Mark Jones, Rewan, the week. Who is your ruin of the week, Roger Bell? Mark Jones.

It's Mark, wait, Mark moved to SACTO? He's doing the local broadcast for Sacramento, and then he's doing the ESPN spot duty. Mark used to be out here in Weston, bro. His daughters used to babysit when they were younger and they were still in high school, man. Mark's a good dude. He also, I mean, he probably says this a lot,

but I had tuned in at this point, and he hit him with the Chris Paul playing with his food when he was trying to mix up Facundo Campazo. Yes. I found that very funny. I like that one. So I second your real one of the week. There's only one more one of the week, though.

Only one real one of the week, only one. Okay. Okay. Only one. It's Joel Embedd. It's not for anything he did on the court, although that was great. He said, I don't really care about this man. My job's not to babysit.

He is done with that bullshit. He has, he is not, someone has told Joel Embed, A, bro, do what you got to do. We're not going to hold you back anymore. And he lets you know, I've been let off the chain. I'm here for all of this. And for that reason, he's my real one of the week.

I appreciate that. You know what I love about Joelle and Bede? He's saying this no matter who was interviewing him. They did the fucking, you know, the team friendly interview, the post game interview, that you don't really ask controversial questions. They kind of did because they had to. They were like, you know, it's been a week for you guys. How are you feeling?

He's like, I'm going to fuck about that, man. I don't care. Everybody in my locker room is fine. We're good. We're going to be all right. And I was like, that's a leader right there. That's how you fucking delete this shit. You ever seen when a dog is first let off the chain?

Like you could tell their owners keep them on the chain. As soon as they unlock that shit, it flies around to like seven different things. They don't know where to go. It wants to get it all out. That's how he looked, bro. Like, they had just let him off. You know he's been holding on to this shit for years. You know it.

And they've been trying to go back and forth and be like, oh, man, it's been cool. Nah, man. The way that Joel is in a bag right now, just like, I don't give a fuck. I've been meaning to say this stuff. But I've been holding it down because you're my teammate. and I do got love for you. But hey, bro, since you on this fuck shit walking around during practice

and not getting into team huddles and not getting in our breaks and not wanting to do defensive drills, well, fuck it then. We're going to go and we're going to try to win this title without you. Or if you want to come back, you're going to have to come back into this fold

under this nucleus, or we're not going to have that bullshit. Late in the pod, but I just needed it. I was wrong. I was all the way wrong about the Sixers. Still can be a good team. I can still be higher on them than most people will be without Ben Simmons,

but that shit's a train wreck. It is. I was wrong. That's not going to work. All right. Next pod. Like I can't do. Next pod.

Next pod. We'll talk about that next spot. That was another edition of Real Ones, Thursday, Real Ones, baby. Check us out, Mondays and Thursdays. Thursday episode, Real One of the Week, Monday episode, maybe Mad Hoopers. We'll see. We will see you guys on Monday. But first, make sure you check out group chat.

Make sure you check out the Ringer NBA on all social platforms. Jomi's looking in the face. right now. He's going to tell me you got to do it or I'm a douce to put these hands on you, player. But we got, um, also have group chat. We also have mismatch. We also have, uh, the ringer music show, which is great. Also, check out this, um, YouTube video by, uh, Jay Kyle Mann. It's really, really good on the NBA, uh, NBA Street volume two and the NBA street series overall. Really, really good documentary. I was in that, but it's, forget me. He did a great job interviewing.

Bobito, Just Blaze is in it. Just Blaze! Just Blaze! Just Blaze is in it. Great thing. Go make sure you guys check that out. Make sure you also check out Black Girl's Songbook with Who, Roger Bell. Town Legend, Danielle Smith.

Make sure you check out R2C2 with Who, Roger Bell. Man, another Bay Area. Faleo legend crestside clown C.C. Sabatio. We will see you guys on Monday. Paula!