The Ringer NBA Show - Is Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Game Misunderstood? Plus: The 76ers Collapse, the Suns Take Game 1, and Trae Young Is a Beast. | Real Ones

Episode Date: June 22, 2021

The second round of the NBA playoffs have come to an intense and exhilarating conclusion and the conference finals have begun. Logan and Raja take you through everything that transpired over the weekend. First, they get into the 76ers’ utter collapse in Game 7 against the Hawks, including the resulting scrutiny on Ben Simmons (1:53). Then they give Trae Young and Kevin Huerter their flowers (22:34) and touch on the end of the Nets’ postseason journey (31:45), before talking about whether Giannis Antetokounmpo’s game is misunderstood (33:08). Finally, they dive into this Clippers-Suns Western Conference finals matchup (43:12), and Jomi and Logan forge a new bet for the outcome of Game 2 of that series (56:15). Hosts: Logan Murdock and Raja Bell Guest: Jomi Adeniran Associate Producer: Sasha Ashall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The NFL draft may be over, but the Ringer NFL show isn't going anywhere. On Mondays, join Kevin and Nora as they look ahead to the 2021 season. And on Wednesdays, check out Flying Coach Season 2 with NFL Network's Peter Schrager and Rams head coach Sean McVeigh. The two longtime friends are joined by guests from around the sports and entertainment world to discuss the latest NFL news, tell stories from their careers, and break down the game from their unique perspectives. Check out the Ringer NFL show on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

And we're back. This is Logan Murdoch from the Real Ones podcast on KMEL. I'm here with Roger Bell, and we got the Mad Hooper here. Yeah, we're here with the Mad Hooper, and I think we're going to open it up for the audience to ask some questions to the Mad Hooper. Young lady, do you have a question for the Mad Hooper? Yeah, this is Sasha from St. Louis, and I just have a question for the Mad Hooper. Like, why are you so mad? I don't get it.

Like, why are you so mad? Why am I mad? Because it took this long for training on to get the love he deserves. They created the play in for Zion if he keep it in the buck. Mello and Luca are everywhere. Trey hasn't got any love from the league and it's been shit on because of the draft day trade for Luca. And people have ignored the fact that he is incredible at basketball. He's Steve Nash with Steph Curry-Range.

The mask got an all-timer in Luca. But more than likely, Trey Young will go down as an all-timer as well when it's all-timore done. Hope they beat the dog shit out the bucks. It won't happen. but I can hope. Yes, be me. Ben Simmons is a disgrace to Australian sport. Shoot the ball.

Shoot the goddamn bowl. I'm out. It's popping. Real ones. Logan Murdoch here. Rajabelle here. Sasha Mack on the boards. Jomi, maybe in a bit.

Who knows? Maybe. How you doing, Rara? We're in the conference finals. We're ready to go. Semifinals are done with. How are you feeling? I listen.

The sons are still alive. I always hate to see Brooklyn go. I got to keep it a buck. I was pulling for the nets. But I'm feeling good. I mean, I still got action. I'm good to go. Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. You're forgetting, like, I think this might be maybe poetic or something like that, but you're forgetting one team in this. You brought up Brooklyn. Right. Couldn't a lot of things. You brought up Brooklyn. You brought up your sons, but you missed out on some people.

First, you missed out on the bus. who we'll get to in a second. But most importantly, you missed on ATL, on Atlanta. The Hawks are in the conference finals. Why are you hating? No, there's no hate. First of all, there's no hate. There's absolutely no hate.

I actually really like to watch the Hawks play. They're a fun group of young players, right? Like, guys did, like, full disclosure. I didn't know Hurtor was like that. I didn't know. I didn't know he had one like that. I know his bag was that deep. But so they are fun to watch.

Those were just teams that I felt like were my dogs kind of in the fight, right? Like the Sons and Brooklyn. Milwaukee was, I think, I don't know if I picked Milwaukee to win earlier this year, but I've always liked the bucks. I'm a yonness guy. You called them real when I didn't call them real. All right. Go get this up my chest real quick.

I was listening to somebody on the radio the day talking about how Kevin Durant, and rightfully so, was playing out of his mind. was the best player on the planet and all of that. I have no beef with that. Like, I take no exception with that. But in the next breath, he was saying if the Bucks had any chance that Janus was going to have to play better

and Janice was going to have to do. And all the man did was average 32 across the series with, I mean, double-digit boards and drop a 40 ball in the final game. Like, I felt like there were multiple people. This dude was just kind of the icing on the cake for me, but there were a lot of people talking like,

like really slanderous about about Janus. I mean, I don't give a damn about the free throws. I don't give a shit. I don't care about them free throws. Mm-hmm.

You know what I mean? Like that man is putting up numbers and I think that's to be respected. So like I mess with the bucks too. Hold that thought. Hold that thought because we're talking bucks, uh, nets in the next segment.

But hold that thought because I need that energy for the next segment because I have some questions for you. Before we get to that though, let's talk about the Hawks and the Sixers, game seven. Before we talk about the Hawks. Let's talk about the Sixers collapse. And you know what I mean by collapse.

They had the game in the final, in the second half, late in the second half, into the fourth quarter. They had a lead. They were there. On Juneteenth, they were there. They were ready to go. And then Ben Simmons, game on the line, has an easy dunk. I was like, oh, he's in the bag right now. It's in the bag.

Pass it off to Matisse Stuyball. who was a really good player and honestly should, I don't want to besmirch his name, good player. But he hands it off to Matisse Stuybal when he has a dunk, a easy dunk, to the point where even Matisse Thibel is like, why did you pass me the ball right now? What are you doing? You have a wide open layup.

Matisse gets fouled, misses one free throw. I think it messes up the game and then the Hawks go on and win. There was more to it why the Sixers lost, but you could put that when your star player only shoots four attempts. And me and you talked about this with DA, Raja, four attempts. And when the game is on the line, passes off the shot. It looked like a 2K glitch, what he did. Like he had the ball, he had the ball ready to dunk it, passed it off.

Raja, we talked about this with DA. What do you think when, what did you think when you saw that play? I already see your eyes. You're getting a little, what happened? What did you see in that moment? I thought something, I thought my eyes had deceived me. I really did. I mean, I hadn't seen a play like that, really, really ever that I can remember.

Certainly not in a meaningful moment like that from a player of Ben Simmons caliber. I want to say it again. I think he's a fantastic player. Like defensively, he's one of the tops in the league. Like, he still had 13 assists and eight boards. he just can't play like that the way the Sixers are built, Logan. And I've said this before. I'm going to say it again.

You know, when DA came on and I respected his opinion about Doc having to be better and calling some plays. But if you remember what I said, I said, I don't think he's built like that. Meaning I don't think Ben Simmons is built like that. And when I say that, it's because my eyeballs tell me that they're like he's not trying to put his stamp on the game from a scoring perspective. And that was confirmed the other night. The play you're talking about is a perfect example of that.

And I think it's bigger picture. I said this about Markell Fultz when he was really struggling. I think it's the scary part about it is this is mental. This is there's something going on there. This isn't a physical thing. This is a phenomenal basketball player who's been the best wherever he's been for his entire life. now, you know, we couldn't shoot threes, then we can't shoot free throws,

and now we just won't shoot. Like, that's a problem. I'm looking at a stat line right now, Roger. Because if you look at a stat line, 36 minutes, 5 points, 13 assist, 8 rebounds, 2 or 4 from the field. I mean, I guess he made 50%, but that's not what you want out of your star player.

It's not what you want. And we talked about this with DA about how you want, you want your guy, your dude, to go out swinging. If that means he goes six of 24, who cares? And it wasn't like it was a jump shot right there, right? Ben Simmons can dunk a basketball and can dunk over folks. That was a wide open dunk that he missed or that he just gave up on, right? It was that, it does, I don't think that he has to shoot, and I know this is another

conversation of shooting jumpers and things like that. I don't think he even have to play outside of himself in this moment. All he has to do is be aggressive. Go to the cup. Get to the free throw line, right? But the mental thing of going to the free throw line with the game on the line is different. And you could just see the fear into him. My question for you.

And Doc Rivers after the game, they asked him, do you think that Ben Simmons is a point guard? Can he be a point guard in the championship's team? And Doc Rivers says, I don't know the answer to that right now. Now, the coach is usually the last. last line of defense on this thing, right? The coach is always the one to have your back. Now, when stuff,

quotes start coming out on that, it does seem like things are over. If you are a coach or a GM, in this circumstance, do you keep Ben Simmons, or do you try to trade him away at this point and see what you can get for him in the open market? What do you think right now, GM Roger,

or coach Roger? What do you think? Well, if I'm GM, Roger, I've heard what Doc said, we've probably had internal conversations about that also. But then I also heard what Joel Embed said. And that you, I mean,

as rare as it is for a coach to come out and not defend, like, you don't hear players throwing each other under the bus like that often. And he threw him squarely under the wheels of the bus. So as a GM, yeah, I'm probably exploring all options to see what I can get for Ben Simmons. Because, again,

there may be situations where, Ben Simmons can play the way he played, meaning the assist, the rebounds, the defensive tenacity, and not have to. The Sixers aren't built for him to score like four points and six points. They're not built for that. They're just, they don't have the firepower to withstand having one of your best players on the floor not be interested in scoring the ball. So for that reason and amongst others, yeah, I'm looking to see what I could get.

The problem is, I mean, after what just happened? What am I getting back? I don't, I mean, that would remain to be seen, right? But purely in a vacuum, Logan, and I said this the other day, yeah, you have to make a move there. There's something's got to be done. You've been in locker rooms before, you know, way, way deeper level than I could ever imagine, right? Because, you know, as a player, you have been at Ground Zero of a locker room, right? And when a coach goes out like that and says something like that, and also a star player goes out there and says what Joe Ellen Bede says.

From my vantage point is there's no going back from that. Once it spills out with their own players, and less short of like Kobe and Shaq, once players start openly going into the media and talking about players that way, it seems like it's over. What is that from a locker room standpoint, Roger, when people start speaking out on that level to us,

in front of us, like it's unprompted, I don't think he's a championship player. What is that like in the locker room for you guys? That's a mess. That's a mess. It's a mess. There's a lot of uncertainty in that. Like, guys that aren't involved in that, right?

First of all, it's going to be above, like, some people's pay grade, right? Because it just is. So I'm one of those people, but I'm in that locker room like, oh, fuck, what is going on? Like, what's happening? Because it just feels like the plane's going down. Do you know what I mean? Like, you just, you see pieces of the wings falling off. Are you talking, are you hitting your agent like, yo, it might be down time to leave right now.

Like, what does a role player think of to something like this when, like, everybody is like, oh, shit. Well, I guess Ben, don't seem like it salvageable with Ben right now. Well, I mean, to some degree, it's like, you know, it's like being in school. It's a lot of whisper. Like, oh, you hear it at them? Hey, bro. You just hear the press conference? And, you know, if Ben is still in the locker, first of all, if I was Ben, I would have got my shit, I would have got out of there.

And I would have been on the first thing smoking out of Philly for my safety. I'm leaving. I'm out of town, dog. Because Philly's one of those cities, bro. I'm out. I'm out. Don't be walking in the streets. You're going to an island somewhere.

You're going out of the country, something. You're not being anywhere with Philly. Nah, you want to be down in Center City or Rittenhouse. You don't want to be down there having a meal thinking it's all cool with what just happened. So I'm out. But everybody else is sitting around that locker room like kind of, you know, just talking about what the fuck just happened. Dude, did you hear what he just said? Like, this is some wild shit.

And then tonight nothing happens. But tomorrow, oh, yeah, we're on the phone. Hey, bro. Is our deal up? Like, where am I at? Logan? Is my deal up? Am I locked into a contract?

You got like two more years left. You got, all right, give me the two years left scenario and then give me the, give me the, I'm on a contract year. This is like, my shit's about to expire in July.

My shit's about to expire. My shit's about to expire in July. I'm like, you gotta get me a bad of year. This is, this isn't, even if you have Joella and Bede in place. You got get me a bad of here,

bro. This is, this is a mess. Because you don't know what, we're looking, we're looking for stability. If I'm a good player and I have meaningful minutes on the Sixers team, that means someone else probably would want me.

I need to get the hell up out of here, Doc. But on a two-year deal, I mean, you're locked in, bro. You're just asking your agent to please give me some good news on the stability of this franchise front because this is a mess tonight. Do you feel like, so what about Doc Rivers as a coach saying this, right? Does that, is that out of pocket? Is that the right thing to do? Like, what do you, how honest can you be as a coach?

coach during that situation? That's a tough one. Doc is as coach friendly. I mean, as player-friendly is there is. That's all I've heard, right? So it's surprising. That's what I've heard from that.

Yes, that was surprising. I want to say that he was just being honest in that, I mean, you know, if you would ask that man, could JLMB'd be the best player on a championship level team, his answer should have been, I don't know, too.

Yeah. Because he ain't done it yet. So by the definition of whether you can do that or not, you don't know. So I feel like, you know, but he probably shouldn't have done that. I think there's a lot of frustration. I think Doc was under way more, he had way more pressure on him than I ever really kind of thought. You know what I mean? Like I think you started to see him feel that in the press conferences with some of his answers in regards to Ben.

But I also think that, you know, Doc, been in his league a long time. I can't remember any cases on teams that I played on where people. were going through what it appeared Ben Simmons was going through. I think Doc did not know how to handle that. Yeah. Also, I think there's something to be said about that first year, right? Like, bro, every first year coach, it's hard, especially when you have a championship aspiring team.

It's hard, man, to get to know guys and all these things. It's rough. Do you think from a Ben Simmons level, do you think that this is salvageable in his career? because it's not the first time something like this has happened, right? T.J. McConnell had to go in for him during a postseason game, you know, with the game on the line. And then this happens. Do you, if you had to bet your money on it, do you think it's salvageable or do you think this is something that he can, you know, that this is who he is?

Or do you think that he can probably take that next step? And it's just one of those things where, like, shit, I had a bad, I had a bad into my year. Now I have to lock in and get better. What do you think? I want to tell you that anyone with that size, skill combination, ability to handle the ball, get downhill, go like rim to rim, rebound it and get on top of the rim almost like Janus, which makes it even crazier that he couldn't find a way to get more than four shots up

because the guy can get it off the board on one end and be on top of the rim and three dribbles. So that's even crazier. I'd like to tell you that a guy like that is going to get it figured out, and that there's still a lot in front of him. He's 25, is he 25 or 23? I don't even know. but I can't tell you that, Logan,

because when you start dealing with people's mentals and people start getting the yips, so to speak, and you start to see people giving up dunks and layups because they're, you know, to use a, what was the ball to play quarterback with the Jets? When he's talking about he was seeing ghosts, that's essentially what he's telling you, man, like, oh, shit, I thought Guy Linarie was going to block it.

What? What are you talking about? Go up there and lay a ball in the basket. That'll be USC alumni, Sam Darnold. Correct. But when people, when that starts to happen, right? And that's manifesting itself on the basketball court for Ben Simmons, I'm really concerned, man, because fixing the physical isn't that hard.

You can get in the gym. You can get your J's up. You can get your body right. You can do all of that. You can rehab the knee. Rehab the Achilles. Fixing the mental is somebody got to get up under that hood, bro. And, you know, that's not the easiest thing in the world.

Not not at all I just would like to say I'm not right most of the time Raja and you know this because you've been with me for a minute now I just want to say I was I believe I was right on the Sixers team I've been I've been telling you that they weren't experienced

and I've been telling you I don't buy it I've been telling you all these things fair Now with that being said We've seen what it is this What the Sixers team is can they run it back Can they run it back and this is the learning lesson and this is something that they could do. No, no, no, no, no.

They can't, no, no, no, no, no. No, we're not running anything back. Nope. Nothing can be ran back. No. You weren't, you weren't good enough. You won't be good enough next year. You must make changes to that roster in one way, shape, or another.

Like, there have to be, your bunch has to be better. I love Danny Green, friend of the shell. If Danny Green's injury, if his injury meant so much to you that you couldn't get over to hump, then you got bigger problems. You know what I'm saying? Like, there are issues in Philly. You need to rectify them. They cannot run that back.

What? Because I want to get to the Hawks and they deserve their own, Sean. What does it like if you lose like this in Philly? What is, tell me what this is. I mean, you never lost like this in Philly, but, you know, what kind of town is this in, how kind of town is it when you lose or what a team loses like this? Or disappoints, more so disappoints than lose, you know?

Because like, you guys lost, but I don't think y'all disappointed to the city with that finals run, you know, just from the outside looking in. Right. What does it like to disappoint Philadelphia? That's not a fun place to be in

when you're disappointed Philly. And, you know, all I can really do is tell you how great it was when you represent Philly the way they want to be represented. I mean, that is, it is unreal, man.

I had a sea of people swarm me in a mall. I was with my mom and my dad and my sister just walking around. Like, I had done the week before, But since then, I had played in a few playoff games and won the Easter conference. What was the moment where they were like, fuck yeah, Roger, Roger Bell, fuck, fuck yeah. What did you do? I'm talking about, no, no, no.

We just played in those finals, right? We won the seventh game. And I just went out on the next day thinking it was all good. I was in King of Prussian Mo. The mall, like, descended on us. We couldn't move. Like, people were going bananas. Like, it was a surreal experience.

But that's how much love you get in Philly when things are good. and you're holding it down. The flip side of that has to be real, real miserable. And I was making a joke a little bit. But if I were Ben, I wouldn't be scared for my safety. Like, I don't think Philly fans are going to do that. But you don't want to be walking around in those streets acting like, hey, man, we lost the game, but I'm still here living my life because they're going to give you the business.

They're going to say something to you. They're going to give you work. What I feel about Philly fans, they're not scared to talk to you. At all. You know, at all. Like, they're just not scared. I've seen sports fans who see it. I'm not, I'm sure you've seen sports fans that are just like an awe and they just don't want to like,

they've got to be like, Roger, get your shit together or something like that along those. Wouldn't they do that? Wouldn't they do something like that if you're fucking up? Wouldn't they like come? Like, if they see you, would they say, get your shit together? What is it like when they, on the other side of that, why you would say Ben needs to go to the Cayman Islands for it real quick? Well, I mean, first of all, it's never, it's never a good place to be in where you're having to defend yourself to fans, right? Like, so, like, that's never a good place to be in because it's a no win when you're out there in them street.

Like, what's the biggie line? Like, if you shoot me, you're famous. If I shoot you on brainless, what's like something like that? That would be the Jay Z line. And it's, my bad. My bad. Yeah. If I shoot you on brainless, but if you shoot me, then you're famous.

What's the to do? Yes. What's the brother to do? Right. So, like, that's number one. But number two, like, Philly fans are less filtered than any other fans that I've been around. They just don't give a shit, right? They're going to tell you young, old, like, male, female, they don't care.

They are letting it ride. They're all, it's all on their sleeve and they're letting it out. So for those reasons, like, I think as an athlete, you kind of have to be self-aware, aware of the situation, understand what you did to let them down and just say, time for me to, you know, go on a vacation, bro. like it ain't there's no there's no there's no shame in that brother like you got to get out of town dog on the flip side though they booed hold on they booed destiny's child and coby in the same night bro they booed destiny's child because one of them had a Kobe jersey on that i think i think it was at the oh one all-star game i or oh two oh it was oh two oh one oh two yeah they may have she may have had to take the jersey off to get them to stop booing i can't remember that because i may have

had some, some, like, who knows, but yeah, they were booing damn Destiny Child because they, she had on a Kobe Jersey. But they threw fucking snow things at Santa Claus at a game once, bro. Like, come on. And you know what is, I don't know, flip side of this, though. Atlanta is on fire. Atlanta is all fire, man. Man.

Yeah. Mm. I love this. I love, I love watching this Hawks team. I love watching this Hawks team. And I didn't know, like, I feel like. I feel like Atlanta was one of those cities where it gets a bad rap for like the fans and stuff. And like you always go there and there's like the other team's fans are there and stuff.

But this playoff run, Atlanta has showed his ass. It's ass. And a good way though. In a good way though. Every bit on the timeline. And I think, I think Trey Young and John Collins, you seen what John Collins did to Joel and Bede. Yeah. Joe, just this team has just really just like rallied this city, man.

And I love what's going on, man. And I think it starts with Tray Young. Trey Young, and I wrote this in the rundown, Trey Young is here. Now, you talk about a guy, we talked about Ben Simmons and not shooting enough. Trey Young went five of 23 in a closeout game. And I respected it because he hit threes down the stretch. He did not stop shooting for no one. And he stayed true to himself.

So shout out to Trey Young. I pose this question to DA and you before in the last episode if the Hawks are ahead of schedule. I'm thinking about this, right? Are they right on time right now? Is this a championship run that we're looking at? Or what's going on? They're not able to get up.

They're about to get up out of there, bro. They're about to get up out of there? But it's a phenomenal. ride. I have a phenomenal ride. Would you want to, is this one of the teams

like if you were 24, 25 that you would want to be on? They look like they have a really good time. They do. They look like they have a good time. They have a great style of play. Nate McMillan's another great players coach. So yeah,

why wouldn't I? Like they shared, you know, I think Trey Young's taking a huge step this year, Logan, because not only is he not afraid of the moment and he'll keep shooting and all of that, but his teammates look like

they're enjoying playing with him more than I saw in the past, if that makes sense to you. It looks like he's allowing others to help him more. And so for that reason, yeah, sure, I'd love to play with that team. It seems like a bit of both, right? It seems like he's been, I think both sides now understand each other, at least from the outside looking in, right? Like, yo, Trey is who he is and Trey may have done some things in that, you know, this is just something else I'm looking in, like, watching on television and coming in a couple of Zoom. Sure. But it seems like both people are just starting to understand each other more. And I love to see some good reporting on this.

But it just seemed like that. Now, Trey Young is forever linked to another guy by the name of Luca Donchich, who they traded for, you know, they got traded for each other,

said they will be forever linked. Right. What do we think right now? What do you think right now about this comparison right now? Now, Luca puts on the goddy stats. He's out here. It's crazy what he's doing

in the first round, but Tray Young's teams have gotten further. A lot of that does have to do with Tray Young. At this very moment, who are you picking right now? Like, what do you think? Do you think that is it more nuanced than I'm saying what it is? Let's explore this a little bit. As of right now, who are you taking? And what is the nuance behind both players in their situations?

All right. Who am I taking? That's a tough one. Oh, it's always a believer in Tray Young. I just thought it would take him a minute to figure it out. It would take him an extra minute. He wasn't a pro like Luca was. And smaller guards sometimes,

it's going to take you an extra minute to calibrate to like the speed size NBA game. I'd probably still air on the side of Luca. Yeah. He's bigger. He's more physical. It's not taking anything away from Trey Young because he would be great too.

But if you made me pick between one of those two, I usually take bigger, stronger, faster, all other things being equal, and all other things are relatively equal. I think that I pick Luca, but I think that's what makes watching Trey Young so dope. Because I think that's part of the thing with Trey Young, too, man, is that like, yo, y'all my fuckers picking Luca. Look what I'm doing. Look what I'm doing.

I'm putting a city on my back. And I think I've grown a level of, a lot of levels of respect for Trey Young over these last few months. and dude plays with a chip on his shoulder, and I love watching that. What do you think about the evolution of how we've seen Trey Young right here, right? Because he talks a lot of shit. He is, you know, there's Diva in him.

Like, there is what it is. There is some Diva in him. But, like, he backs it up. What do you think of Trey Young? And has there been an evolution in that? Because at first, like, I was like, everybody else. I was annoyed by it. I'm like, come on, bro.

Like, what are we doing right now? But I like it now. He's doing pushups when, what fucking Dwight Howard jumps over? He's like, I'm here. I'm still here. Like, he's not letting nobody break him. He is the same one.

So I have a level of respect for that more. What do you think about Trey Young's overall demeanor and game? No, he's an entertainer, man. I really enjoy watching and play. I like to watch him play at Oklahoma. You know, I think when you are that stature and playing basketball, and you're always trying to prove somebody wrong. You're always, because someone's always doubting whether or not your size is going to

to be able to pull it off at the next level. So you develop an organic chip. Like you don't, you don't, I mean, it's always there. And so I always appreciate players who play like that. I'll say again, though, I think, and he'll figure it out. But, you know, he gets a lot of calls right now that the NBA is going to have to do something about. It's not just Luca. A lot of those guys have figured out.

I mean, sorry, it's not just Trey, but a lot of those guys have figured out. It's also Luca at times, too. It's also James Hardin. They've all done it. I fucking saw Kevin Durant do the rip through today. What happens is if the refs, if the refs, what happens with smaller players is if the refs stop calling some of that, it affects them more than it affects somebody that's 6, 9, 610, 250. Do you know what I'm saying? And so then you got to kind of reinvent yourself, which I'm sure he can.

So I'm not saying that that's like he's, he's fantastic to watch. The strides that I think he's made, Logan, are ones that you can't really put a statistic to. I think it's inside the building. I think he's, I think his teammates. not that they did not like him. I have no reason to believe that. That's not what I'm saying. But I think there's a better chemistry there,

whether that's on Trey Young, whether that's on Nate McMillan, whether that's on Trey Young's teammates and the way they act towards him. I don't know, but that's where I think he's grown, right? Like I think those dudes are now playing for him, kind of, and not just playing with him or playing alongside him.

There seems to be like, hey, man, we hold you down. We got you. You make this work. We can all eat two, and we got you. And that is, That's the beauty of watching them play for me, aside from what he does with the ball. They got a lot of questions still, though. I think that, you know, the John Collins extension still looms, you know, whether

than not they're going to keep him. It's a team that is on the rise and can, I mean, they're competing. They're still competing for a title now, so it's weird to call them title contenders. But if they keep going up, they make the right moves, they can be a bona fide title contender for years to come. If they make a couple more moves, I believe that they can do that. And I just love, like, all of Atlanta is coming out for them, bro. And Atlanta is a beautiful city.

I love Atlanta. And I'm just happy that I think the Hawks finally have a team that represents Atlanta as a whole. That's why Trey Young is perfect for Atlanta, just the swagger, all of that. And I'm just happy to see that. We'll talk about Sons at a bit. But first, I want to talk about,

Nets Bucks. Get a recap of that series real quick. Did you talk to Nash since they got eliminated? No, I've not spoken. No, I don't even know what to say. I shot him a text, like, you know. How do you do that, though? How do you approach something like that, bro?

Like, you know, with players and people, you know, players, you guys, when you guys get mad and after games, it's kind of weird to like kind of talk to you. It depends on the player. I don't, what kind of player were you when you guys lost? Like, do I, can I shoot you? you a text like it's going to be all right or do I got to give it a couple days to breathe if you

I'm usually good I mean I won't respond to you right away if you shoot me the text but I'm not gonna feel we're good now and you don't fucking respond right away but no I mean you can yeah I yeah I don't be blowing up my phone calling but certainly shoot the text being like hey man good series good series whatever that looks like and then I get to you you know once once I stop and that's kind of what I did to Steve like I shot it out there like yo man that's a tough one And, you know, I like some of the stuff you guys were doing, whoopty-woo, but, you know, just like that, happy Father's Day. Keep it moving, man, you know? Yeah, I heard that.

Do you, the way this, I want to talk about the Bucks in a second, but I want to save the best for past. Do you feel that this ending is an appropriate ending for this iteration of the Nets with all the injuries and things that happened? Or were you, did you, or were you surprised that it ended this way? Did you think that they still had a shot? because I called them real ones and I called them contenders. They were. They were.

No, you were right. We bow for it. I mean, if Kyrie is healthy and James is healthy, I mean, they're winning a championship. They are. Like, I'm saying that. I'm telling you that. They just got, they didn't get one of the components right this year.

They didn't navigate the injury bug, man. And that derails a lot of championship teams, possible championship teams. So I'm not surprised that it, it ended that way because once James Hardin came out and looked the way he did, and I want to give him credit

for coming out there and playing because he was clearly... That was some real one of shit, though, man. Yeah. That was real. I rock with that. Absolutely. And he played 50-some minutes

and he was there just spiritually giving his team a lift. But that was too much to ask KD to just keep doing over and over and over again to give dubs. So I knew that, I mean, there was a short shelf life with that.

Yeah. Let's get to, we talked about KD. We talked about him in the last episode. played his ass off. I mean, there's nothing more

that they could have done. I want to get to the Bucks, though. I want to get to the Yanna's conversation. Did the coach Buds save his job? Yes. Yeah, you know it. You fucking know it. You know it.

He knows it. The bus players know it. If that ownership group is fractured, you had one of them saying, fuck. And then you had the other one, like fist pumping tiger style. Like, yes.

We're fucking good. Like, yes. It was that important of a game. Bro, is it the NBA wild like that, right? Because legitimately, Bud's job was on the fucking line a week ago. It literally was. It was that. And also, we could talk about a lot of other teams, but it's funny how the playoffs

worked that way, bro. It was, it's funny how that works out. We were talking about, man, we, I'm saying we as in me and you were talking about them, like it was done. It was finished. A week later, they have a legit. legitimate shot at a title. Honestly, they do.

Jonas has a legitimate shot of a fucking title right now. How does that, what does that do to your mental, bro? When you're like, bro, okay, well, one hand a week later, all my coaches might get freaking fired. And the next is like, oh, I guess we're going to get a title. That's just how, I don't know what that does. That's why the NBA for me is the sport. I said this on the last pot.

That's the complex, your future and the complexion of your future changes so dramatically from game to game in a series and from series and it's like that 06 Clippers series or no the Lakers series. We were dead. Like 3-1,

you were somewhere deep down. I don't remember the coverage back then, but were you guys talking about like changes being happening in the 3-1 or was it, did you guys not get to that? I don't mean like, from a team perspective.

I just mean your outlook as a player. Like, you're just like, oh, this shit's the end of the world, man. We're down 3-1. Like, you know, deep down in, you're like, man, people don't do this shit every time. You still believe. I mean, it could be the end of the world if you'll lose one more games. You know what I mean?

And then you're like, oh, shit, we can, you get by that and you're like, no, we can win a championship this year. Like the rest of our, we got a chain. This is a good look for us. And so, you know, it's crazy. The Bucks just had to exercise some demons, man. Like, I really think that the bud comes from a coaching tree that is as good as there is, right? I mean, you, like, that pop tree is, it's good. Like, you could throw Pat Riley in there.

and fill, but it's as good as there is, right? So you know he's got the ability. I think he just coaches really tight at times when he feels the pressure. And I think they had to exercise some demons, both him and the team. And I think they did. Okay, so what did you think about down the stretch? Because you had some problems with how the Bucks were playing down the stretch of game, what was it, game five or six?

You had some troubles with how they, how did you think that they managed game seven? Or does it even matter? I mean, honestly, when I looked, it would look like the same kind of sets. It did. It did. But like, it just, it just, it, I don't want to discredit the bucks. But it did seem like it was, this was, this series was more the fight of attrition more than it was the actual talent.

And that's okay, too. That's fine. That's the league. That's the NBA in which we play. So if that's what it is, and that's what it is. But did you see any difference or does it matter? Well, ultimately it doesn't matter, but I did see some difference. I didn't see a huge overhaul in philosophy.

Like, the bucks are going to be who they are. They play that way all year. So you can't expect them to come out and say, oh, we're switching everything. But I saw Janus late in the game. The only jump hook, I saw him shoot all series. He put that in right before, you know, he bullied James on an out of bounds play and went to the block. He caught it a few times down below, you know, the hash faced up. They took it to the bucket on KD a few times.

Like, I did see them work to get him the ball. in more desirable positions, you know, late down the stretch defensively. I didn't see a huge, a huge shift in what they were doing, but they just did a, you know, they did what they could do with it. Now,

you brought up a point, and you told us why you was mad, son, you told us why you were mad at the beginning of the pod, about how people are talking about the way Yannis plays. And I have a question for you, because I wanted to follow up,

but wanted to go down on the rundown. Do you think it's because this game isn't aesthetically pleasing enough for people the way that they talk about how he plays or where do you think that this sort of thing stems from? Where do you think that this Janus backlast kind of stems

from? Fatigue. I mean, it's two-time MVP. Teams didn't win championships. That has to be factored into it. I do think there's something about the aesthetics of games. We live in a day and age where you have to have a

quote-unquote bag and you got to be able to do, you know, all of this cool shit with the ball, and we got to be able to shoot threes from half court. And he doesn't do any of that. And so, yeah, I'm sure there people that aesthetically don't love the look of it. You know, I just, I argue, you know, all the time about like the productivity of it, you know? I'm not into advance in analytics. So there's going to be somebody smarter than me listening to this pod talking about his P.E.R. and all that shit, I don't give a fuck. All right? I'm telling you what, I'm telling you what stats she says, dog. I'm watching it and saying

there is nothing that can stop him if you get him in the right position from unfolding on top of the rim or having to collapse your defense and he's able to kick it out to shooters. So that's a problem. And, you know, I don't know. I don't know what to tell you other than that.

Who's going to guard him to rest of the rest of the playoffs? My man, fucking scored 40 points, 13 boards, and dish out five assists in a closeout in 50 minutes. 50. Who is going to guard that? Who's going to guard his ass? You tell me on any of the teams left in this damn in the playoffs. Who's going to guard him?

I'm going to be real with you, man. Like, I love the Hawks. I just, I love the Hawks. However, Capella got Maliwop throughout the whole series. And it was it because of, it was honestly because their others, the Sixers, other star didn't, didn't show up by and large. That being said, Janus, just give him the ball like they give him the ball, check and he's going to be fine. My only critique of Leonis, and it might be just like feeding

into the things is like, I feel like he's starting to settle too much for the three. He doesn't have to. Fuck what we, fuck with Roger Bell or Logan Murdoch or any fucking pundit says, play your game, bro. Like, who cares? Like, if you can't shoot a three, who cares? I don't need you to shoot one three. You don't have to do it. Who cares? Go to the cup. You ain't got to worry about Roger Bell saying that because I ain't never said that. I'm not. I'm not. Hey, dog, if you don't shoot three, I'm with you. You get what I'm saying, though, Rob. I co-sign that.

100%. Like, I do feel that players listen to that. And you can attest or say I'm full of shit, but I do feel like players feed into that where they feel like, yo, I got to shoot threes. I got to do all that. If that's not your game, bro, because I see this a lot sometimes. I see this sometimes with Doell and Bede, right? Teams sometimes just let him shoot that three.

Fuck it. Because, like, it's not as effective as if he just bullies you in the paint and dunks over you. Right. That's more effective. If Janus doesn't shoot a three to hold series and just gets 45, whatever, is 45 and you're punishing them. I just want him to go, in his own way, go full shack and just double down. Because you remember playing against Shaq, just get it in the post. He's going to dunk it.

Like, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what you do or how you're going to stop it. You know what is going to happen every time. Janus has that in him. I want him to do that in this series. Now, I'm with you 100%. And here's what, what, what, would be my critique, I feel silly saying that, of Janus.

And to some degree, what I was telling you in DA on the pod last time, what I would do with Janice, I realized in game seven against the bucks that you can't, I mean, against the Nets, that you can't do that with Janus, really, because Janus doesn't like the ball with his back to the basket. Like, you saw KD that whole game, and I was trying to show my young son, like, KD doesn't catch it on the post all the time, but he works his way a lot of the time to a post area with his back to his defender. And he shoots that fade away or whatever.

Janice, every time he gets it, or not every time, because I just referenced that one jump hook. But it was the only back to the basket move I saw him make. He generally looks uncomfortable with his back to the basket. He always wants to face you up and come downhill at you. Now, it can be very effective too, but I think that if that man, people say, well, if he got a jumper, oh, 100% if he got a jumper. But if he got some true low post feet where he could play with his back to you,

wrap it up. Janus is 26 years old. Yeah. If he stays healthy. That's scary. If he just, oh, my goodness. If he just stays healthy. Because, like, bro, he is scoring 40, and he is just, he's not just going 40 on will, bro.

He's not necessarily. That's why people, I don't know. I think there's why people hate him because he just doesn't, he doesn't do it. He does it in a very raw way. And that's fine. As long as 40 points is 40 points in a closeout game. And so is 15 rebounds. So, with that being said, before we get to the next segment, I think we're both in agreeance right now,

the Bucks are going to go to the finals. I think we're both in agreeance on this. What is it? Bucks, I say Bucks in five, six at the most. What are you saying, Raja? Bucks in five, brother. Like, the Hawks will be game. They will come to play.

They're going to be some exciting games potentially. We both love the Hawks. We both love the Hawks. Absolutely. I think you're outmaned here. And all, you get Janus, and if I get a decent, Chris Middleton, Drew Holiday,

and Brooke Lopez, I mean, bucks and five. Okay. Let's take a quick break. And we're really going to talk about something near and dear to Raj's heart. I promise you. And we are back. I am speaking to you after the Sons.

One game one of the Western Conference finals, man. Roger, are you pumped right now? Are you pumped? I got to keep it a buck. I'm kind of fired up, man, J-Hubbs, J-Hubbs. I think Brown calls him champ. executive of the year. He's from the crib.

That's 305. And the sons of, what? The sons, my man, Jeremy McPeek, shout up to Jeremy McPeek. Put something up on a story on Instagram with some old sons pictures of like our teams in 06, 07. I saw that. Man, like I'm, it's a vibe right now, bro, with me and the sons. And I know, I get it. I remember.

I said they were fake. I know. It was more nuanced than that. I will say it again. We did. We both did. But I was wrong and that's okay. Like I'm happy to be wrong.

Like they're ball in right now. You know what I think I did? I think I underestimated Devin Booker. And not because he wasn't one of my favorite players in the league. I put him as the most improved player just because I just wanted him to get an award. He wasn't going to be the most improved player. You told me this and we knew this. But I wanted him and his name out there.

However, I still I still underestimated Devin Booker. By the way, quick plug real quick. I'm writing a story coming out. tomorrow on Devin Booker on the ringer.com from your boy. Make sure you guys go check that out on, it's basically on the soul of Devin Booker and what makes him Devin Booker. So go check that on the ringer.com. Devin Booker, I love his game. He has the everything you would want and a superstar in the postseason right now.

He has that, just that good mad in him, that good anger in him where he just, he just is ready for somebody to pop off on him. He's ready for the moment. They were, the sons were up for most of the game. I think the Clippers, like, hit it, got the game down to two because Paul George's ball. And we'll get to him in a second. And then Devin Booker said, I got this. Don't even trip.

Don't even trip. I got this. Ah, in your face. Ah, in your fucking face. Ah. Oh, fade away? Good. In the lane?

Oh, over two defenders don't even trip. I'm here. 18 points in the third quarter. Don't even trip. He just has that look, Roger. Is he the league's newest superstar, the one, the guy that you, like, is Stephen A. Smith, who you say, who you know, Stephen A, friend of the show, Stephen A. No doubt. Is he box office to you? Is Devin Booker one of those dudes when he comes to town? You got to go see him yet?

Yeah, he's a bucket, man. And he scores, he scores for me, like, in the way that is aesthetically pleasing to me, which means on all three levels. Like, it's not just a layup or a three. I appreciate getting to a spot and getting up in the air. Do you know what I mean? Like I appreciate a dude, you know, searching with pace till he gets to the spot in the mid-range and then, bomb, I'm just raising up over you. You know, that's what scoring, the art of scoring used to be about.

So he's got an old soul in that regard. And I love to watch and play because that's what I appreciate. Or that's what I like to see my scores look like more than just a three or a layup. Do you know what I mean? So, yeah, he's boxed off. But he's built from that, you know, I heard Monty talk, I think they were interviewing before the game. I might have been listening on the radio on my drive home from somewhere.

And he said, like he believes he is the best player in the lead. Not one of the. Oh, he is the best player. The best player in the league. And he said he's genuinely pissed and feels like he has something to prove when his name isn't mentioned in that breath or when he's snubbed for certain, you know, all NBA teams and stuff like that. And so I can dig it, bro. Yes, he's box office. So I was talking to Kenny Payne, assistant of the Knicks,

a longtime coach at Kentucky who recruited Devin Booker and their, Devin Booker calls him Uncle. Okay. This is a quote that he told me about Devin Booker. And this is related to Devin Booker. He says, it's bigger than the game. It's about who you are, what you are. what you are, how you're wired,

how you're not going to let someone take, how you're not going to let someone else take food off your plate. That's a metaphor for my, for I'm dominating you. There's nothing you can do about it. That's how he feels about Devin Booker. That's what, that's how,

that's how he describes Devin Booker. That makes sense. Because that's, that's, it was a line that I used when I played. And it was a line that I preached to, to like my sons. and kids in programs and stuff like that.

Listen, you can't let anybody take food off of your plate. It is, like, there's only, you know what I mean? Like, that's life, bro. There's only so much food to go around. You're going to let somebody else eat it? I got one more quote for you that I think is going to get you riled up, also from Kenny Payne and made this story. Athletes are apex predators.

And so when you put these predators in a cage, they're not competing just to win or lose, and then you go on to the next thing. predators are going to the death. Somebody's got to die. Somebody's got to eat. Is that how it is on the basketball court? For some of us, yes.

Now, when I say some of us, some of us are way more talented than others and it looks different. Like when you have someone who's as talented as Devin Booker or Kobe or MJ or KD, LeBron, that looks different. It looks like that. There are other people that have. that type of talent and they just don't have that mentality. Like they're just not,

they're not built like that. And so, you know, you could see flashes of it, but it doesn't, it's not sustainable, right? And then you have guys that aren't as good as them that have that too. And they become,

you know, like PJ Tucker has that. You know, he ain't as good offensively as one of those guys, but he, you can see he, he lives by that. Like,

that's, that's, that the mindset that you had when you hooped. That was my mindset. Yes. I just, you know, I didn't have the talent.

or the ability of some of those guys, but I can always appreciate and recognize it in someone when I see it because... Can you see it? Is that something you can see it within the first two minutes of a person? I mean, two minutes might be quick, man,

but you watch somebody play a game and you know. You play a game with somebody, a pickup, you know, real recognizes real in that regard. Like that, you can feel that. Now, I hopped in on a Zoom call with book, and he was talking about,

you know, he's always had a chip on the shoulder. And he was talking about how it's taken a long time for him. We're not a long time, but it took some time for him to channel that chip in a constructive way, right? And just to make sure that he puts that time in and do that. What is the balance in doing that, right? Because that chip is always going to be on Devin's shoulder, just like it was always on your shoulder,

just like it's always on PJ Tucker's shoulder, even Kobe's shoulder, all the great one's shoulders is always some sort of chip. How do you balance that? How do you make sure that it's constructive and not destructive? That's a good question. At some point, I think you can have the chip, but you have to allow yourself to accept that you're as good as you are.

Do you know what I mean? You can't be certain. You have to allow yourself to accept. No, I'm nice at this. Okay. But I'm not going to take it for granted because a lot of y'all said I couldn't do this and it'll continue to fuel your work and continue to fuel like your passion to stay where you are, right? Because now it took me a long time to get it. Nobody's taking this shit. When did you feel like

you got it? When did you feel like you got it? Well, for me, you know, it was a little different. Like I felt like I started to get it in Utah. Like when I bounced around early in my career, no one ever gave me, I was always just a journeyman to play D. No one, no one ever respected the fact that I could score the ball because no one ever, it was ever my job. And then when I got to Utah, and Jerry Sloan kind of empowered as we were a young team. We didn't make the playoffs, but we got a little bit more taste of the ball in our hands, most of us. And then when I got to Phoenix, right,

and I settled into a role when I was on a good team and I was playing meaningful minutes on a good team, that's, those were my moments where I was like, yes, sir, this is, I'm here. Like, I deserve this. Now, I want to stay here, but you got to accept the fact that you are good enough so you don't self-destruct and go over the top with that.

You know what I mean? Because searching for it forever and never letting yourself feel it. Is it grit along with self-awareness that kind of gets you to that place where you can both accept where you're at but also like, no, fuck it, I belong here. Except where your role on a team would say, fuck it, I belong here. Roels on a team kind of define themselves if you're smart enough, you figure that out. So you know where you fall in the hierarchy of that, right? Like Devin Booker's role was always going to be alpha number one, right? I mean, the only person that might have something to say about that was Deontre Aighton. might have been TBD when he came in,

but I'm pretty sure in the first pickup game that was established because Devin Booker is built like that. I feel like the Clippers and the Sun seem to be in a similar situation here in that one of the, I mean, they aren't a civilization conversation because one of their stars are both out on both teams.

You know, you got Kauai on one end, and you got Chris out on the other, and they're both out for game too. And my question is, you know, we've seen this with Paul George. He's kind of found his lane in this one. He's found his way back to Indiana, Paul George. We talked about this last week.

And Devin Booker has just like, y'all, I'm carrying this team. I don't really care. I'm going to carry this team, especially with Chris Paul out. And you know, and you're starting to see the maturation of both players. Now, what is the dynamic and what do you think is going to happen when Kauai comes back? and or if Kauai comes back and if Chris Paul comes back, what does that do to change the dynamics of both of those players? In a perfect world, what does it do?

And what would happen on the other side of that coin? In a perfect world, Kauai represents some of those buckets that were really hard for the clippers to get down the stretch and another person to probably guard Devin Booker and try to put out that fire. So you get him back and you have an answer defensively for D.Booke, you know, theoretically and you have more firepower.

So that's a win. In a perfect world for the Suns, you know, Chris Paul comes back and seamlessly kind of takes the reins again and, you know, allows everyone to kind of eat the way they were and he orchestrates it. I think that the Suns would be an easier reintegration of their star than it would be for the Clippers. Because I don't, like Chris Paul works.

You put him in and it works. It's not taking food off of Devin Booker's plate. Also, I think Chris Paul actually knows I think he knows he's the second best player on that team. Or maybe he's like, maybe he doesn't know that, but is it more than a say like, yeah, I just get 16 today. And if you need to get 31 day, I can do that. But like, this is Devin Booker's show. I'm trying to help him.

Yes, he's there to do what he needs to do. Right? Like, so he's not, he actually is going to make it easier for people to eat rather than and I think Kauai coming back puts Paul in that weird place of, oh shit, do I, you know, that they could work together, but do, is this mind now? Like, am I supposed to be shooting all of these shots?

Like, we talked about that. Just, you know, maybe funk up the offense a little bit. But I'm going to keep it a buck. Paul, Paul George, for as good as he is offensively, they got to get that boy some easier shots, man. You know, he made a bunch of tough shots. He was cooking, too. And then, you know, T. Luce sat him, which, you know, it's not trying to get him some rest. I hear that. But then he came back out shooting more tough shots than he wasn't making them. They got to find a way to get him some easier looks to supplement the heart. hard ones that he makes. Yeah.

We'll see what happens. With all that being said, who wins game two? So you got a 40 ball, triple double from Devin Booker. You got the clippers on, what, one day arrest? Yeah.

And you barely beat them. I mean, that's, you know, you barely beat them. So on one hand, I could say that the clippers are going to come out and win. Plus T. Liu makes adjustments

as well as anyone in the game right now. but I'm going to take the Sons in game two at the Crete. You just want to go back. And we all side now. You just want to see the United States. I failed you guys once. I will not do it again. That's my bad.

Sons in five. I say Sons in six. However, I'm picking the Clippers to win game two. Pick the Clippers of one game two. And that is a perfect, before we get out of here, that is a perfect segue to,

I just don't even know how to, say this, man. I just don't even know. I don't even think he should ever come on the real ones again, to be honest with you. I don't think he should, I don't think he should ever don't on a Lakers jersey again, to be honest with you. I don't know. He's not even coming on the screen right now. He's not even showing his face right now, which is crazy. I don't know what is going on right now, but Jomey, ever since that he took that trip to Palmdale, I think he's a double agent. I think he's a double agent because ever since he took that trip to Palmdale. The Lakers have been out of the finals. I mean, out of the finals run. No back to backs. And the Clippers are on the best run in franchise history and have a

legitimate shot at an NBA title. I also want to say, want to address something. Now, I don't know this because I don't know if Paul George listens to the show or he doesn't. However, when he said what up Palmdale with some oph into him, Jomey's mentions and my

mentions went crazy on the Twitter. it. Now we're going to bring in Jemey. First question I have to ask you, sir. Are you going to take responsibility for ending the Clipper Curse?

Well, first of the foremost, thank you guys for having me on. I have it on great authority that Paul George is a real ones fan. listens to it every Monday and Thursday. You know, as when it's first up, he's a subscriber, right? I know that for a fact. I know that for a fact.

Secondly, I will be taken. for responsibility because before I went to Palmdale, the Clippers were still the Clippers, and now they look like they're about to go on their first championship run in their history. So, yes, I will be taking responsibility. And Paul George, since I know you're listening, I would like a championship ring. I have student loans to pay off so I can go take that to a pawn shop or something. You know what I'm saying?

Get this money. You hear me? But yeah, I will be taken for responsibility. Okay. Are you a Lakers fan? Yes. Are you sure? What kind of question?

What is this? You're the worst lawyer ever. What is going on? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Okay. I don't know what else to say, man.

Are you, are you sorry for what's that going on? I mean, if you want to be honest, I'm just disgusted in myself, you know? Okay. I should have done better. I should have known, you know, that upset in the balance of the world, you know, the Lakers. Like that literally that weekend. the Lakers were up to 1. You know, they were down,

they were down 2.1 to the Mavs. And then as soon as I stepped foot in Palmdale County and left, the NBA world went crazy. Like we haven't had arrest in weeks since I've been to Palmdale. I feel responsible for all of it. For all of it. The whole NBA landscape, right? James Harding got hurt, right?

We could go on and on and on, right? It's just, I just, I, yeah, I'm just disgusted in my behavior. What's the lesson in all of this, Jemmy? Well, the lesson for everyone else is, you know, hey, man, sometimes you got to chill out, you know. Don't be acting reckless on podcasts. Don't be acting reckless on Twitter. Sometimes it's better, you know, keep quiet mind your business. Now, I didn't, I'm not going to take those lessons.

I'm going to still do me, you know what I'm saying? Y'all can do that. I'm just, I'm just, do me, you know what I'm saying? I'm the five minister, you know what I mean? I just do what I do, you feel me? Okay, so you want to place a bed on game, too? Oh, my goodness gracious. So you want those, so?

Do you want to go out of those? What are we thinking? What are we thinking? Because last time I was go to Palmdale, right? And that's not the bad. You might, you might, does it take a return trip to Palmdale? What are we talking, though? Like, are we talking like?

Do you have to, do you have to take, go back? to Palmdale and atone for your sin and tell them that you tell Palmdale that you're sorry for your disrespect. Maybe a contrite trip to Palmdale, an apologetic trip to Palmdale if the Clippers win. Oh my God. See, I can't say no because I took improv in college, so I'll have to say yes and to everything. You know what I'm saying? So like, okay, look, listen, listen. if see and we had this conversation last time Logan right you're doing this I gotta go you know if I got to go to Palmdale what happens if the sons win you know what I'm saying like this Palmdale have to come to me like what's the deal you know like what do I get out of it this is this is between you and Logan now this is between you and this is between you and Logan so like what's you know for the listeners Logan you tell me you tell me you tell me we already told you what you got to do you tell me hmm Logan man so I mean I mean Oh, see, I got it. You know, see, because here's, for the fans out here, I'm going to peel back the current a little bit.

Logan, as you guys may know, is a huge Warriors fan, right? He grew up a Laker fan. That's a lie. No, he grew up a Laker fan. But if you ever talk to Logan for a couple of minutes, he's a big Warriors guy. This is another lie. He's got 35 venture checks coming in the mail every two weeks. You know what I'm saying?

Because him and KD go way back. You know what I'm saying? So you know what I'm saying? So maybe what I'm thinking is if the sons win, I would like, I would like a we believe Steph Curry jersey in the mail if the sons win. Oh, you're we. Oh. Yes. Okay.

We believe Steph Curry jersey in the mail. Okay. All right. All right. There it is. You don't got to go to Palmdale. You never been to Palmdale. The error stand out there, man.

It's tough. Hey, and the words of most death on the racial draft you got a goddamn deal. Wait a goddamn minute, Rondell. Wait a goddamn minute, Ronnell.

Fantastic. You got a goddamn deal. All right. You guys, all you real ones hold me to that. Oh, that's done, bro. That's done. All right. Thanks, Jemmy.

Appreciate that. Now, before we get out of here, you guys, a little housekeeping, make sure you go listen to KOC and J. Kyle Mann's full preview of the NBA draft lottery from the Sunday night edition of the Ringer NBA show. Make sure you check out Tuesday night's mismatch for KOC and Chris Vernon's post-lottery takes.

And make sure you go to the ringer.com to check out KOC's 2021 draft guide, which has this big board with descriptions of his top 30 draft prospects and this mock draft, which he'll update after the draft lottery. There's also a live show with Bill Simmons, KOC and J. Kyle Mann, and Big Waz. That's at 530 Pacific. Make sure you can check that out.

Raj was on that last year. He had a blast doing that. And that's going to be a fun one, man. Make sure you check out everything on the Ringer feed. Make sure you check out the Ringer NBA show on Sundays. Make sure you check out Ringer University. Make sure you check out Group Chat. Make sure you check out Mismatch.

make sure you check out the answer make sure you check out Black Girl's Songbook with who Roger Bell Make sure you check out R2C2 With Who Valiazabelle We'll see you on Thursday Ah we out