The Ringer NBA Show - Joel Embiid’s MVP Win and What Made His Return Difficult for the 76ers. Plus, the Dominance of Anthony Davis in Game 1 Against the Warriors. | Real Ones

Episode Date: May 4, 2023

Logan and Raja are back to discuss Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics and why it was difficult for the 76ers to reintegrate Joel Embiid into the lineup (2:53). Along the way, they talk about Embiid’s MVP win as well as what winning the award means for both the player and the team (12:03). Next, they talk about the Los Angeles Lakers stealing Game 1 behind the monster play of Anthony Davis and what the Golden State Warriors need to do to limit him going forward (33:46). Finally, the guys close with their Real Ones of the Week (54:04). Hosts: Logan Murdock and Raja Bell Producer: Jonathan Kermah Production Assistant: Kai Grady Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's up everybody? It's Austin Rivers from the Minnesota Timberwolves. It's a new year and I have a new podcast here at the Ringer, Offguard, hosted by me and my guide, Pasha Higigi. Austin and I go way back and talk so much hoop already that we figure those time to fire up the mics and let you in on all of these conversations. Every week, Pasha and I will hit on the biggest stories happening in the league.

And get Austin's perspective of someone currently hooping in the NBA. Tap into Offguard every Friday on the Ringer NBA show feed on Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. What's popping? Logan Murdoch here, Raja Bell there. Raja, I'm taking a little detour from the NBA playoffs. I am in Seattle, Washington, which honestly is one of the most regal places that I've ever been to. I mean, I've been here before, but it's been a while and I'm back.

And I don't want to leave. And in fact, I'm not going to leave until an NBA team comes back. All right. You're taking your stand. All right. I like it. Taking my damn stay. Hey, anybody at the rigger, you just, hey, figure it out.

we're here. It's a great place. That's a great town. Not throwing any shade at Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City's great, great fan base, all that. But I'm sure I'm not the only one that when the Sonics left was really sad that we wouldn't be having Seattle as a stop anymore. Just, I mean, the town, the vibes, like we said, pre-pod, the food.

It's just a great place. The fans, like that place was electric. And again, Oklahoma City wound up being great. But damn, Seattle was a cool spot as an NBA town. Roger, you're old enough to know the, when the Vancouver Grizzlies were here or were around. So what was that Pacific Northwest like trip like, where you go to Vancouver, Seattle, Portland? Yeah. And you just go down the coast?

I was really salty about this, but right when I came into the league, Vancouver had just moved. Oh. So I didn't get the Vancouver trip. And I had heard nothing but good things about. Vancouver. So, you know, Stephen Nash had a celebrity like poker tournament soccer type of deal. I think it was poker at the time. Yeah, it was poker up in Vancouver and a celebrity game. So I got to go up there one one, one off season and catch Vancouver as a vibe. Oh my God. Oh, dude, unreal. And so I could only imagine that if you were a player like and people were mapping out, you know, preseason when the

season comes out, the schedule comes out, and you're like, yo, what are we going to be in? When are we hitting? I mean, that was one of the first things you looked at. Oh, man, dog, it's been a vibe. I don't want to leave. I'm going to have to leave eventually, but it's been great. You know what's not, was not a vibe? I'm sure you're going to tell me.

Game two of the Eastern Conference semifinal matchup against the Celtics and the Sixers. It was, it was, I just turned on the TV. Like, I turned it on. I was like, I think it was probably like second quarter or something. And it was fine. And then I like check on the score again. It's 100 to fucking 75. And I'm like, I'm not watching this.

I'm not doing it. What the fuck? It was one of those games. But one of the big things of the game, I guess one of the biggest takeaways, was just the reintegration of Joelle and Bede. And how that has, there have been, it was just trouble getting him back into the fold. Because after game one, and before we get back to game two, I have to, I have to, you know how we do on ruins. I have to apologize to one James Harden because I don't think anyone saw this, but I did throw dirt on the man's name and the man had 45. But in game two, he was a little passive.

Doc Rivers said that he was passing a ball a little bit too much and just the aggression that was there in game one just wasn't there in game two trying to get Joel involved, just trying to figure. out the offense when you have another superstar back in the fold. Roger, how do you integrate a superstar back into the mix around this time? And people are like, why is there so much difficulty doing it? Why is there so much difficulty doing it in some cases? Well, before I answer that,

let me just say I too need to apologize. And I did publicly. I tweeted that night. Like, I owe James Hart an apology. I am sorry. And now I do want to say this, though. I, nope, not even to do it. I owe James Harden an apology.

First of all, watching last night, when you're asking about reintegrating a star, like into what you're doing, you know, there were a few, there were a few things that you had going on there that might not make it as easy as normal. Number one, the human element of we came in and got game one. And all we needed to do was get one. And so that natural, just hard to defeat emotion of like, let's just relax a little bit. Right. So there's that going on for the Sixers. Conversely, it's Boston like, oh, shit.

If we go down to O2, this could be over. We completely drop the ball in game one. We will not let that happen again. So we'll be a buzzsaw when we come out in game two. All right? So then you got those two things happening. And then you don't know to what degree, you know, despite what everyone's says about how healthy James Hart, I mean,

Joel Embed is, and I heard him saying, you know, I'm out here, so I'm good to go. You don't know what degree of himself he is. He seemed to be moving okay defensively. I don't think he looked really crisp and spry at times offensively. But you don't know, like, to what degree, you know, he's healthy. So those three things can make it kind of difficult to reintroduce a piece like that. He hadn't been out that long.

But it could be difficult because, you know, we just won the game. James was playing great. And so, you know, I think they ran into like a three-headed buzz saw last night as it pertains to reintegrating Joel Embed. And if you were going to be fractionally off at all, like offensively because of it, what happened last night was going to happen to you? You're going to wind up getting the brakes beat off of you because it just was a little

sloppy, a little clunky. I think he'll be much better if he's, if he's as healthy as they're letting on, I think he'll be much better. think that they'll kind of hop back into their normal rhythm. I mean, they played a whole NBA season with that kind of offensive hierarchy. So I don't think it's going to be that hard for them to find. It was that hard for them to find in that scenario in game two, though. After the game, Barclay, Charles Barkley said,

it might not have been the best decision to bring Joel back into at least at least in a game two environment, just kind of sit in one more game. because especially after you, you want to go stole a game in game one, no matter what, the worst case scenario is you're down 1-1, right? And you will have Joel at home, give them an extra game,

and an extra few days of rest. And then you have the adrenaline of the MVP game. And I'm so glad that the MVP game is back into the postseason. That was, you know, there's that element where, you know, it could go both ways where it could be a,

a momentum shift swing for the home team who was, who was presenting the MVP to their best player or could go another way, but you do have that adrenaline rush, right? But what do you think about the notion that, oh, maybe they could have waited a couple more days because what's the worst that could happen? Like, we're not going to be down 02,

and we will be having this adjournaling push if we come back and he gets extra days of rest. Well, I mean, it's a great debate because I can make a case, you know, for both sides. like, well, yeah, I've already stolen game one. We've come here to do what we need to do. And then, you know, in theory, we get that rest. We go home and we win to, this couldn't have been scripted any better.

You know, we're able to win without Joel and B. Let's move forward. I can't second guess their medical staff, right? Like, I don't know where he was. But let me just make the argument for what they did. If reintroducing a piece like that is going to be a difficult thing to do, and Joel isn't looking great, let's say, in practice or whatever. going on. I could make the case that you want to roll him out in game two because you're like,

we're probably not going to win two anyway, right? And if there's a clunker to be had with our offense, let's do it in the game that you're probably going to pencil in that we lose anyway. Yeah. So now he's got his seat legs back under him a little bit. Like we have one in the bag because while I just said it hasn't been that long that he's been out, it's been, I mean, I forgive the math, like roughly a week or so. Like that's a, for a guy, Joel and Bede's size and for a finely tuned athlete, someone that's used to doing stuff, you know, regularly. If he's been relatively immobile, you've got to factor in some rust when he comes back. So I could make a great case for like if he's healthy and you're not jeopardizing, you know,

moving forward in the playoffs, roll him out in game two. Let it be like his practice scrimmage. Let him let him go out there and knock the rust off. You have a game of film to just show like, oh, you guys fucked up here, here, here, and here and that'll help going forward as Joel continues to get healthy but he has some impressive moments man like no that's that's a great point too right like because now you're you know strategically like you get a look at what Boston plans to do with Joel on the

floor you know so you've already got a little glimpse into it so there are a lot of reasons why you know you can make a case for either one of those and I think I thought he had some good moments too especially defensively that fucking block on on Jalen Brown was incredible that was that was wild Should the Sixers be scared of the fact that Tatum only made one shot yesterday and the Celtics won by double digits? Very handily. Should they be scared? I mean, if I don't know that the Sixers be scared going in like, oh shit, well, fuck.

He's coming. I don't know that the Sixers need to be afraid. I think that, I mean, Boston's got to be pretty excited, though, you know, that you're able to do that. and you didn't have to rely on Jason Tatum for much. I mean, you got contributions, you know, from a lot of people. Grant Williams playing more was a huge, a huge move credit to Coach Musula for, for pulling the trigger on that one. Like, yeah, if you're, I don't, I'm not saying the Sixers should be afraid of that.

No. Now, I mean, there's some, there, there are trends, like, in, in terms of the winner of these two games, Like both of the winner, like the winner of game one, the Sixers, low turnovers, got up way more threes than Boston did. Like, we're committed to that. And it absolutely flipped on its head last night, you know, Celtics, you know, almost half the turnovers of Boston and almost a third more threes up or something like that, 50 to 20 something. Like it was, you've got to control that. You've got to control and take care of the ball. And you have to be able to get up and get people off of the.

that three in a way that I saw Boston way more committed to doing last night. You know, that three point line was a real gauge, right? Like they were up and contesting. They were pushing up on perimeter ballhanders way higher on the floor than they were in game one. And because of that, they were able to kind of control the amount of threes that were taken by Philly. And then Philly just kind of did the opposite.

They just kind of let down. And Boston was like, yeah, we're going to get these up. And so like that trend would worry me if I was Philly. they just got to take care of the ball and find that level of defensive intensity. But I wouldn't be scared. But if you're Boston, you're pretty excited about that. I want to get to Joel's MVP.

And there was a clip that came out. I think it was a Sixers that brought out or it might have been just one of the social media platform or one of the social media teams. But they got Joel's reaction, right, as soon as he finds out the news. And you could tell just how much he is loved by his teammates, including James Hart, who got him to Raleigh.

But it got me thinking because the last Sixer to win an MVP was one Chuck Iverson, who you played with. What was that season like and what is it like being a teammate of an MVP, especially when they find out? Well, I wasn't there that whole year. So, you know, I came late in that season. So I didn't get to be on the entire ride with them. but I mean when when he won it

that was just you know everybody feels like they won it how did you find out versus how he found out versus how the team found out versus when we saw it on the like when we saw it on the court like the consumer saw it shit I don't remember I was I was 22 years old man playing on playing on the number one seat in the Eastern Conference fresh out the CBA dog

I don't remember none of that I forgot I don't remember I forget ladies and gentlemen Rogers' first three years in the league are a fucking blur

like every time I ask him about like the first anytime I ask him about the Phoenix years it's like oh yeah this happened this happened I remember when this one happened whenever I asked him about the Sixers to like his first year with the Mavericks it's like I think this happened

I'm pretty sure this happened I'm positive if this happened, I think. Well, yeah, back to the question. How was it, let's be in a teammate of an MVP candidate, and what is that like? Yeah, no, it was, it was, first of all, everyone, to some degree, if it takes, it's weird.

I mean, because clearly me, out of all the people there, had had as little to do with it as, as any random person on the street, right? But everyone, even myself, as little as I had to do with it, you feel a little ownership in that, right? Like, that's our guy. Like we he got the MVP dog like that's that's pretty damn cool and you know I remember chuck had an energy about him in a glow like he he you know that was there was real pride and you know even though guys are trying to win championships and that's the goal you know joll ambed was pretty frank about it this year like yeah I want to win that like that you know that stamps me you know along with championships but that stamps me too so you know that was pretty cool and Philly in general as a town when teams are good and they're winning and their stars and are, you know, achieving, you know, MVP status. It's a really cool place to be, man.

They're no better fans than Philly fans when it's going well. And so part, that's part of the reason why I could tell you, some of that shit, I just don't remember because good times were being had. Good times were being had. And to make it, look, that year also, DeKembe won defensive player the year. So there was a lot of awards going around. And I just remember getting there. you know, being dropped into the mix and really, really kind of from the inside, you know,

kind of taking inventory and watching guys and saying, oh, people here think we can win a championship. You know, I was a fan three or four weeks before that. So, you know, I didn't really give a shit whether Philly could win a championship or not. It certainly didn't care how their team felt, you know, like to some degree probably thought, man, they can't win no championship. But then when I got there, right, you know what I mean? Like you got the Kobe and the Lakers and, you know, I'm a fan. But then when I got there and I saw the way boys were moving and, you know, the city was on fire.

Like I was like, yeah, we can do, yes, we could do this. Pretty cool. Roger, all I'm thinking about right now is like, do you ever like think about like the Forrest Gump like career you've had, bro? Like they fucking, they drop you in your first year. You're in the fucking O1 finals. Right? Like you and right. And then the next year or the two years after.

that you're playing with fucking Dirk Nevinsky and like having a role. Then you go to like under Jerry Sloan. Then you're like, that's all before all the shit that happens in Phoenix, right? Then you play with fucking Nash. You'd like change the,

like in an offense that literally changed the game. And then like do you ever think about that, bro? I do. I do think about that. And I think Forrest Gump is a great comp for me as a young player. Because I was just running around, bro. If you watch those Sixers games, I look like when the Alabama coaches staff was watching football practice and here comes Forrest.

I was just running around faster than everybody. Yeah. And they were like, what the hell is that? It was happening really fast. I wasn't like I didn't have enough seasoning at a young age. And looking back on it now, you know, I probably should have, if I'm being frank, not listen to the teams, like the Philly teams, and to some degree the Dallas teams that needed a specific role to be filled for those teams to be good, right?

Because Dallas was Dirk, Steve, Mike Finley, Nick Van Exel, Walt Williams, a loaded team, trying to win a championship, trying to beat Sacramento. Obviously, that Philly team was a championship team. There was no room on those teams really for anyone to play other than just a defender. So, so, because there weren't any shots to be had. And so I let myself get kind of complacent with being in the NBA early, Logan, and just being happy to be there and just playing that role and not trying to like get out of that box. Yeah.

And so it took going to Utah, like this wasn't the question you asked me. But I think if it was an awesome ride, but if I would have changed anything, I would have gotten to work a lot earlier on showing people, no, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not just a defender, dog. Like, I can defend, but I can, I can shoot. and so on and so forth. But listen, I played for Larry Brown, Don Nelson, fuck.

Jerry Sloan and Mike DeAnne, okay? All like Hall of Famers, bro. Now that's just my first time around. Then I play for Larry Brown again. He trades for me. Don Nelson again. He trades for me.

And Jerry Sloan again. So I got to, in the same order. The only person I didn't get to play for a second time was Mike D. And so I feel super blessed. And yeah, in retrospect, man,

it was a crazy, crazy story and a crazy ride. And more than I could have ever dreamt up. Yeah, bro. That's just, did you kind of see like, and we're going off topic, but fuck it.

You know how we do. Did you see the league going to the two-way style, right? Like the three and D guys, did you see that coming around? Like, and because you were, I were not just you,

but like a lot of players specifically on the, that on that Phoenix team, like, could go get three points. Like, Joe Johnson could go play defense and also get you a few threes in that specific offense, right? Right. Did you see that revolution coming or were you just like, I'm a part of this team and this is just the way we play basketball?

Yeah, I didn't really see it coming because the narrative around our teams were that we were just fun to watch during their regular season and it wouldn't win. And so, I mean, I knew there were guys on teams that played roles like I played. But I, you know, maybe it's, you know, without that 10,000 foot view of it, I just couldn't see the big picture. You know what I mean? But in it, I did not see the shift taking place. And so, you know, it was, I mean, let's say it's way more lucrative to do it now than when I did it. Sure.

Let's get back to the MVP itself. So we had a big MVP to do that. discussion a few weeks ago where we were just, Embedde was on the list. I can't remember how we did. I think we picked Janice at that point and then Embed and then I think I put Yonkid's third. Now that it's all kind of settled now,

we know who got the award. Are you satisfied with it, Ra? Are you satisfied with it going to a beat? I think I'm satisfied. I think I'm down with that. He got 75 first place votes. He won it pretty handily.

I think I'm good. What do you think? No, I'm 100% good with that. I made my case for Janice, but I made a case for Embed last year, and all he did was come out this year and double down on why he should have won it or could have won it last year. I shouldn't say should have won it. I could have won it.

So I'm 100% okay with Embed winning it. And, you know, I just feel bad. I watched Embed, I know they say that he's healthy. It's a tough pill to swallow for an MVP candidate to wind up with an injury like that. And again, I know they say he's healthy, But I watched him last night. Defensively, it's one thing with a knee. You know, when you're just blocking shots,

you're basically kind of running. There wasn't a lot of cutting on that. Like, you're just chasing someone going downhill and blocking a shot. Great blocks. Don't get me wrong. But offensively, he didn't look as aggressive as I've seen him. And that's where when you're trying to push and cut and change direction, that's where I think, you know, a funky knee could hamper you?

What does your eyes tell you like a percentage of what he is right now, right? Like, what do you think? Do you think it's about 75 to 80 based on what? you see or like is he could he be close to 90 i don't know like it what do you see from if you could guess about what he is at this point it was really weird because he had moments last night where he ran the break and and uh maybe uroed somebody and laid it in where he looked good and then other moments where i was like man just two weeks ago he would have been in an ice situation and he would have been in his bag or you know he didn't even look to shoot that so i guess if i had to put

a number and i say probably 70 yeah i say 70 75 that's tough. Like, that's better than most people's, like, 100%, but like, in the playoffs,

you need that. You need to get to at least 90, man. Like, it's tough. And to his point of, like, I'm healthy,

I'm out there, I'm healthy. Yeah, you're supposed to say that. Of course. And then I get it. We'd kill him if he, if he used it as a crutch or an excuse.

So, like, you've got to say that. Yeah, especially in Philly. You don't get, they don't play in Philly. I would be on a loop one.

What is it? Like, like, Right. What is it like as a Philly player to play in Philly? Like you said that there's the good times, but there's also the bad times and they are on your ass when it's the bad times. How do you like how do you navigate that as a Philly basketball player? I saw them both.

My brother. When did you see a bow? What was the highest or what was the lowest for you specifically? Well, the highest happened immediately, right? Like relatively speaking, I mean, it was a month or so into being there. game six of the buck series they throw me in, we're losing. I'm on a unit that brings the game all the way

backward now like 16 and the third. We're in Milwaukee, we bring it all the way back and have a chance to win it. And game seven, I'm sitting over there eating my normal Snickers bar hanging out and Larry Brown calls my name. So like, you ate Snickers bar during the game?

Yeah, I wasn't doing shit. I'm sitting over there watching the game like you, bro. I'm like, hey, bro, me a Snickers bar. Wait, wait, wait, wait, quick aside. Quick aside, I am doing something like up here with a specific athlete. I'm not going to say their name, but I went to breakfast with this person. And the amount of shit that you athletes fucking eat on a game day, it's healthy or not to pack up them carbs and to pack up all that sugar and all that shit. You guys are fucking next level.

Why do you guys? What the fuck? How do you guys do that and are able to maintain just eating so much different types of healthy and unhealthy shit? I mean, metabolisms are at all-time highs, like unbelievable metabolisms. And, you know,

caloric burn when you're talking about working out multiple times a day is ridiculous too. So you're just feeding that shit, dog. And then sitting on the bench, you got just nervous, you got nervous energy

and you had a workout pre-game because you're not expecting the play that was really taxing. So now you're sitting there two and a half hours later. You're playing a game already. You already play a game. You already played a game.

Played a game, played Mike Woodson one-on-one, did all my shooting. So I'm hungry. Like, there's a game going on, but I got to eat. So I'm sitting there eating the Snickers bar. Larry Brown drops me in. You know, I have a few good plays. And next thing I know, I'm talking on the, what was it, CBS or NBC Brock? I didn't know what happened.

So that next day, I'm in the mall with my parents, life as usual. Let's just go in here. We'll walk around, been in this mall a thousand times. A thousand times. one person spotted me the whole mall shut down i shit you not i had hundreds of people surrounding me like i was scared my family was scared we didn't know what was going on you were raja beber yeah dog it was it was bananas just like that overnight and so for the next for that whole playoff run and the summer i mean philly was love it was great and i heard summers of phillies are the vibe i heard i heard summer

the phillies of wow yeah i was blessed man my uncle my uncle used to bring me up to philly in the summertime when I was a young and they are a very good time. And but anyway, so that was my experience with being like in an electric atmosphere, leaving the games and you're going up the ramp in Philly. I don't know if you've been there

when you're leaving whatever they call the arena now. You go up the ramp and there's a security guard there. People would be waiting for your car and they'd be shaking it and it would, you know, it was just craziness, man. It was an awesome experience. And then hopes were high for our team

going into the next year. and specifically me, because I came out of nowhere. People thought, you know, he's got the size, he's got this and that, and I had a great summer league. And it just wasn't good the next year. And we weren't as good the next year. And so the vibes just weren't the same. The vibes weren't the same.

I didn't receive the same kind of love. Every now and again, I'd hear the, if I got in there and couldn't make a shot, the booze would come out. You know what I mean? And so that played with me in a way that I had never, I had never really even I had been cut multiple times Logan I've been cut by the Hawks my first time around and that same season I was cut by San Antonio and that will shake you a little bit and have you question in things you know but for the most part you're like nah dog this is my dream I'm going

after this but to have experienced that high so early off a very little production and then and then the next year not living up to yours or anyone else's expectations and being booed that started to fuck with me like it started to fuck with me on a human level, man. Like, like, you know, I'm, I don't know that I was depressed, like, but I probably at that time could have used a little help because shit just was not going good for me. You know, I was still living my dream. Don't get me wrong. Like, it was, it was a blessing and I was, I loved to be there.

But you could see it slipping, huh? You could definitely see it slipping. And I was sad because I couldn't get out of it. I couldn't figure out how to like, you know, I couldn't figure out how to be what, what I needed to be to stay in the league. and so then, you know, they didn't bring me back after that year. So I saw both sides of it. Philly's still a great place to play and everything, and they should have booed me.

I was shitty that next year. So what's the reaction going to be for game three from the Philly fans? Electric. Going to be bananas. Because it's going to be the Embeditp. At night, right? And I know that night when Iverson got it, it was ridiculous, right? Are the, it's prediction time.

are the Sixers going to be going to feed off of that adrenaline and win handily or is it going to be one of those things where they're still kind of figuring out how to bring and beat into the fold? I don't think they're going to have a problem bringing them beat into the fold. They will definitely feed off the energy in there.

Philly puts on like Rocky in the parking lot every aisle you go down. It's just craziness, bro. Like I, the tiger. Like they're going to be putting on in a way that only a few cities can say they do. So yes, there'll be electric, electricity in the atmosphere. Everything is going to go well.

On that front, I think, with Embed, and I'm still here to tell you that if Boston comes out with that defensive kind of mindset and what they did offensively, and I don't know if a lot of people saw this was, they were very decisive with what they did offensively. There was not a whole lot of catching it and holding it and given a defense a one two count to like shift into position.

These dudes were getting downhill and spraying it. And if you caught it, you were either shooting it, raising your guy up with the shot fake and getting back downhill, or moving it. And they just had that defense in like a bad way. So when they do that, they become very, very hard to guard. So I could say that all of what you said is true. And if Boston comes out with that level again, I can see Boston getting game three. You know what you guys should do in your spare time, all my real ones?

you should go and try to find practice footage of the Boston Celtics doing defensive rotations. Mute that thing and just play Beethoven because it's fucking that beautiful. All right. That's how beautiful fucking Boston defensive rotations are. And when they're on, they're on. They just sometimes just take their foot off the gas. And that's my only problem. If they had the defensive intensity every game and also had the oomf every single game that they displayed,

they'd win the title easy. Easy. Well, look, I think you're right in that if they defensively, I was more talking about how they looked offensively, but defensively, they were also locked in in a way that was more reflective of the way they played last year. and I tend to agree with you in that if they, we talked about it last pod, was this something they needed to worry about? And I said, not really.

Remember? Like, do we need to worry about them falling asleep at the wheel? I was like, no, I think they probably learned their lesson. Well, there was again. James Hardin, all his brilliance in game one. And I'm not taking anything away from him. Boston was not, like, locked in, ready to go.

And when they are, they look like a different team and they play at a different level. And I don't think there are that many teams that can reach that level this year. Boston is one of the few. I mean, I'll make the argument last year, even though they lost the title. I think they were the best team in the league. I do.

And I know, like, I just think that it was one of those things of experience in the NBA finals. But, like, I came away thinking every game, like, does Boston realize that they're the best team in the series? Like, do they, do they get this? But they just got their heart taken out from them by a Hall of Famer. But I think that that's just one of those things I'd like to see. Just like, oh, man, just realize you're the best team in the league and go get it. That's what it is. We're going to take a quick break.

We're going to talk about the Western Conference. The NBA playoffs are in full swing and you can turn crossovers into cash with Fanduel. Just visit Fandul.com slash Ringer MBA right now and place a $5 bet and you'll get an instant $150 in bonus bets. Win or loose. There's a bet that I'm thinking about. I think I'm going to take the Warriors to beat the Lakers in seven. Why not? There's no better place to bet on all the playoff action than America's number one sportsbook.

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1-800522470-470 Wyoming, or visit www.1-800 gambler.net, West Virginia. All right, Ra, we're going to go to Golden State, where I can't help but think the Warriors fumbled a big opportunity in game one and had a really, really good shot at winning it and getting up in the series despite the fact that they were tired

and their legs weren't all the way there from the King series and just all that entailed. I don't know where I want to go with this first. I think I want to go with Anthony Davis, though. Let's just go with Anthony Davis. Let's talk Anthony Davis really quickly because Anthony Davis was on a different fucking level

as a basketball player. We just talked about, Boston, and if they have the defensive intensity, they are the best team in the league and they can run through the finals. If Anthony Davis plays like this for four games in this series,

it's a wrap. It is a wrap. Yeah, yeah. He was incredible. Like, I'm not going to say like Prime Shack or anything, but there was a little bit of a vibe. You know what Shack could just take over a game defensively where he could just, where you would just like,

tell him like Shaq, it would usually happen later in the series. But Anthony Davis was blocking everything. It was one of those things where when you got into the lane, you know, when a shot blocker just starts blocking shots and it just affects the, it affects the shooter in a way when he comes in a lane, he's just, he's just hesitant to get the shot up or he just throws some bullshit up because he just wants to get the ball over the outstretched. He was in the warrior's head.

defensively. That's how good he was. Will this continue? That's always the age old question. And what are you expecting from him in game two? Well, will it continue? I mean, if you're a Lakers fan, you want to hope so. I mean, this was the guy that you saw in LeBron's absence kind of down the stretch of the season, right? That just kind of took over. And this is the way they have to play to be successful in terms of the off, you know, the the, the one A being AD.

and then the 1B and LeB in LeB and LeB and LeB and LeB if they play like that if AD specifically plays like that and he wants to physically impose himself both offensively and defensively Golden State has a really big problem

and that's the team that we were saying coming into the playoffs could win a championship that that type of team can win a championship whether it's sustainable or not for him I don't know I tend to think it is I mean you know

he don't have to do it seven nights in a row or six nights in a row in this series, he's just got to find it for three out of the next, what, six games. So I think that's doable. I would disagree with the fumbling of the bag only like at semantics. I think fumbling of the bag suggested the warriors dropped the ball. I think they had that shit taken from them.

You know what I mean? Like Lakers were there. Sound game playing. Big Anthony Davis game, both offensively and defensively. I mean, it helps shot blocking when you just sit in the fucking paint. Do you know what I mean? Like you're around the rim. It's going to give you way more opportunity to block shots.

So Golden State figuring out how to move him and move some of that congestion out of the paint so people can operate is going to be really important. But yes, the answer is yes. If Anthony Davis plays like that, and it doesn't have to be 30 and 20 and whatever amount of blocks he had, it just has to be I am imposing my will, both offensively and defensively. I'm here for the physicality. And if he can sustain that, yeah, I think they got a problem.

Another thing is, and this is, it does happen in the Lakers Memphis series where the Lakers just are lights out in game one and somehow just can't summon that energy in game two knows. There are different circumstances, right? Because, you know, the Lakers are going across the country to play Memphis. It's a different, you know, the travel schedule is just different. They're losing spent time and stuff. But they're, what I am saying is the Lakers are prone to coming out. flat and after big games. And the difference is the Warriors are a better team than Memphis.

The Warriors aren't going to lay down. What suggests to me that this is going to be a long-ass series, what do the Warriors need to do in game two to make sure that they just leave no doubt and be just, I think the Warriors just need to go ahead and beat the shit out of the Lakers and send a message. I'm of that mind going into Los Angeles where it's going to be really tough for them to to play in a postseason environment in LA. In a perfect world, that's exactly what you do.

You bounce back and, you know, you beat them up. You send a message in game two. But, you know, I think it's more nuanced than that in terms of what Golden State needs to do because the Lakers did some things to them defensively that at least in game one, Golden State didn't have great answers for. You know, that top siding of Steph Curry and Clay Thompson off of the ball, meaning you don't even give him an opportunity to come off of the screen because Golden State, a lot of their offense is predicated on these wide pinaways or screens,

we call them these wide kind of angle screens where you're screening down on a shooter and now he's coming flying off. They were just top-siding that and forcing them to go back door like that. That threw a wrench in that and then they were denying stuff everywhere he went. So what Golden State does the counter that's going to be interesting, right? like tempo tempo tempo tempo like they just came out of one with sacramento the best way to to attack a very stout and stymieing defense is is to get at it early don't let it get set so if your golden state like get that ball out of the net even you know makes or misses get it and let's fly get it and let's push let's go

let's try to get into action or whatever you know we think is the answer quickly um you know the other thing would it be obviously to let Steph handle it more. You know, maybe a little rub screen in the back court so they can't deny him the inbounds. And then he's got it in his hands in a way that now he can kind of dictate what's going on versus being off the ball. And the Lakers are now dictating whether or not he can catch it, right?

Yeah. Like that's going to be important. And then I think like it's really interesting in this, this, you know, offensive basketball, like, because like if you use like, let's use the baseline of the court and wherever Steph is as your axis point, right? Like, yeah. And let's say the ball is 45 degree angle opposite him.

So on the opposite high wing, Steph's in the left corner. Okay. And there's going to be a screen from Draymond or Kavanaughan Looney going down into the left corner, trying to bring step up to the middle of the court towards the basketball. Well, the Lakers have sat on top of him and they've said, nah, like not going to let you, not going to let you come off of that screen, right? And so that that's a problem because they have a big in the paint. So it's not like he can just go back door from that spot and get a bucket because there's a big sitting there.

So that's a very advantageous position for that defender to be in at that time. I've taken an option away from you. I'm making you go back door. I have help there. But as that ball moves from 45 degrees on the right wing, like up the court a little bit more, right? Up the court towards the top of the key, it puts that same defender that was in a real advantageous position when the ball was on the right wing into a very, very vulnerable position when the ball is kind of at the top.

Because now you're behind him as it relates to the ball in the basket. So if the ball swings to that big at the top, I think Kavana Looney and Draymond have to be more willing playmakers from there, even if that big does not come out and honor you. If he takes a step up the floor, steps open on some sort of back door at that point because the defender is outside shade now, right? But where they really were, I saw little wrinkles in the second half, and I'm sorry to get all the way in the weeds here. You're in a bag. Well, as that ball moves from right wing to top, now said defensive player is now behind Steph, now he takes off going baseline, even if you can't get it to him on a back door.

Right. And now that screen that you were looking for on a down screen on the left wing becomes more of a traditional floppy. floppy is a screen that you set from the wing down into the paint from a player that's under the rim. So Steph went from the left corner. Now he's under the rim with a trail defender. And now he's flying off the right wing. And no one can topside him on that side. Yeah.

So they've got to get into more action like that. Like I can take something away from you as a defender. But that means I left something open. Like especially if I'm going to sell out. And that's selling out. When you topside something, you're selling out. So you got to figure out as Golden State. all right, what, and I know they will because they're as great as anyone.

Steve Kerr, Steph, like they're, I mean. They're among the best all-time in between game adjustments. Of course, and they'll figure it out, but this is what they have to figure out. You take that primary defender when the ball's at one angle as it relates to the offensive player who's in great position. And as that angle changes, that primary defender becomes really exposed. And you've got to expose them for doing that. I want to talk about Jordan Pull really quickly, who had a,

I've turned the game on and I'm like, oh, is this a Jordan pool game? We're going to have a Jordan pool game? And there was a Jordan pool game, the whole game. Including where he gets the ball without hesitation with Clay Thompson and Steph Curry on the floor with eight seconds left

and throws up a 32-footer misses and effectively ends the game. Now, if you haven't been watching the Warriors much this season, this has become a trend where they just won the Warriors and I don't want to put it all on Jordan Pull because it's not all his fault

but there have been some blunders this season with Jordan Pulled down the stretch right? What? Because the Warriors were clearly frustrated by that shot. There were a lot of camera angles of stuff just shaking his head like what the fuck there were a lot of just

you know it was people were pissed because the Warriors made a great run and had a chance to tie the game had a legitimate chance to tie the game and maybe win in overtime or maybe winning in regulation, you never know. What was, what did you think about that shot and how should the warriors go from, from a standpoint of treating Jordan after this happens, right? Like, what did, how do they get, what do they do?

What is the, what happens after this going into game two after game one? Support, support, support. What you saw him do at the press conference? both Steve Kerr and and Steph Curry. Like we trust him to make that shot. Like he, it's make her miss at that point, right?

Like, you know, got to shoot it. There's not enough time. This is, there's, there's not enough time to have Katz second guessing. He was just bad for almost an entire series. And he made six threes.

You need him to be good offensively in this series. So while I don't think it was a great shot, and I'm sure they don't think it was a great shot. shot. I don't know that you want to be in his head if there's any hope that he's out of that funk and he's going to be a supplementary offensive piece in this, and you need them in this series because they're basically telling you, we ain't guarding two people on the court at any given time. We got garden loon and we're not guarding green. And so what's going to be interesting to see if they play Jay Michael green a little bit more, right? Because he hit a few threes,

but I don't know what he's got in the tank. But when those two are on the court, Dan Garden, either one of them. Right. So you need, you need Jordan to feel free and be in his bag. And that's kind of, you know, this is the tight rope that you walk. We talk about the one that Draymond walks with his, with his, it's the same one I walked with our emotions, right? Right.

This is the one you walk with a Jordan pool who can be as crafty and as off script offensively and brilliant at times. And then you get some shit like that where you shot a shot from. I don't know, eight or nine feet behind the three-point line and Steph was trying to get it back. So you don't want to, you don't want to cut him off and have him like triple guessing it. But the way I would, the way I would approach it would be to just show in film, which I'm sure they're doing, the options that were available to us there without having to call him out and say, hey, dog, like, you don't shoot that shot. Well, what the fuck if I have to shoot that shot? Yeah.

Like what if Seth gives up up. You don't want to take him out for the rest of the series. You don't want to take him out for the rest of the series. No. Especially with a guy like Jordan, like his emotions are. tied to this game and he really wants to be great. If you take him, if you say some shit to him, it might fuck him up for the rest of the series.

And that's not fair. Can't have that. Cannot have that if you're Golden State. So I think the way to do it is, you know, as, hey, listen, we'll put the film on, which we're going to do anyway. And let's go through the options here. Like, A, you know, the genesis of it

and the greatest teaching point I thought was, Steph's got a ball with what, roughly 15 seconds on the clock and he pushes. And Jordan Poole and Draymond are fucking jogging. Yeah. Like slow jogging, not even like a brisk jogging, like vibe jogging. Bro, we are down with 15 seconds to go in game one. You need to be up the court in a way, Logan, that would position you that when that double, first of all, the double team doesn't come to Steph at that point.

Doubles can come at Steph because he's got, he's got the guy who doubled had no defensive responsibility at that point in the front court. Right. Because Draymond's ass and Jordan are still in the back court. So you look around and you're like, well, what? There's no man here? Biggest threat on the court. Let me just run at him.

Yep. Fuck it. I'm going. So the first teaching point would be like, yo, let's run. Like we got to come on, guys. Like just bigger picture, not even just this play. Look at our energy level in this situation. We can't be on that ever in this round of the playoffs, dog.

We got to have, you know, we can't do that. Secondly, like Jordan, it would have been corrected if you would run. You're too deep here. You're too deep. Like that's a swing swing. It swings from Steph and it swings. You know Dre's not going to shoot it. Like let's get to a more advantageous spot that if you want to squeeze, you could squeeze.

And if you don't, now you're towing the line. So whoever's, whoever that defender is in the left corner as, as Clay was drifting out, he got a decision to make. Does he stun at you and stay home with Clay, which is probably what I would do? or does he lose his mind real quick in the scenario and pull the trigger and come to you? And now it's a swing, swing, swing, and Clay's in the corner. But being in a more advantageous position makes a defender have to make a choice. But nine feet off the line, no one's running at you. So just showing him the different things you could have done in that scenario,

I think gets the point across without you having to kind of check him in a way that would maybe, you know, hinder his performance moving forward. I didn't think it was a great shot, Logan, but there were things that happened it wasn't just him. It wasn't just him. You're resting Draymond. And I'm curious because we all, like, we all see Draymond, especially in the last few years,

just give up on offense, at least from a scoring perspective, right? Like, he's just full facilitator mode on the offensive end. But like, it's not like he doesn't have it anymore. He just doesn't choose to do it. Like, case in point, that game five against Sacramento, where he's doing the Dirk's fadeaway, and he's getting you 16 and 11. Did they need that Draymond?

Like how much? Because I feel like if he is a threat and offensive threat, it just makes the offense better. What do you think in this moment in time? Should he be more aggressive offensively and not just looking to be a facilitator at all times? Yeah, I think Draymond falls into just kind of the flow of the way they play. Because teams don't typically play them like that a lot, right?

That was a wrinkle. and so he just didn't make the adjustment on the fly. You don't have to go out there. That's playing right into the Lakers' hands if he goes out there and says, hey, I'm shooting the ball 20 times. They're like, yes, do that. Do that.

Right? Like, really talk. Basically what they did with what the Warriors did with Sabonis last series. Like, fuck it. If you want to shoot, go ahead. I'm letting Dremont shoot 25 times. I'm limiting the amount of shots

that Steph, Clay, and someone else, Jordan Poole get. So, like, I don't think he needs to take that beat. But what he often does for them to look their best is catch it and not even look at the opportunity for himself. So he's just catching it and turning. And so I think he's got to sprinkle in more, you know, more opportunities for himself without going over the top and shooting the ball 25 times. Can you dig what I'm saying? So you've got to, you've got to take some of them. You've got to be willing to drive that ball at that big. And maybe we're just doing it in an effort to get fouls

on AD or whoever that is sitting back in the paint and clogging it up. Like, you know, when Jamichael Green went and ate a couple threes in the game, maybe it's another player that stretches the floor in a way that, you know, it entices those bigs to pull up out of there. But where Draymond's always been really valuable and they got to figure out how to do this, I'm telling you the top siding of that pin away action is it really stymied their ability. If you're not being guarded, right, it makes you the best screener on the planet. And that's what Draymond's mastered.

Draman has mastered, oh, people are going to be back in the paint on me and they don't respect my shot. Well, if I can get to one of these all-world shooters in a dribble handoff or some sort of action where I become a screener for them, well, if I get any piece of their man and they come off, my man is now in the paint. So this is target practice for those dudes. Yeah. So they've got to figure out he's got to shoot some more shots. He's got to be more aggressive. You got to get downhill on those guys a couple of times. but they got to figure out what I said before,

which is how to get that defender that's on the top side, not allowing Steph and Clay to come off to now be on their backside. And now it brings Draymond's ability to like DHO and stuff like that and the value of it back into the picture because those bigs are still in the paint. With all that being said, what do you see in game two? I got gold to stay winning game two. I got gold to say winning game too as well.

I just think it's one of those things where there's no way they can lose. If they lose, series is over. And they know that. And this is one of those games where they have more incentive to win than the Lakers do. And just for those reasons, I think that they have a level of desperation that you just can't even imagine. I agree with that 100%. And I would also say that anyone is smart as them when they go back to the drawing board, they're going to see all of this opportunity that was created by the scheme that the Lakers deployed.

There's shit there. and sometimes when you're in the moment, it's hard to decipher what's going on and it's hard to see the answer to it and then given just a little bit of time when you break it down, you're like, oh, shit. Like, look at that, look at that. And so I think they'll see that.

I think the desperation will be there. And I heard some people yesterday saying if they go down O2, it's not the end of the world, they just came back from down O2. That was different. That's way different. Also, they didn't go down to with their first two games being at home.

That's the number one piece that's different. And the number two piece that's different is you were dealing with, with relatively young players and inexperienced players as it pertains to winning championships. You got damn LeBron over there. Yeah, bro. Here's the, like,

what I am looking forward to this series and why I love watching Steph versus Braun, it's such high-level basketball, bro. No matter what, it's just going to be high-level possession-by-possession basketball. Like, even when the Lakers went up 10 in game one in the third quarter, you're like, oh, the Warriors are going to make a run. This lead isn't, this lead isn't,

sustainable just because you just know both teams are going to like it's going to be avant-garde level basketball is all I'm saying that's what I'm going to pick Golden State as well let's get to a little segment we like to call real one of the week where we shout out a person organization or entity that won the week in our eyes I'm going to just go and I don't think I'm picking Rogers but I'm going to go with Joelle and B I just thought because I saw the MVP presser that he had And he talked about what this MVP does, not only for him, but the continent of Africa in Cameroon where he's from, right?

And he went back to talking about how, you know, when he started at 15 and his brother passed, he didn't think he was going to play basketball again. And to go from there to getting out of his circumstances and winning an MVP and the National Basketball Association, huge deal, huge bit of part. shows perseverance, shows dedication, shows all of that. And, you know, what a treat to have a guy like that in the league and to watch

a player like that get rewarded for their great play. So I'm going to go with Joelle and B is my ruling of the week. It's a great real one. I'm going to go with, it might have been late last week, but hometown club,

the Florida Panthers. I know we gave love to the heat last week, but I'm going to give love to these Florida Panthers, man, because I didn't do it yet. And while I'm not a huge hockey fan, like real respects real. And so they were an eight seed down in the series against the winningest regular season team in NHL history of the Boston Bruins, pushed it to game seven down in the third period, pulled their goalie, got it into overtime, and then beat the Bruins for probably the biggest. upset in NHL history as it relates to the playoffs and one versus eights.

And so shout out to the Florida Panthers. They play about 15 minutes from my crib, real ones. And you still ain't going. Bro, hey, on the couto, playoff hockey has been lit this postseason. I just, I've watched just highlights. I am a novice. I've been to one postseason game.

I think I went to go see the L.A. Kings played in San Francisco. Jose sharks like about 10 years ago. Playoff hockey's lit, Roger. It's probably going to be weird for you if you ever went because it's so hot around this time in Miami or like is it human and stuff. And then you go into that arena and it's freezing. You ain't got to worry. I ain't going.

Okay. That's fair. There we go. That's fine. Okay. You ain't even got to worry about that, bro. All right, man. That's been another edition of real ones.

I'm going to go on a walk. I don't know what the hell Roger's going to do with the rest of his day. You're going over to the wharf, man? You're getting over there at a warf, bro. It's like a five-minute walk to where they throw the fish.

Roger, about to go tap in. If I see any of my real ones out in Seattle, come holla at me. Say, what's up, man? I'll see you guys around. All right. In the meantime, it's tap in with us Mondays and Thursdays.

We'll see you guys on Monday. It's going to be a great slate over the weekend. Talk to y'all soon, man. Tap in. Ah, ah, halla. Bye-bye. Ah, my eyes back. Yes, sir.