The Ringer NBA Show - Steph Curry Leads the Warriors to Victory | Real Ones

Episode Date: June 20, 2022

Logan and Raja convene a few days after the Golden State Warriors beat the Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA Finals to win a championship to talk through what they saw from Steph Curry, what moves the Warriors could make this offseason, and how the Celtics can grow from this experience. Then Jomi Adeniran joins to light the Celtics' pack and send them off to Hell in style. Hosts: Logan Murdock and Raja Bell Guest: Jomi Adeniran Producer: Sasha Ashall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, I'm Mallory Rubin. And I'm Van Laithen. Check out the Ringerverse podcast from The Ringer. For all things, superhero movies, nerd culture, and fandom entertainment. We have instant reviews and fun takes on all the latest news and more. Available now on Spotify. What's popping? Logan Murdoch here.

Raja Bell is back. Real ones. Hey, Raja. How you doing, bud? I'm good, brother. I'm good. Hey, do you know, I've been denied for the fourth time verification on Twitter? Do you know that?

Oh, wow. You said you didn't care about this stuff. but here we are. Here we are, right? Because, I mean, I'm me, dude. Like, why the fuck I can't get verified? I don't understand. Like, I mean, I'm telling you, my sons,

there's a lot of stuff at their age that they find amusing. But I don't know that there's much more that tickles them than me not being able to get my verification status. It is constant. in our house if that's if that's anywhere in in the topic sphere you know what i i can't wait to see joamy who's on the front of the pod get the freak out of the chat because you are not going to do anything this is your problem joey's in the chat right now i can't even let him help me no joey's no joey's in the chat right now because he's going to be on the show a little later for pack watch he is in the chat talking about raja i got you raja i got you raja joey jimmy has been

saying this to raja for about almost two years And ain't nothing happened. That's all I'm saying. That's very true. Nothing has happened. He has said, oh, I got all this stuff where you got to put a picture. First of all. I got a picture of put a picture on the background of your Twitter.

That's out of word. First of all, Roger ain't coming to me. You know what I'm saying? I said, I said, Sasha, you know what I'm saying? St. Roger, my info. We're going to take care of them. Don't worry. I ain't yet to receive it.

I got connects. I got people. I'm verified on Twitter. How Roger and I verified on Twitter? That's nuts. That's nuts. Show me as much as I appreciate the offer and, you know, the possibility that you could get that done for me. At this point, Logan, you ever had one of those things?

I have to do this shit myself. I have to do this myself. I can't let you intervene on my behalf. I have to get this done. You know what? I can't wait for him. I can't wait for Dia and Ty to get their shit verified before you. I cannot wait.

I'm going to, I cannot wait. Boy, don't play with me. Hey, Twitter. Hey, boy, I don't know who y'all are, but let that shit happen. I can't wait. I can't wait until Rodgers' two sons get verified. And before he does, it's going to be a great day on the timeline. It's going to just, I think, I think Roger's going to delete his shit right when his two boys get theirs.

It's going to be his wits in. Anyway, we're talking to you days. I heard the Golden State Warriors. Captured. their fourth NBA title in eight years. Seventh NBA title in franchise history. Roger, Steve Kerr said that this was one of the most surprising titles that he's gotten.

You weren't around. I had the pod with Rob Bologna last Thursday. What was your reaction to the whole game? Where were you at? Where were you sitting? What was the reaction to the game to the championship? So I had my two sons were out at the University of Texas football camp. So we got off the field and we were able to get back to the hotel midway through the first quarter.

So, you know, we watched at the hotel bar while I was grabbing a beverage and then we went up to the room and watched the whole third, I mean, second quarter, second half in the hotel room. And I think we all were kind of sitting there in all of kind of what had taken place, right? because when we hopped in the car, Boston, when we checked the screen, Boston was up, quick, early. And I was like, you know, the tenor of these series, okay, this is what's going to happen. Like, Boston's going to put this one away and we're going to go back to game seven. Like, this is, you know, I'm working through it. And by the time we got to the hotel, Golden State was up 10.

And we were like, what? We were like, what, what? We didn't get to see any of that. So we sat there and we were just like, all right, I know I expected there to be like another punch. And I guess it came from Boston somewhere in that third and fourth quarter. But it wasn't, it wasn't a punch. That was a little elbow. Yeah, it just never really happened.

And so we were just sitting there like early in this third quarter, we were all like, they're going to know they want a fucking championship. Good for that. Like, they're going to win this. They're going to put it in a bag. They got it. They got it done. And Steph Curry was great.

And, you know, I was happy for Dremont. Like, all jokes aside, we talked about him needing to be able to find a way to kind I put a stamp on the series and help his team. He did that. Andrew Wiggins, I couldn't, Logan, I don't know if you remember, man, but I'm sure a few other people did, but I always thought that was going to be a great fit for Andrew Wiggins. I thought that Minnesota was bad culturally at the time. It may have changed by now.

And I thought they were asking him to play a role that didn't necessarily fit exactly the spirit of his game. And I thought being in the culture and being around shooters and having an open floor, I thought it was going to be great for Andrew Wiggins, and he was the second best player on the Warriors. And so I just, for all reasons, Steve Kerr, for all reasons, I was really excited for them and happy. I don't know where to start here.

I think you brought up a lot of great points, a lot of these things. I'll just talk about the first of all, what transpired in that first quarter. So this was my, I was in the building. TD Garden was rocking. TD. Garden was rocking, bro. like they played, they started it off and played in the air tonight by Phil Collins.

And like before, like, I think every game, every big game, I don't care if it's on ESPN or T&T, I think every game in an arena should start out within the air tonight by Phil Collins. Okay? Yeah. Yeah. To do it do to do it.

Bro, just. I just got chills doing it, bro. I'm rocking in my seat. Dog. And they played it like right before the anthem. Yeah. Just overall, Raja, the propaganda was insane. That Boston, you didn't tell me how big the propaganda of Boston.

You didn't tell me how great. Just the propaganda up in the building. I know, but it was just like, it was one of those things. When you're there, you feel that shit. You just, it was just right when you walk into the building. So we'll get to the vibes of Boston in a second. But the fans were, it was just incredible. But the first 10 minutes, I think,

Tatum hits the three. I think they go up 14-7, the boss in Celtics, too. I think, no, it was 14-5. And then, you know, you'd think that the boss is on the raw. I'm thinking the same thing you're thinking. But then I look at the Warriors bench,

and they aren't tripping whatsoever. There's not an iota of just fear at all. They're not tripping. They were like, oh, we just, you know, I was talking to somebody on the Warriors before the game, and they were like, yeah, they're probably, they were just, like, really confident. The Warriors were really confident going on this game.

So I was talking to somebody with the Warriors, and they were like, yeah, they're probably going to go on their run, and then, you know, we'll just turn it on out and just win this ship tonight. And that's exactly what happened. The thing about Golden State, and this is something that we have talked about throughout this pod, and specifically throughout this series, they just had that veteran calmness that the Boston could just never have, just because it's just by product of them never being there before. They just had a just an aura of like, yeah, we're going to get this done. And even the runs down the stretch, Roger, there was, it was not, it was, there was nothing that was going to happen.

There was no fear, even when I think Boston got it down. I think eight, there was no fear. It was just going to, it was over with. Yeah. I think you're correct in that that game specifically, there were other instances in the series for sure. But I think in a game six where your back is up against the wall, or at home, the pressure that is having to, you know, when to stay alive, it got to Boston in a way that circumstances like that don't usually get to Golden State. And that is, that is

experienced, it's maturity. It's, you know, a lot of other intangible things that go into that overall kind of meltdown. But I think Boston will be better for that coming into next year. it remains to be seen whether Jason Tatum can take that next step and that next step in his evolution into closer of games like that. You know what I mean? Like if Jalen Brown, Mark is smart, if they continue to grow as players, but I think overall they were a year two away from having seasoned themselves enough to be able to do it.

And Golden State, if you had any questions about them and there were some, the one that you didn't have was whether they were going to get rattled in the face of like, a challenge like that, right? Like they've been around that block so many times that that wasn't an issue. And amongst other things, it was the biggest difference in game six for me. Like one team was able to take that blow coming out of the gates on the road and just be like, this is not a problem. We'll stick to what we do.

And that's critical. And I think it gets lost at a lot of levels. And you would think because they're NBA players, it doesn't happen to them. But it does. It happens to youth players, high school players, you know, college players, NBA players. NBA players, when things go wrong, it's the team that usually is comfortable and disciplined enough to stick with what they do and not panic and get outside of themselves, right? Because once you're outside of yourself, like, you're just throwing shit at the wall.

Like, you have to trust that all of this training camp, all of this, all of these mantras, all of these like ideological ways that we want to play, you have to trust that those are going to be solid for you and get you out of this hole. And if you lose trust in that at all, it's a rap. And I think you saw Boston just kind of disintegrate in terms of philosophically how they wanted to play and what they wanted to do. And Golden State didn't ever waver from the script. They were right there.

Boom. So being able to go to like the last two games of the series, I can confidently say, I think Boston didn't lose a game in game six. He didn't lose a series in game six. Excuse me. I think Boston lost the series in the fourth quarter of game five. after they went on that run and they kept the, actually, I'm going to push it back a little bit more.

I think they lost the series about two minutes in the third quarter of Game 5, where they're in control of the game. Jordan Poole hits two threes, one of which is at the buzzer, gets chased back into it. Boston never recovered from that. Because even after they lost that game,

I think that they forgot, one, they forgot that it's just a two-two series. or was a 2-2 is 3-2 and you're going back home. I think they forgot that. I think it took the wind out of their sales like, oh, man. And you could see that in the middle of, if you just, you know, if you guys are fans of body language, I'm a big fan of body language and just how people react to certain things. And I remember seeing Jason Tatum's presser in between games five and six.

And he didn't invoke a lot of confidence in what the Celtics could do. right. It didn't even feign confidence. He had his ball on his hand. He was just kind of speaking a little low. And, you know, I think he made a mistake of saying the series is going to be over in six or after the, I think he made that mistake. And I juxtaposed that with the Warriors in between game five and six

where, you know, I go to the Warriors shoot around and they're playing Mr. Telephone, man. They're playing like Ralph Trousvitz. They're playing like, they're playing, New Jack Swing. Right. Jarmond Green's doing the robot at the free throw line. Like there's no panic in that team whatsoever.

And it was just the juxtaposition of two teams. And the Warriors do they had it in the bag and not fake confidence, but just, oh, it's over. We got them. That's the difference between an older and a younger team. I'm curious to see what that does for Jason Tatum. What this does for Jason Tatum, because I don't think he fully, he could, in invoke the cobbiness and wear the wristband and things like that. But I don't think he's,

he's harness his full killer instinct. I think he's still trying to figure that out right now. And I, and that's going to come with time. Yeah, I think, I think that both he and Jalen Brown have Kobe-ish mentalities in,

in terms of being killers or, or wanting to be killer. I, I think, you know, this is what you have to go through sometimes to get where you want to be if you're if you're a jacetam and you want to be a mentioned in the same breath as the top 10 players in the league or what have you do you know what i mean like this this has to sink in the

sear or the burn of this loss and maybe of your shortcomings you know in the losses have to have to be fuel for your workouts they have to be like nightmares that you don't get over during the summer that get you up in the morning to take your ass back in that gym and and round out your your arsenal offensively and work on your body in a way that can prepare you to withstand the rigors of a of a of a of a of a of a playoff run you know what I'm saying Logan like those yeah just he came up short but I think it in you know I notice it's going to sound corny no one ever wants to lose I think it'd be good for them I think it'd be good for Boston um they're young enough you know that I think there's some moves that need to be made around them not major ones but

like you know finding little ancillary pieces that could fit finding your next sweat, Derek White, you know, in pieces like that. Like those, they'll have to continue to do that. But there's no shame in losing to Golden State. And I'm going to make the argument that they're going to, they'll be, they'll be better for that. It's going to suck. It's going to be a tough summer.

But you'll come back with a renewed, a renewed humility, right? A renewed sense of humility and hunger. Yeah. I'm not sure what they, what they need just yet. probably, I don't know how many years Al Horford has, you know, they probably need to share up that front court. Praden Pritchard just fell off a cliff, man. Peyton Pritchard fell off a cliff, Grant Williams fell off a cliff.

It was, it was funny because, like, the whole argument going into this series was, and I still further true to this, you know, Boston was a more talented team, the deeper team, right? That was what, that was what it was. And then all of a sudden, Golden State just comes out, like, nah, don't even trip. We got it. After that first game, it was different. You know, when you talk about, you come into a series and you talk about people, you know, the moment being big and, you know, not having been in it or experienced it and maybe not being able to handle it. And then everyone looks good early in the series. People kind of forget about that, that part of it, right?

Because everyone, like Peyton Pritch is going to look good in game one. Yeah. You know, everyone's going to look good in game one, game two. No one gives a shit. Like we're feeling each other out. The moments that we're talking about are the defining moments. like and just because you weren't ready for him right now it doesn't mean you won't be ready for him next year but the fact is not everyone on Boston's team was ready for those game five

game six moments you know what I'm saying and that's when that's when it hits you like oh shit like yeah Payton Pritchard could be a good young player is a good young player just you know wasn't ready for that you know like for whatever reason and so you know that's the interesting part for me because you saw it bear itself out like Golden State had more dudes sitting over there even if they were less talented overall players or longer in the tooth or what have you that were just more ready for those moments they were more secure in them what so let's have the step conversation step fourth ring ties him with lebron there's there's talk of him being you know a top 10 player now we don't have to get into that but what was the biggest thing that

that step showed you in this finals of a physical and toughness. You know, I said to myself a few times during the playoffs, man, he looks big. Like,

told you, he got that 50 cent. He got that 50 cent, 03 energy. He got that, he got, like, he's been lifting a lot.

Yeah, straight up. Like, and I, I mean, I know ultimately he's not a huge person, but like, for his frame,

he was holding weight. And I thought, you know, shit, they bullied him once or twice in that series. But when push came to shove, down the straight,

in the games that meant the most. Steph was putting a forearm on people's back and holding them boys up. You know, there were multiple times and I couldn't figure out for the life of me that they would get, they would get Al Horford on a switch and he tried to bury Steph.

And the Celtics, because Steph's little ass was pushing him up out the lane, they weren't going to him. Yeah. And that's all you can ask a dude to do on a switch, right? So, like, look, I'm not here to debate Steph's brilliance offensively and what he does with, I'm not taught.

So when you have, asked me what stuck out, it was the grittiest, toughest, I think most physical I'd seen him. Yeah. I think that he's been hanging around Dremond a lot lately because he was talking big shit after the game. Just, just, just, I was like, step, step what? It was like, I heard all, I remember I talked to him, first of all, after the game during the finals, it is just like a madhouse, right? like just on the floor and stuff. So I, but when I,

I talked to Steph after the game and he's like, yeah, man, you know, all these experts and these talking heads, I heard what they said. I internalized it. Uh-huh.

I was there. I heard it. Don't trip. I was like, Fortale. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.

And I think that, you know, in a similar way of like Kobe and, I think the biggest example is Kobe, but he needed this ring for validations in a lot of ways, right? Like, whether internally trying to get the finals MVP, trying to prove that he could win without certain people on the team, that he can win with this group. There were a lot of people that within the organization that were like, you know, man, like, you know, maybe we can wait until next year. Maybe next year is our year. Maybe next year, you know, me and you will get to that in a second.

but there were a lot of people that were like, okay, you know, this was a good run, but next year we are going to be that team. Steph was like, uh-uh, we're going to win this. We're going to get this done. And I think that this series really catapulted him into just another level of dude,

just another level of player. He's not quite like, he's not Jordan, but he's there. Not in the Jordan sphere, but he's in that conversation of in the top in the top well those guys that define an era is what I'll say he's not he's one of those dudes I can't disagree at all I would say for me I'm not going to get into naming them all but like let's say you put five names in a category that are kind

of by themselves one of those names being the goat right let's say maybe maybe maybe for it would be three or four names. After that, Steph's, I'm not even going to argue with you about that, but he is right there. Yeah. He is in that next tier of player.

I'm not going to numerically go through where they fall and shit like that. Just make sure you put his name in that when you put it in there. That's what it is, right? Because he changed the game in a way very few people have changed the game. I mean, you know, and it's changed and he's still in it amongst people who are younger, more athletic,

shooting it from further. You know, there are guys out there doing what he does and he's still in it when in championships. I just, I found it awesome to watch, man. And I'm partial because, again, I know Steph for a long time. I've known his dad for a long time. And I like the human being more than I like the player. Do you know what I'm saying? like my wife sits on the couch and she's always hoping for someone new to win like it's who she is

right she wants she's got the underdog type of thing which i love so i think she lightweight wanted boston to win because golden state had won so after they won you know i talked to her and she said she said one of my boys said something about how you feel like boston lost and she said i would never cheer against step curry i love everything that he stands for i love his family and so you know at the end of the day we are a basketball pod and it is the NBA, but I just pull for him and the crew. Can you dig it? And so when you put all the rest of what I just talked about on top of it, it's just dope. I think this run, this step run, this playoff run will be one for the age, especially when you put in totality of that game

for performance in Boston. And just how he, just when you think about a signature performance, I put that up and I hadn't seen and I'd cover Steph for a few years. I think the only thing that came close was that was the game in Houston in the Western Conference

semifinals 2019. But even then the Warriors were up with 3-2 when he did that when he closed out that series. I think that was the best performance that I had ever seen from Steph. Just I had never seen this is the this is the most locked in I've seen Steph, the most

shit talking I've seen from, I've heard from Steph. He's in a different bag, man, and I got news for y'all. He wants more. Like, he just wants, and I told you this. He wanted that finals MVP, bro. I told you this. I told you this. You did.

You were on the money. Like, I have to tip my hat to that. It's interesting, though. Like, I can say all of what I said and tell you that I also thought his game for performance was the best. I had ever seen him. I felt like that. Again, I couldn't recall every game just sitting there in the moment.

I was a prisoner of it to some degree, but I did. I was like, man, this is the best I've ever seen to play. And then I'm going to tell you this. I also think I saw him slowing down. Is that? I mean, I did. I saw, and I, this isn't, this isn't trying to say that he's not going to be able to do it or can't do it.

Next year, I'm not saying any of that. But what I'm saying is I saw instances where he was trying to get shoulders by and he couldn't, right? And then he had to back it up and try it again. Like I thought I saw him slowing down just a little bit in terms of physical ability. Father Time's undefeated, dude. Like, it's undefeated. So what I would say to the to the he's not done and he wants more,

I have all the faith in the world that he continues to evolve as a player and as certain things aren't available to him, find counters to it. But he's also going to need those people around him in Golden State. I've got a lot of faith in them too. I got a huge shout out to everybody making decisions and putting pieces in place there. But they're going to have to continue to grow those pieces that they find in the draft. And those supplementary pieces are going to have to continue to pick up slack around him, right? In a way that LeBron's didn't.

So I'm going to tell your story real quick from Thursday. So game is over with everybody's out in the court. Bob Myers, the Warriors GM, comes on the court. and this man this man had a poncho on some basketball shorts and no socks or shoes after the case

he's on the court right and he's with Steve Kurt and all of out of nowhere Bob goes to some extent I'm paraphrasing but he goes damn we got to start looking forward to the draft shit just like

reality hits him right yeah And Steve Kerr's next to him, faded, takes a swig of his alcohol. So don't even worry about it. It hands it to Bob and walks off to do it like TV or whatever, right? But that's a funny story to just really just go back to like Bob is right, bro. They got to retool. Not only do the Warriors have to retool, their guys, this is an important summer for a lot of their guys.

Jordan Poole has to take that next step. He played solid in the finals, but he was not the second score that he needs to be next year. The bona fide second score that he needs to be next year. When he gets his deal, then we got to see what he does after that. He has to step up. Jonathan Cominga can't just be,

A, 20 points every couple of weeks. Nah, you got to lock in. You got to average like 10, 12, points a game and eight rebounds. James Wiseman, we got to see what he does, right? That, this is where, this is where, you know, it was cute for the little homies to like,

you know, be great stories this season. But next season, they have to be bona fide dudes. Moses Moody has to step up. Those guys have to step up. This is next year, we've talked about this. And I can't ask and I did it. The Warriors, I know they want to repeat. If they want to repeat a lot of dudes,

You've got to step up. Clay Thompson has to be a bona fide dude again. Not to say he wasn't, but he was only in stretches. He was still figuring his injuries out. It's still his recovery and coming back. We've got to see what that is. Draymond Green can't just be one game. And on game six where you turn into the player we all know you have to be.

The Warriors have a lot of questions. They're going to be good next year, but they got a lot of questions, Rob. No, that's fact. and that's fair. And if I'm going to go by track records and success, I think Golden State is one of the few teams, and there aren't many in the NBA right now, that I would bet on their ability to identify pieces

that fit around what they have and that would fit culturally. And the pieces that they have in-house that need to take those steps, Golden State is uniquely kind of set up to be able to develop those pieces. Their player development is as good as anybody's in the league. And I don't just mean your skill level and stuff like that, but player development in terms of developing their game to fit the style of play you want to play. Do you know what I mean?

So I have all the faith in the world that Golden State will get that done. You know, now health and availability is a whole different conversation, right? Like if we're still, if we still can't get guys out there on the court, obviously that throws a monkey wrench and plans. But provided they're healthy and those guys have great summers and the players that you just spoke of are kind of bought into to continue and to take these strides or, you know, if there's some of the names that you spoke of later, like they understand that, hey, man, I wasn't at my best because of injury or whatever.

And we can get back to this drawing board and kind of still get better even if we're older players. If they're bought in, I think it happens. Now, I'm not telling you they're going to win the chip, but I do believe in Golden State in that way. It's the same way I believe in the heat, the same way I believed in the Spurs. You know, there are teams that I'll just tell you, I believe they'll be able to get that done. It's funny. Well, I mean, it's really, really early, but I look at the Western Conference right now, and there are a lot of question marks on every single team, right? Phoenix, fumble in the back with Aiden, right? Like, it's not that, that's, they're going to be a totally different team of

Aiden walks, and that means you have a back court with an aging Chris Paul and Devin Booker who didn't have the greatest exit at last year's playoffs, right? Then you got Dallas. Luca, great. Don't know how Christian Wood is going to be in a playoff environment. That's a fair question. And you got Memphis. Did they need to trade for somebody?

Or are they good the way they are? Or was that just a flash of the pan? They're going to turn into the Hawks of this year? We don't know, right? There's a lot of question marks from those. Then you got Denver with Yolkich. And then you got those younger teams. You got New Orleans.

You have the clippers. Clippers will see what they do. A lot of question marks in a Western conference. I think the surest bet, though, like just on paper right now, based on what we know is Golden State right now at this very moment, because even with the question, even with the conversation we just had. Well, yeah. I mean, clearly they, they.

on the title. They're going to have their parades today. But yeah, I think for a lot of those reasons, you know, and I do believe, I told you this, I think Clay, you know, I think Clay was a year out from being, you know, I don't know that he ever gets back to

to the guy that he was, but I think he gets somewhere near that with the way they're able to rehab those injuries. They just take a while, right? Like, you're not yourself when you come back. So, like, he'll be better. Kaminga will be like he showed flashes. If he continues to get better, like those are pieces. I think Andrew Wiggins is, is, I think Andrew Wiggins is going to continue to get better and prove a lot of people wrong as he matures and continues to age in the NBA.

Like I just really think he was a product of some dysfunction. And I think you started to see his confidence in that you see the way he, you started to see the confidence oozing from him in a way that I hadn't really seen. It was funny. You said something that you were talking about just the dysfunction of the last Minnesota when he was there. And Minnesota's taking a lot of strides since then. So I don't want to, I'm not going to sit on Minnesota.

But I was talking to Wigs for the story you guys can read on the ringer.com. It's called The Warriors. One more. Check that out. But I was talking to Wigs for the piece. And he was basically saying, like, when I asked him, what's the difference between Golden State and Minnesota? He was like, I don't know anybody in Minnesota's building right now.

I don't know anyone there. There's so much familiarity in the Golden State building right now. And that, he said, that wonders for his game. And also, he didn't say this, but I'll probably say, I'll say this. He's, I think we're just seeing him in the perfect role for his skill set. He's not a number one guy. It's fine. It's okay.

you know who else wasn't a number one guy? Andre Gaudala, he's turned out just fine. Yeah. I think that they'll be fine. And in terms of like, they got to pay all these guys, I think they're going to pay all these guys. I just have an inkling that they're going to pay him. Do you know who else isn't a number one guy?

Because this is always hilarious to me, like the number one guy, I think, you know who else is? Nobody else on Golden States team. Yeah. Like, there's no shame in not being a number one guy. They haven't had another number one guy since Kevin Durant, who was the one of the greatest players of, is one of the greatest players

ever touch of basketball. Right. Like, their whole teams that don't have number one guys. Like, guys get cast in the number one role because no one else, they're the best guy. But being a number one guy means you do that on a championship level. And it ain't a ton of cats walking around that can say that.

So, I mean, just in my Andrew Wiggins defense, like, come on, man, no, no, he's not number one. But he was the second best player on that team. You know, You're at the playoffs. You could fake the argument. Word.

Like, come on, man. Like, you could really, it was funny. I'm curious to look at the box score. But, like, during the postseason, specifically the finals, I would just look at Andrew Wiggins and be like, oh, I'm expecting 20 points. I'm expecting, you know, I'm expecting this from him. And it's a quiet 20 points, but you look up every game, oh, Andrew Wiggins did his job. Yeah.

And it's providing, like, stout defense, you know, like, task. He guarded Luca. He guarded John Morant, guarded Tatum, back to back to back. Say that's a mouthful, dude. As someone who like really enjoyed matchups and wasn't running from any of them,

that's a daunting list of people to have to be assigned to for a playoff. And then, bro, we don't have a front court, so I need you to get 16 rebounds. Wiggins like, all right, bet, cool, I got you. Don't even trip. Like, yeah, no doubt. He's going to get either, I don't know if he's going to get an extension this summer or they're going to wait till next summer to pay him.

But I think, I think the Warriors are going to pay him, man. I do. I think it's going to figure. Because it's one of those things where Wiggins wants to stay. There's no, there's no real reason for him to leave. And the Warriors just got, he just proved to the Warriors, yo, y'all need me. Stop playing. Y'all need me.

Yeah, integral part to the way they're made up right now. Like, you can't get off of that. And also, man, like, and I know that this is, and I think this is the Warriors thinking just being around them, but I know that the dollar signs are there and like, oh, man, this is just a luxury tax. And there's the argument that why would you want to pay that much for a team and da-da-da-da-da. Here's the thing. If you were on a historic run, you paid a bread. You just pay that out and figure it out later, man. You pay it.

You guys are winning chips. The Warriors are making handle. When I when you come to Chase Center, Raj, I'm going to show you just how ridiculous all this, just, just how much money is flowing in Golden State. It is just, it is, it is ridiculous. It was heck of funny because during a press conference, Joe Lakers was, it was before the finals. And Joe Lakeb was being asked because he used to be the minority owner of the Boston Celtics. And just out of nowhere, they asked about the Celtics. And he goes, yeah, they rent their arena. We own ours. they pay I think they like he caught him something like no that's a fact

they we we own ours they list like damn but just I sell to say they got bread

just pay pay it now you can you can trade them later like if you guys feel like the run is over

you trade you pay Jordan Poole you pay Andrew Wiggins you pay what you got to do to continue

to keep this going you are correct sir like that luxury tax the luxury tax hurts when you're not seeing the rewards for paying it.

When you're winning chips and them diamonds and that gold and that platinum is flowing, luxury tax is just the price of doing business. You pay it and you figure it out. You are absolutely correct. It's just a number. Not to us, but it's just a number. Like, it's an expense. You figure that out if you want to play into June.

Let me tell you about Boston. I had a nice little time in Boston. Did you hit up any of Maddie B suggestions for- couldn't because I was I didn't even eat out I didn't eat out at all I got I got I didn't I didn't have enough time but I did get out to Fenway Park I got to Finway Park I was going that was a media day and I got invited out to to Red Sox game or playing the Oakland A's it was pretty tight like okay I've I've been to a lot of baseball stadiums but like to go to Fenway was just an experience

on to itself. I had some trepidation. I was like, no, you got work to do. And I was like, no, man, I don't know the next time I'm going to be in Boston and be able to go to Fenway. And it was great. The propaganda was great. I got me a little Fenway dog, you know, out here. You were like, you were like five or six stops from T. Anthony's. You tell me you ain't take your ass up the street. You ain't go out of the back? I didn't even, bro. Like, I literally, so when I went to Fenway, I was there for like three, four innings and went back to the hotel because I don't right. Just in very, if you're, listening. If you're listening, sir, I was doing my work. I was, it was, yes. Okay. This street right behind,

um, fun fact, the street right, I think it's right behind. I don't know where it is to the green monster, but it's anyway, um, land's down street as a freshman at Boston University, like there were, there's, it's a heavy, it's a heavy like club street there. A lot of, a lot of, cloudy memories on that street behind Fenway, Lancedown Street. Yeah. go to Boston. I'm probably going to, like, this was during the finals. We didn't have enough time to do all that, but it was, it was chill. It was fun. I had another story for you. So I just got stories. I've been waiting for, I've been waiting to do this. So me and, um, front of the show, me and Marcus Thompson, go to, uh, your bodega, a little street, um, it's like a streetwear store. Yeah. Okay. Famous streetwear sneaker store. Check it out. They were great. If you guys go to Boston, anybody go check out a bodega. It's pretty tight. Um, but, um, But we're going and this is like, bodega is situated in this alley. I didn't know that like Boston has hell of alleys,

just an alley city. So it's situated in this alley. And we're, me and Marcus are like riding through and we stop in front of bodega at this alley. And we, as we stop, just like,

so, you know, we're in an Uber, they come out of the Uber and we just get all these honks. And it's like from this policeman. And they're like, what the fuck? like, okay, what the fuck's going on?

Just like, get out of the road. So we look behind this policeman and it's a bus. It turns out it's the Warriors team bus going through this alley. Right behind us, we get a text from Kirk like, Steve Curley, get the fuck out of the way. That's funny. So we do that and that was before we go to the socks game. so that happens and then

then we go to TD Garden and TD Garden like I've been to some some like famous arenas you know been to Staples I've been to probably like 90% of the arenas right Boston the TD Garden

when you walk in it's the propaganda is on another level dog like you walk in you see like all the banners, you know, you see 17 banners, you see just an egregious amount of Jersey retired, retired numbers, right? Then you, um, you see the parquet floor, which is, which is hollowed ground. So after the media day, me and Benin Goodwill,

of Yahoo Sports are just like looking at Lucky, the, uh, you know, Just looking at Lucky. Looking at Lucky the Lepricon at mid-court, right? And we're just asking like, yo, man, like, you know, everybody knows this if you're in Boston, talking to you, Jemmy. You don't step on Lucky. You don't fucking step on his head. You don't step on Lucky. Specifically his head.

You don't step on him, right? So we're asking, like, yo, because we see, what is the thing where the sticky thing on the side of the court that you, what do you guys call it where you guys just take all? the dust off your shoes. It's just, I don't know what it's called like a slip knot. Yeah. Okay. So that has lucky on it, right? Because when you step on that.

So I'm wondering aloud, I'm just trying to like break holes in like theory of like you can't step on Lucky's head. Right. And I said, and I asked Vinny very loudly like, yo, you step, you have to step on Lucky's head on this little sticky thing, right? Because before you go on the court, it happens, right? So what happens? Or what's the difference between that and then the court? And so an arena worker overheard our conversation. was like, because that's, he,

this reaction when we react, it's like, so what's different? He was, he points to the sticky thing, he says, well, that's what that's for. You don't step on lucky, all right? You don't fucking step on lucky. You step on that because that's what that's for, all right? And then goes,

he says, you know how many fucking grace have walked on that court, have played on that court? You show some respect. And I was like, all right. The arena, the arena, The arena worker hit you out with that? The arena worker said us with that, dog. Wow.

I have never heard another arena worker anywhere in my times give any even iota semblance of a fuck as this arena worker did. I mean, that's kind of, I find that really cool that he said that. And at the same time, I would have probably had to tell him to slow his ass down. Like, bro, you don't even know me like that, dog.

Like, you the fuck you're talking about, bro, back up. You know what's funny, man? Hey, no, Boston, I mean, Boston fans are, out of control in the best way possible. Like, it's just a great, just a great sports town. I've never played well in Boston. I mean, I did when I was in college. I had good moments in college,

but as a pro, I can't remember ever having played well in TD. It was the Fleet Center at one point. Like, I just never played well in there. I don't know what it was. What is it? So I've only had one experience. What is it the sight lines, dog?

Is it the, what is it? That, what is it the, that changes? I might have messed around and stepped on lucky and didn't know it. I'm telling you. I didn't know that. But I just never played well. I did get to see the old, old garden.

When I first got to school, like, that was, that was like, I mean, you could almost feel the spirits of past grades and that bad boy. But I just never played well in Boston. I don't know, man. Like some, you ever been to, like, you know, high school gyms? You're like, man, I hate those rims, dude. They're tight. You know, you got yourself psyched out about them.

I don't know. I'm going to be real. I saw that parquet floor, bro. Like, there's only one of its kind, right? Obviously. But you, I could see just dribbling off one of those little,

the screws part of the parquet floor. I can just see just some bullshit happening, just dribbling on that thing. Or just like, you have to be laser focused just to be, there's definitely some dead spots on that court. There's definitely some stuff that you just have to like work through playing in Boston. I think that's about all I say

Just you know Because you know lucky my I might have lucky Yeah you don't want no problem with lucky man You don't know no problem with lucky man You don't know a problem with lucky I would just say this to Boston fans If any of you guys are listening man It's I didn't want to say this

Because I really thought I thought Boston had a really solid chance To win that series right And good for Golden State Taking it from them It's in front of Boston in my opinion Unless they fuck it up I thought you know

This was this was house money I know they might not have felt like that. Celtics, that is, like, you know, the fan base, but that's the way I think it's in front of them. So, you know, the Al Horford piece was magical. I don't, you know, I don't know that anyone saw that coming. And so you're going to certainly have to figure out what you, does that continue to exist at the level or do you have to find other pieces?

But whatever, the rest of it, I think, I think you guys are in a really, really good spot, man. And you'll have a chance to go back and do something, you know, you go on to navigate some teams. that east, but you'll be right there with an opportunity again. I just want to say real quick, shout out to Luke's lobster. Got me a lobster roll from Luke's lobster. Hey. Yo, the lobster rolls are phenomenal there, bro. It's just, it's incredible. I got it on a, don't everybody who said go to your restaurant, I apologize. I got this off like caviar, so I did not leave my room for

those two stops. So just, you know, relax. All right, man, we, we got the man of the hour, was here. He has been waiting. He has somehow he's going to make this about the Lakers, but we have our CMO in the building. We have Jomey.

This is his last pack watch at the season. I am curious to see what he has to say. This is going to be a lot. I'm ready to go. Jomey, the floor is yours, my man. Oh, I have been waiting for this day. Friends, enemies, distinguished guests, people of all ages. It's finally time.

The Boston Celtics, step into the charts. It's your time for a pack watch. Now, listen, if you've been a fan of the show and you've been hearing me over these past few months, I have been dreading the Celtics winning the championship. It was my biggest fear. I was so nervous. When game six ended,

I shed a tear. I'm not going to lie to you guys. I shed a single tear from my eyes. I was finally done. It was finally over. I was so sick and tired of seeing Fekundo Campazo with green hair dye running around,

foplin all over the floor, that, bro. You know what I'm saying? I was sick of Jay. Listen, listen, I was sick of Jalen Brown doing his best to honor the Celtics great history by jibbing around like Bob Coosie, dog. I was tired. I was over it. You understand what I'm saying? I was so sick of Al Horford looking like Prime Dirk getting up. Why don't step back three? Yeah, I was done. You know what I'm saying? And look, I could go through the whole roster right now, but I'm a chill. You know what I'm saying? I'm a chill on Jason Tatum. Right?

He's been through a lot, right? And you know, honestly, if we really think about it, what's more Kobe like than stopping the Celtics for winning a chip? I don't know. Whoa. I don't know. Right. At the end of the day, when it's all

said and done, the Celtics are who we thought they were, right? Look, they won most of the championships before color TV existed, right? And have one chip in basically the last 40 years. They have the same amount of rings as the calves, raptors, pistons, mavericks, bucks.

We got to be honest about this franchise. They've been coasting on legacy. And enough is enough. We got to start talking about them like they everybody else. Right? It's the Lakers and everybody else. We got to start putting them in that in that bracket. Come on now.

Listen. Listen, the longest the Lakers went without a chip since like the 70s were like 12 years. You know what I'm saying? People have lived full lives. People live full lives since 1987. Roger, Logan. Come on now. Come on now.

Let's be honest. There are people who are grandparents right now. You understand what I'm saying? It's enough. It's enough. We've got to be honest. And one more thing. Logan, if I'm ever in the Boston Guard,

and I see that little floor, that little park gate floor, I'm curbs stopping on what he said like I'm Tony Soprano. I'm getting into business, dog. Ain't no way.

Ain't no way. A question for you, sir. What's up? Question for you. One Kyrie Irving has been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers, sir. You're talking big stuff right now

about how the Lakers are return to glory and all this stuff. We've almost to the point where we forget that they didn't even make the postseason this year. They couldn't even get out. They couldn't even make the play in game this year, sir. I'm just saying, all part of the plan,

baby. Do they need reinforcements? Are you, are you, what's up with Kyrie? Do you want Kyrie on the team? Are you, are you ready to just,

to just cut bait with Russell Westbrook? Like, where's your head at, sir? Because you're talking big mess for a team, for a fan, base that hasn't gotten even to the play-in game this season with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That's what I'll say. First of all, LeBron James and Anthony Davis ain't playing like 50% of games, right?

So let's have some context. Right. But to answer your question, my good sir, no comment. There's a lot of stuff going on right now. You know, we got a, you know, the Laker Nation, we have to have a discussion, you know, about like what is it that we want? You know what I'm saying? because Russ, you know, is Russ and Kyrie is Kyrie.

They both have their negatives and positives right now. And it's just a sham, just a Psalm support, right? You know what I'm saying? So there's not, we don't, you know what I'm saying? Anything could change in the next few, in the next few days, weeks, months. So, you know, we'll just take it one day at a time. So, you know, right now, you know, not a big, nothing big to say. So, you know, we'll just keep it a buck with you.

Yeah. But that boy just said a lot to say nothing, didn't he? And while I have him, Raja. Yeah. How, it's on a scale of one to ten, how big of a warrior fan were you over the last six weeks? Well, not six weeks. I want to say six weeks, right? See, what you, because I understand what you're trying to do.

See, because Logan, you know, Logan, you know, we in a couple group chats, you know what I'm saying. And so Logan trying to stitch on me, right? He's trying to, he's trying to stitch on me, right? It's not going to work, you understand what I'm saying? you know what I'm saying see what I happened was see I'll let me be very clear with the audience I was never believe in the sons right you saw that in my back I never I had no faith in the sons right so when the Celtics were making their run I was like it's got to it's got to be the warriors right the warriors got to do their job you understand what I'm saying I'm saying and so I always had that like you know conversation with Logan I was like hey man if the Celtics get here and the warriors get here I need the warriors take care of business you know what I'm saying what I'm saying and so when the matcho finally came in now now now when both teams were lined up,

tip, ready to go for those two and a half hours, it was we believe. You understand what I'm saying? It was like, it was Oracle in the crib. You know what I said? You should have been there for game six,

bro. At the crib, oh, man, when Steph was hitting, you know, when that 21-0 run, dog, it felt like, bro,

it was life. I was like, let's go. Wiggins lay up. Let's go, let's go. We was hype in the crib, I ain't a lot.

I was ready to see the subject's back. I was, I'm sorry. I'm a hater. I know what you want for me. It was funny because there were two moments, I think, where Jomey, like the seeds were planted, Raja. There were two times.

It was once we had, it was actually in the same trip. Jomey had him over to crib, and he was watching the Warriors game. He was Warriors Knicks, and he was just like, oh, okay, all right, this is, this is cool. And then two days later, he went to go watch the Warriors play the Lakers at Chase Center. and the Lakers had probably their best game of the season and lost. And Jomey was like, oh, okay, all right. I think that's when the seeds were planted, Raj. I'm not sure.

I think that's when the seeds were planted for Jomey to make his, I don't know. I'll tell you what, though, the propaganda was good. The propaganda was good out there. Every time I turn on my Spotify on shuffle, I get Mac Dre and too short. Ever since I went, you understand? I get Pilo in there. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's just been big deep.

Deep into right. All right. All right. That has been another edition of Monday ruins. Make sure you keep it locked on this feed, man. We want to have some stuff for you guys, man. We might have some things, you know? We might have some, you know, Rajah might get finally get one of his friends on the pot at some point.

We'll see. I don't know. Oh. We'll see. Roger might. I don't know. I don't know. May or may not.

Roger's friends don't like to support him on this podcast anymore. So I don't know. You don't like loading. It's a fair point. It's a fair point. It's a fair point. So you keep it locked on the Ringer NBA feed. It's been a great season, guys, man. You know, it's been dope. But in the meantime time, in between time, makes you check out everything else on our Ringer slate. That is group chat. That is upside high. Okay? They've made some return. Shout out Jonathan Charks. Shout out J. Kyle, man. The homies.

make sure you check out the answer. Make sure you check out everything else on our ringer feed. Oh, you thought I was going to forget about the propaganda? No, absolutely not. On June Teeth? No, absolutely not. Make sure you check out Black Girl's sockbook with who? Roger Bell.

Town legend, Miss Danielle Smith. Make sure you check out R2C2 with who, Roger Bell. The Crest-E-C-Clown-Valel legend C-C-Sabathia. Keep it locked right here. Real ones. How!