The Ringer NBA Show - The Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics Advance to the Conference Finals | Real Ones

Episode Date: May 16, 2022

Logan and Raja return to you the morning after the Phoenix Suns fell disgracefully to the Dallas Mavericks in one of the greatest Game 7 collapses of all time to talk about what went wrong with this Suns team (0:45) and what went right with the Mavericks (25:00). Then they dive into the other Game 7 from Sunday, the Bucks’ loss to the Celtics (36:15), and Jomi Adeniran joins to pack up Chris Paul and the Suns (48:00). Hosts: Logan Murdock and Raja Bell Guest: Jomi Adeniran Producer: Sasha Ashall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Dad Gistremski, host to the Ring of Gambling show. You want to join my buddy, Joe House and I every Tuesday and Friday. We break down all the lines, the liens, totals, props, and so much more for the NBA playoff action. And JJ, you never know when the podfather himself Bill Simmons is going to stop in. Plus, we are dropping special episodes in the feed around all the big events. We have some major golf coming up, JJ. You want to get in on all of it.

So whether you fancy yourself as a sharp or. Someone who likes to just throw up through shackles down. Get on the action with the ringer gambling show on Spotify. We're popping. Logan Murdoch here, Raja Bill there. Raja. Raja. Raja.

Yeah. I've been waiting. First of all, we have a morning podcast, so I'm excited about that. Second of all, Raja. I don't know where to start. I don't know where to go. I don't know where to go with this. We are on the morning after.

I would say your sons, but these aren't your sons. but these aren't your sons. And I want to apologize to you, sir. You know, we're in the business of apologizing. Yeah. You know, whenever something happens, we've got to be real and we've got to just, we got to own up to our shit. A year ago, you know,

I was doing a little playful banter about the sons last year. And I said that that team, which is similar to the team last night, they got rocked by the Dallas Mavericks. I said last year's team, and probably were eluding to this team too.

I said it was better than your team. I said it was, remember that? I did. Last year, I said that team was better than your team, that they would beat your team. I was joke. I wasn't joking. I was trying to just put up, you know, throw some smoke. And I don't know if you remember this, but you had said in the, and like maybe so, so many words, fuck you, Logan.

So I would like to apologize to Roger Bell. I would like to apologize to Boo Boo. I would like to apologize to Amari Stademeyer. I would like to apologize. I might see him later on today. Leandro Barbosa. I don't know when I'm going to see Mike Dantone, but I'm just going to apologize to him.

He doesn't even know why. I'm just going to say an apology to him. Just do that anyway. Yeah. The whole 2006, 2004 to 2007, Phoenix Suns, the staff record label and a motherfucking crew, I would like to apologize to you guys

because I was wrong. Well, I take, while I appreciate it, I take no pleasure in that. I do think we had some things going for us that would have, I mean, obviously there's recency bias and I know that Phoenix loves their current sons, but I do think we did some things and presented some matchup problems for them. But I digress with that. I took no pleasure in your apology because I just felt for the town. I felt for Phoenix. I felt for the Valley. I know how passionate a fan base that is and how cool of an environment it can be when the sons are

playing well. And so I just felt all the way around. I felt for, I felt for the team. I felt for DeBook and Chris Paul, Monty, Joub's. It was just bad. I found myself last night watching and saying to my wife over and over again. This was early in the game, mind you. This was in the second quarter where in the prepod you guys were saying like kind of ingest the first quarter, it felt like it was a 40 point game already.

Well, early in the second quarter, I said to my wife, I don't think I've ever seen anything like this. They were flat. There was no energy. They looked stymied. People were, the stars looked like they had been caught in like a deer in headlights kind of mode. And then when your stars are like that, your role players, for the most part, are looking around like, oh, shit, we have a problem. We have a problem.

We got to everyone. There's a problem. And so it snowballed from there. But allow me, allow me to apologize, Logan. I did it on Twitter. I rarely get on Twitter for anything other than reposting one of my son's tweets. I need more people to get in there and help my sons out, by the way. D.Avel 3.

Get Razum verified. Correct. Tyboogie 5. Yeah, still, Twitter, I've applied twice for that shit. They've denied me both times. I need to apologize to the Dallas metro area. To Mark Cuban.

To Nico Harrison. Friends of the show. Friends of the show. Jason Kidd, Luca Donchich. Spencer Dinwiddie. I'm just Spencer, did we? I'm just going down the list. I can't name every Matt, but I'm sorry.

I'm sorry because I, from the time they were in the midst of the battle, minus Luca with Utah, have discredited them to some degree and given them a slim chance of advancing. Although I didn't rule that, very slim. And I was wrong. I was wrong. I'm going to tell you like this, Logan, I'm sure we'll get into it. I told you about that Memphis series.

This shit is not going to be what you think. But to just you pick that, tuck that away. We're going to talk all about that. Just tuck that away. Just tuck there's a little I apologize Dallas okay

let's let's let's tap it and also apologies to Sasha Mac you know who had to edit all that stuff I just like have our back at all times thank you Sasha Mac I want to talk about the last two games of this series because game six

the suns came out flat and honestly I wasn't even tripping off of them getting their ass kicked in game six because that happens man that happens it just you know a snowball effect. The lower-seated team just had it in,

just wanted to kick your ass one last time for the home floor, right? That's that. What I failed to realize was the look that the Mavericks had in their eyes during that game six. And then, so yesterday, I got to the game late. I got to the game, it was like end of the first quarter. And I'm looking on the ESPN app. And I'm like, okay, it's 2720, I think it was the score. or something like that, right?

It was one of those scores. And I'm like, that's odd. The best team in the league, the deepest team in the league is down on a game seven at home. That's pretty odd. You know, you know how these series goes, Roger, whether the Phoenix Suns were going to lose. I felt like they had enough infrastructure and had enough guys and were battle tested enough to at least go out swinging. And that's weird to say because this is a 64 win team.

And so I go and look and I'm like, what the hell is going on? And then that second quarter, it just snowballed. You know, when you think, oh, the sons have a run in them, there was no run. It was just disrespectful, Roger. I'd never seen anything like this. I'd never seen anything like it. It was a complete crumbling of the infrastructure you talked about. All the safeguards in place, the multiple stars, the people who could guard multiple

all the things that you do when team building that you think can help you overcome a poor performance here or there by somebody all of it crumbled at the same time it was it was a meltdown of epic proportions i was it was hard to watch and you know i started seeing it again i saw it late in the first quarter early second quarter i don't think i don't know that they had 20 they might have had like 17 but devon devin booker came out hyper aggressive like i think he had like four quick shots. And then he just wasn't seeking the ball anymore. They were doubling him. Doing a good

job. Again, J. Kid would bring a brilliant game plan. And then he looked like he stopped seeking the ball. And then I looked for Chris Paul and I got to give a shout out to you saying you worried about him and my dumb ass getting on here and saying, nah, I don't think he'll just hit the wall

in the, he did. Because I looked for him to pick up the slack and take the ball because what we are looking for, what the J. Crowder I thought Jay Crowder was game. And the rest of them, Aton, what we're looking for in that moment is to look into one of our stars' eyes and know that they're there, they're present, they're going to give us what they normally give us.

It just gives us some security in our role. It's not to say that we can't do our job without that, but it certainly helps, right? And so when you didn't see that, and I was looking for it, and I was like, oh, shit, neither one of these two want the fucking ball. we've got a problem. And then on the other end, I don't know that I don't remember the last time I've seen this. I had to rewind it like five times.

It was in the second half. It was in the second quarter. Spencer Dinwiddie rebounded a ball. He rebounded a ball. He walked that shit up the court. Got the switch. I'm pretty sure they played light pick and roll and he got the switch. So he got the switch on Aiden?

Was it the switch on Aiden? Yes. Spencer Dinwiddie didn't pass the ball. ball for the entire possession and shot a step back three and cashed out. That's what they were doing. It was so hard. Let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's dissect that play because I remember that play.

That is your coach tells you never to do that as a guard. He you don't do that. You don't catch on a switch. He's dribbling. He did it between his legs like seven times, Raja. He had the ball at the top of the key at like probably the 16th second mark and just dribbled at at. at Aiden and then got it to like the four second Martin said,

fuck it. I'm just going to, we knew he was going to chuck it. We all knew he was going to chuck it. Didn't what he knew he was going to chuck it. And the disrespect, because it didn't touch shit, it was all cash. That was when it was over. It was over from that moment. That was a level of disrespect.

And again, you know, my wife's watched a lot of basketball because just, you know, she'd been with me for a long time. Even she was like, what the fuck was that? And I said, let's rewind that because I think I saw it. I rebound it five times, man. Like that was, you know, on so many levels, like the no pass, but just to say, like, this is our game plan.

We're going to get this mismatch. And we don't want to shoot quick shots, right? Like, we don't want to give them opportunities. He took that thing down to four. He could have went to a hole. He could have went at 16. He could have went at 15. He could have went at 10.

He took that all the way down to four. So their execution of their game plan, combined with what I'm telling you about the look in the eyes of Chris Paul and Devin Booker for some reason. And I was like, this is not. And it really did snowball very quickly after that. This is one of those performances. It's not going to happen, and I don't even think it should happen.

This is one of those performances where you just blow it up, bro. Or you just look at the team and just blow it up. It's not going to happen. I don't want it to happen and shouldn't happen. But when you don't even show fight, when you have a guy like Chris Paul on your team, you have a guy like Devin Booker on your team, you have a respected coach like Monty Williams on your team. And I got the opportunity to be around them about a month ago, a really, really tight-knit group, which was really, which made it all the more surprising that they lost the way they did. I saw a team that wasn't there for each other in stretches that had given up during stretches.

And that's not what you get from a champion, which is what we thought this was all season. We thought this was a title contender. They couldn't even get off the brakes. And it was funny because Monty Williams, and I want to get your take on this, Monty Williams after the game alluded to the fact that probably should have rested his guys more during the regular season. And we saw the Phoenix Suns throughout the regular season. They had their foot on the gas all season, even when Chris Paul went down with injuries with a surgery, even when Devin Booker went down with a hammy, they were all systems.

go because they wanted to they it was one of those years they wanted to show y'all had us all fucked up we are going to show you why but as a consequence to this and the warriors went through this during a 73 win season when they just went full go and didn't have the legs necessarily down the stretch did you see that during the last you saw it in spurs in a new orleans series in my opinion but did you see that and uh towards the back end of this series where they just don't have the legs or was it more to it well chris paul i think he he didn't have the legs you could tell he was tired and again brilliant by Jason Kidd, just understanding what it takes to be a point guard at that age and, you know, recognizing that Chris Paul gets to live in this space defensively where people aren't really going at him and what the toll that that would take on Chris Paul if they could not let him do that, right? And he definitely look worn down. The rest of the team, I'm not, I'm not really buying it. I don't know that Devin Booker look war down. He looked like that hey we're going to trap you every time you come off with this dh o you're going to look at two people every time you know they try to run pick and roll every time you come off of a pin down we got two bodies

in front of you that looked like it took its toll on it mentally um the rest of them i don't i don't know that it was just you know a wearing down but the most concerning thing for me aside from guys not doing what they have to do like in terms of production was the general spirit that looked lacking early in that game. You know, there was a, there was a, there was a lack of fight for a better way to put it from the Sons in my perspective, like in that second quarter. I, you know, schematically, I got to throw a little shade at Monty.

I'm not, I mean, he's a great coach, but, you know, there should have been some moves made earlier once you realize that it was just going to be quick switch, quick switch, let me get your worst defenders and we're going to ISO. Like, I don't know, you could have thrown a zone at them, there are any number of things that you could have done. Obviously, I'm playing, you know, Monday morning quarterback, but they just didn't seem to have a lot of fight the Sons.

And that was, you know, it was concerning. You don't get beat like that, bro. Not like that, Logan. Not in the game seven. You don't get beat like that, not at home. Roger, you know how I feel about when a team sticks their chest out and doesn't back it up. The Phoenix Sons, we're going to look at this season as a team that stuck their chest out

and didn't back it up. Before this game, what did Devin Booker said? We're locked in. Right? What do they say all season? Oh, we're coming for the title. Who? We're beating their ass.

Don't even matter. What? Well, we're going after them. This is our year. And it's disappointing because you kind of got the feeling of, I feel like with this team, it was one of those things where you see a team that has this air of confidence. that they didn't earn, you know?

Like, I juxtapose that with the Mowaggy Bucks, who was catch in a second, who won the title, has an air of confidence, got blown out, but I think it's a little bit different because they have the title on their resume. So they could still held their heads up high. And they were down their second best player. I mean, that's...

And they were down their second best player. This team, the sons were fully healthy. Honestly, played against the team in the Mavericks who went through a lot of shit this year. Went through a lot. All they have was Luca. We'll get to them in a second. because I really want to give them mad as they're due.

But I'm just disappointed in the Sons. And how do you come back from this, man? Because this is a collapse of effort proportions. Chris Paul's only getting a year older, turned 37 about a few weeks ago. He's going to be, you know, going to be turning 38 at the end of this season. You remember what I told you when we talked about the Sons at the end of their finals run last year? As it pertained to Chris Paul and what they needed to do with him this year. I should have probably talked about this when you posed a question to me about rest.

Do you remember what I said at that point, what they needed to do roster-wise? They needed to get another point guard. Yes. They needed to let him do a lot of sitting and resting. They're like 20 minutes a game. Yeah, until the playoffs, right? And then you can like Chris Paul do what you hope Chris Paul can do. But yeah, so I forgot.

I should have answered that. That's poor podcasting on my part. But yeah, they needed to do that. And so go ahead. Like a Dennis Schroeder or somebody like that, right? Like, there's somebody that, you know, obviously just talking about a guy that they can afford. But like somebody like that, they can boil the reins in. Also, it's hard.

It's tough to say this because he played so well this season. But they needed Devin Booker to take it to another level. They just needed him to be that guy. They needed this to be Devin Booker's team. This needs to be Devin Booker's team going forward, in my opinion. I can co-sign on that. I can co-sign on that. but it needs to be Devin Booker's team in a way that Devin Booker says,

this is my team. Yeah. What we wanted AD to do with the Lakers. What you wanted AD to do, what Luca has done, what Jason Tatum is doing, what, you know, the way you solidify that is in the moment that he had the opportunity to do it in yesterday, in those moments. Like, that's when you solidify, you know, I got this. I'm good.

Now, he'll be fine. but it was concerning again, man. Like, I've never been a Devin Booker type of player. I mean, the last time I played like that was when I was in college, right? Where everything went through me and this is how we're going to do it. But, you know, you can't be, if we're going to go down, it's going to go down with me getting this shit not done. Not me not getting touches or not getting jacks up. Like, I'll shoot us out of this, moufo.

You got me fucked up. I'm going to shoot it 37 times. I shoot us right out of it, but it ain't going to be because I didn't shoot it. Yeah. Yeah. And that was, that was concerning for me. And that's what, you know, I think Devin has that in him, right? He had, like, he's shown that in spurts, but he needs to take the reins next year if they're going to, if they are going to take the next level. Because it's clear, even though Chris Paul can do it in spurs, he can't do it throughout the regular season. He's only getting older.

They need another play. They need another playmaker too. Like you see it, even, even the Mavericks. Luca, obviously phenomenal with the ball in his hands that could playmate. Spencer Dinwiddie, playmaker. playmaker, huge addition. Like a playmaker. Give him the ball, you know, whether he does it consistently every single night, but a playmaker. Jalen Brunson, another dude who can just make plays, right? Phoenix had two of them. Real talk. Like, I know we love the Phoenix roster, but there are no playmakers over there. It's just two cats that make plays.

Everyone else, you know, is a very good finisher of a play, but not an initiator of a play. Campaign hasn't in spurs, but campaign's not it. They should have went to campaign a little earlier yesterday. They should have went to him just to see. They should have went to him. But let's move over to like, you know, and we'll get to this, but Boston has multiple playmakers.

Jalen Brown, playmaker, Jason Tatum, playmaker, Marcus Smart, playmaker. And then you saw the bucks, minus their third playmaker. It just is not enough. Yeah. I want to talk about Aiden real quick. Now, Aiden, in my opinion,

man, stop thinking about the numbers. Just go pay that, man, because you're going to need, you need a front court presence on this team. If you're the sons, you've got to pay him. You have to pay him because it's better that he's on your team and you figure it out later. But for this bunch, if you want to be a championship contender, you need a front court guy like him. He's not going to be replaced by Javelle McGee, who has played well in spurts.

He's not going to be placed by Biombo, who has played well in the postseason. I think aid improved this season that you need to pay him. If you take him off the roster, if you just. say, oh, we're not going to match. That's going to be catastrophic to your bottom line, which is what you say is to win a title. I'd say pay him to max and figure it out from there. I thought you should have already paid him.

I'm on record as saying that. I don't even think it should have gotten to this point. He played terrible yesterday, and they benched him. He didn't play. He wasn't playing. And I think I'm correct. Post game, Moni was asked about it, and Moni said it was internal,

which for me, again, let me just, I know I've kept ranting about how concerning it was to watch and everything like that. Something seemed off. Do you understand what I'm saying? It didn't feel like it was just on the court. I played in too many basketball games. I've seen too many basketball games played out.

Having never seen a situation like that, ever, it led me to believe that there was something else, whether it be an injury or something going on. I don't know what it is, but that's just weird. And I found Moni coming out and the explanation for DeAndre just being its internal. That just kind of fortified my stance, right? Like something, that's a weird answer. Could have been like, hey, we're going small.

We didn't match up well. You didn't do that. So with that being said, I still say you should pay him. I don't know where you go from there. I agree with you. I'm just kind of as we're- Do you do a sign and trade? Do you figure out something else?

But the fact is from a roster construction and what they want to do, you kind of have them have them on your roster. Yeah, but I would say, I'm agreeing with you. I also would say, let that man, like, take the training wheels off for that man. Because they need him to step up. They need this to be book and Aden's show. And then Chris Paul beat the OG and then figure it out from there and rest him and play him in spurts. Because Chris Paul still got some tread on the tire.

We saw it against New Orleans. And we saw that here against the Mavericks. But also we saw him against New Orleans have his hand on his knees after a half of playoff basketball in a first round series. Yeah, that was tough. Damn it. Tough with the old heads because I know that you really,

any old head, you are ready, you are ready to ride for them at all times. And I get it. And Coach Paul's just a great, you know, he's a great player, a great leader. And I could have, again, man, you wake up today and Luca, beat your head in and just did

Luca things and you lost because of that fine. But there's got to be some soul searching done over there. From top to bottom, man. I figure out what the hell was the root of that problem. They got to have some Ben Affleck time, Roger. They got to go to a beach, just a secluded beach, just stare onto the water and just figure it out. Just look at it and just get all the toxins out

and just get your chakras aligned. That's what the Phoenix Suns need. No sweat, same game parlay each week, $20 in free bets if you don't win. The playoffs are heating up. You can make every game feel like game seven. on Fan Dual Sportsbook, an official partner of the NBA. Throughout the playoffs, all customers can place a no-sweat same-game parlay each week. You'll get up to $20 in free bets if you don't win.

That's free bets. Van Duol has so many ways to play. And best of all, when you do win, you'll get paid faster than a fast break. Okay, so we're getting into game one of the conference finals. So I'm going to build myself a same game parlay around the Celtics and the Heat game one. First, I'm going to take the over on Jason Tatum's player points, because he's gone over 28 in most of his games is postseason. Then I'm going to take the over

on Bam out of BIOS player rebounds. And when it really comes down to it, I'm going to take the heat, money line at home, baby. New to Fandual, just download the Fandual Sportsbook app and sign up with promo code Ringer NBA. Once again, that's promo code Ringer NBA. And if you already have an account, you're all set to bet. No sweat.

Either way, you'll get up to $20 in free bets if your same game parlay during the playoffs doesn't win. Fan dual sportsbook, an official partner of the NBA. 21 plus in select states. Refund issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire seven days after receipt. Max free bet, $20 per week. Restrictions apply. See full terms at sportsbook.

Fandul.com. Gambling problems? Call 1-800 gambler or visit fanduel.com slash RG. That's in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or Virginia. 1-800, next step, or text next step to 53342 in Arizona. 188-789-77- or visit ccpg.org slash chat that's in Connecticut. 1-8009 with it in Indiana.

1-877-770 stop in Louisiana. 1-877-8, Hope N.Y, or text Hope-N-Y to 467-369. Again, that's in New York. Tennessee, that's your red line. 1-800-889-97-89. 9789. Again, that's Tennessee. 1-800-5-22-470 in Wyoming, or visit www.

www.1-800 gambler.net. That's West Virginia. Roger, I want to talk about the Mavericks. So, I'm going to be honest with you. you're a hip-hop head. When I look into Luca's eyes over the last, because I didn't really see it.

Not that it wasn't there, but we weren't paying attention. We didn't have our third eye open on Luca in the first round. We just didn't. But as I've looked at him over the last week, last two weeks, you know what it seems like? Seems like 03 Curtis Jackson.

Right before, right like when Get Richard Diey trying drops. It's just, there's a clip on the Breakfast Club. where Jay-Z is talking. And I think Charlemagne asked him a question, and he was talking about, I was trying to tell all my homies on Rockefeller

to get their releases out, because 50-cent is coming. 50-cent is on the way. You remember 03? Remember the streets in 03, Roger, right before 50 drop? When he had the vest, and then, like, wanks to drop, but in the club was coming, right?

Remember that. That's what I feel when I see Luca. right now. He's talking shit. He's talking really gully. And he's backing it up. And you believe him. You believe every single word from him. He is, he is dropping in the club. He is dropping heat for the streets. He's dissing folks on wax. I think we're here. I don't know if we're on a run. I don't know if the Mavericks was really early too early. I don't know if the Mavericks are going to win against the Warriors that go to the finals, but I'm really not, would have be surprised at this point because

Luca just has that look in his eye that I haven't seen and I believe all Lucas wraps right now. I believe everything he says on wax. I said a lot there. It was a lot there. You did. I processed it though and I really well spoken. Luca, I fuck with his energy. I get down with

what Luca. I like that look in the eye. I like to I like that. Luca is basically saying none of you. Not not a singular person out here can get with what I'm doing here. None of fun with you. I don't want, yes, I don't want to just keep cursing, right? I'm trying to,

but yeah, that's what he's telling you. That's the way he's looking at you. Like, boy, don't bring your ass over here. Don't you do it. And when there was, again,

let me just reference another play last night. They were looking for Chris Paul. They were looking for DeAndre Aitin when he was on the floor. And then they were looking for Cam Johnson. Hey, let me just sidebar. Do you know what kind of lonely feeling that shit is? Do you know, like put yourself out there in those basketball shorts where you got an entire arena and millions of people watching

and the other coach has decided that the weakest link is your ass. Hey, we're just going to keep going at him. So anyway, it's a terrible feeling. But he was cooking, Luca was cooking. And he gets this, he gets DeAndre Aid, top of the key, boom. Big on medium. there are only two things that are going to happen here, right? Only two things on the planet that could possibly transpire.

One, he blows by the big and lays it up. Two, he rocks him to sleep and either, you know, foot replaces into a three or stepbacks or whatever and he cashes out. There's no way it ever would Luca post this big mofo up. And Luca just, what? Bro! Luca took his ass halfway down the lane, halfway down the lane, big bodied him, and then hit the little fade away and just ice grilled somebody in the stands. Yeah, I was like, hey, man.

And the words of Kanye West, Luca don't get paid. Fuck! No, that was just, that was savagery on a whole other level, man. That was, that was, he has a step back cooking, Raja. And then he'll post up anyone on your team. Boy, do you know how disrespectful that is, man? We need a moment of silence. Raja, I would be, I'm scared of Lukash, bro.

I'm just, it's not, this isn't supposed to happen. Raja, we saw after the trade. We discussed this. I didn't think that they had this in them, bro. I thought it was going to be a seven-game flame-outs at some point. They were going to be a hard out. Now, okay, so there was this at the end of the game. know if you watched this far. I don't know if you watched. But at the end, it was a beautiful

moment. Dirk Navinsky comes out and he hugs Luca. Like it was a beautiful moment. It was like a tear jerking moment. Like, damn. Like, you know, this is, this is, this is, this is the Mavericks family right here. This is what this is, right? And I couldn't help but think about that 2011 run. You know, you were in the league at that point. I'm not sure if you watched postseason at that point. I know, I don't know. Like, you guys, I don't know. Absolutely. Okay. Okay. So remember that that Mavericks run. It was just one of those things. I think they beat Portland in the first round. No one gave, no one really like, okay, they beat Portland. Then they sweep the Lakers, the championship, the champion, defending champ Lakers. Then they go into Oklahoma City. Then they play Oklahoma City. Just, who don't worry. Don't worry. We got you. And then they just beat the, they beat the Miami Heat. It was a team where it was like, we didn't, we didn't figure it out until we figured them out. I get the feeling with this Mavericks team, Raja. I could just be in the moment, but I think, I think this, I just see something in this Mavericks team that I can't quite explain similar to that other team in 2011.

I could not quite explain it. But if they win a title, Raja, I'm not surprised. I'm at that point right now, Roger. I'm really there. I'm there. I'm here. At this point, you shouldn't be. It's going to be fascinating.

I don't have a great feel on Golden State Dallas. I'll just say this, though. While Golden State was the best defensive team in the league, Dallas is going to do some things to you. What you're going to say to me, okay, if you're a Golden State fan, what you're going to say to me is, we got multiple people that can guard Luca.

You know, we got multiple people that can do that. And I would disagree with that because I think Luca's a little too heavy for Dremont to repeatedly guard him. Can Dremon guard him? At times, yes. No, at times, yes. But there's going to be foul trouble associated with that. There's going to be a level of fatigue.

They're also going to want to put Draymond on Dallas's bakes. They're going to want to do that, yeah. So you're telling me Andrew Wiggins, and I'm going to tell you he's going to be too light in his ass to deal with Luca over and over again on that post. But in either way, what's going to happen is, and this is what J.K. J. Kid is just going to,

J.K. Kidd doesn't care, apparently, about anything other than getting that mismatch. And what he's going to do is he going to seek out Steph and he's going to seek out Jordan Poole and he is going to get the switch. I imagine you're going to see it. I imagine,

I imagine you're going to see some zone from Golden State. Like you're going to have to because they're going to find Steph and Poole. And even Clay at this point, while he was a phenomenal defender. And a really good pose defender too. Yeah, but I mean,

he's still on his comeback, right? Like he's still progressing. I mean, that's what the Mavericks are going to do to you over and over again. And they are sneaky good defensively. I don't even know if it's sneaky at this point. You should not be feeling any kind of way about saying that the Mavericks could win a title. You just shouldn't.

I'm scared of him. I'm going to stay, bro. I'm sorry. I'm just, because the thing with Luca is, because you could also do the, you know, we're just going to let Luca score, right?

We're just going to let Luca, we don't give a fuck about Luca, what he does. We're going to guard in Woody. We're going to make sure all these other guys don't get hot, right? which would be a fair thing to do. But Luca's one of those guys like Janice, like

2017 LeBron. Only a couple of guys to ever grace this this hardwood where you could do that and they're going to beat you by themselves. Luca can beat a team by himself. Luca can, but Luca last night

like the 30, the 35, if Luca had 40 last night and the sons played regularly offensively, the sons win the game. And Lucas' brilliance, offensively, they win the game. What kills you is the 30 from Dinwiddie, the 24 from Brunson, and then whatever shooter, because they're going to have one shooter.

I mean, it's Dorian Finney Smith sometimes. It's Cleba, sometimes it's like whichever Reggie Bala, one of them, whichever one goes off for 15, that's what winds up killing you. But it is a fascinating, like, chess mats behind closed doors where you're like, hey, what What is the answer here? Is it? Are we subscribing to, hey, let Luca go. Stay home.

But it's easier said than done, right? Because all they do is ISO you. So Luca's still going to get his sturdy because nobody can guard him. And they're going to seek out with Dinwiddie and Brunson, the mismatch that they're looking for. And it doesn't matter if you stay home because both of them cook in ISO situations. Here's a thing. The Warriors obviously can. And I mean, all papers should win this series, right?

They're going to need Steph Curry to step the fuck up in front of the show, Steph Curry. They're going to need him to step up. He has not played well throughout this postseason. He has shot the ball well. He played very bad in the Warriors close out win against Memphis. He's going to have to show up. Clay is going to have to be more consistent offensively. And they're going to need, like, the Warriors are going to need guys to step up.

But it starts with Steph. Make no mistake about it. Because Steph can go on a tear. We've seen that. And that can offset what Luca does. And there's a world also where the warriors just go, just warriors super sand in the third quarter of every game and just blow it up, blow them on out.

Like there's a world where that happens. Absolutely. And the warriors are going to present issues for Luca as well, having to guard, you know? Like, they present some challenges for the Maverick. So I don't mean to sound like I'm giving it. It's not over, man. This is going to be a really great series.

I'm just fascinated to see what style. wins round one, right? Like which style wins round one and then the adjustments. And then you could check back with me after game two. And I'll have a better feel for that because it's going to be fascinating.

That's funny because I like, on these types of podcast where we're right in the beginning of series, especially the Western Conference Finals, I'd like to do predictions, but I don't, I cannot get a grip on this series whatsoever. I can't.

It's going to be really fun. It's going to be whoever, it's going to be really fun and it's going to be whoever can, whoever can, play the game closer to their stylistic ideal, that's who's going to win it. Whoever can keep it in their corner the longest,

that's who's going to win that series. Let's take a quick break. I want to talk about the East. All right, Ra, I want to talk about heat Celtics, but first I want to talk about Janus. This is one of those series where, like, the legend just grows even if the person loses. Janus played incredible throughout this postseason.

I didn't shoot the ball well in spurts. That's fair. But without Middleton, he carried this team. And a similar way to like, to how, how Luca is carrying his team. And we saw the other side of that where, you know, they just didn't have legs and just didn't have the bodies. What is this playoff series or this playoff run kind of say about Luca? Let's have some legacy talk here, bud. About Janus?

About Janus. how did you feel about how you played down the stretch? And does he get a pass this year because he didn't have Middleton? Does he have that built-in excuse? Or are we just like, or how do you feel about Janus? Definitely, definite pass for Janus this year. In terms of not winning the championship, I thought Janus was fantastic. Over the entirety of the playoffs, yes, there was a game here or there where he might have been not his normal self.

But yesterday, he was not great. He was great early. And then, you know, he had some uncat—he had some silly plays. plays right to end the first half. And, you know, they came out, they came out early. I just, Janus overall was great. It was a terrible time to not have your best game, right? In game seven, kind of like we're talking about with the sons.

But overall, yeah, I think Janus didn't do anything to hurt his legacy. I mean, he was on a team where, again, you're predicated on having three guys that can kind of make plays and a bunch of shooting around it. That being Janus, obviously Chris Middleton. to some degree, Drew Holiday, and you subtract the number two playmaker and score off of your team, and you're heaping it all on Yanis, I think it was a valiant effort. Janus played great. You just, Boston is damn good.

And when you get some of the games that they got, and I guess it's by design because Milwaukee wants you to shoot these threes and they play that game with you, they're trying to see if, you know, you can shoot it well enough over the course to beat them. But when you get the Grant Williams game from last night and you get the Al Horford game from whatever game that was. And when they're knocking down that many threes, that cat shot 18 threes last night, Grant Williams.

Like when you're giving, when they're hot and you're just giving them, they were giving them those shots. Those aren't contested shots. They're wide open. Here's the thing. When you have an underman squad, the way the Milwaukee Bucks did,

you have, there's, you cannot make it go to a game seven. You have to take care of business at home. When you are the lower seat and you're underman, you have to get that game six, man. There's no way.

If you are a guy like Janus, you want to get that shit done at home because you don't have, secondary scoring isn't as easy to come by on the road on a game seven. It's just not. It doesn't matter how good you're playing. If you don't have a secondary All-Star,

which they don't have, it's really tough to manufacture buckets. And I think that goes to a larger point when I look at the Milwaukee Bucks roster. I see them. They are deep. They are a really good team. But it goes back to what it always is going back to,

which is you need a secondary dude. You need a number two dude. They don't have a number two dude. It just is what it is. And it's going to constantly be that throughout the throughout Janus's career. Yeah. Chris,

what you mean? Chris Middleton's a number two dude. Why are we doing this right now? Because you just did it. I don't believe, listen, I already told you this. Do you agree with me last week? I think he's an overqualified. by three. Same with Drew Holiday.

I think they could be twos and spurts, but I don't think they're a number two dude. He's a perennial all-star. They just won a championship with him being the number two dude last year. He carried them when Janus was out. Like, what do you think fits to this? What is a number two? You want a number one to be number two?

A number two. You want to diminish number one to be number two to Janus, is what you're saying. That's what you're asking for? You want a slightly diminished older number one to come back, Bidjanus is number two. Chris Middleton is all right as a number two, man, he's been out. But Chris Middleton, do they win that series?

Likely. Likely. So what are we talking about? I just, I don't have an argument, man. You're an NBA player. I don't know what I believe. That's fine. I disagree, though.

We can disagree. It's allowed. It's allowed. I just, I don't, but I feel like I, maybe, and this is like, damn, bro. I got just, I know it just opened up a wound. I just opened up a scab that I really wanted it. Like, I apologize. that had done all the things.

I really like Chris Middleton as a basketball player. I really like Drew Holiday as a basketball player. I think I just want to see, maybe I just want to see Janice with another Hall of Famer. Is that fair? I'm apologize. Maybe that's what it is. And that's just a high bar.

That's a very high bar. I mean, so you've changed the conversation on me there. So maybe that's what it is? Does that, okay. Janice with another, yeah, I mean, that would be dope. I've seen LeBron with a lot of Hall of Famers, you know. Yeah. I just, you know, I just, I don't know.

I'm sorry. I'm not going to Milwaukee for at least another year, so maybe they'll just forget or something. But I'm going to get my ass kicked. I already know. I already know. I know what it is. I think the bucks are right back with some tinkering around the edges.

I think they've got to get better in the margins. You know what I think? I think Boston is a team to beat in the East next year, but we'll talk about that later. Okay, okay. But I think Milwaukee, I can agree with you that, Boston will continue to grow. But I think Milwaukee is right back

where they were this year and where they were last year next year, which is right in the thick of things, vying for a championship minus injury, just as much a favorite as anyone else. Okay. I can get with that. I can get with that.

Fair. Fair, fair. All right, let's talk about Boston, which is, which are going to the conference finals. I did not see this happening. I thought, I just remember in game one of the series,

I just felt like Milwaukee had to look. And also the collapse in game five, the utter collapse, for them to bounce back the way they did, just shows the fortitude, okay? Just shows just way to fucking, what to bounce back, dude. Way to do that. This is a title contender.

I'll be honest, you've watched a lot more Miami Heat games than I have. Just sorry. So you can probably give a better this. how do we how do you see this series going? Oh, I think it's going to be another great. You say like seven games series. This is going to have two conference finals, right?

Like two great conference finals. I think you could have a very, a very entertaining series. What the style of play winds up looking like? I don't know because you have two like gritty, tough physical defenses. both teams having, you know, guys like Jimmy Butler and Marcus Smar and Jason Tatum, Jalen Brown, Bam out of bio, you know, Tyler Hero. They're bucket getters across the board.

I think Kyle Lowry, whatever his injury status is, how healthy he is, what kind of production he can give the heat is going to be really important in this series. I don't know who to pick. I'm not, you didn't ask me for a prediction, so I won't do it. But I think you could see a knockdown, drag out, like heavyweight type of fight, man, where these games are physical and chippy and, you know, the teams are tough, bro. Yeah, for sure. For sure. Are we bringing 90s basketball back?

I think this series, I think the Bucks Celtic series kind of did, but there were so many threes just given away that the, that, like, that wasn't really 90s basketball. I think this series, it will, I think it could look like 90s basketball. Well, I love that, like, the 90s basketball is. like steal back on the East Coast, right? Like people forget the Alonzo morning heat, how they would just beat your ass, how to Pat Riley. Like, this team

is in Pat Riley's wheelhouse. You got Jimmy Butler who was not backing down from anyone, and we didn't, we haven't talked about this with the Sixers. Just the disappointment that was, just just all around. You know, I guess we'll spare him. Who cares? But

if I were to, if Pat Rod who were to pick a team in 2022, this is the team he's picking. This is exactly the tough, the grit team. And then Boston, man, my goodness, I would be a little, I mean, both teams play really small. I don't really have a gauge on this series either. This is something that's just going to have to watch, man. It's going to be a really, really fun series. It's going to be really fun. I think, I mean, I think the league and the basketball gods have smiled on us because at least on paper, in my mind, both conference finals could be really, really, really fun series to watch.

The league had a, this is a side note, man, but I've been thinking about this, man. The league has had a great year. The NBA, it's been a great year. Seventy for the anniversary. A lot has happened. A lot of great shit has happened. And it has gone into the postseason. This is one of the better post seasons that I've seen in a while.

Is this just intrigue? Not knowing. When people say everyone, you know, when it was just the Warriors Cavs every year, year. People were saying, we need parity, we need parity, we need all these things. Well, you got it, and it's here, and it's entertaining. You know, we're here. We're here, baby. I, you know, we often get on here and kind of marginalize the heat. I've done it. My concern, in fairness to me. Also, bro, and it's more disappointing that you do it, because that's your backyard. I know, in fairness to me. That's where you're at. MIAO 305-A County. I'm not in 305.

anymore, although I always rep 305. I don't mean to marginalize them. I always said my only concern with them was having the guy who when push comes to shove would just put you on his back and take you where you needed to go. Jimmy Butler was having as good a playoff as anyone out there. So with that in place, and if he's going to continue to be that guy, I don't have concerns because they are, I mean, the Spurs traditionally for sure are that model franchise, right? Golden State became, but we sleep on the heat all the time.

And they are a model franchise for. They're just there, which is like in all great, they're just there. All the time. And they're, you know, they've got a really high floor, right? Like, you know what I mean? Like they're Pat Riley and Eric Spolstra are not going to let the bottom. fall out of that shit. And they find people, they develop, they

get people to fit the profile, they get ultimate buy-in, and this team is going to be game. I'm not telling you who's going to win the series, but they are going to be game, so don't discredit it. I just want to extend the flowers and give them to the

Miami Heat because even, they just, this is what we love on the real one spot, they just fight. No matter what, even when LeBron left, they were just somehow there who all dang, Chris Bosh, for winning a playoff series. You know, they're just there. They're a respected organization.

Even when they're bad, you go have to deal with the Miami Heat. And I respect that. So shout out to the heat, ruins. Okay. Okay. Let me quarterback this thing, Roger. It's about that time, duh.

It's about that time to put a team out of their misery. It's about that time to put them in what we like to call a pack, roll him up, roll him up and smoke them. We got our chief meme officer, Jomey, who had his pick of the litter of teams to put on Packwatch. But he has chosen one Phoenix Suns as an organization staff record label and was a motherfucking crew.

He is here. Joemy, don't get on here and show your ass today, Jomey. Don't get on here and don't you do it. What are you doing about? What you mean? You know, I always come on here and I'm just like really nice and calm and collected, you know? So why would I do anything different, Roger?

I don't know what you're talking about. No idea what you mean. Well, why don't you go ahead and do it, sir? Why don't it says, since you set me up so nicely, why did you go ahead and do what you're going to do to be now? Well, listen, like Logan said, you know, the Sixers and Hardin went outside, you know, the Grizz are who we thought they were.

And the Bucks, while, you know, hurt, it is unfortunate. But you got to get got. to look at the Phoenix Suns. Let me tell you guys something. I don't think we've accurately, like, depicted what we saw last night. That was, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the worst performances in the history of sports.

Like, just, like, think about it. That was Germany 7, Brazil won in the World Cup in 2014, right? That was the miracle on ice, USA, beating Rush. in Lake Placid. Do you believe in miracles? Type L. That was Leicester City winning the Premier League

in 2016. A historical event. Just a disastrous collapse. And listen, people got to pay. We got to look at people. CP3.

They're calling them CPO in the streets because he's got zero wings. Right? It's tough. Devin, don't double team me Booker. Both of them combined had three points at halftime.

Three points. How tough is that? Listen. And if you think that's all, if you think that's it. But wait, there's more. Anthony Edwards went on Instagram stories and was talking trash. Pat Beverly, who nobody messes with, nobody messes with, was on ESPN, the Even Four Letter, talking cash.

Selling out. Oh, yeah, you know, Chris Paul's, he's a comb. You know, when I got to guard Chris Paul the next day, I go out, I go get a steak, I do some whine-out party, you know what I'm saying? It's nasty business. And listen, maybe the sons deserve it. They was out there wowing. It was all good in the streets talking to LeBron, talking to everybody.

Pat Bair said, you know, Pat Bair went to Paul George to talk smack. You know how silly it is when Paul George, you know, makes it seem like, oh, all the words come out of his mouth makes sense, you know. And listen, I'm sorry, Sons fans, we've got to have the discussion. Last year, AD's hurt, Rons on one leg. The Nuggets don't have Jamal Mori or MPJ. The Clippers don't have Kauai. We must have this discussion.

In fact, I'm not even going to say the discussion. I'm going to say it right now. The sons are fraudulent. Absolutely fraudulent. I'm sorry, Phoenix. I'm sorry, but when you go down 46 points in a game seven at home, at the crib. Imagine somebody come into your house and put a 46 on your dome. It's impossible.

It's impossible. It's done. We got to not like, and I say this is all serious with all love. love Raja, the Phoenix Suns are a finished franchise. That loss. Listen, listen, listen. That loss, that loss, that's the one you look in 10 years, 15 years like, hey, man, that was it.

That was the moment where it all came down. No. Right? That's it. Listen, I'm sorry, Roger. We got, we got to, what's going to happen with Aiton? Right? Who's, they going to pay Aton?

you had the discussion early in the pod. Hey, man, where's, you know, what's going on with his deal? CP3 literally looks cooked. Hey, Jome, Jomey, hey Jome. You got your eyes locked to the streets. You've been texting all night. You've been tapped in. What are the sons of yesteryear, the sons who demanded respect back in the day?

The sons that Roger were a part of, what do they think about the current iteration of the Phoenix Sons? What do they think? I mean, they're just absolutely disgusted. Listen, here's what I'd say you what. Steve Nashville would have never gone out like this. I'll tell you that right now. Leonardo Barbosa would have never got out sat like this. Amari would have never went down like this.

Just colossal embarrassment from the organization. And frankly, like, from top to bottom, everybody should be ashamed. Everybody should be ashamed. You know what I'm saying? It's just a disgrace. Are you saying that next year during the training camp that they shouldn't even wear the feet. They should earn the Phoenix Sun's practice jerseys? Is that what you're saying right now?

I don't think they should. It's not your practice jerse. Like we just running sprints. Don't even get into gym. Nobody touch a ball. Say no gear will be handed out. No gear. No gear.

Are they doing the drum line scene where they're just holding the drum? We're not going to do this. We're not going to do this. No, we're not going to do this. No, no, no, no, no. Until they can run a pick and roll, a pick and roll defense correctly, until Chris Paul can like, guard, you know, like a sixth grader, then we just running outside, bro. Because let me tell you, no, no, no, I saw the game last night.

Jalen Brunson is so talented, like just, you know, he's really shot out this playoffs. He went by CP3 like he was a ghost. Da-na-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. He's a phantom. Like, it was embarrassing, dog. Like, oh, it's just, I'm just, ah, you know, it was whoever. offense on CP3. Think about that. How many

all defensive teams has this guy made? Has made his bread and butter being an annoying pest on the defensive van. And they went through him like he was an apparition. Like he was a ghost. All right. That's crazy. All right. All right. What the

fuck. All right. I gave you a white berth there. All right? You did your thing. You showed out. You came out. You showed your ass. I can't even fucking argue because it was that bad. Like it was bad. The shit was tragically. It was historically bad. It was.

I agree. I can't co-sign. Here's what I think happened to them. And while I'm agreeing, I can't, I think they put the car. I think they got Hollywood too quick. I think they put the car before the horse. They put the car before the horse. Like you forgot.

You know, they had an edge about them last year. There was some grit, a little dirty. Now they got a little win on the sidelines. Odell Beckham on the sidelines. Now they got a little, you know, they got a little. You hadn't won yet. And now you still haven't won. And so, you know,

know here, hey, you know what? You know what's interesting? Let me just tell you. You remember a couple years ago there was this viral clip from one of them games, one of them pick up games out in L.A. somewhere where Devin Booker was getting doubled and he was like bitching about getting doubled. Runs us on my tweet. Yeah, oh, they did it?

Did you tweet that? I said, Devin Booker should have been practicing on them double teams. He didn't want to smoke. So we're on the same page, right? But like, that's where, and that's not, you know, like, but it's big picture, right? Right? Like, they need to get, they need to get the dog back. Devin Booker is a dog, but he needs to tap back into, like, the junkyard dog.

Like, we can't be the porch dog. We need some junkyard dogs. No more in front of the cars, the dope-ass cars. No more, no more, you know. Yeah. No. That's all that. Here's what I'll say. Are the sons actually finished as a franchise? Of course, no. No, don't walk it back. No, don't walk it back. No, I got a question for you.

No, no, no, no. No, no, you can't. No, you can't. No, you can't. No, no, no, no. I do think they're finished. I do think they're finished. I do think they finished.

I got a question for you. What's up? Last year, last summer, because I have to, we have to do this because you should, you showed your ass last summer. I quote, you said, you said that basketball is no longer America's sport. It is quote, Nigerious sport. Oh, yeah. It's what you said.

Yeah. Well, after Yonis won the title. You showed your ass. You went all the way. Yeah, man. You said that Nigeria is going to win the National. I mean, they're going to win the Olympic gold medal. They're going to win the Gold Medal and you're going to host this, the hostess pod yourself.

That's the battery that Yonnas put in your back. Time to pour a little liquor. What you got to say, buddy. Yonis, I did a cumbo. You know, Janus is just like a, you know, typical Nigerian kid, you know what I'm saying? Like, he put in all the work and his teammates didn't come out of help. You know, I'm saying? Like, he was looking around.

He just like me for real. You know, you're looking around like, hey, man, where's my help? Like, you know, and it's not Chris Middleton. You know, Chris Middleton, you know, he got his knees made of, you know, cook spaghetti. So he wasn't out there like that. But, dog, if I have to see Grayson Allen, first of all, I had to rule for Jason Allen for two weeks, which or something, I never would have done in the first place, right? But I had the Celtics agenda, you feel me? Can't have anything good to happen to the seas.

Not on my watch. But that, they were playing that dude 25 minutes a game. And he was getting cooked out there. Like, he literally barbecue chicken. It was Jason Tatum. Let me get this screen by Jaylen Brown was kicking him. Out Horford gave him 15.

It felt like it was bad news bears. And so while Nigeria, yeah, we'll rise again, maybe. We'll be back. Nigeria always comes back. But don't put this on my African brother, all right? We got to look at the other direction. We got to look at Bobby Portis, Brooke Lopez, Grayson Allen.

Where were they at? You know what I'm saying? That's where we got to. John is that what? Yeah, like 40. The first player in NBA history, I think, to have, like, what? What was it? Like 10 or a thousand?

No, 1,000 points. Like, 500, 200 points. 100. Like, he was putting up crazy statistics, right? It was not on him. You know, Nigerians always rocks the occasion. All right. Have some respects.

So basically all I got from this is Janus is never going on Pac-Watch, no matter what happens. Oh, he stamps. He stamps. Okay. He stamped. Look, okay. I will stand by the fact that I do think. the Sons are a franchise.

But Devin Booker, I know Devin Booker's listening, big fan, my brother in Christ, this will follow you forever, dog. Like, you are, you are, I'm not going to say you're finished. You know, you got a long, come on. Come on.

Come on. Listen, he will, we will never, ever forget where we were. Where I stood when Devin Booker laid an egg in game seven of the Western Conference semifinals. in the year of our Lord 2020. I don't care. I don't care what happens next.

Until. Until. You will always have that smell on you. You didn't get in the Hall of Fame. You know what I'm saying? You know what washes that off? You know what washes that off, though? What's up?

Rings. Never. Yes. That's what it was. They called Magic Johnson, tragic Johnson. And look, look what happens. It's fine.

No, I'm not going for. All right, Jomey. Thank you, Jeremy. Thank you, Jome. Thank you, Jome. Thanks, Jome. appreciate you, buddy. Excellent.

Excellent. While I can't wholeheartedly agree with all of that, I will say that Jomi's enthusiasm and overall take on the atrocity of last night, I can co-sign him. That was just bad. And I, again, I feel bad for everyone. I take no pleasure in it. It seemed like Jomi did.

And that's where we differ, right? Like, he seemed excited about that. Well, Jomey's team is not even in the playoffs. Right. I know. I know. Like, the misery loves company. I'm just saying.

Phoenix, forgive me because I can't disagree with all of that. I don't think the franchise is in ruins. I think we're okay. We just need to, you know, we got to get some places. But that shit was embarrassing. That was embarrassing, dog. Hoof. Sheesh.

Man, we're going to be thinking about that for a long time. All right, Ra. It's time for a little segment we like to call ruin of the week. Okay. I got it. There's no other person I can give it to, and I feel like I'm going to, like, take yours, and you're going to be very mad at me, and it's fine. I'm going to go with Luca Danschich.

Okay? It's going to, like, there's nothing more to say than Luca Dodgers is coming and he's ready to go. He's ready. He's ready to roll. Yeah. I want to give also like a little shout out and a honorable mention to one, Kendrick Lamar.

Really liked his album over the weekend. I've been listening to it. Mr. Morale and the Big Step us. Roger, I think you like this album, buddy. I know your hip-hop head. I know you're a real hip-hop head. You still got your Jansport backpack on at all times. And your Tim's Laced tight.

You probably went to the tunnel back in the day. You probably, you know, you probably, you know, probably put on a party for Onyx back at Scottsdale back in the day. I'm not even, wouldn't even be surprised that happened. But yeah, it's my ruin of the week. Luca Dodg, it's honor and I mentioned Kendrick Lamar. There you go. I'm going to give two different pairs of people, real ones at the wall.

Is that a real one first? Yeah, it's a first. It's first, but I think it's warranted. The first would be Imeudoka and Brad Stevens. Hellified coaching job by EMA, through two both series. Like really did a great job. And I could see it and see his fingerprints on both of those series

defensively and schematically. And that was great. And then Brad Stevens for moving up top and, you know, some deadline trades, getting back Tice and, you know, putting a ball in Marcus Smart's hands. Like there were some decisions that had to be made there that have kind of helped that franchise take the step to where they are now. So both of them are real ones.

And then the second pair of real ones would be Jay Kidd and Nico Harrison. And Jay Kidd, another coach where you could see fingerprints and agenda and game plan all throughout the playoffs. It never looked like his team was just out there hooping. Like you could tell they were dialed in. They had a plan and they were there to execute it. I loved there was a clip watching the game the other night where he was coaching like he was yelling the whole. possession. Stay home. Stay home. Don't leave him. Don't leave him. Double. Like I thought it was fantastic.

Man, it was really cool to watch it warm my heart. And Nico, for sliding over from Nike, a great dude. And again, another trade. And we talked about it on here, about moving Chris Staps to bring in Spencer Dinwiddie. And Spencer Dinwiddie, by most accounts in Washington

like, people weren't really digging Spencer Dinwiddie in Washington. And so that was a role of the dice that has paid off in a big way for the Mavs. It gives them that third creator and playmaker. He had 30 ball last night in a closeout game. And so shout out. Real ones there, two, two sets, two head coaches

and front office. It's a hellified. It's a hell ofide list, man. Real ones all the way around. It's been another edition of our Monday real ones. You can catch us every Monday. I think we're back Monday night

next week, but it could be a Monday morning. Who knows? You know, Rosas is winking. He wants, you know, we know what he wants. He doesn't, the ruins after dark is not for him. He wanted to throw all the dark, all the dark liquor away. He's ready to, he's not, he's chipper now. I started my diet today, bro. I'm good.

We're good. Bro, you started your diet? What? Before I got on here, man, I got on the fucking Peloton. I feel amazing, bro. We're locked in. We're getting these summer bots, bro. We're ready to roll.

We're ready to go, man. You got your diet? What's you doing, man? What are we cutting out? So if people see you in the streets, they say, Roger, get on your fucking diet, get on your shit. What are you doing? You see me eating some French fries or anything like, uh,

chips or pizza or any alcohol in my hands. Smack that shit out of his hand. You got, oh, you got full carb blanche to knock that shit out of my hands. Carbs in general, I got to let go. Like, that's my carbs and sweets, man, getting rid of it.

Ready to lock in? Yes, sir. Let's fucking do it, man. Just fucking do it. All right, man. That's been another edition of Monday Ruins. Make sure you check us out every Monday. Make sure you check out.

In the meantime, in between time. Make sure you check out group chat. Make sure you check out the rest of our ringers, NBA Slate. That is the answer. That is The Void with Kevin O'Connor. Follow. Make sure you check out the mismatch. Hey, Chris Vernon.

I know you're listening player. Friend of the show. Bruno. Memphis. Memphis. We didn't even do it. We didn't even put them in a pack because we respect them. We got love for them.

But let that happen next year. We got our eye on you. And we got on the eye on the city of Memphis. Okay, shout out the city of Memphis. We see you. I'll just keep the propaganda rolling, man. Let's just do it. All right.

You know what time it is. Black Girl's songbook with who? Roger Bell. It's a town legend. Miss Danielle Smith. Mm-hmm. She signed my book, too, by the way. Shine bright.

Make sure you go check that out, too. New 60 songs that define the 90s with Rob Hervella. Okay, you check that out. That is ruins propaganda right there. Check it out. Go on their feed. It's amazing show. Anything Rob Hervella does, I'm going to listen to it.

I'm just going to listen to him speak for five hours. It's like watching Ray Allen shoot jumpers, okay? It's just every time is like the first time. Make sure you check out. We're going to keep that propaganda rolling. Make sure you check out R2C2 with who, Roger Bell. It's the crest-eye clown. Vallejo legend C.C. Sabatio.

We're in the motherfucking house. Okay. I said it was a stretch run. This really the stretch run. Western Conference, Real ones. Holla. Popping. We hear.

Lock in.