The Ringer NBA Show - The Real Mismatch Grizzlies-palooza With Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor | Real Ones

Episode Date: February 3, 2022

In this iconic Ringer NBA crossover event, Logan and Raja are joined by Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor, hosts of ‘The Mismatch,’ to discuss all things Memphis Grizzlies. They talk about Ja Morant’s ascension to superstardom this season, Jaren Jackson Jr.’s progression after recovering from injuries early in his career, expectations for this season, and much more. Hosts: Logan Murdock and Raja Bell Guests: Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor Associate Producer: Sasha Ashall Social: Jomi Adeniran Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ringer gambling show is here to help you place your bets on the biggest sports around the world. Join NFL analyst Warren Sharp on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with guests Chris Vernon, Ben Solac, and Joe House to guide you through the NFL betting landscape. Each week, they'll cover everything from spreads, game totals, and parlays to player props, futures, post-game reactions, and more. Check out the ringer gambling show on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And we are back on Rural On Rewans Radio. And I'm here with Raja Bell.

And Rajah, we have someone in the building that's really, really upset. And he's from Memphis. He's a motherfucker legend in the whole city of Memphis. But I don't can't get why he's so mad. Raja, we have Chris Vernon of the mismatch. Chris, why are you so mad? Well, people just let small markets thrive without this bullshit of trying to get the good players to the big markets. all the time.

Nobody wants to play for your team. Draft somebody good. Stop trying to poach everybody from small markets to get to the bigger markets. We don't need the big market. John Morant was second in fan voting from the smallest market. Second in media voting from the smallest market. second in player voting from the smallest market. He doesn't need you, L.A.

He doesn't need you, New York. He doesn't need you Chicago. He doesn't need you Tokyo. He doesn't need anybody. Leave the small markets alone. Stop hating. Start congratulating. And just enjoy.

it. John Moran's in Memphis to stay. Get used to it. Stop putting lock uniforms on him of another team in five years. Find your own good player. Leave ours alone. Real one, Logan Murdoch here. Roger Bell there. Hey, Roger. Hey, yo, Roger. What I do? Hey, yo, Roger. So I'm really excited about this episode. In particular, because one of my first internship, was at a nice little place called the commercial appeal in Memphis. And in the summer of 2017, right before a shit started, the pop, it started off in Memphis. One of my first big stories was when Zach Randolph left. And I had to go on the ground and report that, go down Beale Street, go down to South Haven, go down to lock in.

I ate rendezvous every week. It's time, Raja. for motherfucking Grizzlies Beluza. And you know who else we got in the building, Roger? Who we got in a building, Logan? You know who we got in the fucking building,

Roger? You know who got in the building, Roger? We got Verno in this motherfucker. We got Chris Vernon in here. You know who else we got? We got the real KOC in the motherfucker building. What's up, y'all? How y'all doing? How's everything going? How are you guys doing?

I've never been to Memphis. Hey, and I now have just reconsidered how I introduced Kevin. Yours is so much better. Oh, oh, that's a lot, man. It's good to have you guys on the show, man. It's good to have you guys. Yeah, man.

I've told you my Memphis story, though, Logan. I've told you my story about the Piedmont Hotel in Memphis. Peabody. No, Peabody. The Piedmont. Most of respect. How dare you? I'm sorry.

Story fucked up. I can't even go into it. One of the most genuine people I ever met. Right? That's one with the ducks in the thing. Yep. Straight up. That's fucked.

I used to send some. in Memphis to White Station shout out. This cat, I needed something pressed, right? And at the time, they didn't have the capability for some reason. Machinery was down or it was too late to send it out, whatever was going on. My man was like, you really need that shirt? I was like, yes, I really do. Dude, I only brought one suit and one shirt.

Like, I have nothing to wear it in the game tomorrow. He took my shirt home and his wife hand-ironed my shit, and he brought it back to me the next day. So they're now hospitality. I don't know his name. I wish I did. But yes, it was one of the most genuine, like, thoughtful things I ever had done for me in an NBA city. So dope. That just warms my heart, okay?

You know what else? Let's start the show off, man. You know what else warms Raj's heart? Chris Vernon and KOC. John Morant. The fact is, the man is a baller. How good is John Morant? I'm going to start off with Vernon.

Let's go to KOC. You're down, ten toes down, Verno. How good is John Moran up close? I mean, I have never had the pleasure of getting to watch somebody like him every night. What he has turned into this year is one of the best handful of players in the NBA. You know, his rookie year, he was amongst the top five scorers in the last five minutes of games, like the fourth quarter. He was a great scorer down the stretch. And you could see glimpses of.

And then the second year, there was, it was a weird year. They lost Jared Jackson for the season. And it was, and then he got injured. It didn't go the way he wanted to. And it was a lot of figuring out, you know, last season. And I think that there were a lot of people that then started sleeping on him. You saw that when ESPN came out with their list. And that was last spring.

It was in April of 2021. He was not listed amongst the best players under 24 years old. So that's how it had gone. And then he came back this season and literally from night one. And you could go find the dunk that happened against Cleveland and the block that happened against Cleveland on opening night. You could tell, oh boy, something is different here. And obviously, as the year has gone,

on, it has just gotten better and better and better for him. And that's despite missing 12 games in the middle of all of it. He has now, he has gone like, it's almost like he bypassed Star. That's what I would say. He went straight from a guy that people were not thinking of nearly as highly as they did after his rookie of the year to superstardom. KOC, when you look from a national perspective, how big has Joss stock risen over the last few years, or the last few months, actually?

And how do you think that it'll keep going? When did he get onto the national scene in your eyes? Because I already know, man, we're going to talk about this even more throughout this, this pod. He's been certified in the streets. But when did the league start to take a notice of who Jiamerant was as a player? I mean, I think Vernar would agree with me probably this season. in terms of like him just going from more than whatever he was to more than a star because I think with John Moran he I mean from a production standpoint him going from a 19 point per

game guy to somebody averaging 25 plus running the offense on a top three seat in the Western conference and having as many all-star votes as he did I mean I think this is the year where people were like okay, Josh's taking that leap and I mean for me when I watch him play there are there are a lot of great stars in the NBA, especially right now. But with with Jai, I think his clutch performance, the way he just run the show, when Chris said he's beyond a star, I think he's a star in the sense that you can just, you trust him in those moments. He is somebody who comes through and he inspires belief in his teammates that they have that in him. It's sort of, I mean, I hate always bringing up, but it's like growing up a fan of Tom Brady. always believed. You always believed your team had a chance to win the game with him as your

quarterback. And I think with John Morant, I'm sure like for like your son and all his friends, Chris, that watched John Morant. They watched John Morant and they think their team has a chance to win because of their point card. And I just think John Moran has that kind of effect on the game that only really some special star players do. That's a separator of stars from superstars, which you're describing is it's that knack to just be able to get it done. And, you know, people's faith in you sometimes. The funny part about that is, like, it inspires the faith that you have in me.

And then there are nights where the faith that you have in me inspires me to just get that shit done because I can't let you down. Do you know what I mean? It's a weird dynamic like that. When I watch him, I think, I mean, he, Kyrie is as gifted as scores I've ever seen in person, right? With the basketball in his hand, skill level.

I think John Moran is expert. financially like faster, more dynamic an athlete. And I would say right now, probably the toughest person in the league to keep in front of you. Like just from a sheer, I would be interested to hear you guys take. You watch the games more to me. But when I watch him, I'm left wondering, like, who the fuck can stay in front of him? Like, like singularly, who would be able to stay in front of him? No, the only chance that people have.

I mean, look, they played Philly two nights ago. I think if people are talking about who are the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, Thibble is on the short list, right? Yep. Games on the line. I mean, Thuyble's jockstrap was at the mid-court. I mean, just blew past him like he didn't even exist, right? And that's Tybal.

Your only chance with him is to put a big wing on him, and then the Knicks actually did as good a job as you can do last night. But RJ on him for a while? You take a big wing, you put him on him, and you make him see a second guy at the free throw. You know what I mean? And now what the problem is, he is now, you know, like he functions as a guy that wants to set up somebody else, right? First.

And so the problem is now, okay, if you're going to choose that, then Jared Jackson's going to have 26 points last night. Zaire Williams going to have 21 points last night. If you want to do the because, and that's the choice he forced you to make it. This is why they've got the third best record in the NBA. because if you play drop coverage, he's going to have 40 points. Right. You have no chance. He's going to stop short of you.

And he had, you know, they played against Utah last year in the playoffs. And there was a bit of foreshadowing with that of what was going to happen this season. Because he had 47 on the road against the number one seed and the defensive player of the year, you know, standing in front of their basket. and most of which was in the paint. And so that goes to show even the best at drop coverage, you're going to get murdered if you try to guard him one-on-one. But if you are going to make him see a second guy, he's such a good passer and facilitator that now you're going to,

you are at the mercy of the other guys. And you can make that decision. And you can just say, okay, well, then the other guys are going to have to beat us. But to your point on not being able to stay in front of him, I saw Kurt Goldsbury tweet this out this morning. John Moran's on pace to be the first guard to lead the NBA and points in the paint since the league began tracking the stat over 25 years ago. Of his 26 points per game, 16 of which happened in the lane.

That's incredible, bro. That's incredible. With a game plan in place to stop that from happening. Yeah. Correct. Yeah. I think with Ja, and me and Roger have talked about this a lot, I became a believer. And I know this is one of the, probably one of Berno's favorite moments as a Grizzlies,

as a Grizzlies fanatic, when he went up in a Chase Center and just in the playing game and just stared down step and was like, no, I'm going to take your lunch. I'm going to do it. This is my house. When he did that, it was, it was just a special, it was a special performance. I was able to be a Chase Center when that happened and just was in sheer disbelief that he just went up against, you know, probably the best point guard in the league. now and just said no.

So I got this. My question, and I want to start off with KOC when I asked this, when you talk about a team like this, that's so good, they're third in the Western Conference. They're about seven games out of first place, but they're third in the Western conference. They're riding the thick of things. But you get the air that they're probably

a year ahead of schedule. I think, me and Roger talked about this about the Atlanta Hawks last year. They're about a year ahead of schedule. They're catching a lot of teams by surprise. KOC, in your opinion, I'll start with you. Do you think this is a team that should make a trade at this point and to go to the next level,

or are they good at the current trajectory that they're at? Do they need to make a move at this very moment or in the offseason to, you know, OKC did it a few years back? Do they need to do that? Are they good right now with their current trajectory? I'd say no, they don't need to do anything. I would say, yes, they should want to do something.

But want and need are two different things for the NBA general manager right now because so much of it is, well, what players are available? What opportunities are there? And I mean, I think about somebody like Jeremy Grant or John Collins. Like this week, there's a ton of John Collins like stuff out there. Like you're hearing about Sacramento. You're hearing about Portland for that matter. You're hearing about other teams that are going after Collins. And it's like, is that, is that worth it for Memphis? Is it worth it to go for, you know, Jeremy Grant? And I mean, I think the price, right now. It's probably a little higher than I'd feel comfortable with for the Grizzlies.

And I mean, I think from a chemistry standpoint, their chemistry is so great that they could withstand a trade and still just keep on sailing. But I don't think there's a trade right now, at least from what I've heard personally, that is worth them breaking that whole thing, good thing up right now because they're in such a good spot. Like, Chris, you said Zaire Williams. He's starting games. Like John Conchar. has started games this year. They're in a position right now. They're still in an evaluation and development stage.

Like, I wouldn't rush it unless it's right. And I don't think the right deals out there right now. Roger, can you, can a team trade too early and fuck everything up? Is that something? Absolutely. Okay. All right. 1,000 percent.

And I would, I mean, while I tend to, I agree with KOC, but I would say, like, chemistry is, you know, it's just that. man, it's, it's chemistry. It's an experiment. Like, it's very fragile. And so, you know, if you're kind of, we're going to agree that they're playing a little bit with house money right now, you're kind of ahead of the curve. And you are in that evaluation kind of still period. I don't know, I think you could fuck that up with the wrong piece brought in, right? Like, you know what I mean? Like, you've just got a bunch of dudes out there that love to hoop. They're young. The way they play with energy and passion. And it looks like they play for each other. I'm not saying that you definitely would or that you couldn't withstand you know, a trade, but I'd be real careful with making a move too early and bringing in the

wrong piece. Like, I just, where I'm sitting right now, I don't know that I'd be willing to pull the trigger unless it was, you know, unless it was something just ridiculous and I don't have that name off the top right now. Well, and they have been very good and the reason that things are the way they are is, and I've been around all 21 versions now of the roster. There is not one prick on that team, not one. You know what I mean? Like they have done, when people pull the whole, you know, every coach that ever gets hired and I think I've covered seven, they're all going to change the culture, you know.

Oh, yeah, what we're going to do is we're going to build a culture here, you know, like San Antonio has, like Miami has, like whatever, they all say the same thing, right? And then they never do it. These guys have pulled it off. And because what they have realized that what they were ahead, you know, I don't want to say ahead of the curve, but one of the things they realized was culture is people and they got the right people. You know, when all the way down to the very end of the bench, when the 15th guy is able to come in, help, and then you got John Morant and you got Jared Jackson and you got everybody else on that bench up waving towels going crazy. when who the 15th guy was at one point the number of what, six pick in the draft, probably thought, oh, thank God, I've got a new lease on life.

And this is Jared Culver, right? Jared Culver, who he's, is six pick of the draft. They go and they sign Malik Beasley with their free agent money. They go and they draft Anthony Edwards and he's just cast away. And he gets traded to Memphis and he's probably like, hell yeah, young team. I mean, now I'm going to get my chance. And it really doesn't play. And then because of COVID, because of injuries, now at some point he starts.

At some point, he gets to play a bunch. He's guarding Kevin Durant in the game in Brooklyn. And he's having success. And everybody's going crazy. And he's going crazy for everybody else. And when you can pull that off. And so what they do is this extensive evaluation on who that guy is, what drives that guy, how much that guy cares, you know.

and I've talked about this even on our show with KOC. I've left the arena 10 times after games, no less than 10 times, and you will hear gospel music blaring and hear a basketball bouncing in the practice gym after a game Jared Culver has never even played in. And I give this story just to explain why that team is the way that team is

is because of stuff like that. Because the 15th guy, he didn't just play, he didn't play, he knows he's going to get his chance. When he gets his chance, he's ready. and after games, when he's just had his warm-up on the whole game, he's in there practicing. Like, that's the kind of guys that they find. So I think no matter, I think you could be confident that if they made a trade,

they have been so stringent in who they bring into the mix that they're not going to mess it up. They're not. They know what they have, and they know the type of guys they have, and you're going to have to be that type of guy. There is now, and it's the best thing you can say about a successful franchise, there is a Grizzlies type of player. And we said that all the time for many years. That guy's a Miami heat type of player.

That guy's a San Antonio tying a player. They now have a grizzlies type of player. Let's take a quick break. And I want to talk about something that Verno has been impassioned about. And we are back. I'm just going to get right to it. Verno, can you just give me 15 seconds on why the league has Jaron Jackson fucked up? I can't give you 15 seconds on anything.

I talk forever. I talk forever. Give me a minute and a half. Jared Jackson just turned 21 years old less than a month ago. Jared Jackson missed most of the season, last season, almost all of the season. He missed part of his rookie year. He missed part of his second. year. This is the first full, healthy year. And years two and three, we're already screwed up because

of COVID and everything else, right? One was the bubble, and then he tears up his knee in the bubble. And then last year, after surgery, you got all the COVID stuff going on too. So this is now, he's 21 years old. He is, I think in the end, by the time this is all said and done, he's going to end up winning defensive player of the year in the NBA. And I think because the counting stats, are going to support it and the advanced stats are going to support it. And he is what people have not noticed about this team as much as they should have, A, on the defensive end and how great they have become on the defensive end. But more importantly, on the offensive end, he provides that space for John Morant.

He then has totally unlocked, you know, Brandon Clark was one of the top five, 10 rookies in the league, his rookie year. And then he went to hell in a handbasket last year. And everybody's like, what happened to him? You know what I mean? He can't shoot. He wasn't even in the rotation by the time he got to the playoffs. It's like, what the hell?

This is a terrible story. This guy was awesome. His rookie year? The second year he's not any good. Well, he was good. He just was doing all things that were wildly out of character. Now he's got to stretch the floor. So now he's getting the ball when it's kicked out to corner three.

He can't shoot it, right? So everything he did his rookie year was within eight feet from the basket. He's one of the most effective players in the entire NBA. Well, guess what happened? Jaron Jackson didn't play. So now you're four guy. You're trying to create space for John Morant. Well, if you're going to play him, you've got to be able to create the space.

Well, so now he's unlocked Brandon Clark too because on offense, you can play Clark at center. So he does everything eight feet from the basket. And Jaron Jackson can be out on the wing. creating even more space for him. On the flip side, he can play defensively at four, and Jaron then can be your center. And he can be your rim protector, and this guy's athletic enough to chase everybody around, right?

And I could go on and on at the players in which just having him out there has unlocked something else. And I do think that, yes, Jod deserves immense amount of credit for his progression as a player, but make no mistake about it. Having Jaron Jackson in that lineup this year and having somebody that you have to honor 30 feet away from the basket as one of your bigs, guess what? That lane's open now.

And when that lane is open, you've got a guy that has had multiple games as we just chronicled, 20 points per, you know, on many occasions in the paint. And he's averaging more points in the paint than anybody has in 25 years. I mean, in part, that's because of Jaron. And by the way, he's younger than Morant. That's crazy. That's crazy. You know what I mean?

I just want to agree with all of that and say, I think he's dope. And can I still just say, like, I hate looking at the jump shot, even though it's cash. I hate looking at it. And like, this is the old curmudgeon in me, but I'm going to say it. I want my seven one guy to average more than five,

point nine rebounds a game. That's it. That's all I'm going to say. But I get it. That's because of Stephen Adams. Stephen Adams. No, yes, they're a great rebounding team. I'm just saying. I know I'm wrong. It's just an old cramogen.

This is what I love that. I'm like five. He is, I will say. AAU Roger, you got to relax. AAURaja, got to relax. You have to relax. Some guys, some guys don't average the rebounds because, and I went through this years ago with Mark Gassau, right?

People would say, Marks all only averages X number of rebounds game. It's like, well, yeah, that's because Zeebo's got 15 every friggin' night, right? So my thing is, are you fighting for them? Are you boxing out your position? And so I started to pay attention to this a lot. And I think what you'll find, the more you watch them, he's 20 feet away from the basket. That's where guys play now.

When fours play, when he played, go look at when Adams has been out, he's average double-digit rebound. I like that better. I'm just saying, I like it better. he'll end up being a center. Hey, he'll end up being a center and you will get your wish. KOC. So we talk about Triple J. I don't know if you guys call him that.

That might be a little way. Yeah. Okay. All right, all right, all right, all right. Well, Tripp or now? Uh-huh. You want to get this one going? Well, we got.

You guys might like this. You know what he calls himself? What's that? And it started and now people start to. Block Panther. Oh, four. Wow. I got to

Marinate on that. I'm not sure. I'm not in on that yet. Block Panther. I'm all the way out. Were you? That's too corny. You know like

Plac Panther. It's a good nickname for kids. Put it on a t-shirt. But it's not a nickname for a podcast. So when we talk about how much when he got his meniscus injury, how much of that kind of shape the narrative

what Jaron Jackson Jr. was, right? Because when he, I remember when he came to town after, whenever he would come to the Bay Area, it was always, oh, he's good, but, you know, is that meniscus? I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen with his knees. Is he okay? Seems like now that he's getting a lot more fully healthy, it seems like he is a better player. But how much does that shape kind of his early career?

I mean, it definitely shaped him to be out injured in terms of the perception of him. I still think, at least for me, I can only speak for me personally, but it's about like the things like his fall rate. like he's not falling as often. The rebounding, like that'd be nice. If he starts rebounding more, like when he plays five more often, like Rajah was saying, but like Stephen Adams is there now, like the pieces fit to complement the strengths and weaknesses and roles and responsibilities of all the players. And with Jaron Jackson, with that meniscus, I mean, he seems to be past that.

They were conservative bringing him back. But he's came back and that the fall rate is down. He's not falling as often as he did in past seasons. like the shooting ability has turned around mid-season. He was shooting sub-30%. He's over 40% the last 10 to 15 games. And you hope that sustains. I mean, it seems like it more likely than not that it will because of his prior

shooting ability before last season and in college for that matter. So I think with the meniscus, it's just another bump in the road that so many young players have to deal with. But unless it becomes something that he keeps getting hurt, I don't look at that as much of a big deal at this point anymore because he looks like better than he ever has ever right now and that comes after post injury

after some early struggles with injuries. If anything I think it kind of shapes perspective of him in a positive way because he went through an injury that sidelined him for a lot of time and came back better and that to me is admirable. I want to ask you a question forno because you're around them a lot more than the rest of us

and there are two dudes that really I'm intrigued by right. One's injured right now Dylan Brooks, right? I just, I mean, the way he plays, he plays with the- He's got a Laja, Rajah, Bill in him. No, he does. He plays with, like, an ignorance about, like, who he's supposed to be that I love. Like, he's like, I don't, you know, dude, what are you talking about?

And Desmond Bain, I feel the same way about him. Bain. Do they have this, like, is that, is that a, is that something from coach? Is that a mantra? Are they underdogs in their mind? Are they, like, what is the deal? Why do I love them like that? Okay.

I think that both of those guys, they are similar in some ways. So massive chips on their shoulders. And this has been true of a lot of guys that you have seen that have had tremendous success in the NBA. Dillon's is, Dylan got drafted in the second round. Dylan was outstanding player in college. Right. His Oregon teammates went ahead of him, right? And there he is in the second round.

And, you know, he's not. supposed to be where he is. And so he has to fight for it. He's on that second round contract for the first couple of years. And he has more confidence than I would say probably 80% of the stars in the NBA. You know what I mean? Like he's just that guy where he thinks at any given moment. Now, sometimes early in his career, he would be overzealous about that. He would get tunnel vision. But I was always, while it would be frustrating, I knew it was coming from a good place because all he cares about is winning. He'll do anything it takes to win the game. And so he thinks that him taking the shot is what the best course of action is to win the game, right? But he's been able to

harness that and play within team concept now. And that is, because he's, Coach, 100%. He even joked at one of the press conferences, of which he's wearing a fur and huge glasses, right? Even coach got me passing now. You know what I mean? Like so he's hard. He's hardest that. Bain is like your consummate, awesome in college.

Everybody passed on me. I'm going to make everybody pay. and it is going to fuel me every day of my life. It's like that, you remember when Dremont, I know you cover them, Logan. Remember what Dremont could name off every single player that was drafted ahead of him? Yes, still can't.

When he could, when he still can't. Still can't. I bet you Bain could. I bet you he could. He was drafted 30th. He went at Josh Green. He went at him. He went at him.

Went in Dallas, and it was like, I played at TCU. these guys told me they liked me. They went with the other guy. And he had his career high and looked at the score sheet and said, did he play tonight? He had not played. He had not played.

He had not played. I mean, you might have read that story yesterday. Tim McMahon put out where, you know, he hit a three and turned to LeBron and said, you know, because LeBron like did the big, like, stamping behind him right when he was about to hit a three. And he banged the three. and he looked at me, he said, ain't nobody's scared of those footsteps.

I mean, he is, you know what I mean? That's a personality thing. Yeah. You're right? Yeah. And so when you take that kind of personality that a guy already has and then you draft him 30th, so there's 29 other teams that he wants to set fire to, I mean, that's what you get. He had his best game, though, against the Knicks, though, because it was February 2nd,

202, and the player wearing number 22, Desmond Bain shot four of a very big. 18 from the floor 22.2% and racked up two assists, two steals, two blocks, two falls, and two turnovers according to at Can't Find My Sox on NBA Reddit. That's great. If you see this morning, he retweeted it and said, that's hell. Angel number 22 going wild last night. And you know what's crazy? He had what?

He was four for 18. He had the biggest shot of the game last night. He put the game away against the Knicks last night. What kind of shot? First of them, I don't watch as many of those games as you do, right? I can't. When he shot that shot, I was like, oh, hell. Okay.

Okay. Really? Okay. Yeah, I mean, I just, the way it played out in my mind, now, now granted, I played a decade ago, right? Yeah. Like, you get it, you get it semi-kicked ahead. It's kind of two-on-one. It's that late in the game.

Toe in the line was not what we did at that point, you know? Like, you wouldn't even. have been at the three point line because you were running for a layup. That's right. So kind of like my, but it's just a best. It's a big shot, man. That takes a lot. That's a, kudos to you, kiddo.

Big shot. All right. I want to go to the questions real quick. We got some questions. I want to go to Big Jake. I don't know where you're from, Jake, but we're out here. I'm going to start out with KOC and we're going to, this is going to just go around. Assuming all teams are healthy.

Do the Grizzlies match up well and have a better shot at beating the Warriors or the Suns? and the playoffs. KLC, what you got with for this one? What do you have? Jake's coming in hot. Jake's coming in hot. I mean,

probably neither, but better chance. I think, I don't know. Probably, probably Phoenix, maybe. I don't know.

That's tough, dude. That's very tough. I guess I'd rather face those eight minutes than dream on at the five minutes. But then again, you go with Darren Jackson at the five. I just think to put such a strain

on your guard and wing depth. have to deal with that for a full series. But the fact that question's even being asked and like you can kind of give a semi serious answer. The fact we're already at that point with this Grizzlies team, that that's kind of crazy when you're just, I don't know. I never thought about it like in that perspective. Like who could they beat more in the playoffs?

Is that a thing people are talking about in Memphis? There's a lot. They don't. They're the three seed. They're the three seed. Wake up. Talking about can we beat the sons? can we beat the Warriors?

Are they talking about that? No. No, really? We're enjoying this. This is just Jay from where we don't know where he's from. Hey, but let me just tell you, it's 100% the Warriors would be the team. Oh. Not the Sons.

The Sons are the best team that I have seen in person this year. And the Sons are a bad matchup. Bad matchup. They've got full grown-ass men, veterans. They can put bridges on Morant. The Warriors don't have any. to guard job. They don't have anybody.

They have Andrew Williams. They don't have a wing to put on him. Who? Andrew Wiggins. Jesus Christ. He might break Wilts record if that happens. Look, they don't have anybody to guard him. And the Grizzlies can be big against the Warriors.

Go look at all the Warriors games. I know they didn't have Clay last year. I gave a dumb answer. I gave him a dumb answer. I bet Chris. They knocked the. So they knocked the Warriors out last year. The Warriors had the playoffs.

They beat them on their home floor. That happened. Okay? And you could say, well, they didn't have Clay Thompson. Well, okay. So now we're going to add Clay Thompson. They didn't have a full-on Jared Jackson. They didn't have Stephen Adams.

They didn't have a lot of guys, right? They had Dylan Brooks, who could run around with Curry and give him hell. And they don't have anybody to Garminate. The Phoenix thing is a problem because they've got Crowder, They've got Aiton so they can play you, you know, big and small. And then they've got bridges. And then obviously, you know, Chris Paul. But that Phoenix team is much more difficult to navigate because of the personnel that they have.

They are dangerous for the Warriors. They are dangerous. They were dangerous last year. This year, they've played them. They played them with their guys. They played them. Clay's second game back. They played against the Warriors.

They played against the Warriors earlier this year. They were the only team for a long time to beat the Warriors on their home floor this year. Like they've got the personnel to be a problem for the Warriors. But the likewise, Phoenix has the personnel to be a problem for them. So if it's those two, I mean, that's, I wouldn't, I wouldn't think twice. That Phoenix team, I mean, there was. a game earlier this year. They came into Memphis and they beat the shit out of the grisly. I'm talking like bad. Same with Miami. Those are the two teams that I've seen that I was

like, oh, Lord, this is a problem. Again, full grown ass man, tough. Right? Like, that's kind of what Miami was. And so you're a young team. You know what I mean? They don't have a bunch of, They got one dog on that warrior's team. You know what I mean? And he's got a bad back. Oh, he's talking big shit right now. Shit. Like the kids would say,

Shee! Right. Right. Ra. Ra. Oh, shit. Yes, sir. The boy, what the...

That's what you wanted. Ra. Ra. Oh, my God. Okay, who you got? How do I follow that? I don't know how you follow that. There's no following that.

I'm going with, I'm going with, I'm going with Verna. What do you mean? All right. I just, I agree with Verno too. Hey, I've got KOC as a conference. That was that good. I have a slight rebuttal, but he made such great points that I, that I, what the fuck? But I do have a slight rebuttal because I am in the bay.

And I do see this team. I think from a Golden State Warriors perspective, they see the Grizzlies, but they're at the stage where they're not going to, they're not going to give the Grizzlies enough credit. They're not even going to like, they're not even going to give them the satisfaction because in their minds,

the Grizzlies haven't earned it yet. It's funny because before the Grizzlies played Golden State, maybe a couple months ago, Steve Kerr was asked if it would be a playoff matchup. Is it even a playoff? He was like, no, we're not even there yet. there yet. We're not. We're not. He said that pre-game.

Like, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, he dismissed it so fast. And I think they lost that game. Because I don't, I don't know if they did, they lost it. It was in chase. And so, um, but the thing that, that, that I, that I, I would, I would say, this seems like, Verno, seems like 2010 Oklahoma City's vibes with, with, with this team where they're not there yet. And you could say Utah, they played really well against you. They paid their dues. But Utah is a different team when it comes to experience at that level.

You still, at the end of the day, you are going to play against Steph. You're going to play against Dre. You're going to be able to play who have been there before. And there is a lot to be said about that. And I always think about when I think about the Grizzlies, I think about when OKC played in 2010 first round against the Lakers. And that was the end of Kobe's run. That was the last title of the Lakers won with Kobe.

and it was a, I don't know if you remember that series, but it was a tough six-game series. It damn near was a seven-game series in terms of energy, but it was a six-game series. Lakers won in the last seconds in Oklahoma City because of a Powell-Gasaw tipping, but it was a lot harder than you would think. If I look at that series,

I see it going that way, where the Grizzlies put a whole ass scare into the Warriors, and I don't see them winning it necessarily, but I do see them, okay, this is the last time we got a shot at this team. I see that more so. You're coming in hot and I respect it. I'm not saying, hey, they make quick work of the Warriors. They beat the Warriors.

I don't know. I'm just comparing them to the other team. For sure. I promise you this, it wouldn't be five games. No, it won't. And here's one thing. And to your point, the one thing that I think that that would be the Warriors Achilles Hill, is that.

their front court. It is. I don't think, because Wiseman isn't back yet, you're putting a lot of strain on Kavanaughn, Lune, who's played really, really well this season. And they make no mistake about that. But when you talk about a front court who's big, like a Stephen Adams, Stephen Adams always giving the Warriors problems. You give, you put Sharon Jackson, and this is an aging Jarmond. I don't care what you say about him playing in the postseason. It's an aging Jermont. So I agree with you per se in terms of matchup, but I think in terms of experience, I think the war is with you. Ain't nobody ask you that shit, though.

That wasn't even the question. Hey, hey, hey, fuck off. That wasn't even the question. The question, come on. He knew he was going to, he knew that all his Golden State fans were going to say, you said, I got to go to chase tonight. That's it. I got to go to chase tonight.

You said, idly buy and listened to him talk about how the Grizzlies could be a problem. And you didn't say shit. But doesn't want Raymond Ritter to pull your credential today. Oh, that's a lot. We know, we know, we know, we know, we don't warrant. And Warriors PR listens to the real ones, right? But I do think, no, to your point, though, sons are a problem, man. And I don't, like, it's just a weird time right now for the, I think this, this speaks more to just the transition we're seeing in the Western Conference.

I do think that the Grizzlies in the next few years are going to be one of those teams that are just consistently in the top three. I think this is one of those, those years where it's, they're going to, they're going to surprise a lot of people. If they beat either one of those teams, I wouldn't be surprised. I wouldn't be surprised. I don't think they're winning a title, but if they put a fucking scare in those teams, it would not be surprised. Well, and the other thing is,

they got to get out of the first round. Look, I mean, everybody knows this. You have to earn respect and you have to take your lumps. You know, if you're, let's say they stay at three, and we look up at the end, and they got to play Yokic and a healthy Murray

who have been through wars. You know what I mean? You got to go to the playoffs and you've got to win playoff series before me or anybody is going to chalk you up as a winner. I was just speaking of the matchup of those top two teams. Does anybody, look, all of this is a dream. You got to remember, I walked out of that arena.

I did the postgame show on the 19th game of the season, and the Grizzlies were 9 and 10. They were 9 to 10, and John Moran got carried off the court by two people. all right and they lost 132 to 100 to the Atlanta Hawks I don't know if I have ever been more

low walking out of an arena than I was that night I mean they just they're 500 they're a game under 500 they've just gotten beat by 32 points and oh my God

this guy's going to be out for the year this is like anything but a lottery year would be a miracle if he's really going to be out. I mean, we thought he tore his knee. You know, now, by the next morning, miraculously, you know, the MRI comes back. It's not nearly as bad as anybody thought. But from that night on, they are now 27 and 8. From that point, that night that I walked out, they've lost eight games.

They're 27 and 8. and post Christmas, so starting December 26, they're 17 and 4. All of this stuff is such a dream that like, you know, you can't believe it's happening anyway. So you're not focused on, hey, could we beat the Warriors? Can we beat the Sons? Could we beat whatever? It's like, yo, this is amazing. You're going to have home court, which gives you, and their home court is bananas in the playoffs.

Oh, yes. bananas. Like they will be on top of you. And so you're going to have home court, but you still may have to catch a Lakers. You may have to catch a nuggets. You may have to catch some team with grown men that have played in the playoffs, that get calls, and that have won over and over again when the stakes are the highest. And that's the credit that you have to give, you know, Golden State.

Though nobody asked you, I do agree. You do have to give them credit for that. Too shay, motherfucker. I mean, there's a problem. I mean, so you got to get out of the first round before you worry about the second round, but they'll be there for a long time with the chance. I would just add to that because I'm agreeing with everything. And you said it's something about proving to everyone else before they give you a shot

that you can get out of the first round. Sometimes you've got to prove it to yourself. Sometimes, you know, that experience or lack thereof, or the experience of losing, it looms over you a little bit. So you got to exercise those demons for yourself as much as anybody else, too. Sometimes you can go all the way, though. Like Joe Burrow and its quarterback at Cincinnati Bengals, like with all the young guys they have on offense,

sometimes you just keep on going, even as you are proving it. That young, you know, I remember coming into the league as just, it happens so fast and being dropped in. Now, mine was a lot faster than any of these guys because they played a whole season. But point being, when you're young and you don't know any better and you're playing with house money, that's a scary thing to see tipping off across from you.

Do you know what I mean? Because there are no real expectations. Some of those teams that you're talking about, Logan, expectations are high. And while seasoned, I mean, you know what you're playing for. Some of these dudes, that's dangerous. You're playing with young house money, don't know no better. There's no pressure. Right.

Because there's no pressure even from your fan base. No, y'all have been here. It's a good time. That's a good point. What's the difference in, and we're talking about fans, what's the difference between fan energy towards this team versus the gold standard, the Magnum Opus, grit and grind?

I would say that this team for sure has taken over the city like that team did, where it's like everywhere you go. If you've got a grizzly shirt otter, you see somebody else with one, people are talking about it. People are talking about it all the time. And obviously, everywhere I go, people talk about it, right? But so I'm probably not the best example.

But I can also tell that, you know, I'm not to, you know, talk a shit, Arnold, talk your shit. Talk your shit. What do you want me to say? I mean, that's all anybody wants to talk to me about. Chris is like, I've never paid for a meal in my life. I've paid for a, I'm not to a free meal level yet. But if anybody wants to give me some free food.

You know, people want to talk about the Grizzlies everywhere you go. And I would say the energy now, this is, it's a little bit different just because, you know, that 2011 team, which has started the whole thing, they knocked off the spurs and as an eight seed. You know, they knocked off the number one. And that's how it.

all started with them knocking off that team. And 11 then just, it started seven years of success. But even until Badiye hit the shot in game one against the Spurs, they had never won a playoff game as a franchise. All we had known is disappointment, been to the playoffs three times, lost all 12 games. And when they ended up playing that Spurs team and beating them, then they took over and everybody, you know, but until that moment, like we were talking about earlier, nobody really

believed that they were going to knock off the Spurs. It was like, geez, just don't get swept again. We can't be the only team that's gone 0 in 16. We thought they were good. People have a much different feeling about this team. and the feeling is because of Jha, right? That hope and that anything is possible type of thing where it's like you now envision,

that was always catch the right matchups. Who knows? And they did go to the West Finals one of the years. But you always knew that when you look through the history of the NBA, there's a superstar on those teams. End of story. Even if it's just won like it was in Dallas, there's a superstar on those teams that wins. We tried to talk ourselves into, maybe we could be like those old pistons.

They didn't really have a superstar, but they had an accumulation. I mean, that was such a abnormality, right? And you look back and you realize how abnormal that was. You've got the guy. And that's what's different about this one, is that the, fan energy, everybody knows we've got the guy. That's the guy that can be the best player on a title team. And so that is a different energy.

It's a different energy because Zipo and Tony Allen, these guys, like they could go to Bruce, Chris and eat dinner, you know, and people will be like, hey, love you, take a couple pictures, whatever. Maria can't go anywhere. He can't go anywhere. He can't go anywhere in the country. He can't go anywhere in the world right now. You know what I'm saying?

You just tell Jha, you tell Jha, right, when you see him. Then when that, when that signature pair drops. Oh, boy. All right, that I got a couple young bucks because I was first on the parade. Yep. I was on a bandwagon first with the signature shoot. So you just tell him that. It's got to be the All-Star game, right?

They can't have him going out there. He's starting the game. He can't go out there and like Cadys or Kyrie's. They've already done the campaign for him. Come on, man. Like, people don't even understand. I could. Like, you're, like, and I wasn't even an all-star.

I could go out in anything. Like, regular all-stars, could not superstars, bro. You need your own shit. Get that man a shit. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Hashtag.

Hashtack, stop fucking playing with Roger. For his shit is real. Man, just needs his shoe, bro. I'm telling you. He's that type of. I believe I'm with everything Verno just said. I mean, like, I'm, I believe him to be that,

and he's only getting better. Like, that cat is only ascending as a star. Have there been rumblings about it at all? Have we seen a news? Oh, yeah, he's getting a shoe. Yeah, okay. So this year he's getting a shoe. Yeah, he's getting a shoe.

Is that like public information? Is this like Grizzly sources? Oh, no, I mean, like they filmed the commercial on Beale Street. Okay, cool. You know what I mean? They already did a says who campaign. The shoe is on the way. Look, he is, I think he's in the top 10 in,

Jersey sales. He was just second in fan voting, media, and players, all three. So everybody agrees, you know, and it's a good time for it. The metrics are there. His risen. Oh, he'll sell a boatload of shoes.

He'll sell a boatload of shoes. Even just his name, you know, I got the new Jaws. Oh, yeah. The J-Wans, Jot-2s, you know, it's just a great name for a sneaker. Raja doesn't do that sneaker app shit. He doesn't do that line shit. I think he might. Would you stand in line for some air Jaws or would you stay? Or are you just, we need to get the package and you just stop fucking playing with you. I don't stand in line for anything.

Yeah, I'm not, no, man. Jock, come on, dog, from where, from where you came from, bro, that's got to be accessible. People got to be able to touch that. We need, no lines. And enough, Nike, flood the market, dog. Let's get them Jaws out there. The fuck that exclusive. You only selling seven pairs.

You got 10 million mofos trying to get the shoe. Stop playing. I mean, what the hell is that? Hey, man. you, Doc. So, Verno's rant somehow put out

all the power in his house, so he's going to do Rueh into the week in the dark. We are, so please be safe out there, Verno.

Hey, this is what they keep saying. That's Josh Slogan. Welcome to the dark. Okay. That's what he says. Yeah. Let's get to Rurala the week.

I'm going to start it off. Then we will go to Ron. Then we will go to our esteemed guests. I'm going to take a Memphis century. I'm going to roll Rewan of the week. I don't even know, they played in here this week. I'm going with FedEx Forum, baby,

because I've had so much fucking fun at FedEx Forum. It's not out of FedEx Forum for all the times. I watched the Grizzlies play there, but also one of my favorite times of all time was going to Birthday Bash. Hey, Ra, you got to lock in the birthday bash. You got to bring in the kids down to Memphis to go to Birthday Bass every single year.

It's like Summer Jam. It's locked in. I got to see, I got to see, who was there? Meek Mill was there. There was a guy that, put a whole bunch of money on the stage and did snow angels in it. It was great. It was awesome. It was worth the price of admission. I had a great time. Shout out to FedEx Forum. I love Memphis. I have a lot of fun in Memphis every time. Shout out to the city. I'll be back soon. I'm getting

drinks with Verno. Okay? We're going to lock in. We're tapping in. We're avoiding night storms. Raja, who is your real one of the week? Yeah, okay. That was all right. My real one of the week. Yeah, I'm going to go with Brian Flores. Yeah, I'm going to go to Brian Ford. This is an anti-NFL or anti-Dolphins, giants, or Broncos, anything like that. I just, I mean, there is a problem in the NFL with their hiring practices. It needs to be illuminated. And, I mean, you got to be a brave dude to stand up and take on an entity like the NFL.

God, dog. But he's a real one for what he did, man. And it needed to be done. And so he's my real one of the week. KOC, who is your real one of the week? I came prepared with the Grizzlies answer. Kyle Anderson. Slow-mo.

Yeah, smooth. Just because I think that's like the other thing about this Grizzlies team is they just have some great characters on their team, just some fun players to watch. Like Kyle Anderson's nickname coming out of UCLA when people call him Slow Mo. I mean, it was, we said earlier about that nickname for Desmond Bain, the Block Panther, for Jared Jackson Jr. Yeah. The Block Panther.

That's a corny nickname. Slowbo. Slowbo is a perfect nickname. And Kyle Anderson, I just love watching him play basketball. And yeah, so Kyle Anderson. I was effusive in my praise on the Memphis Grizzlies. But I said, and I was going to give this to John Morant for last night after the game. They were asked about being the biggest trash talking team in the league.

And he said, ain't no running in the. am, we run up the chimney, we ain't ducking no smoke, we're going to let everybody know we're here. And I loved it. But I talked so much about them today. I'm giving this to Joe Burrow, who was asked by a media member if his diamonds were real. What he said? Wow, it's a party foul. He said, I make a lot of money.

Of course, it's real. Yeah. And Joe Shise. And Joe Burrow, somehow it's like. His story has, I think that it's, we've lost sight of it. So I cover SEC football too during the falls. And Joe Burrow, when he transferred from Ohio State, he played a, it's like his story picks up with this Heisman trophy year and an amazing year at LSU.

And then he gets drafted number one. He played his junior year and he wasn't any good. And everybody, you know, if you were to have ranked the SEC quarterbacks, going into his senior year, he probably would have been like sixth, seventh on your list. Nobody, I think he had 16 touchdowns his junior year. And then he had 60 his senior year, right? And it feels like that's where the story picks up. But the story is really, you know, he was told at Ohio State, you're not going to be the starter.

You're not good enough to start here. And then he went to LSU, had a grinder year. He gets teamed up with this guy, Joe Brady, who unlocks him completely. and then next thing you know, he's number one. And the other thing that gets lost is the kid ripped up his knee completely a year ago. You know what I mean? He only played a couple games. So this is his first full season being an NFL quarterback.

And he gets the shit kicked out of him every game, every game. And he's playing in the Super Bowl. And he's got real diamonds. You can't be more real than that. Okay. Fuck. It was just a blast, man. This is a fucking blast.

Thanks guys for coming on. I really appreciate this. We've been trying to do this for years. No, legitimately trying to get this happening. So I'm happy to happen. Oh, you will be on ours. Don't just wait.

Schedule this and you guys have to, you got to invade the mismatch. Let's fucking do it. This has been the Grizzlese Paloza edition of the real mismatch in this motherfucker. All right. We will see you guys on Monday for real ones.

But in the meantime, make sure you, let's pay some bills real quick, Rob. Make sure you check out Upside High with Jonathan Sharks and Jake How Man. Make sure you check out weekends with Waz. And make sure you fall in the void, fall in the void every Wednesday with my guy, KOC. We out here. We're out meeting to do that. Make sure you check out group chat. Make sure you check out the answer with Sir and Sohe and Chris Ryan.

Make sure you check out R2C2 with who, Rosabelle. Belayo legend, the crestside clowns Cecee Sabathia. Let's keep the motherfucking propaganda going. Check out Black Girl's songbook with Who, Roger Bell. You know I hate when you do that, but I love her. Town legend, Danielle Smith. In the motherfucking building. Ha!