The Ringer NBA Show - Warriors’ Title Chances, LeBron’s Playoff Run, and What to Make of Giannis’ Postgame Comments | Off Guard

Episode Date: April 29, 2023

Austin and Pausha are together in Florida for their first ever in-person recording! The guys kick things off discussing Austin's and the Timberwolves’ season and playoff run (2:20). Then, they turn their attention to the Nuggets-Suns second-round series (8:00), the Warriors potentially winning it all again (12:00), and what to make of Lakers-Grizzlies (14:40). Later, they highlight their favorite guards to watch, touch on Giannis’ comments in the media after being eliminated by the Heat, and rank the remaining playoff teams (35:34). Hosts: Austin Rivers and Pausha Haghighi Producers: Erika Cervantes and Ben Cruz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's official. One Shining Podcast is back, and I am your host, Tate Frazier. And as March Badness begins, we're covering everything from Selection Sunday all the way to the championship and beyond. We're going to have great guests that are coming through on the show. And look, if you're a friend of the program and you're already subscribed, you don't have to do anything. OSP is back. It's going to be right back in your feed. And if you're not a friend of the program, and this is your first time on the rodeo, then let me tell you this. You need to go to Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcast. and smash subscribe today because the OSP show is back.

What's up, everybody? Welcome to another episode of Off Guard. I'm your host, Pasha, and joining me. Actually, I'm joining him at his house. Yeah. Austin Rivers. What's up, what's up? Appreciate you coming through.

Micasa, Su Casa. Austin, why don't you tell the audience what I brought over as a gift when I came over? You brought me some Dubai Baclova. Yeah, my mom was in Dubai, and she brought home some Baclova. She said it was the best she's ever had. So I packaged it up, putting some nice chopperware, which you have to return. Yeah, I, uh, I'm a fiend for weird things.

What, what can I say? It's not, Baclava's not weird. No, but I feel like it's uncommon now. I feel like your average person isn't waking up like for a dessert sweet tooth, Sam. You know what? It does make you look a little cultured if you're, you know, if you're ordering Baclava or just eating that instead of, I don't know, like pringles, which would make you look kind of,

you know, whatever. What's good, man? What's it like to be back? try to transition into being summer mode. I'm still trying to make that switch. Come home. You have more time in your hands.

You instantly going from being so occupied, so focused, having a daily routine, waking up, treatment, workout, lift, whatever it is,

right? I'm so used to go into that. And then as soon as the season ends, you go through this awkward period of not doing anything and you feel, I can't speak for other players. I think some guys enjoy it.

I get really restless, and I feel like I just have to do something. I want to work. I want to go do something. Well, normally, everyone I know that plays, right afterwards, they take a trip. You went straight to Winter Park, which I love that.

I'm a winter park guy myself, but I thought you would go straight to, like, Mexico and just be on a beach somewhere. No, I'm going to take a trip. Just maybe like in a couple weeks. I want to get set up at the house first, get everything set up back home, and then that way, you know,

we can go, take a trip whenever, or wherever. We, I'm invited. No, I say we. But of course, yeah, of course. No, that's fine. You could do, you could take a trip with Wi-Fi and then I'll go on the guys. The problem is if we, oh, yeah, okay. That sounds a lot better, I think. Yeah, that's a better trip.

Last night, you were on the phone with me and you're like, dude, I don't, did you not want to watch any playoffs right now? I want to get away from it, but you watch, do you watch basketball? Yeah, yeah, I can't hit myself. Yeah. It's, um, it's an addiction. You know, I've been suffering from basketball illness since the beginning of my time, at least. And I've, you know, it's one of those things that when things don't go your way or when goals are set and are accomplished for a season, whether it's individually or as a team, you know, it's a tough pill to swallow because it's a year off your career that you feel wasn't what you wanted it to be. And again, I had a great year. I did amazing things in terms of just building relationships and connections. Being a leader of a young team, you know, you came in on a non-guaranteed, you know,

ended up playing the whole season and playing a lot of valuable minutes during the season, helping win a lot of games. All in all, I felt, you know, pretty good about the season and really enjoyed my time, just being there and just being a team, you know, a leader. And it was fun. Minnesota was different. You know, it was freezing. Try to get used to that.

But it was a different year for me, especially for a kid from Florida. So it's tough to just have an end and then be able to watch other guys playing on bat. You know, the TV screen's still in the playoffs. You know, you kind of get jealous. And you see these guys get to go out there and hoop and perform and play well. Like it kind of, it makes real, like a real hoopers look at that and kind of get like, ah, you know what I mean? No, for sure. I want to be the first to tell you, congrats on another season.

that's your 11th season. I think the average is three for an NBA player. So as much as, you know, maybe you wanted more out of the season or, you know, if you don't win the title, everyone thinks, you know, this and that about the end of the year, you have to, I don't know it takes a while,

but you eventually are like, another year in the books, you know, another year you're fortunate enough to do, have the best job in the world. Yep. So what will you, when you look back at this year in Minnesota, what will you take away from it?

I think just understanding, just continuing, to learn how to be more patient, how to be more understanding of how important it is just to be, like, really just a vet and a leader sometimes, too. The interesting thing about me is, like, that was placed on me kind of as a role, to be the vet, to be the leader, to be that guy that they lean on. And that was clearly, you know, that's what they told me. But like, I'm 30, though. You know what I mean? I'm not 38. You know what I mean? Like, I'm not 37, like, trying to squeeze out a couple more years. I'm in the stage of my prime and the, you know, literally the, you know,

in my eyes, the best time in terms of physical and mental peaks really pointing to each other in meeting. That's where I feel like I'm at. And for better or worse, you know, I ended up enjoying it still and finding the joy in the game. I think the biggest lesson is, even when things aren't going your way, just try to approach every day of work with like a certain level of gratitude and happiness. And I know that sounds so naive for me to say because I play in the NBA. So people are like, no, but that goes with any line of work. Yeah, exactly. And that's why I say that. And I know people will hear me out here and say like, what are you even sad about? You're playing the NBA. But like at the end of the day, I still have my goals and my realities. And I still have things that I want to do.

just because I'm making, you know, money doing it and playing basketball or whatever doesn't mean I don't feel the same feelings. You know what I mean? So like I learned this year that even if I wasn't playing or not, I'm going to approach each day. You know what? Instead of coming to practice with like, you know, an energy about you or even a feeling of trying to make it about you. I worked every day to come to practice, be positive, have a good outlook, and just like invest in the team. And I ended up enjoying my work better. And I ended up finding ways to just like manifest good positive energy every day. And it helped me. And that's what helped me be ready when I wouldn't play a whole half of a game. And then my, coach would call my name third quarter mid-quarter. And people don't

understand how hard of that. No, people don't understand like sitting on the bench for an hour and a half and then just being called to go into an NBA game and hit an open shot or go guard the best playing the other team, which is what I would usually get something to do. It's not an easy thing to do. You know what I mean? But it helped me because I was ready mentally just from being so engaged with the team. So I still enjoyed it, man. I, you know, I love Finchie. I love the coach. I love I love my guys over there, my teammates, and friendships I was able to make this year. It was great. What is the first thing you did when you got back to Orlando, where you're from?

I honestly, I ordered some tacos and sat on my couch in my house. You just smell your house. You smell the new, you know, that feeling that you, when you come home. And I only get that, obviously, in the summer. So it always helps the first, like, five, ten minutes you come home. you had that like foric experience. Yeah, yeah. So it was nice just being home.

Yeah. Let's talk about the series a little bit. I know it's tough playing your old team. Denver, they look good. Denver did look good. I know there's a lot of questions about them going into the playoffs. They had a rough end of the season. But I feel like the West is open for them.

And I don't see why they couldn't come out. It's going to be a good series. You know what I mean? It's hard to go against Phoenix with their, Star Power. And I just think Kevin puts them over the top. Without Kevin, I would do Denver in five, you know, with Kevin, it's a seven-game series. Does it bother you that the Sun struggled with, you know, Clippers that didn't have Kauai for half the time, didn't have Paul George? That's the thing. Yeah, well, they had Kauai for two of the games, which one of the wins.

And then that team is so deep that even without them, could they win a series? No, obviously, that's why it only went what? It went five. Yeah, the only one game. And the game they won was with Kwai. But the games were close, though. Yeah, but that's because they got pros. Yeah. People don't understand, like, you're not just going to blow out Eric Gordon and Russell Westbrook,

Markey's Morris and, you know, Covington and who else they got over there? I'm blanking that they got Bones Highland, Mason Plumley, Zubach, you know, Batum, these are all like verified pros. You know what I'm saying? Terrence, man, like, they got talented players. So Norman Powell, obviously, who was cooking. They got really good pros. So they had just enough to make every game competitive or even win, you know,

but obviously the better team win the series. So they didn't have their stars. That's been an Achilles Hill for the Clippers now. Since this Kauai Leonard Paul George Saga has even started, they haven't really been able to put it together. It's been frustrating for fans just because each year we want to see these guys healthy competing against the league's best, but they can't seem to be healthy at the same time.

And it's been frustrating for basketball fans to watch. Yeah, it's not a good sign for. load management. If these people are doing load management still getting hurt more than ever. So for me, it's, I don't know. Like, what do you? Like, load management didn't exist before and players weren't getting hurt as much. So I don't know the answer to that. But if you're sitting out all year load managing and then you're hurt when it matters most, then I don't, I don't know what to say. It's just, it's a weird thing. I do feel like the Sons versus Denver is the Sons have individual talent. To me, it looks a lot more like your turn, your

my turn, your turn on offense. And Denver is a complete team they play together. So actually, I think the nuggets are going to win that one. It's interesting because the teams are very similar in a way that they're not deep teams. They don't play a deep bench. The coaches are playing seven, eight guys max. So it's really just going to be a battle of the starting lineup. You know, superpower for superpower.

Who's guarding Kevin Durant? You got eight in for Yolkich. We'll see how that turns out. He's guarded him pretty decent in the past. I wouldn't say he could slow him down because it's Yokic, but he's guarded him pretty well. You know, you got Devin and you got Chris, and you got Jamal.

You know, I mean, it's because Phoenix lost a lot of their defense. You know, they lost Cam Johnson. They lost, you know, McHale Bridges. You know, these were guys that would guard the best player. You know, Jay Cratter, a lot of the defensive guys that they had that they relied on are not there anymore. It's going to be interesting to see who gets that job.

You know what I mean? Has Devin played both sides of the ball? He's been amazing. Well, yeah, he's been the best. He's probably been arguably the best part in the playoffs. Well, no, no, Jimmy, we'll get the Jimmy Butler later. We'll get the Jimmy by later, but that's. Jimmy would be first.

He's the runaway. But after that, yeah, Devin's right there. You know, he's in the conversation. Brunson, it's a couple of guys who have been dominant. Can I get a prediction out of you for the series? I'm going to go I'm going Sons and 7

Wow And that would be on the road Yeah I had them I had them Sons and 7 That'd be exciting Let's switch over to the Warriors Kings

It looks like it looks like The Warriors But this is what we all It looks like it's yeah No no for up come on When the Kings were up 2 oh No no I was like

Well you can't just Slack off all year And then think that you're going to turn on The playoffs It looks like they turned it on I still didn't believe it though Really When I play for the Rockets

a couple years ago, we played the Warriors. We went into Golden State, we lost first two games. Bam, bam, down 02. We went back to Houston. We won the next two. It's tied two-two. It's very easy. All you have to do is win game three.

And then once you win game three, you're now only one game. It's like, that's all a mind game in the playoffs. Now you're like, oh, we're only one game down. We've just got to win our next home game. Right. You don't think, like, it's just how it's how you put it in your mind. Yeah.

So I knew the Warriors were going to take care, handle business. They won game three. And immediately after that, you know it's now a series. They win game four. Once I tied up the series, I told someone, like, I think a week ago, I'd go, they're going to win four straight. Yeah.

Then you say I get their rhythm. So you have them finishing it off. I have the Warriors winning the series. Whether they even win next game or not, I think they'll win in seven. Regardless, I have the Warriors winning. I, truth be told, I don't have anybody beating the Warriors. Really?

You have them defending the title. I have the Warriors going to the finals. Going to the finals. Winning the finals? I have the Warriors winning the finals. Wow. Yeah. because Draymond Green recently posted about you in support of Austin,

and now you're showing love back? Is that what's going on? No, man. This is just off experience of me playing in the West for the past six, seven years. And this team has been the common denominator of what's, you know, inhibited me and what's limited me from ever getting to a conference finals. This is this one team. And I see all of them healthy right now and all of them thriving.

Andrew Wiggins has his legs back. He was gone for a while. So it's taking them time to start to, get his rhythm back. Gary Payton Jr. is healthy. Pool's healthy. Looney's healthy. You know, Kaming and them got that experience

a little bit more now. Then you have Steph, man. Steph and Clay. I just, if they're healthy, I don't see someone beating them four times out of seven games. Especially in Oracle. I just don't see it.

No, I agree. And it's not like there's somebody else in the West that's so dominant that I can see it happen. Like, the sons are really good, but they're very top-heavy, in my opinion. I think they have great superstars, and I think they have some decent role play.

But I think overall as a team, they don't have the deepest team. I think if the Warriors run into the Nuggets and they beat them last year, and they saw them again, they know how to play Yokic. I think they would have all the confidence going into a series against the Nuggets if that's what happens in the conference finals. I think they win. They win the series. So the one series we're not talking about is the Lakers Grizzlies. Do you think the Lakers finish it off?

I do. And what do you make about Dylan Brooks deleting the Instagram? like basically wiping the Instagram, not talking to media after the games, after kind of being the villain the whole time. So here's my take on that. I think, I think Dylan,

what people are seeing is he's just a young man. I'm not saying kid because I don't want to disrespect him and he's not a kid. He lives a grown man. Lifestyle, he makes grown man choices. He plays in the NBA. I think he has a kid himself.

He makes grown man money. He's a grown man. I think he has a kid himself. Yeah. Like he's still making his life choices and learning from him. And I think he became a part of something that he ended up deciding ultimately his decision. Like you said, you make man choices rolling with. And that was being the villain.

And I think you even saw probably that interview that even Draymond alluded to last night. He's like, it's really never no fun being the villain. You enjoy it and you get attention. But after a while, like negativity is negativity, and it wears people down. For sure. And I think Dylan first had this personality where he is, you know, he's boastful. You know, he talks to talk. He puts it out there.

He's competitive. He competes. That's what I do admire about Dylan. Yeah. And people took it a certain way. Some people understood it. Some people embraced it. Regardless, it was getting so much attention.

It was everywhere. It was all over the internet. I think he fed into that. You know, he got the hair, started coming into the game in outfits. Each game was a comment from him. And it got more and more boastful, more and more, I don't even know what the word I'm looking for. It was not flamboyant, but it was out there.

Yeah, he kept getting just more and more loud. The stuff he's saying was getting a little bit louder, a little bit more aggressive or a little bit more even offensive. You know, he's saying stuff that the LeBron comments were out of pocket. And then when he went that far with LeBron, who was such of a mountain of a person, just because I say his following, He's bigger than just himself.

You know what I mean? He went against the giant, right? And then you don't play the best after it. LeBron, it's a game winner on you. Oh, you against the end one. You have all these dominoes fall, then you don't do the media. So now the media is crushing you even more. I don't care who you are and how built you are you think you are.

Like, we're all human. And everybody feeds better off positivity. It's a statistical fact. Even LeBron himself was the villainous first year in Miami and was decided, you know what? Not for me. Yeah, everyone's admitted. It's a, it's a, it's exhausting, man.

It's exhausting, man. Like, Charles Barkley was that for most of his career. And now he's totally, you know, humanized and more humble and he's a whole different person. Quality life's a lot better for sure. Yeah, and I guarantee you he's more walking somewhere and having people look at you and say something positive and want to picture with you or someone yelling out something negative to fuck with you are two different feelings as a person. Absolutely. And I can imagine for Dylan Brooks, that level of hate spilled in his end.

box, Bill did a significant other's inbox. You know, he's got kids. He's got people like, you just don't want that shit, bro. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm all for being a villain, but there's levels to it. You know what I'm saying? And I know, I know Dylan just not personally, but I just had to want a couple experience talking to him. Dude's a cool-ass dude.

I know, he's, yeah, and you know him, you know, yeah, for sure. You know much better than I do. Yeah, exactly. He's always cool. That's, that's, you know, so I'm saying. That's why we know, we know this. We know this thing that happened is not, I'm not saying it's not real, but it's something that I think got a little bit out of control. I think the media did a job of covering it. I think they did a bad

job of, they do what they do best, man. You have to be careful with that shit. They will turn you into, I mean, Dylan really ran with something and it morphed into something that like, people are like, Dilla Brooks, it's only something negative almost. You know what I mean? And it's like, that's the shame because he's a good player. No,

he's not a star or anything like that, but he's a good complimentary player, guys you could throw in the game and he can make a difference. He competes. He plays hard. And he's not a bad guy, man. He just, he competes and doesn't take shit from anyway. It doesn't back down from anyway. The way it's put out there, though, has turned into something so crazy that it's like taken away from everything. You know what I mean? For sure. My two things, after listening to you right there, my two things that I take away from it are

the first thing. I think Dylan realized the reason that he's been kind of quiet and did whatever with Instagram. I don't do whatever. I think he realized it was hurting his team. I think it was the team, his team was losing. Yeah. And when you're bringing that attention and you're losing, it's kind of like, okay, you know what, I'm not doing my team any favors. I'm here to help win. And I thought maybe he was hurt. He felt like he was hurting the team, I bet. And that's why he's not, he decided to go quiet and I talk to the media, this and that.

The other thing I thought about when you, you know, just spoke about people receiving hate and it's everywhere, social media. And it's way easier to be loved. It made me think of Ben Simmons. Well, imagine, you know how much hate that guy's been getting recently. And it makes me feel for it. I actually do. It's tough. you do understand he's getting hate

you're like you don't want to go outside and just receive hate everywhere you go. Every time he leaves the house I'm sure people are thinking negative things. No he's got it worse than anybody. Yeah. The only issue with Ben is the reason it's so people are so unforgiving with him and people are just so relentless with it with him is because it's so self-inflicted. You know what I mean? It's just due to personal decisions that he's kind of made. Not all.

A lot of it's been out of his control. You know what I mean? health and mental health is a real thing. I'm not one of those guys that thinks he's just make enough stuff. I do think he's gone through a lot. Well, that's what I'm talking about. All this negative stuff is. The negative stuff can't help you be more confident on the floor. Even the strongest-minded, most confident guys, if you're just getting the level of hate that that guy's gotten, it's got to make just your daily life a little bit more difficult. So I do feel for him in that regard. You know, it's just tough for, I think, a lot of other people because they see Ben and get frustrated because it's like, man, like, there's a million other ways you could have

win about this than the decision you made. But, you know, regardless, yeah, it's definitely there. You know, you hope to see him back next, you know, you're healthy with the, yeah, no matter what you think of him, everyone enjoyed watching him play. And when he was at his peak, you know, it was good, it was fun. He was a good young player. Well, that's the thing. The talent's still there. The athleticism is still there. The size is still there. They forget how to pass? No. He was never a good shooter. That's why I really personally, I don't understand the whole press. pressure thing with him in shooting. Who gives a fuck?

You've never been a good shooter. You dominated the NBA before. Haven't there been all stars in the past that were 6-10, whatever he is that couldn't shoot? I don't know why this is a big deal right now. The best part in the NBA can't shoot. Yeah. The best play in the NBA can't shoot.

That's a beautiful segue. I wanted to talk about that. Okay, let's go over to the Eastern Conference then. This is obviously what the story of the NBA is right now. The one seed, the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the eight seed. I didn't think Miami was going to make the play in after watching them lose with the Hawks. I thought the Bulls were actually going to make it And they end up

Not just the 8 seed didn't just beat the one seed They beat him in five Yeah, they beat him in five And this is what everyone was talking about They dominated Everyone was saying the heat are a scary team The playoff heat They turn it on when they need to

They did It was everything that people were worried about Jimmy I think he's my favorite player in NBA That guy's he's unreal Yeah Why isn't you like that in the regular season And no don't get me wrong

He's a good player in the regular season but what makes them so special in the playoffs? Well, I think there's just more attention there and more care there. I think there can be a level of coast during the season. I think that sometimes probably bothers air expulsure, you know, just because going to play in a route, playing that one seed, it's tiring. You know what I mean? It's like, yeah, they won the first round,

but do they have energy left for second round or where they're trying to get to? You know what I mean? Getting the easiest path to the finals or the best path is important too. That's why there's such thing as a top seed, right? So I think it's frustrating sometimes because during the season, you'll see Jimmy like, you know, again, like you said, He's a good player. But during the playoffs, he turns a switch of a different level of competitiveness on both sides of the ball.

But more particularly on offense, he's much more aggressive to score. And he shoots the ball strangely better. That's what I want to say. It's like, I don't know what it is. He turns into like a whole, he morphs into like. Would you say he's a great shooter? No. Would you say it's the best handle?

No. Would you say it's the best finishing package around the rim? No. Why? He's so good. He's just a hooper. He just gets shit done. I don't know how to explain.

It's a little bit of cool. Kauai, though. No, no, no, I was actually talking to someone yesterday. Kauai's just more polished. Everyone we talk about, like, we think everyone, Jimmy Butler is what we want Kauai to be. I think he is that guy. I think he is the dog.

He's out there. He's the one that he's not as skilled. I just think he's the exposure set of best. He's a generational competitor. He competes harder than anyone. No, he is. He is. Yeah, he is. I mean, I guess you can, I mean, it's fair to make that argument with Jimmy. I mean, Jimmy and Kau are definitely

in the same type of category. I mean, But he reminds me of him. It's like, Kauai's not the quickest. He's not the most athletic. He's not the greatest shooter. He could shoot, though. I mean, don't get a twist. He could shoot.

Especially when it matters. Same with Jimmy. When it matters, these guys hit shots. It's crazy. Yeah. I mean, Kauai was incredible in the two games he played versus Phoenix. He had 30. Best player in the series.

In the two games he played, he was the best part in the series. Absolutely. So that tells you everything right there, how elite he is. I mean, Kauai, that's what's so frustrating with Kauai. When he's healthy, he's top five. You know, but, What is Jimmy like right now? Well, Jimmy,

playoff Jimmy's top five. How many top five? There's eight guys in the top five right now. It's crazy. Yeah, there's some guys having some... Who's your favorite guard in the NBA right now? Right now you mean someone that's still playing? If you have to watch one guard right now in the playoffs, still playing.

It's so easy. Oh, in the playoffs. Yeah. Well, Jimmy Buller's been my favorite watch in the playoffs. He's been my favorite watch. My favorite watch in the playoffs has been Jalen Brunson. Really? He is...

Did I ask you maybe last week or two weeks ago, Garland or Brunson? I don't know what you answered. Brunson. Yeah, I think you're all the way Brunson now. I like Garland. Kids got game. Garland's got a lot of game. Brunson's just a different.

I don't know if you just watched the Cleveland series. No, of course. No, Brunson's these difference. He's the best signing of the office. Yeah, he's unreal. Brunson is the real deal. And the fact that he's doing it with his body makeup and how he's built. But, I mean, his skill level and footwork is probably the

best in the NBA for a point guard. I mean, he is the best footwork in the league. It's insane. Yeah. And he's, I mean, he's shredding people up right now. He's been one of my favorite watches of the playoffs, yeah. It's almost a throwback type of guard. It's not your Westbrook D. Rose flying around genre.

No, no, no. It's straight drill work. Footwork, craftiness. Yeah. I mean, he's crafty, man. He gets in that paint. I mean, dude, doodle is back down the center and hit it with some pivots and get a layup off. I mean, it's insane.

I think we're finding out he's just a winner. I think he won in high school, one in college. won in college, the math's had their best season and forever with them. It's interesting to see him and Josh him and Josh link up. Yeah. Because they have a rapport. They have a mutual understanding, respect. They went to battle together. They've won together. Having those two, it's interesting, the dynamic there with RJ, because you can only finish with one of them in the game, which has been interesting. Because you've got Brunson. It's a good problem to have. It is a good problem to have. So much talent. And RJ had his game too. Yeah. He had a game where he hooped. No, he did.

RJ will always give you offense and compete. I never said this about a Knicks team. They have a lot of weapons. They do have weapons. I had them winning the Heat Series. Really? That was my next question. That's that's it. That's a that's a that's a that's a that's going to be a tough grind out. You might get some a low scoring game. The only thing that's that that that worries me is I don't know who they put on Jimmy. No, but they that's a that's a tough team though. It's who is quitting Grimes? Uh, quitting Grimes. Uh, quitting. Quitting Grimes is six two man. Okay, okay. Let's keep going. No, that's how this is the problem. Who who who guards Jimmy? Seriously. Yeah, but can Jimmy do it again for another series where he puts the team on his back?

They only played five games. Eventually they're going to miss Tyler Hero. Yeah, but it's not like they went to a seven-game series. They only played five games. You know what I mean? Like the series went to five. I just got done with the five-game series. It's okay.

Now, again, I didn't play as much as... I wasn't doing as much as Jimmy. The usage rate wasn't as much as a series. Right, right. My usage rate was a shy bit... It's a shy bit smaller than Jimmy's, but nonetheless. You got the next winning. I think, I mean, listen, this series reminds me of the PJ Brown, the Chris Childs, the Alan Houston, the Larry Johnson, the Alonzo Morning.

This is the old school Nix. This really is an old school Nix Heat series. Did you think throughout the year we might catch these two? No, you were thinking, sell things. I want to go to a game. Bucks, yeah. I would like to go to a Nix game. Yeah.

That environment's going to be crazy. Suck around. You know, before, I don't want to leave the Bucks heat series too quick without asking you. What do you think about Janus's post-game? speech about how the season is not a failure because you don't win the title. Well, it's always for, it's interesting, I've gotten to stand back and kind of just look at the reactions of people taking that video. It's all based upon who you are as a person, how you interpret that.

For most people with understanding to, you know, what he's saying is correct. Not everything is a failure. Just because you don't win, you're a failure. One team only wins, man. Every year. There's only one winner. There's only one winner that wins. Everyone else loses. It can't be considered a failure as a year. And also, it's who are we talking about failing? Are we talking about you as an individual? Or are you saying from a team aspect? The team aspect... I think he's putting into two hand in hand.

My thing is there's too many avenues as a team. For instance, right? What's a team? OKC. They lost. Was this year a failure? Absolutely not. It was a success. They went to the play in. They got farther. their player. Yeah, but also this is a team that won the title. He's the best player in the world, people say. I think he is the best player in the world. But that's my point. Perspective is everything.

So is that, does that mean it's a failure for them as a team individually? I'm going to go ahead and say it. You lose in the first round. You have the best record all year. You have the best player in the sea. I know he missed a couple games. You have the best player in the world.

You have the best record all year. You lost in five to the eight seed. It is a failure. But I don't understand why he's saying it's not a failure. You didn't learn. I understand there's like building blocks. Michael Jordan. lost to the pistons, and he learned.

That wasn't a failure. He was learning how to beat them. What did he learn? What did Janice learn this year? I think. That Jerry Butler is good at basketball? Like, what did he, what did he learn? I'm sorry.

It's a failure. I think it's okay to say it's a failure of a season. And also, I think we should respect what LeBron did going to eight straight finals. I think looking at that, Janus, best player in the NBA, how hard is it to go to the finals? Eight straight finals, come on. Yeah, eight straight is insane. People really always talk about Put in perspective a little bit

People always talk about him losing in some of those finals But people don't understand Getting to the finals Eight straight times Is fucking insane It's the worst argument you can make Should he have lost in the conference finals

And would that have been a better look than losing in the finals? Everyone's talking about his finals Record Would it have been better if he was 4 and 0 in the finals Instead of 4 and 6? Should he have lost before?

Is that better? That's crazy. That's crazy, man. Michael Jordan was losing to the Pistons And he was going to the finals and losing. What's better? Losing the finals

are losing in the conference finals. Yeah. Right. I'm sorry. I don't know. That's a good point. No, I don't want to go on a LeBron.

I guess. So if you think about it from that perspective, then yes, it's a failure of a season for the bucks. I think what Janus was trying to say, or not even trying to say, I think what Janus was doing is, A, I think we both understand

as a competitor, it's very hard to admit right after a game emotionally that everything you just did for the past six months, all hundred-something of those days, is considered failure. Yeah. There had to be some level of growth, some level of experience that made you better as a human and as a basketball player during that past year.

And I think that's what he's saying. And that's what he was holding on to in a moment of failure. You just lost first round to a team that your team is severely better than. Right. He didn't play in a couple of those games. He didn't know. He didn't play in a couple of those games, but bucks are supposed to win that series. Right.

Right. That's probably why in some of those games he didn't play because they were expected to still win without him. And they did win a game without him. So they probably rolled the dice. So they roll the dice, come going. We don't know how hurt he is, but. No, we don't, no, no, we don't. We don't know that question.

But regardless, the bucks were still favored to win that series. It didn't happen. Now it's like someone asks in the moment after, you know, do you consider this a failure? Most competitors would be like, you know what? I mean, no, because I learned this. Because that's the truth to the matter is. I guarantee you what he's going through right now is a life experience. It is a, he's learning something as a player as a leader.

So he's like, I can't consider us a failure because this right now, what he's going through might, it might be the ladder and bridge that leads to him having a championship next year because of the experiences he's having right now losing as the captain and having a first round upset exit. But there's another side of it to like what you said. You are the number one scene. You just lost an A-C in five games. That is considered for most people to fail you. That's the reality of the situation too. Now if you take away that title that year where KD's foot was on the line, Kyrie was out, James Hardin was hurt, that title he won. If you take that away, what are we look we're looking at a weird

I mean we're still looking at dominance this guy's been the arguably the best player in the league for however long for sure I'm just saying you got two MbPs bro he should have more maybe he could have more he's he's best player in NBA he is the best player if you had to build around one player right now going forward

most people would piggy on us yeah unless it was you know one game one night then I might go Jimmy Butler I'm just kidding but he is on fire right now yeah one game one one night who do you go with one game one night for your life for your life who do you go with I'm obviously I'm a big LeBron fan obviously he's in his 20th year

I think I'm going Steph Curry Steph Curry one game one night and I know that's probably not a popular pick because people want to say Janice or even Joelle or someone like that I think I'm going stuff healthy everyone's healthy yes I'm going Quilander really one game one night Quai's got to go win a game give it as all I'm going Quai Linder man

Yeah. I need him to sign something that he'll play the whole game. This guy load manage is more than any. It's nuts. All right. Let's take a break. The NBA playoffs are here and you can turn crossovers into cash with Fandul. Just visit Fandul.com slash Ringer MBA right now and place a $5 bet and you'll get an instant $150 and bonus bets, win or lose. And there are new, exciting bets that you'll only find on Fandul. For example, largest comeback, both teams to score in the first minute of the game. and the last basket score.

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Before we get back into the playoffs, can I tell you what I did this morning? Mike Miller worked out Palo. Yeah. I participated in the workout, got some rebounds, maybe made some passes. Dude, he's huge. He's the real deal.

Yeah. It's crazy. He's so big and has so much skill. Rookie of the Year. I wanted to ask you, I'm going to parlay that little brag into, he wasn't unanimous Ricky of the Year. A couple of Salt Lake guys

voted Walker Kessler. How do you feel about that? Well, my second was Jaylon Williams from O'KC. But how could you not vote Palo and the rookie of the year? He had a third place vote. No, I said second.

I said my second was Jenny Williams. Paulo was my first choice. It's crazy that he's not unanimous. I think the year... This voting is... The year that he had with the numbers that he put up and just his overall play,

I think the rookie year was won by All-Star Break. Yeah. But, you know, people like the idea of Kessler. I like Kessler as well, but he just, it's not even in the same. It's ridiculous. Yeah. So, exactly.

That just tells you why first teams, some of these awards. The voting is, they're not always, is just, there's some guys that vote manner and some of the choices they make are subjective. But a lot of the contracts, though, and different things rely on this voting for these awards. Money is at stake. Right. But they don't view it like that because they just don't care. Yeah. You know what I mean?

So I don't know. I mean, these guys give opinions every day. The comments that the comments that Stephen A. Smith said about Quai Leonard. Are you should retire? Not only should he retire that he's one of the worst superstars ever. It's the most insulting and ridiculous thing that I've ever seen. It's absolutely ridiculous. What do you think he meant by that?

Because he's saying in terms of, okay, you're going to sign a guy at max. He's going to be the face of your franchise. He doesn't really, is he putting on for the organization? I love. I heard he's, and then Stephen A was saying things I don't know about, like, special treatment he's getting all this other stuff. And then he doesn't play. And then he's not there when the team needs him most.

I think he means, if you have two max slots, let's say, on a team, he's one of the worst Max guys you can get Let me say this Let's say I'll say it quickly I think Steve A reacted on what's a dangerous thing to do as a media person

And he knows it's better than anybody He's been doing it much longer than me And that's emotion And I think as a fan of the game And as a competitor in all of us Everybody wanted That Kevin Durant CP, Devin, Aiton

team To go up against A full of loaded Clippers team for just the sake of good basketball and the sake of who's going to what's who's going to win is Katie going to lose first round after joining this team how crazy of a story would that be uh I also there's a history with Kevin and Stephen I know that's I think been buried I think since but like there's been exchanges there I don't know so maybe you wanted people wanted quiet to play this series man that's a good point you maybe you wanted yeah then you win game one and

you dominate right you lose game two but you dominate. And then it's announced that the incident happened game one, but you were able to play game two. And then now game three, suddenly you can't play. And then game four and game five are also out. The competitive spirit and frustration,

I believe. And again, I don't know this for anybody listening. This is just my opinion based on what I saw. I think the frustration in Stephen A. Smith spoke that day. And you add that that he's also got a job where you got to say stuff. and there's views and clicks and attention and sound bites and click baits and fuck whatever. And I think you combine all those things and comments like that get made.

Because if you take a step back from everything and really look at his scope of a career as a player, it's remarkable. He's all defensive teams, NBA champion, finals MVP's. This guy, that alone right there, multiple time All-Star, that alone right there makes him not the worst superstar of all time. There's so many superstars that played, didn't act the right way, didn't win, but put up good numbers. He's won championships and carried teams. To say he's the worst ever is, it's just ridiculous. And again, I understand. Superstar, not worst star.

No, he's a superstar. Right. But the worst, I mean. There's a lot of superstars, man. The Clippers signed him to an extension, right? Two-year deal. Last year, missed the full year. So whatever that deal was, that extension was for, was just for this year.

and he missed a lot of this year and didn't play them when they needed him. That entire extension was just for that. That's unfortunate. It is unfortunate. It's not good. Let's say he got $80 million for that extension. I don't know what the numbers are.

I don't have him in front of me. He got $80 million for completely missed last year. Got a little bit of this year and not in the playoffs. No, no, no. And that's where the frustration is valid. That's why Stephen A is so frustrated because they have load managed. And on top of that, it hasn't gone.

well. He's done load management and then gotten more hurt. So it's asking someone to retire's crazy. Obviously that's not. I was so over the top. It's insulting. Yeah. It's insulting. And I love Stephen A. but JJ's Reddick, JJ Reddick's response was like, listen, I don't need to be personal, but you have never been an athlete. And he said that to him and I don't even know the other guy, Mad Dog, or whatever his name is. He said something about, you know, like you guys have never played and you haven't. And I respect both of them. They're legends and their craft, especially Stephen A, in the world of media, the world that me and you are now a part of now,

he's done it at the highest level for the longest time. I give him nothing but respect. With that being said, it is as a fan, a super fan, such a super fan, in fact, that you've been able to work your ass off and maneuver your ways up in becoming what you are as a media person, Stephen A? But you've never been an athlete.

You've never put the time in that way, the physical part, the mental part, the pressure part of being an athlete. You haven't. So asking someone to retire is just beyond disrespectful. That's where he drawed the line. I also think he drawed the line when he called him the world superstar, sorry, the worst superstar ever.

His championship runs alone, don't qualify him for any of those things. I think where Stephen A. Smith is coming from is pure frustration. And I get that part because... But it's almost flattering. The frustration about one, I wish he was out there playing. He means it in a way like, bro, you are... And he even said that. Stephen A. Smith said, when this guy's healthy, he's the baddest brother.

on the planet. Right. When, and that tells you Stephen A. Smith's comments weren't made out of hatred. I don't even think Stephen A. Smith meant the things he said.

I think he just crossed the line just due to frustration, man. Yeah. I think guys are kind of sick of Kwai being hurt. They miss Toronto Kauai. They miss Santonio Kauai. They've seen that when Kwai's healthy

with the clippers, he dominates just like we saw two weeks ago. Right. And now off a whim, he's hurt. It's come to find out he's a tour meniscus. So it wasn't a bullshit. But it's just,

It's frustrating, man. His body's failing him. And that's what's been tough for Stephen A. I think that started, obviously, I think when my pops and then were there to get him, the stuff that they had to pull on and off the court, there's a lot of things that came with Kauai. And Steve, he alluded to that. Yeah, Steve Nees alluded to that. And it's been controversial, you know what I mean?

And it's just really frustrated when all these things are given and then you're not getting what you want. And that's Kauai on the basketball court. Because when he plays, there's nothing arguable about how dominant he is. where guys get special treatment and we don't have to name names. Every team gets special treatment. Right, but there's definitely, I think there's levels, right?

When you go to work, does every employee get trained to say? No, of course not. It's no difference in the NBA team. Does it create a divide at all? No. The last person on the team is not expect to get treated like the best. It's the dumbest idea. It's just a, I've never been treated like the superstar and that's completely fine with me.

Why the fuck what I think I walk into the temper wolves organization and think every coach, GM and owner is going to treat me and talk to me as if I'm Anthony Owens. It's just the idea of that is it doesn't work like that anywhere else in the world of business. I'm not saying you don't talk to someone and there's a level of disrespect and you don't put out there someone's acknowledgement and existence. I'm not saying that. But equal treatment is a word that's thrown around in the workplace sometimes. And I'm not talking about because race or gender. Put all that aside because I understand that's a

whole different conversation and that stuff's real. I'm saying in the line of sports or even just in jobs in general, not everyone gets treated the same by it. Of course. Exactly. So what are we talking about here? Those guys get favors. Those guys also put fans in the seats. Those guys also sell jerseys. Those guys also make

billions of dollars for organizations. Those guys also win the games. Those guys also have the ball in their hands and are putting up 30 a night. They want to get a boy hired or somebody this or that. They might get a little extra privilege and probably the guy on the end of the bench who doesn't do shit for the team in terms of like in the game success

because everybody has a role even the last part in the bench has a role but it's not equal treatment for sure the other series that we haven't spoken about is we got

Celtics versus the Hawks that just wrapped up last night I feel like my initial reaction is the Hawks they did just well enough to kind of like it's okay

all right let's do the Trey Young thing again let's bring them back because if it would have went bad I thought maybe there's a chance they blow it up. But I think they did just well enough game winner in the playoffs,

scared a really good Celtics team. It's just enough to kind of keep the ball rolling with that Hawks team. I mean, yeah, they definitely surprised everybody by going into Boston and winning game five. Trey was spectacular. Scored the last, what, 14-something points, 17 points. I don't know. Do you think that makes the Celtics look bad that it went that far?

No, man. I think the Hawks are actually maybe just that talented. I think they expected to win in Boston and were surprised by the play of Atlanta. And then Trey got hot and, you know, late and things can happen in a basketball game. We easily could have just won that game in Denver. We lost, you know what I mean? Like, we could have snuck that game and then who knows what had happened. Like, anything can happen.

Boston went back home and handled business. Or they went back on the road and handled business. It was even more impressive. For sure. That they dropped out, you know, the home game. and were able to kind of muster the energy, the strength to go down to Atlanta in a hostile environment and get that dub. I have a Boston Golden State rematch.

Okay, so we're skipping over it. Boston, Sixers, you have Boston. I have Boston. And I'm rooting for Philly just due to family ties for obvious reasons, right? You know, I want the homies to win, PJ, D. House. Who else I got over there? Obviously, like I said, Pops, James. you know, those are guys that I'm, I've, Sam, my little brother.

You know, I got a lot of ties, obviously, in Philly, Darry. So I'm hoping that they're able to pull that out. With that being said, you know, Boston's a monster of a team, and they're so deep and they're experienced. They're so solid, especially everybody they have in their backcourt. They got like four really good guards, five between Brogden, six men of the year. Derek White. Derek Wright, who's played out of his mind this year.

for sure. Really good basketball. Marcus Smart. And then obviously got the usuals. You got Jalenbrow, you got Tato. They got plenty.

They're just well-rounded. I think them and the Warriors play in a seven-game series again. Yeah. I'm not worried about Boston having a hard time with the Hawks. The last time Boston when the title was 08,

they went seven games with the Hawks. They had a seven-game series in the second round against LeBron. Six-game series against the pistons. Like, the road was long. You don't have to always necessarily sweep the first team that you play to win the title. There's been times where you have a battle in the first round and still go deep into the playoffs.

Yeah, absolutely. And if anything, it's almost, I would like to see the Sixers get tested a little more. I don't like that they kind of just breezed over the Nets because now they're going to run into a Boston team. It's a different level. They're going to have to turn that switch. Yeah. They're going to have to turn that switch.

And I know they've already turned one switch from a regular season, from preseason to regular season there's a switch, from regular season to the playoffs was the switch, and then I believe deep in the playoffs, there's a different level of a switch. That you know, shit, we're like a series of two-way from the finals.

It's like an even better basketball than first round. It's a cleaned up version of the first round. It's like ultimate, pure, like watching the finals last year, the defense of rotations between Boston and Golden State was a work of art.

If you really watch basketball, watching rotations and guys' communication on the deviance of end, the lack of mistakes, it's, and then the elite play on the contrary, the offensive end play, like, bro, it's just such high-level basketball. And I think that's a switch that Philly's going to have to tap into to beat Boston because they've been there and they've done it before recently. If I had to ask you, I want you to rank the teams left in the playoffs, you obviously have Warriors won, being the Warriors are probably the favorites to win it in your mind. I think the Warriors win the West. I think Boston wins the East. I think Warriors win it all, yeah. So your rankings would be Warriors won, Boston, two. Who would be third?

Phoenix. So you have Phoenix definitely being, yeah, okay. I have Phoenix Warriors Conference Finals. They can go either way. And this is hard for me to say because Denver's really good and it is so hard to put anything past the healthy LeBron and Anthony Davis. But they have to win Memphis, which I think they'll do. I just don't know if, bro, I don't see anybody beating.

The Warriors in seven games. You're respecting the guy of the fourth-time champs. Yeah, I just, I don't see it, man. I've just, I've seen what they can do. If Steph wins another title, and he has more than LeBron in the same era. He has six, right? He'll have five, and LeBron has four. What would that mean to you?

No, no, no, no, no. Step has four, LeBron has four. Yeah, okay. What would it mean, what would that mean to you? Would it mean anything if Steph had five in LeBron after? Maybe he just had a better team, better franchise. The reason it doesn't mean anything is because Steph's not in the conversation right now as being the best player of all time.

Conversations change, though. If he wins another one, conversation starts changing. But just because you win one more title because your team was able to make a run and win one year, does it now just wipe away the last 20 years of greatest

from LeBron James? It just doesn't. Steph Curry is going to go down as one of the greatest players to ever play in the NBA. He's the greatest shooter of all time. That's not even negotiable. With his teammate, Clay, probably being second,

which I don't even think that's negotiable. I think you can make it. You know what, that's tough. I have a question for you. If Damian Lillard, for example, or another really good player that could shoot was off the ball, just catching shoot three. They can't shoot like that off the ball.

That's why they don't do it. No one can shoot like him off the ball. He's the greatest shooter. The shit he does. So if Damilur wanted to be Clay and play off the ball and shoot threes. How do you want to be Clay? I'm saying like only like not take hard three.

Yeah, but that's a different type of game. Damien Little needs his first step. He likes going left. He likes his dribble. His dribble three is a rhythm dribble. It's part of his shot. Like I like my step back. Like there's, I like my jab.

I can't just be like, I'm going to play like, buddy. heal today. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? And again, I'm capable of catching shooting, but that's not my strongest point. Damian Lillard can for sure catch and shoot. He's one of the greatest shooters of all time too, by the way. For sure.

He is probably, he might be three. No, he probably is three. He's up there. I mean, Ray Allen's in there somewhere. And if we're talking, yeah, off the dribble. But again, Damien's range is silly. You know what I mean? His abilities, he's up there too.

But Clay is my, I think Clay's unanimous. him a second. Regardless, yeah, that, you know, I think Steph's up there. He's a, he's a top five possible player and a top 10 player of all time, not just shooter. But LeBron James is one, man, or two, whoever, depending on what era, the fact that you have to debate with whether it's him and Gordon, I mean, him and Jordan, they're both goaded. Him and MJ are both goaded. Jordan's one, Jordan's two, LeBron's one, LeBron's two, who gives a fuck? They're both goaded. you know what I mean? So it's like

do you participate in those arguments those are the most popular arguments I wasn't in our last time I said people we got into the argument it's hard to be it's hard to debate

because they both played two different types of games yeah and two different types of errors and they have totally two different careers LeBron's like all in NBA 20 years

you know Michael Quist in the middle of his pride to go pay fucking baseball and you know comes back retires early 13 it's just like

it's so hard man you know LeBron is on social media he's this his presence his all of this. Michael was more of this spectacle off the court reserved

playing an area with no social media didn't have any of those things. Yeah, the mystery of Michael, I think back then was a little... adds to the... That's why the documentary

was so intriguing because everyone's like, we want to know more about Michael. We want to know more. You didn't get enough content. Like, fuck, I know everything about LeBron. I know everything he eats

on a Tuesday. It's tacos. Like, 100%. You know, it's just different. Yeah, so it's just like, I don't... I think sometimes we get so used to LeBron's greatness

that we take him for granted. You know what I mean? It's like, it's just what happens. You just get used to things. That's what people do. You'll definitely appreciate LeBron a lot more down the road years later when you realize that no one in their 20th season

is still a top 10 guy in the NBA. What's you, Donis Hazel? Donis Haslam, same draft as LeBron, 2003. Right. And by way, that's not a disson of you, Donna Sazum. No, you're probably on an NBA roster. Everyone else that's with LeBron is not playing. No, no, no.

Careers have come and gone. I have nothing but respect for you, Donis Haslam. And he's had a great career as a role player, and I admire the biggest thing about him is that he's been able to play for one fucking team his whole career, bro. This guy grew up in Miami, went to Gainesville for University of Florida,

then get drafted by the Miami Heat and plays back in his hometown for his entire career. If I'm not jealous of that, you know what I mean? Like, I got nothing respected. With that being said, if you look at him right now, that's a normal human being 20 years in the league.

That's 99.9%. That's what I would look like anybody would look like in their 20th season in the NBA. LeBron is a freak. You know what I mean? He truly is. And everyone else that he came out with, they're not even around anymore.

No, no, no, no. Careers have come and gone. He's out. I got something else for you. Last night, big argument. I want to know your thoughts. It was Paul Pierce or T-MAC. You know the crazy thing is,

if you tweeted that, right? Or if ESPN tweeted Paul Pierce versus T-Mack. Right. a lot of people would scoff at that and laugh and say T-MAC. Really? And I think that here's my reasons why. A, Paul Pierce has gotten a lot of bullshit since he's retired.

Some self-inflicted. Oh, no, no. We're not going down the self-inflicted road. Listen, we know what's self-inflicted and what's not. Okay, I don't even need to go through that. We know his choices and the things he's made. With that being said, you know, Paul's Paul, man. whatever. We all make mistakes, right?

The guy said the comments about Dewey Wade, which ended up, they did that live TV, and he's like, he has three of this, you have two of this, and that thing. That thing was like a whole viral thing. And that's been replayed 100 million times to Instagram to the point where like people are synonymous with Paul Pierce in that video. People are synonymous with whether it's him in the wheelchair or did he take, did he say something, he was going to go take a shit?

That's why he had to go and he's had to come out publicly and say six times. That's not what happened. And then obviously the Instagram live thing. Again, I know they made a big deal of that, but he was, dude was smoking some weed and had some girls in the back and they were playing poker. Like, just the madness is, again,

I know it's not the most professional thing to be doing, especially on live. You've got kids watching shit like that. So, you know, you've got to be understanding of that. But like, in the grand scheme of things, he's not a bad human being. He's only done with the rest of the world it's ever done. With that being said,

this is the things that I think his name is synonymous with. Basically, legacy has a lot to do with things have nothing to do with your actual career. Nothing to do with basketball. Because if you look at his basketball career, if you go and actually watch Paul Pierce or look at highlights, he was an animal, bro.

I watched it firsthand. He played for my dad. He won a championship for him. He was the best part of the team. He went to toe with Kobe in 08. He was the finals MVP of the series. He was the finals MVP versus Kobe in the Lakers. So we're not talking about some like pushover.

People scoff at Paul Pierce and had this energy with him that like this guy wasn't that dude in Boston sports mania for however long he was there. Played for one team, his whole career until he got to the end, and that's when he obviously bounced around.

But for his whole pre and prime, there were some years there too that no one thinks about where he went to the conference finals with Antoine Walker and Walter McCarty, and they lost to the Nets. And he did things without the big three. No, no, no. People think about the big three.

He was also a hooper back then. He was a multi-year all-star. Remember when he was dribbling on Al Harrington and dribbling it out and then made the face and made the shot. Talk to him. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

He was nasty, man. With that being said, my response to that argument between him and T-MAC is. And I always say this about a lot of people. It's Peaks versus career. I think TeamX peak, he was better than Paul Pierce. Paul Pierce has a better body of work, better career.

And that's a big argument, I think. It's a great point. It's a better peak versus a better career. Yeah. Yeah. Last question that I have for you, and we talked about it yesterday too. Every argument I have with people,

I'm just going to bring it to you on the pod. I hope that's okay. That's fine. So this is where we sell. When Tim Duncan, Peek Tim Duncan, be good in today's NBA the way he plays. He would be good in any NBA. So he's he's timeless.

He would dominate. Back down for the prime like 2003. No, no, no, no. Those early 2000s, Tim Duncan was a beast. He was unbelievable. Does that, but do people play like that now? Because now they want your bigs to be like Clint Coppellas, set screens and rim run. If you could put the ball in the basket, you put the ball in the basket.

They throw down to Yokic and he dominates down there, bro. Yeah. So Tim Duncan is timeless. It's all about tying him to a good guard. Oh, man. Yeah, he's timeless, bro. He could shoot and made his fritos, had played a glass better than anybody, had a good mid-range.

If anything, that guy was so fucking tax. talented man that if that guy sat in a gym all summer and shot threes, I guarantee you he could make the improve. Right. Al Horford went from being a notorious man. Well, Brooke Lope. Let's talk about Brooke Lopes. No, but even one of them.

I went from just to shooting three. What he was, the shooting three. Al Horford's the same way. Al Horford was a pick and pop mid-range shooter. Yeah. Now the guy is like a chase in a runoff. You know, for the lameous turns for people, if the guy gets the ball in the three, you run run them off and make him shoot him in mid-ranged because he could shoot.

But we appreciate that. Well, not everybody might know that, no, no, that's good. But he, he's a runoff. He's the guy that you run off the three-point line because he can shoot so well. Brooke Lopez the same way. I have no doubt in my mind the greatest power forward of all time

could make the same adjustment. That's just silly. Saying that even out loud, I think you can understand that. So I think he's timeless. Yeah, I think him and Kevin, KG, same way. KG would dominate in today's era. I'm going to give you two more questions then

because you just brought them up. KG or Dirk? Who are you rolling with? In today's game, due to his shooting, I would go Dirk. In today's game, due to his shooting, I would go Dirk. KG, obviously, both sides of the ball.

KG had both sides of the ball. I don't know, man. Big ticket, like MVP, big ticket. Yeah, but Dirk's final run was... What year did he win an MVP? I want to say that was 2004. Okay, I was going to say five. No, 2004.

Who was five? Is that Kobe? 2005 was, had to have been a Dunkin year, I'm guessing. No, that was Nash. Nash went too after that. And then Dirk won in 0.0. seven, yeah. Five, six was Nash. Yeah, because Kobe didn't win until what? Eight?

Eight, yeah. Yeah. I don't know, I would probably, I don't know, man. That question's really dependent on what point guard I have with me, man. Okay, that's the next question I had. These are all that's so good. Steve Nash or Jason Kidd? If I had I'll pair him.

Jason Kidd would do better with Kevin Garnett. He is more athletic, could run the floor with him. Jason Kidd was a blur in transition. Get the rebound. People forget Jason Kidd's size and speed and athleticism when he was really in his prime as a point guards. Phoenix, whatever, whatever.

Dallas, even obviously in New Jersey, this guy would get a rebound, push a coast to coast. You know, Lonzo-Ball-like speed, but obviously, you know, even a better version. That's what people thought Lonzo ball would be. Right. Jason Kidd, right? Or has the skill to still be.

Shout out to Lanzo out there, stay up. So I think you put him with KG and his athleticism. That would work. Whereas Nash and like Dirk, they did work together but they were parted in their primes. Those two together shooting-wise would be

yeah. Right. Even in Nash's MVP years. So I'm not answering your question. I've noticed you're not. I haven't answered you question. But Steve Nash, as good of a shooter he was, 50, 40, 90 guy, barely shot any threes

compared to people today. He would shot 10, 12 threes back then. I mean, like if it was now, he barely shot. I don't know who I'd go with. I can't answer the question. I really don't know. For point in guard, I don't know.

That's a great question. Steve Nash or kid, Dirk or KG, we got to put that poll out there on the Twitter. Yeah. On the Twitter? On the Twitter is really bad. On the Twitter's insane. Yeah.

What are we going to get these shirts made of all of our misquotes? On the Twitter. On the Twitter? And the Rizzler? I didn't. I still have, to this day, I'm not used Risler. Never will. Rizzler's insane

Still haven't heard anyone even say it The Rizzler The Rizzler Is no one has even said it I've been looking for it And no one says it I saw it on Instagram once Yeah once

I thought I'd try it Yeah All right I think that's a good place to stop Yeah And once again I wanted to say Congrats on another season man 11 seasons is great

In all seriousness I'm thankful I'm thankful to Minnesota I'm thankful to people The fans Yeah The organization Finch Tim Conley I had an amazing experience

It's been nothing but a blessing man everything's a blessing everything's a part of the journey good bad great uh so you just keep poop and keep going man life