August 21, 2024 • 52 mins
The guys were pleased to be joined by former college player and current podcaster for The Volume, Jason Timpf, on today's episode. The trio discussed some of the latest news and notes from around the league, expectations for several teams before wrapping up our 90s Nostalgia conversation with Iverson, Hakeem and Rodman!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, well, well, guess who's back. It's me and I
only missed one of the most fun discussions talking about
the gold medal game for Team USA. But guess what,
We're only about thirty two days out from Media Days.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
And also look the Celtics Nuggets.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Heading overseas for the NBA Abu Dhabi Games, So it's
time to circle back start discussing expectations for the upcoming
season plus a little bit of nineties player nostalgia as
we'd like to do in this summer this year with
the Volumes very own Jason Timp on today's episode, I'm Miles.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Grant and I'm Jack O'Brien and this is Miles and
Jack mans.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Got it. Look at the Hicks ten o K.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
There you go, m B driving Spinny Fatter number eighteen
that's been secured. The Celtics are NBA champions over the
double TA be honest, Welcome, Welcome, Jason Timp of the
(01:13):
Volume look providing a lot of great analysis on Twitter
now working longside and for Colin Coward at the Volume Jason,
thank you so much for joining us, Man, welcome to
my box, and Jack on Mad Boosti's.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
Of course man, thanks for having me on. Uh yeah,
I really enjoyed the Team USA stuff. The one downside
is is like I look up and it's August twenty yeah,
and I feel like the season's really close already, and
I was looking forward to some downtime, but the site
just kept busy.
Speaker 5 (01:42):
Man.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
Yeah right, yeah, I like, I'm gonna be enjoying these
last this last month and taking it easy. But like
we man, it's just it's crazy. It's crazy how long
the season is.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Seriously, and I mean the one silver lining is at
least once Media Day comes, we get a new Jimmy pick,
so you know.
Speaker 6 (01:57):
That'll be what do you think he's gonna go with?
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Oh man, maybe like what did she kind of.
Speaker 6 (02:02):
Like, what was the one to beatle Juice? There's gonna
be a tie in.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
No wait, so it was emo Jimmy last year, and.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Before that it was just like kind of long yeah yeah,
he had yeah, he had like dreads.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
He had like long dreads. So yeah, I mean, I
don't know what the escalation, but it.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Was just like two of them, right, It's just like
two really long dreads.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Yeah, correctly, Yeah, it's I don't know, I mean, it
was definitely wow and I think it depended on how
he styled it based on the press conference.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
But yeah, yeah, and yeah yeah, but like a little
thinner Angel hair Millie Vanilli.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Angel hair Millies, Angel Hair Millies. Jason, I got to say,
you know, we have a lot.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Of people on this show, but you know on your Twitter.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
We're just going to tell you that up front show
a lot of people, Vince Carter.
Speaker 6 (02:57):
With a lot of guys.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Yeah, but the one thing is, you know a lot
of people don't have boosties.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
I saw your mixtape that you have at the top
of your Twitter.
Speaker 6 (03:07):
In fact, it's kind of a rule. Yeah, like Dubari,
don't be.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Bringing people onto this show who have men and thus
make us look like we don't have mad boosties.
Speaker 5 (03:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
The only people we will allow our NBA legends because
but and then, but when it comes to other people
who talk basketball and stuff.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Like that, I'm like, I can't get postered by this guy. Dude,
you're nice with it. I gotta say some you got
some skills, bro, three.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Sixty, I'm your textbook. I was a late bloomer, so
I just have like a big chip on my shoulders,
so like, I just take basketball way too seriously for
a thirty three year old who doesn't care for a living. Yeah,
but it is what it is. I thankfully have a
wife who supports the obsession. And dude, I'm just I know,
(03:54):
I have this like feeling like I know that this
is like my last little window of being able to
play a little bit. So I'm trying to just embrace
it and lean into it and then yeah, yeah, then
hopefully all age gracefully and accept the end when it comes,
because what I don't feel like doing is getting cooked
up by these old guys. I was literally talking to
a buddy of mine who was just playing a pickup
game with Joe lacub and I was like, what is
(04:15):
his old ass doing out there? Like you do it like?
And he and my buddy played at Stanford. I'm like,
I feel like at a certain point, you just got
to accept reality and walk gracefully into the sunset.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
So that doesn't make you good at basketball owning a
team full of good basketball players. You aren't suddenly You
don't suddenly acquire their skills shockingly not.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Yeah, he was like hitting a free throw and going like,
night night.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Are we sure about this?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
You're sharing with seven to man, what do you what
are you doing?
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Hey man? That last point was actually game? You know
what I mean?
Speaker 6 (04:49):
You're just shooting free throws after the game?
Speaker 3 (04:53):
Oh man?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
But yeah, Jason, it's good to have you here.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
We're gonna talk a little bit about the season before
we also get into our nineties discussion.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
He picked some great people to talk about. I'm excited
to discuss some of those players.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Jabari really started this off or producer Jabari with a
very interesting question are the Celtics being overlooked or preemptively cast?
Speaker 5 (05:14):
Aside?
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Immediately after winning a ring and we.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Were like, are they being cast Is it just that
they're so good that it's boring to talk about them
right right? And so we're just like, yeah, and the
Celtics are probably gonna win, but like, well it's kind
of the same team, Like they didn't do anything that
interesting in the off season other than anything getting like
mad that we can't get more playing time. But do
(05:39):
we think anything is going to carry over from the Olympics,
like or is Lebron gonna continue to look good will Tatum?
Will it be in Tatum's head that he didn't get
playing time?
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Do we get like like Olympics. RUI too, like, do
we get all of this, all of the right, all
of those things? I am in my Laker heart like
your fan heart. I hope so, But I don't know.
I mean, I feel like it just you kind of
tap into something different for the Olympics, and I think
that's where that came from. But I would love to
see a lot of these people take that into it,
(06:12):
and also to see Jason Tatum continue to.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Be humbled as he said, you know, really humbling.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
Ad in particular has a reputation for taking a few
months off every summer and coming into the season like
rusty and out of shape, and so I think he's
the main guy who will benefit from it. I think
Lebron too, Like I'd like, I don't know about you guys,
but like I thought, you know, Lebron's, Steph and KD.
All three of those guys have been getting a lot
(06:38):
of like what I think is unfair analysis over the
last year or two based on them being on pretty
flawed rosters and like people going like, oh, these guys
just don't have it anymore, and like really, it's like
if you've got three or four really high level two
way role players. It just makes life easier for superstars,
and all three of those guys just don't have that,
And so in a weird way, I actually think like
(06:59):
all three of them embraced this summer as like a
chance to play real basketball in like high stakes environments,
and so I think all three of them probably feel
competitively reinvigorated, and like Stephens and Steph had a really
bad end to last season, I think he's gonna have
a little bit of a bounce back type of season.
I still think Lebron is playing like firmly at a
(07:21):
top six or seven level when he's healthy, right like,
and then Kevin Durant was you know, greatt in the
playoffs and then great in the with Team USA. So
I think all three of those guys are really good.
It's just unfortunately they're going back to their their iffy
situations and the Western Conference is such a blood bath
it may not even matter, right, right.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Yeah, KD was so good in that situation. He's just
like the ultimate person. Like whatever happens with the Suns,
like if he can just like be a weapon on
a really good team again at the end of his career,
like that was fun to just like see somebody be
able to bring Kady in and just be lights out
(07:59):
for it five ten minutes.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
You know, I just want to see all of them
play on like really great teams again. And it just
it is what it is, all three of It's so
funny because all three of them are in situations that
should have been avoidable. Like the Warrior should have traded
the kids two years ago, and if they did, they'd
be in a much better position because now the kids
aren't that good, so they're like stuck in this in
between zone. And it's like for Lebron it was the
Russell Westbrook trade. For KD it was leaving Golden State
(08:22):
to begin with, and and his obsession with finding other
pull up shooters to play with for whatever reason. But like,
like all three of those guys, they just they're just
in these unfortunate situations and it's a huge bummer. I
don't know about you, guys. I'm sure you guys have
hit really good numbers for your show with the Tmosa stuff.
Theosa stuff has been crushing all over the place. I
think a big part of that is, like all of
(08:43):
us basketball fans, we just miss watching those guys playing
big games and it, you know.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
And it was. I mean I was when when it
was happening.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
I was texting Jack and Jabari like just about like
how it was sort of I think most people saw that.
It's like and this team, all of these players are
showing up up with their exact specialized skill set and
like cranking it up to ten in the best way
where you're like, it felt like playing a video game
where it's like you can't put all of them on
the same team, like you're just gonna do what they did.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
And I was so exciting to watch.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
But yeah, I'm I am worried about the if the
situation that the Lakers are definitely in for it.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Sure, yeah, I mean.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
At MGM they are currently let's see one, two, three,
four or five light now they are the ninth favorite
team to uh make it to win the championship.
Speaker 6 (09:34):
So okay, okay, yeah, okay.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Let me let me ask you this, Miles, who is
the best two way player on the Lakers other than
Lebron and Ady.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Oh Man.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
I think the answer is obvious and it's not a
great answer.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
But who are you going to say?
Speaker 4 (09:57):
Is I was gonna say Austin Reeves Austin's become a
decent point of attack defender, and I think he's a
very good offensive player. But that's the main issue is
like you go around, like go to Boston and it's like, Okay,
you got Tatum and Brown, who how many like really
good two way players they have, Like Derek White, really
good two way player, Drew Holliday really good two way player,
alhar Field a really good two way players.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Like, yeah, they're cheating.
Speaker 6 (10:18):
They just like, build a team of all the best
two way players.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
To another.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Just do that fair. And that is also what I
said when they built that team. I said, that's not fair.
Speaker 4 (10:31):
Well to the original question that you've pitched, Like, I
don't think anybody who covers the league doesn't have Boston
as the championship favorite next year. I think everyone respects them.
I think you're also right that there's a certain amount
of a boring element to the discussing them. Even within
the eighty two it's like, Okay, Boston beat Atlanta again,
Like you guys want to break it down, you know,
(10:51):
it's just hard to get into get into all those
kinds of things. I think a big part of it too,
and I think this is part of like the kind
of like the fan insecurity element that you're seeing a
ton of coming out of Boston. Like I'm sure you've
seen some of the stuff with like Boston fans like
straight up being pissed about Tatum not playing even though
they won the gold, which is completely absurd.
Speaker 6 (11:10):
It was like a conspiracy. Wait, let's just call it
what it was, Jason.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
It was a conspiracy to get in the head of
the Boston Celtics and their players.
Speaker 6 (11:19):
It's so funny to.
Speaker 4 (11:20):
Be though, because it's like, Okay, so Steve Kerr is
jealous of the Celtics even though he just beat them
in June two years ago. It doesn't make it. It's
so asinine. But the main thing that I think is
driving it is I think fans want to see the
struggle and they want to see overcoming adversity. It's like
it's like the gold medal, the dudo won the four
(11:41):
hundred meter just straight up doing the triple jump across
the finish line, like you right, Like you want to
see that struggle and Boston just it looked easy. It
looked easy, their stars weren't taxed, Like how often can
you see a team's best player legitimately have the worst
playoff runt of his career and it not matter. It
just literally not matter. And that's the thing is, it's
(12:02):
just Boston. There's no real like appeal to the casual fan,
so no one cares about that title outside of the
Boston fan base. And so as a result, like there's
that kind of like that classic like we're not getting
discussed or we're not getting respected kind of insecurity coming
out of there.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
So from a team that's not being actually disrespected other
than like in their fans heads, because they want to
like create a narrative where nobody believed in us, and
it's like, no, everyone believed in everyone much that they're
bored by talking about I.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Was dreading it the whole year, That's how much I
believed in it as a Laker Fand they're just gonna.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Not bought except for everybody who's not Jason.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
They got lucky too, by the way. They didn't get
They didn't face a single one of the top five
records in the league in the playoffs. Like all that,
it's like who out east of it was like, Okay,
are they going to be able to get through the
healthy knicks or that Bucks team, and it's like they
just didn't have to play it. It's like, how are
they going to be able to beat Denver or like
a team like Minnesota or a team like Oklahoma City.
Is that they just didn't have to play it like
they they went I want to say, like I can't
(13:00):
remember off the top of my head, I want to say,
they went three and five against the top four seeds
in the Western Conference and they just didn't have to
play any of them. So, like, there's so even though
I think they were the best team and I think
they deserve to be the favorite, they want credit for
being the most dominant team in recent NBA history, And
it's like, You're just not gonna get that credit from
the rest of the people.
Speaker 6 (13:18):
I don't think, No, you're not, definitely not on this show.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Maybe yeah, they did, all right. I will say we
gave them that credit in the lead up in an
attempt to reverse yangst them, and it didn't work unfortunately.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
All Right.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
So the the thing that I'm surprised by is people
are hard on the Oklahoma City thunder bandwagon. Okay, like
gamblers are, like they are the number two team, like
odds wise to win the title next year, which I
don't know, like I think, Yeah, they definitely made some
good adjustments kind of in the background, but I don't
(14:01):
I don't see it as them being like hyper like
they're two spots ahead of the Nuggets.
Speaker 6 (14:07):
The Nuggets are ranked fourth.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
On a bunch of odds the MGM site. So what
do you think? I Like, I see the case right
adding Cruise on. Yeah, yeah, no, that's awesome, Like, but
it's also those aren't It's not like they added a
like number two or three person. They added like really good,
(14:30):
really solid four or five people, which I'm excited about,
Like I probably would put them near the top of
my list, but I'm a little surprised they're ahead of
the Nuggets.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
Yeah, so I still have Denver as the top team
in the West. I think people are writing them off
way too fast. I thought they were clearly just out
of gas when they got to the postseason last year,
just from a tough couple of years and a couple
like both KCP and Jamal Murray were banged up going
into the playoffs, which was something that continued to kind
of PLA like them a little even without KCP. That
(15:03):
obviously is a downgrade going to Christian Brown in the
starting lineup. But it's just, to me, really simple. It's
like you've got a couple of really good two way
players and Nikole Jokich and a shot maker that can
play with him. I think it's silly to write them off.
The reason why, I think people are really high on
the Thunder and I do have them as a top
tier contender now. Last year, to me, it was just
Boston and Denver. To me, Oklahoma City has entered into
(15:23):
that group. And I think there are a couple other
teams that you could consider there. But like the thing
with Oklahoma City is they were already really good. Like
look at last year, they were a foul on a
three point shooter in the corner away from forcing a game.
It would have been a game seven back in Oklahoma City.
So like they were this close to the conference finals.
(15:43):
And they had two gigantic weaknesses. They were a terrible
defensive rebounding team and you could really go through their
front line. And so Isaiah Hartenstein addresses both of those.
And then there was one other issue, which is they
kind of always seem to have like a question mark
around that fifth guy in any life, up, and now
Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Cruso give you two definitive looks.
(16:05):
A small ball look where Cruso is the fifth guy
and you're going with j Dub and Shay and Dort
alongside Crusoe and Chet. And then they have a big
look where you pull Crusoe off, or maybe you pull
Dort off and you put Hartenstein next to Chet, and
so they have clearer fives with a little bit more versatility,
and they address their two gigantic weaknesses in terms of
their front court strength and their ability to rebound, and
(16:27):
they're more experienced. I don't know those the end of
the series against Dallas, I thought Shay was kind of
going blow for blow with Luca, if not even like, yeah,
there were there were games where he was playing better
than him too. So like I'm a believer in Okay. See,
I just can't put him over that Denver team. Yet.
I still think they're just a little bit of a
safer bet. God, Dan, you just brought back how close
(16:49):
we were. I bet Okay in the off season at
like some crazy number. I would have made eleven thousand
dollars on a one hundred dollar bet if they had
won the title. So I was living and dying with
every single one of those things you just mentioned last
season that was that was pain.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Bring it up again, man, Hey, can I transfer the
cigaret for this season.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
To do that?
Speaker 6 (17:15):
No you thought it was for this? No?
Speaker 2 (17:18):
No, no, no, bro?
Speaker 6 (17:21):
Oh come on.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
In the odds right now? Are they?
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Are?
Speaker 4 (17:25):
They second by in Boston?
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Yeah, the plus seven fifty at MGM, which is wild.
They opened it plus one thousand, So it's crazy.
Speaker 6 (17:35):
It's just a lot of it seems like a lot
of public money.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
A lot of people like have read two articles in
the off season, like, uh, I think I have, because yeah,
they started out below Denver and since then have kind
of shot up.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
And then Denver in the and Philly seemed to be
around the same and the next.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
It's the scary thing is what is jub going to
be because like he had a somewhat rough playoff run
expected for a for a first time in that kind
of situation, but like he's one of those guys that
I think I think he's His upside is like Jimmy
Butler with a reliable jump shot, Like I think that's
his upside. And so like the question of how soon
he gets to that near ish. That level is such
(18:17):
a huge question mark surrounding not just the thunder for
this season, but in the future too, because like all
the intel behind the scenes is that Shay is the
kind of guy that kind of liked you know, he's
big into fashion, he likes he's got a big personality.
He's kind of a big city type, and so there
is kind of a more brief, urgent window for Oklahoma
City than you would think, and a lot of that
comes down to j dub and just how quickly he
(18:37):
becomes awesome.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Yeah, he might be moving to like Dallas or you know,
one of those big cities.
Speaker 6 (18:43):
We don't know.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
Yeah, what all right, you sound like somebody who knows
stuff about basketball. How do you feel about my Philadelphia
seventy six ers.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
They're going to be a really interesting team to see,
just the way they come together in terms of like
their their chemistry and the part of the season, just
because it kind of reminds me of a lot of
the other kind of super team builds where it's like
it's just a bunch of guys that got thrown together.
That said, I'm as big a Tyres Maxie fan as
you'll find. I think he's awesome. And one of the
big things with Tyres Maxi was like last year he
(19:15):
just shot the laces off the basketball and catch and
shoot situations, but he struggled off the dribble for whatever reason.
And then that kind of came through for him in
the playoffs. I mean, you guys saw him hit that
big shot that tied the game and what was a
Game five or game I think it was Game five
against Yeah, I think he have forty something in that
game is insane fifty And then, like Paul George, he's
(19:35):
in like the perfect role on this team because he's
basically a tertiary shot creator. He's basically like a juiced
up superstar version of Michael Porter Junior. In this matchup
where it's like Tyres Maxi and Embid are still going
to be running the primary action the majority of the
time down the floor, I would think, and then he's
just going to be kind of working off of that
that'll allow him to devote more of his energy to
(19:56):
the defensive end. I think really it just comes down to,
like how many of those kind of role players that
you threw together are you going to be able to
turn into useful rotation pieces and that that's just gonna
be something we got to figure out. I thought, uh uh,
the Yabuseli signing was interesting because he kind of fits
the build of like that modern His archetype has become
(20:18):
sneakily like one of the most valuable archetypes in the league,
which is like the big, strong four that can be
useful offensively, but that can like guard the other teams
big so that you can use your center as a roamer.
This was the big thing that Boston did, if you guys,
remember by putting they just put their They put Tatum
on the center every single time. Because Tatum could box
(20:39):
out centers and he couldn't be bullied on the block.
That allowed them to just use chrisps Porzingis or or
Al Horford to always guard the weakest above the break
shooter on the other team, and then they could try
to funnel things towards you know. That's how they beat Dallas, right,
And so that's the thing is like I don't think
Kelly Ubre is big and strong enough to guard centers,
but I think where Sean is. And so that's kind
(21:02):
of an interesting kind of look where you don't have to.
You don't need him to be super vertically athletic. You
just need him to box out centers and not get
bullied on the block. And now you can use em
beat as more of a roamer, and I think that
could be a really useful look for them defensively.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
For listeners who don't know, Yabuseli is the guy you
googled in the middle of the USA France game who
is like just yoking on people and having an incredible game.
And so when you googled him, you found out that
he was like the number sixteen pick with the Celtics
a number of years ago and like just kind of
sat bench for them. But yeah, I mean the reason
(21:37):
we were all googling him was because he he looks
like he he can do it, at least play some
some big minutes. So yeah, that's exciting. That's the thing
you're getting me, not crazily like I'm always surprised. I'm
always pleasantly surprised by like when he does good stuff
(21:57):
because I just like don't believe in him. But he did,
like play some good minutes last year. I just but
I really like the Yabooselli signing, Like I like the
guy that got from the heat, you know, like I
just yeah, Kale Martin, Like I like those guys. And
then obviously the Paul George thing is exciting. If he
can stay healthy, it's.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
An interesting look. Yeah, but Maxie Martin, because Martin then
becomes your athlete guard that guards the other team's best guard. Yeah,
that Maxie Martin, Paul George, Ubre Embiid is really fast,
believe it or not, which I think is important because
Embiid is slow and he struggles and transition in up
and down game. So surrounding him with a lot of
speed and athleticism I think is really smart.
Speaker 6 (22:40):
Yeah, it'll be interesting.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
I was, yeah, as I was talking about in the Olympics,
just watching him be slow to the ball, slow to
defensive rebounds, I was having flashbacks and.
Speaker 6 (22:52):
I don't know right now.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Yeah, you know what, Jason, Uh, that's that's the thing
that you could have said seventy percent of his career unfortunately.
So I'm hoping, I'm hoping this is the year you
know that we like managed to you know, he's he's
in shape when he needs to be, he's healthy when
he needs to be.
Speaker 6 (23:15):
And yeah, and then we're in business.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
We are our number three on MGM's list of second round. Baby,
that's all I want. Just get me out of the
second richest. Yeah, just me out of the second.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
The Drummond pickup was huge too, because, like, you know,
Maury's gonna basically tell Nick Nurse like mbads capped at
fifty games or something like that. Yeah, and yeah, they're
gonna be like, no back to backs, no more than
three games in a week, Like you know, they're going
to be holding him down. And so Andre Drummond was
like sneaky and awesome pickup because he's one of my
favorite I've ever had. Yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, because
(23:50):
that's right, he was there a couple of years ago.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Back.
Speaker 6 (23:52):
Yeah, he was all right, we should take a break.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
This went long, and we do have some nineties players
to talk about, so we'll be right back after this.
Speaker 6 (24:09):
And we're back.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
We are back.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
We're back, and we are back in nineteen nineties. What
the nineties, What a time to be alive. We the
Democratic National Convention last night. We got to got a
reminder when they played the Bulls intro music of Her
gives people.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
I'm surprised the lasers didn't come out too, I know,
but yeah, we've been talking about our favorite nineties players
with our guests. We've had a list that we show everybody.
Everybody picks a couple of names they want to talk about. Jason,
you picked Alan Iverson, the Dream and the Worm, uh,
and these are I'm I'm very excited to talk about
(24:54):
these three players.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
And I don't know who who do we Who do
we want to start with?
Speaker 1 (24:58):
I mean we've been we were just talking about the
same so maybe we just continue that by talking about
Alan Iverson. Yeah, I mean, I guess Jason set us
up here. We'll tell us why when you say I
want to If we're gonna talk about nineties players, these
are three people that picked.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
Why do you want to talk about Alan Iverson?
Speaker 4 (25:16):
Well, I think Allen Iverson falls into this group kind
of with Kobe to Tracy McGrady a little bit as well,
where like the new generation of basketball fans vastly under
rates because of some statistical anomalies compared to some of
the skill guards you see today, and I think that
it's a gross misunderstanding of just how different the game
(25:38):
was back then. I mean, like to put it simply,
every team was basically running two big lineups all the time.
The power forward was basically just a six ' nine,
two hundred and sixty pound gigantic human being who functioned
like a big There was just very little space to
get all the way to the.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Basket, and so you actually lead Donnis Haslumsnas has Live.
Speaker 4 (26:00):
Yeah, exactly. It was like, Okay, you're playing the Lakers.
It's like you're playing two bigs tonight. You know what
I mean, You're you're you're playing the Calves. Here comes
Drew Good and then Zydrona Sougawskaz. You know, it's just
always like a two big type of look. And so
you actually needed guards to eat up usage and to
take a lot of really tough shots. And so, like
I'm of the opinion that a guy like Alan Iverson
(26:20):
in particular, especially with the way that those sixers teams
were constructed basically around defensive personnel. Like if you took
Alan Iverson circa two thousand and two, two thousand and one,
and you have dropped him in the Dallas Maverick system,
in the Kyrie Irving role or in the Luka doncrich roll,
like I think he would have been a sixty percent
true shooting type of guy, and it's just it's just
(26:40):
the reality of the way the game is. And so
I think, like a lot of times, like he gets
kind of miscast now is like this bad you know,
bad teammate, a guy who was inefficient and just a
shot chucker, and it's just really unfortunate and like to me, like,
I'm I'm only thirty three. So like, even as we
get into some of these guys from the nine, these
I don't have as much like live experience watching them
(27:03):
from when I was a kid. But like for my
generation of Hoopers, Alan Iverson was one of the most
influential guys, and so many of the guards that I
play with picked parts of his game and tried to
replicate it. And I just I wish he was remembered
more fondly. Let's just put it that way.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Yeah, I mean, I think for people that remember, he's
remembered fondly. And I think if you're kind of piecing
together what like a memory of Alan Iverson based on
like clips you're seeing or articles you're reading, like after
the fact, that I can see how some people are like, well,
this guy seem like I'm a bit of a like
that selfish guy. But I but I just remember someone
who was so aggressive, uh and just you couldn't believe it.
(27:40):
For like his height, You're like, there's no this is
like six feet and he he is not afraid of anything.
I thought that that was captivating for me as a
kid because I remember seeing him at Georgetown and.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Those man those uniforms. I still think about those.
Speaker 6 (27:53):
Great forms that I really I went to Georgetown largely.
I'm going to ask you.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
I was like, did shorts were dope?
Speaker 6 (28:01):
They were so dope? Yeah, this show was just like
a cool school because of those John Thompson. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
But I mean I just remember, you know, even in
the two thousand and one finals too, just uh watching
him and being like it was like one of those
moments where it was easy for me to be dismissive
of the opposing team because I was such a Laker fan.
But party is also like, man, I love Alan Iverson
even though he's prevented us from going fully sixteen, And
oh I.
Speaker 6 (28:25):
Just watched him. Uh.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
I just watched like some highlights of him, and it
reminds me of It's like Jaw when he's got someone
on skates or like when he you just he's just
like at his most unstoppable, but like with a great
mid range game before mid range jumpers were outlawed by
a basketball analytics and but just the most dramatic crossovers
(28:53):
and just like he would do things to defenders where
you'd like see their body just like give up on
the court just with their crossover. Antonio Daniels, Yeah, there
was was that on the Lakers. No, no, no doubt
he did something to a Lakers garden again the death.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
And he stepped over.
Speaker 6 (29:13):
No, no, it wasn't the time. It wasn't the tie
low one.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
This one was he crossed somebody up and their body
just like kept going like four steps backwards and then
they just fell over.
Speaker 6 (29:24):
It's like it's in the middle.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
It's like five minutes in this highlight reel that we'll
link off too in the show notes. But it's, uh, yeah,
he was just like even what he did to Jordan
as a rookie, like where Jordan's like moving his body
back and forth and he just looks like me out there,
like Jordan just looked three steps too slow.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
I like it. After though, when he like people asked
Michael Jordan about that and he's STI playing. He's like, yeah, man,
He's like, I'm not gonna, you know, be out here
and say this guy doesn't have it. He's like, because
I'm I'm more trying to deny those opportunities for someone
to do that. He's like, but you know, he'll learn
how to play bas ball, like he'd had to sun
him in the same thing.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
You know, he will learn how to play basketball. You're like, okay,
I'm kids a lot of potential.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Yeah, when he learned how to play the game at
a higher.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Level, you know, he's really relying on physical ability at
the moment. And you're like, that is true. But also
I get it.
Speaker 4 (30:14):
Michael Well, his big sweeping crossover like that was like
it was just whatever whatevery kid did when they went
I mean, heck, it influenced players too. I mean Kobe's
crossover when he was young looked just like AI. It's
like big sweeping out to the side. Yeah, crazy length.
Speaker 3 (30:30):
Yeah, broke my game, but it was worth it because
the amount of times they called me for a carryover.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
They're like, I'm sorry, kid, what are you doing.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
I'm like, you're you're holding the ball up like this
I'm like, your hands aren't making enough.
Speaker 6 (30:41):
Sorry, all right, let's talk the dream.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
Uh really, I don't know, thirty years after his prime,
even with all the advancements and overall, you know, the
progressive nature of the game, there aren't that many big
men as fluid as he was there. I feel like
he you could put him at any point in time
and he would be dominant right like he is there
(31:09):
anyone whose game is like more of a just like Surefire.
Put him in and he's a top five player right now.
I feel like he's right there, right yeah for sure.
Speaker 4 (31:19):
Well absolutely because he was because he was so good
defensively too, yeah, which I think people forget, but like
he would like it's so funny when people compare and
be to him, because I do see some of it
in the sense where it's just this massive human that's
doing some guard stuff really, but the big difference is
like a King was in really good shape, so like
he had this like really quick quick feet. Like it's
(31:40):
so funny because people think of him as this is
this high level post player, which he obviously was, but
he also was like just a really good mid range
pull up jump shooter, so like he would face up
and like do a jab step and like hard move
to the left and shooter like he would rip through
the right and do a wonderable pull up like he
was a two guard and he had the right shoulder
fade he had would hook over his left shoulder. But
(32:01):
he had all these like mid range jump shots that
looked a lot like the two guards of the time.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
And so he was.
Speaker 4 (32:06):
He was this like Anthony Davis level mobile super lanth
defender who was blocking a ton of shots mixed with
like the one of the best face up games in
the league at the time. Watching him, I don't think people,
I think I think the the the Joel Embiid comparisons
are borderline offensive when you compare the difference in just
his mentality and how how seriously he took his his
(32:28):
body and his health and just his it. Just he's
just at another level in my opinion.
Speaker 3 (32:32):
Yeah, two times deepoy, two times Finals MVP, which I
don't think Embiid has won either of those.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
I don't think.
Speaker 6 (32:41):
I don't think we have a finals MVP.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
Three times black champ uh just but like again, just
a beautiful person to watch play basketball.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Just yeah, yeah, And I get those like the Jokic
comparisons to Like to a certain extent. And I think
there's also the interesting part with like team too, is
just he also has like a soccer background too. He's
like one of those like bigs who has the soccer
background who's just just because of that is looking at
bald distribution a little bit differently, like yeah, how or
(33:12):
like a lot of the guys who are coming from
Europe and stuff like that. But the other part that
I think I remember as a kid always thinking he
was boring to watch because it wasn't like as flashy.
And then as I got older and was like, yeah,
the foot like and you actually begin to understand footwork
and appreciate it that and you're like, yeah, that's that.
That should be impossible, Like your knees should be done
if you're that big moving like normal, No, not at all.
(33:35):
And then once he's like then I started like hearing
more stories about just how like aggressive he really was,
Like like you just duff people out, like on the
court in an arrow when like the fine was like
thirty bucks for hitting a guy and he's like, yeah, yeah, okay,
I'll do that.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
Watch this full one.
Speaker 6 (33:50):
You can't have your locker room six pack, right.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Buddy, Yeah, yeah, yeah, He's like, well, you have to
get through me.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
The nastiness is such an underrated basketball try. We're like
looking at players and like, it's so funny how when
we look at the guys that disappoint us, it's almost
always they don't have that nastiness. Yeah, right, like that
that the like desire to just not just win, but
to embarrass you in the process. Like that, it's almost
like a mean streak.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
Yeah, it's a personality defect that works perfectly for competitive sports.
Speaker 6 (34:21):
People will be like, oh my god, you guys Wenby
is a jerk. Yes, yeah, he's mean. That's great, dude.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
He took a little baby's lollipop. No, yes, okay, his shoulders.
Speaker 4 (34:38):
Are getting for autograph and he told him to screw off.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
He said, I'm not Victor.
Speaker 6 (34:42):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Wow, what else could it be?
Speaker 1 (34:47):
But yeah, I again, I think but one of those
people too. I think for a lot of younger fans
just do not really talk about much. I think like
a lot of older heads obviously do and though they
hear it, because a lot of the older players are
still always like people need to remember how good a
cheme Elijawan was, But yeah, for the U just.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
I think the one place then the comparison makes sense
to me is just that we got to see their
games like develop into people with like beautiful touch and footwork,
like from when they first got to college they were
so raw and like just completely different players. And then yeah,
so like that's that's the one place where it makes sense.
(35:28):
But in terms of like the game, that like the
scope and greatness of the game, I think you're right.
Speaker 4 (35:34):
It's I think it's realistic. I think you're right. I
think I think if you had to compare and be
to one single center in NBA history, it makes sense
that it would be a game. It's just you can't
you can't say he's like him.
Speaker 1 (35:48):
He just has some similarities, you know, right, Yeah, it's like,
well that rectangle looks like a square.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
Technically they are parallelograms, so we will we'll take that.
Speaker 4 (35:58):
And a lot of those throw a lot of those
Queen comparisons were thrown out early on when he was
in better shape and he was more healthy. I shouldn't
say more healthy because he was injured right away, but
when we were not we were it looked like do
you remember that first year, the first year and a
half when he started playing where it was.
Speaker 6 (36:14):
Like holy twenty ones or so. Yeah yeah, and like there.
Speaker 4 (36:18):
Was definitely that phase there where it was like maybe
this is what he could be, you know, but it
just pretty quickly turned into something else.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
Yeah sure, and then Rodman, this was my favorite part
of the Last Dance, which was one of my favorite
basketball experiences of yeah, the past ten years, was when
we got to we needed something, the Last Dance came
through and watching Rodman like getting to see his process,
how much he studied, Like just I didn't studied a
(36:48):
thing that I didn't really know you could study, but
like where you know, knew where everybody was gonna miss too,
was there before the ball got there.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
When he's talking about he's.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
Like it'll go ping and then go that way. Yeah,
this one and then it will be this one. I'm like, oh,
I don't what what kind of omitry do you call him?
Speaker 3 (37:06):
Yeah, he's just like watching a different game than like
when he's watching a game, he like gets excited about
the misses because he's like, yo, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (37:15):
That that clip got some real meme mileage around the
I remember I mind you COVID, so the bar was
a little lower.
Speaker 6 (37:20):
Yeah, yeah, we we were just like anything.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
Fine, let's give Judd Buschler his own podcast based on
at this moment.
Speaker 6 (37:30):
Uh, but yeah, Robmin, what great pick.
Speaker 3 (37:34):
I don't like, there's not really a comparison, Like there's
been people who are like kind of close to the
rebounding totals.
Speaker 4 (37:40):
But what Yeah, we'll just talk about why why.
Speaker 6 (37:42):
Did you pick Robmin?
Speaker 4 (37:44):
Well, he's kind of the opposite of a Keem in
the sense that, like, I don't think he has the
same level of like translatability from ara to era in
some ways, although it's it's it's always hard to tell
because you wonder about a guy like Rodman if he
was raised in this era, if his skill development would
have look different and he would have been a better
I always got to be careful with that. It's like
I always hate when younger people say like, oh, MJ
(38:06):
couldn't shoot threes, and it's like I have a feeling
if he came up now, he would have been a
very good three point later Like you like that, Like
he just wouldn't allow that to not be the case,
you know. Uh, But like I think it's you know,
we talked about the two big kind of look that
most teams had. You know, it was just something you
could get away with back then, having a player with
some more offensive limitations. But uh, you know, I think
(38:27):
anybody who's ever played basketball at any level knows that
the when it comes down to winning in real high
stakes environments, there's just it mostly comes down to dirty work,
and you got to have people who are willing to
do that sort of thing. And and you know, he's
just been a part of a lot of winning teams
within that context.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
Yeah, And I mean, like the thing that's also I
remember one of my first book reports or like middle
school book reports. I did that as bad as I
want to be his like biography that came out in
the nineties. They're like what, and I'm like, yeah, I
want to write about this. This is the one I'm
talking about.
Speaker 6 (39:02):
Literature in college, right. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
The reason he wore the wedding dress was to actually
symbolize the a malleability of our idea of what masculinity
is or is not. But like with Rodman, like the
thing that was so unbelievable is like you'd hear it's
like he'd play a game and then like lift weights
for like two hours after the game and then stay
up till five in the morning partying, and then you know,
(39:26):
show up on game day and then give you twenty
rebounds and like rinse and repeat. And I think that's
like a really wild part about is like you realize
just how much of a physical specimen you have to
be to have that kind of schedule and take that
just I pardon me, is like, God, imagine if you
went to bed at night or whatever, but then parton
(39:47):
like I don't know if you ever.
Speaker 4 (39:48):
Needed this easy if he slept, yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
But even then without it all, like so many players
stories about him were just like I can't believe how
this guy I was living and then the performances he
put in or like I think who was it Dirk
was talking about when he played on the Mavericks. He
was like did this guy didn't even know anything like
any of the schemes we were running at all. Like
(40:13):
he would take a shower like right before like apparently
did this before every game, forty five minutes before the game,
cold shower, miss all the meetings and then just get
out there and be like all right, I'm just gonna
do my thing and still like perform at that level
and you're like how how Yeah.
Speaker 4 (40:27):
There are a few times in NBA history where the
numbers just don't make sense. Like you look back at
like Wilt when he was like in the early early
phase of the NBA, the scoring numbers and the rebound
numbers he put up, and there've been just a handful
of other examples of that, and like Rodman's rebounding numbers
in the nineties are like that. You look at him
and you're like what, like how yeah, Like how in
(40:47):
the world did he do this? It wasn't just leading
the league seven years in a row. He was hitting
just preposterous numbers. And then I think we're actually going
to see this with Wemby now with the blocks and
steals like this, dude's just going to perennially be at
like five or six stocks per game. And I think
we're going to look back at and be history and
be remember, like be like remember Wemby in the mid
twenty twenties like that, Like I think I think that
(41:07):
was what Rodman was in the nineties, where just as
a complete like outlier in terms of statistical performance.
Speaker 3 (41:14):
Eighteen eighteen seventeen seventeen fifteen, sixteen fifteen, that those were
his average rebounds from ninety one through his third championship
season fourteen point nine.
Speaker 4 (41:29):
Yeah, what it's a year, but ye under fifteen a game.
Speaker 2 (41:33):
He's like, I wasn't going to the casino enough that year.
That was the problem.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
And then I got it together and then we won
another two championships.
Speaker 6 (41:41):
The stories of Ivor said, I'm Robman, like just rolling
in from being out the night before, like right before
the game, and uh and just putting, you know, giving
the other team fifties.
Speaker 4 (41:53):
Yeah, I feel like I mean, if either of you
guys ever played eighteen holes and then gone to play pickup, no, no, no, dude.
So I did that for the first time. It would
have been it was about a month and a half
ago now important context. It was in Arizona in July,
so it's a little but I went to play and
I was like, oh my god, I'm dying out here.
(42:14):
And all I could think, I think is like, how
is it that Jordan was playing thirty six holes and
then going and then going to play that night, Because
like golf is like it, it actually does take it
out of you more than you'd think you know, well
you're just like walking around.
Speaker 3 (42:30):
Yeah. Then there's also that famous story about him going
out and like, you know, having a bunch of beers
on the golf course and then going out and putting
up forty Yeah. Right, I have had a beer and
then like tried to run, like go for a run,
and I was like, oh, why am I running through concrete?
Speaker 2 (42:49):
Like my sides are ripping?
Speaker 3 (42:51):
Yeah, and it's just built different. Yeah, all right, should
we take a break and come back? Ye, rabid fire.
Speaker 5 (42:59):
Yeah, and we're back and we're back.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
Oh, Jason, it's been a really fun conversation up until
this point because you are now in the hot seat.
Speaker 2 (43:17):
This is the rapid fire round of budding.
Speaker 1 (43:19):
These are the fastest question and answer segments that we
have ever done in the history of podcasting ever. Okay,
we're gonna ask a question. You just answer it quick,
don't think too hard. Just give us the instant reaction.
And if you take too long and threaten our title
as fastest question and answer segment in podcasting.
Speaker 2 (43:36):
History, we will be very rude.
Speaker 3 (43:38):
Okay, just don't make me look like a full in
front of the NBA, Jason, don't we promise them? We said,
the show is going to be mediocre, but the fastest, say,
the rapid fire segment is going to be.
Speaker 1 (43:50):
So fastest you've ever seen. No, trust me, we will
be able to dunk on everybody we have on the show.
Just so you know.
Speaker 2 (43:58):
And your threat, it's a big you are.
Speaker 6 (44:02):
Different angles.
Speaker 5 (44:03):
Yeah, we don't like you.
Speaker 2 (44:04):
We don't like it, but it's back. Get the confidence back.
Here we go, Jason, are you ready? Yeah, let's do
it all right? Then here we go, Brian start the
clock right, Yeah, yeah, I'm just nervous, man. I was
just I was just rewatching the video and Jason's Twitter.
Speaker 3 (44:22):
Filelight real clean you wake off to the highlight reel
and the footnote the show.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
Wow wow wow? Uh here here, here we go. Uh
you should we do one?
Speaker 6 (44:36):
Should we do one?
Speaker 1 (44:37):
I mean sorry, I'm nervous again. I just I was
looking at another replay him.
Speaker 6 (44:41):
Why why don't we kick it off here?
Speaker 3 (44:42):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (44:43):
You want to go?
Speaker 2 (44:44):
Yeah, I'll go. Okay, this is the fastest question and
answer segment. Just so you know, Jason, this isn't us
being rusty.
Speaker 1 (44:50):
This is a little bit of this is how we
fake them out, you know what I mean a little
bit of fake.
Speaker 4 (44:55):
Is this like when you're on the polygraphere they ask
you all the boring questions first, Rea right.
Speaker 1 (45:00):
And just like a polygraph, this is also pseudo scientific.
Here's the first question, Jason, this is from our discord.
Is there a current comp for pre injury Grant Hill?
Speaker 4 (45:15):
I don't think so that that, like super springy two
guard pull up shooter hadn't really been I mean, it
is the closest thing we've had to but most of
the two guards we've had are like the Booker and
Hardin types, which are a little bit less athletic, a
little more skill based.
Speaker 6 (45:27):
Mm hmmmmmm. Okay, okay, that's correct.
Speaker 5 (45:29):
That is correct. That is correct.
Speaker 6 (45:31):
You got that one. I know you said, no way
he gets this one.
Speaker 2 (45:34):
But he got it.
Speaker 5 (45:35):
He nailed it.
Speaker 2 (45:35):
I'm nervous now.
Speaker 6 (45:37):
It is currently NBA Dunk Week.
Speaker 3 (45:39):
So what's your all time favorite in game dunk and
your four dunkers in your all time fantasy dunk contests?
Speaker 6 (45:46):
Dunk say dunking?
Speaker 4 (45:48):
There you go, and and admittedly biased, but the Lebron
dunk over use of Nurkic every time I see the highlight,
I still don't know how he did it. His body
was moving kind of like away from the rim, and
he took off from like the third hash outside the
block and was like this and just that was absurd.
Vince Carter's always number one for me all time that
(46:08):
Strow Miles Swift video. Every single time it comes around.
Speaker 6 (46:11):
I just have to watch it.
Speaker 4 (46:12):
That's like one of my rules. I have a handful
of rules as a human. You always watch the Strow
Miles Swift video when it comes around. I'll go with,
let's see so Carter lebron Stromile' if I have to
give you a fourth, I'll go with I'll go with
t Mac Yeah, yeah, tex Is getting got to you.
Speaker 2 (46:29):
Got to, you got to now.
Speaker 1 (46:31):
I guess this is something since we've been talking about
in the nineties and how younger fans kind of put
or just people who maybe not were as not engaged
with basketball back then, have some misconceptions about the game.
What is one of the biggest misconceptions that people have
about the way the game was played in the eighties
or nineties and the impact that it's had today.
Speaker 4 (46:53):
I think that the idea that that defenses are getting
worse is a major misconception. I think like people forget that.
Like the offense, the offense is always improving as we
get better at schemes and understanding how to generate better
shots for people, but also just the skill level of
players is increasing. But at the same time, like it's
not like the league isn't also trying to solve that.
(47:15):
On the defensive end, it's like we're seeing it now,
a team's trying to take away the three in the
rim and in different pick and roll coverages that are
designed to get the ball out of the primary ball
handler's hands. Defense is actually better than it's ever been.
It's just the offense is growing at a faster rate.
And I think that a lot of times there's just
a misconception about defense was better in the nineties.
Speaker 5 (47:33):
It wasn't.
Speaker 4 (47:34):
It was really good still, it's just as a league,
the offense is outpacing it right now.
Speaker 6 (47:39):
Yeah, okay, you up a little bit.
Speaker 1 (47:41):
Yeah that was the right answer, Jason, But it took
way too long for you to say that, So I
don't know if we can count that one, just so
you know, but that was the right answer.
Speaker 4 (47:48):
That was the right answer.
Speaker 3 (47:50):
Give us a dark horse team for this next year,
and also a dark horse player.
Speaker 6 (47:55):
Who you want to see on the twenty twenty eight
Olympic team.
Speaker 4 (47:58):
Dark horse team. I think a lot of people forget
how good Memphis was. I think they're gonna be top
we seed, like right away. I think they they kind
of found a couple of forwards in their system between
like guys like Vince Williams and and Gig Jackson and
John Rant I'd like, I threw out this stat the
other day, like he just immediately came in. It was
awesome and helped them win a win a lot of
games where he got hurt. What was the second part
(48:18):
of the question, All right.
Speaker 6 (48:19):
Give me a dark horse player? Do you want to
see on the twenty twenty eight Olympic team?
Speaker 4 (48:23):
On the twenty twenty eight Olympic Team? Ah, I'll go
with how about Kevin Durant.
Speaker 6 (48:31):
Lebron's a given back out there, But if.
Speaker 4 (48:35):
There was an old guy who would come back, I'd
be him, right because he's such a right right, Like yeah,
like Katie just taking spot up jump shots.
Speaker 2 (48:42):
Yeah, he's just like he's he's just stuck there in
the corner. Man just find him.
Speaker 1 (48:46):
He's in love to hoop, all right, And I got
to say we have seen your mixtape on the Twitter bio.
But what is your personal highlight for you as a
basketball player?
Speaker 2 (48:58):
Was the nastiest in game moment for you that you
still think about when you put yourself.
Speaker 5 (49:02):
To bedtnit O.
Speaker 4 (49:04):
That's a good question. I would say, if I had
to off the top of my head, I would say
when I was at when I was in Juco, I
had a tip dunk once that I surprised myself with
where I was coming down the lane and I was
actually just going to grab the offensive rebound. And when
(49:24):
I went up and got it, I remember vividly in
my head like looking over and seeing the rim like
right here, and I was just.
Speaker 2 (49:29):
Like, oh yeah, But I mean we've had that happen
to us, to Jack and I a lot like right there.
Speaker 3 (49:37):
Yeah too oft but it happens too often where I'm
not prepared for how high I jumped.
Speaker 4 (49:44):
Spoob.
Speaker 3 (49:46):
I wish I could get it through my thick head.
You have incredible springs down there, buddy.
Speaker 2 (49:52):
Got bunnies.
Speaker 4 (49:54):
I think I think that's probably it. Like I, just
like everybody else, there's a there's it's basketball for me,
and I'm sure it is for you guys. Too, Like
it's it's a thing that's lasted for decades for me.
So I just have, you know, a lot of memory.
Like you know what I've had a lot of fun
with is just like as an old guy playing in
like money tournaments more there's cash on the line. Yeah,
I just had I just had one a few weeks
ago where I put in three hundred bucks as an
(50:15):
entry feed. Me and a buddy of mine split the
entry fee and we brought a team in and like
it was double elimination and we lost in the first
championship game. We had to like come back and win
two in a row, and like the ac was broken
in the gym. It was like eighty five degrees and
like those moments when you like win the cash and
like and you're with a bunch of dudes who used
to play in college. Like, I've actually had a lot
of enjoyment in the game post college, which is something
(50:36):
that I didn't expect. The big part of that is
I'm just a lot better now than I used to
be when I was in college.
Speaker 2 (50:40):
WHOA, this is true. Some white men can jump. Yeah,
it turns out.
Speaker 1 (50:45):
And I find it troubling perfectly, all right, Any time
you get up there, Jack, You're like, why am I
going so high?
Speaker 6 (50:53):
I'm too high?
Speaker 2 (50:54):
This is can't handle the landing?
Speaker 6 (50:57):
Yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (50:59):
Adjacent to thank you so much for joining us on
Miles and Jack Got Mad Boosties. Where do the people
find you? Follow you, hear you, support you, read you,
all that good stuff.
Speaker 4 (51:07):
This is a lot of fun. I really appreciate you
guys having me on the Hoops Tonight YouTube channel, Hoops
Tonight podcast podcast feed, and then on Twitter at underscore
json lt is where I'm most active. I'm trying to
get better using Instagram, but Twitter's just where my biggest
following is right now. So that's where I like tweet
out show announcements and links and stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (51:24):
Okay, cool, Well, you can follow the hashtag mad Boosties
b sd I e s for show links and updates,
and then you'll also be able to join the discord
when you search for that hashtag. We have all the
information there. You can follow me on Twitter at Miles
of Gray. I'm at Jack Underscore O'Brien, and that.
Speaker 2 (51:43):
Was another fantastic episode on Miles and Jack. I'm mad
most these.
Speaker 6 (51:47):
In Yeah, I think it was pretty fantastic.
Speaker 2 (51:50):
Sweet I think it was.
Speaker 4 (51:51):
Wait.
Speaker 2 (51:51):
I mean, it's not often you get three dudes who
are just so used to being up there.
Speaker 1 (51:55):
You thought we had NASA suits on, you know what
I mean. But we are just three ortle men just
enjoying the game of basketball. Thank you, doctor Nasmith for
all you've done, and thank you to our calves for
being springy.
Speaker 2 (52:07):
And muscular and taking us to heights unseen before. All right, y'all,
that was it for us. We'll see you next week.
Bye bye bye,
Well, well, well, guess who's back. It's me and I
only missed one of the most fun discussions talking about
the gold medal game for Team USA. But guess what,
We're only about thirty two days out from Media Days.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
And also look the Celtics Nuggets.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Heading overseas for the NBA Abu Dhabi Games, So it's
time to circle back start discussing expectations for the upcoming
season plus a little bit of nineties player nostalgia as
we'd like to do in this summer this year with
the Volumes very own Jason Timp on today's episode, I'm Miles.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Grant and I'm Jack O'Brien and this is Miles and
Jack mans.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Got it. Look at the Hicks ten o K.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
There you go, m B driving Spinny Fatter number eighteen
that's been secured. The Celtics are NBA champions over the
double TA be honest, Welcome, Welcome, Jason Timp of the
(01:13):
Volume look providing a lot of great analysis on Twitter
now working longside and for Colin Coward at the Volume Jason,
thank you so much for joining us, Man, welcome to
my box, and Jack on Mad Boosti's.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
Of course man, thanks for having me on. Uh yeah,
I really enjoyed the Team USA stuff. The one downside
is is like I look up and it's August twenty yeah,
and I feel like the season's really close already, and
I was looking forward to some downtime, but the site
just kept busy.
Speaker 5 (01:42):
Man.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
Yeah right, yeah, I like, I'm gonna be enjoying these
last this last month and taking it easy. But like
we man, it's just it's crazy. It's crazy how long
the season is.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Seriously, and I mean the one silver lining is at
least once Media Day comes, we get a new Jimmy pick,
so you know.
Speaker 6 (01:57):
That'll be what do you think he's gonna go with?
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Oh man, maybe like what did she kind of.
Speaker 6 (02:02):
Like, what was the one to beatle Juice? There's gonna
be a tie in.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
No wait, so it was emo Jimmy last year, and.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Before that it was just like kind of long yeah yeah,
he had yeah, he had like dreads.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
He had like long dreads. So yeah, I mean, I
don't know what the escalation, but it.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Was just like two of them, right, It's just like
two really long dreads.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Yeah, correctly, Yeah, it's I don't know, I mean, it
was definitely wow and I think it depended on how
he styled it based on the press conference.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
But yeah, yeah, and yeah yeah, but like a little
thinner Angel hair Millie Vanilli.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Angel hair Millies, Angel Hair Millies. Jason, I got to say,
you know, we have a lot.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Of people on this show, but you know on your Twitter.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
We're just going to tell you that up front show
a lot of people, Vince Carter.
Speaker 6 (02:57):
With a lot of guys.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Yeah, but the one thing is, you know a lot
of people don't have boosties.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
I saw your mixtape that you have at the top
of your Twitter.
Speaker 6 (03:07):
In fact, it's kind of a rule. Yeah, like Dubari,
don't be.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Bringing people onto this show who have men and thus
make us look like we don't have mad boosties.
Speaker 5 (03:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
The only people we will allow our NBA legends because
but and then, but when it comes to other people
who talk basketball and stuff.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Like that, I'm like, I can't get postered by this guy. Dude,
you're nice with it. I gotta say some you got
some skills, bro, three.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Sixty, I'm your textbook. I was a late bloomer, so
I just have like a big chip on my shoulders,
so like, I just take basketball way too seriously for
a thirty three year old who doesn't care for a living. Yeah,
but it is what it is. I thankfully have a
wife who supports the obsession. And dude, I'm just I know,
(03:54):
I have this like feeling like I know that this
is like my last little window of being able to
play a little bit. So I'm trying to just embrace
it and lean into it and then yeah, yeah, then
hopefully all age gracefully and accept the end when it comes,
because what I don't feel like doing is getting cooked
up by these old guys. I was literally talking to
a buddy of mine who was just playing a pickup
game with Joe lacub and I was like, what is
(04:15):
his old ass doing out there? Like you do it like?
And he and my buddy played at Stanford. I'm like,
I feel like at a certain point, you just got
to accept reality and walk gracefully into the sunset.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
So that doesn't make you good at basketball owning a
team full of good basketball players. You aren't suddenly You
don't suddenly acquire their skills shockingly not.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Yeah, he was like hitting a free throw and going like,
night night.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Are we sure about this?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
You're sharing with seven to man, what do you what
are you doing?
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Hey man? That last point was actually game? You know
what I mean?
Speaker 6 (04:49):
You're just shooting free throws after the game?
Speaker 3 (04:53):
Oh man?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
But yeah, Jason, it's good to have you here.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
We're gonna talk a little bit about the season before
we also get into our nineties discussion.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
He picked some great people to talk about. I'm excited
to discuss some of those players.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Jabari really started this off or producer Jabari with a
very interesting question are the Celtics being overlooked or preemptively cast?
Speaker 5 (05:14):
Aside?
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Immediately after winning a ring and we.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Were like, are they being cast Is it just that
they're so good that it's boring to talk about them
right right? And so we're just like, yeah, and the
Celtics are probably gonna win, but like, well it's kind
of the same team, Like they didn't do anything that
interesting in the off season other than anything getting like
mad that we can't get more playing time. But do
(05:39):
we think anything is going to carry over from the Olympics,
like or is Lebron gonna continue to look good will Tatum?
Will it be in Tatum's head that he didn't get
playing time?
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Do we get like like Olympics. RUI too, like, do
we get all of this, all of the right, all
of those things? I am in my Laker heart like
your fan heart. I hope so, But I don't know.
I mean, I feel like it just you kind of
tap into something different for the Olympics, and I think
that's where that came from. But I would love to
see a lot of these people take that into it,
(06:12):
and also to see Jason Tatum continue to.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Be humbled as he said, you know, really humbling.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
Ad in particular has a reputation for taking a few
months off every summer and coming into the season like
rusty and out of shape, and so I think he's
the main guy who will benefit from it. I think
Lebron too, Like I'd like, I don't know about you guys,
but like I thought, you know, Lebron's, Steph and KD.
All three of those guys have been getting a lot
(06:38):
of like what I think is unfair analysis over the
last year or two based on them being on pretty
flawed rosters and like people going like, oh, these guys
just don't have it anymore, and like really, it's like
if you've got three or four really high level two
way role players. It just makes life easier for superstars,
and all three of those guys just don't have that,
And so in a weird way, I actually think like
(06:59):
all three of them embraced this summer as like a
chance to play real basketball in like high stakes environments,
and so I think all three of them probably feel
competitively reinvigorated, and like Stephens and Steph had a really
bad end to last season, I think he's gonna have
a little bit of a bounce back type of season.
I still think Lebron is playing like firmly at a
(07:21):
top six or seven level when he's healthy, right like,
and then Kevin Durant was you know, greatt in the
playoffs and then great in the with Team USA. So
I think all three of those guys are really good.
It's just unfortunately they're going back to their their iffy
situations and the Western Conference is such a blood bath
it may not even matter, right, right.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Yeah, KD was so good in that situation. He's just
like the ultimate person. Like whatever happens with the Suns,
like if he can just like be a weapon on
a really good team again at the end of his career,
like that was fun to just like see somebody be
able to bring Kady in and just be lights out
(07:59):
for it five ten minutes.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
You know, I just want to see all of them
play on like really great teams again. And it just
it is what it is, all three of It's so
funny because all three of them are in situations that
should have been avoidable. Like the Warrior should have traded
the kids two years ago, and if they did, they'd
be in a much better position because now the kids
aren't that good, so they're like stuck in this in
between zone. And it's like for Lebron it was the
Russell Westbrook trade. For KD it was leaving Golden State
(08:22):
to begin with, and and his obsession with finding other
pull up shooters to play with for whatever reason. But like,
like all three of those guys, they just they're just
in these unfortunate situations and it's a huge bummer. I
don't know about you, guys. I'm sure you guys have
hit really good numbers for your show with the Tmosa stuff.
Theosa stuff has been crushing all over the place. I
think a big part of that is, like all of
(08:43):
us basketball fans, we just miss watching those guys playing
big games and it, you know.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
And it was. I mean I was when when it
was happening.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
I was texting Jack and Jabari like just about like
how it was sort of I think most people saw that.
It's like and this team, all of these players are
showing up up with their exact specialized skill set and
like cranking it up to ten in the best way
where you're like, it felt like playing a video game
where it's like you can't put all of them on
the same team, like you're just gonna do what they did.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
And I was so exciting to watch.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
But yeah, I'm I am worried about the if the
situation that the Lakers are definitely in for it.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Sure, yeah, I mean.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
At MGM they are currently let's see one, two, three,
four or five light now they are the ninth favorite
team to uh make it to win the championship.
Speaker 6 (09:34):
So okay, okay, yeah, okay.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Let me let me ask you this, Miles, who is
the best two way player on the Lakers other than
Lebron and Ady.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Oh Man.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
I think the answer is obvious and it's not a
great answer.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
But who are you going to say?
Speaker 4 (09:57):
Is I was gonna say Austin Reeves Austin's become a
decent point of attack defender, and I think he's a
very good offensive player. But that's the main issue is
like you go around, like go to Boston and it's like, Okay,
you got Tatum and Brown, who how many like really
good two way players they have, Like Derek White, really
good two way player, Drew Holliday really good two way player,
alhar Field a really good two way players.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Like, yeah, they're cheating.
Speaker 6 (10:18):
They just like, build a team of all the best
two way players.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
To another.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Just do that fair. And that is also what I
said when they built that team. I said, that's not fair.
Speaker 4 (10:31):
Well to the original question that you've pitched, Like, I
don't think anybody who covers the league doesn't have Boston
as the championship favorite next year. I think everyone respects them.
I think you're also right that there's a certain amount
of a boring element to the discussing them. Even within
the eighty two it's like, Okay, Boston beat Atlanta again,
Like you guys want to break it down, you know,
(10:51):
it's just hard to get into get into all those
kinds of things. I think a big part of it too,
and I think this is part of like the kind
of like the fan insecurity element that you're seeing a
ton of coming out of Boston. Like I'm sure you've
seen some of the stuff with like Boston fans like
straight up being pissed about Tatum not playing even though
they won the gold, which is completely absurd.
Speaker 6 (11:10):
It was like a conspiracy. Wait, let's just call it
what it was, Jason.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
It was a conspiracy to get in the head of
the Boston Celtics and their players.
Speaker 6 (11:19):
It's so funny to.
Speaker 4 (11:20):
Be though, because it's like, Okay, so Steve Kerr is
jealous of the Celtics even though he just beat them
in June two years ago. It doesn't make it. It's
so asinine. But the main thing that I think is
driving it is I think fans want to see the
struggle and they want to see overcoming adversity. It's like
it's like the gold medal, the dudo won the four
(11:41):
hundred meter just straight up doing the triple jump across
the finish line, like you right, Like you want to
see that struggle and Boston just it looked easy. It
looked easy, their stars weren't taxed, Like how often can
you see a team's best player legitimately have the worst
playoff runt of his career and it not matter. It
just literally not matter. And that's the thing is, it's
(12:02):
just Boston. There's no real like appeal to the casual fan,
so no one cares about that title outside of the
Boston fan base. And so as a result, like there's
that kind of like that classic like we're not getting
discussed or we're not getting respected kind of insecurity coming
out of there.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
So from a team that's not being actually disrespected other
than like in their fans heads, because they want to
like create a narrative where nobody believed in us, and
it's like, no, everyone believed in everyone much that they're
bored by talking about I.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Was dreading it the whole year, That's how much I
believed in it as a Laker Fand they're just gonna.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Not bought except for everybody who's not Jason.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
They got lucky too, by the way. They didn't get
They didn't face a single one of the top five
records in the league in the playoffs. Like all that,
it's like who out east of it was like, Okay,
are they going to be able to get through the
healthy knicks or that Bucks team, and it's like they
just didn't have to play it. It's like, how are
they going to be able to beat Denver or like
a team like Minnesota or a team like Oklahoma City.
Is that they just didn't have to play it like
they they went I want to say, like I can't
(13:00):
remember off the top of my head, I want to say,
they went three and five against the top four seeds
in the Western Conference and they just didn't have to
play any of them. So, like, there's so even though
I think they were the best team and I think
they deserve to be the favorite, they want credit for
being the most dominant team in recent NBA history, And
it's like, You're just not gonna get that credit from
the rest of the people.
Speaker 6 (13:18):
I don't think, No, you're not, definitely not on this show.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Maybe yeah, they did, all right. I will say we
gave them that credit in the lead up in an
attempt to reverse yangst them, and it didn't work unfortunately.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
All Right.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
So the the thing that I'm surprised by is people
are hard on the Oklahoma City thunder bandwagon. Okay, like
gamblers are, like they are the number two team, like
odds wise to win the title next year, which I
don't know, like I think, Yeah, they definitely made some
good adjustments kind of in the background, but I don't
(14:01):
I don't see it as them being like hyper like
they're two spots ahead of the Nuggets.
Speaker 6 (14:07):
The Nuggets are ranked fourth.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
On a bunch of odds the MGM site. So what
do you think? I Like, I see the case right
adding Cruise on. Yeah, yeah, no, that's awesome, Like, but
it's also those aren't It's not like they added a
like number two or three person. They added like really good,
(14:30):
really solid four or five people, which I'm excited about,
Like I probably would put them near the top of
my list, but I'm a little surprised they're ahead of
the Nuggets.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
Yeah, so I still have Denver as the top team
in the West. I think people are writing them off
way too fast. I thought they were clearly just out
of gas when they got to the postseason last year,
just from a tough couple of years and a couple
like both KCP and Jamal Murray were banged up going
into the playoffs, which was something that continued to kind
of PLA like them a little even without KCP. That
(15:03):
obviously is a downgrade going to Christian Brown in the
starting lineup. But it's just, to me, really simple. It's
like you've got a couple of really good two way
players and Nikole Jokich and a shot maker that can
play with him. I think it's silly to write them off.
The reason why, I think people are really high on
the Thunder and I do have them as a top
tier contender now. Last year, to me, it was just
Boston and Denver. To me, Oklahoma City has entered into
(15:23):
that group. And I think there are a couple other
teams that you could consider there. But like the thing
with Oklahoma City is they were already really good. Like
look at last year, they were a foul on a
three point shooter in the corner away from forcing a game.
It would have been a game seven back in Oklahoma City.
So like they were this close to the conference finals.
(15:43):
And they had two gigantic weaknesses. They were a terrible
defensive rebounding team and you could really go through their
front line. And so Isaiah Hartenstein addresses both of those.
And then there was one other issue, which is they
kind of always seem to have like a question mark
around that fifth guy in any life, up, and now
Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Cruso give you two definitive looks.
(16:05):
A small ball look where Cruso is the fifth guy
and you're going with j Dub and Shay and Dort
alongside Crusoe and Chet. And then they have a big
look where you pull Crusoe off, or maybe you pull
Dort off and you put Hartenstein next to Chet, and
so they have clearer fives with a little bit more versatility,
and they address their two gigantic weaknesses in terms of
their front court strength and their ability to rebound, and
(16:27):
they're more experienced. I don't know those the end of
the series against Dallas, I thought Shay was kind of
going blow for blow with Luca, if not even like, yeah,
there were there were games where he was playing better
than him too. So like I'm a believer in Okay. See,
I just can't put him over that Denver team. Yet.
I still think they're just a little bit of a
safer bet. God, Dan, you just brought back how close
(16:49):
we were. I bet Okay in the off season at
like some crazy number. I would have made eleven thousand
dollars on a one hundred dollar bet if they had
won the title. So I was living and dying with
every single one of those things you just mentioned last
season that was that was pain.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Bring it up again, man, Hey, can I transfer the
cigaret for this season.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
To do that?
Speaker 6 (17:15):
No you thought it was for this? No?
Speaker 2 (17:18):
No, no, no, bro?
Speaker 6 (17:21):
Oh come on.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
In the odds right now? Are they?
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Are?
Speaker 4 (17:25):
They second by in Boston?
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Yeah, the plus seven fifty at MGM, which is wild.
They opened it plus one thousand, So it's crazy.
Speaker 6 (17:35):
It's just a lot of it seems like a lot
of public money.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
A lot of people like have read two articles in
the off season, like, uh, I think I have, because yeah,
they started out below Denver and since then have kind
of shot up.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
And then Denver in the and Philly seemed to be
around the same and the next.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
It's the scary thing is what is jub going to
be because like he had a somewhat rough playoff run
expected for a for a first time in that kind
of situation, but like he's one of those guys that
I think I think he's His upside is like Jimmy
Butler with a reliable jump shot, Like I think that's
his upside. And so like the question of how soon
he gets to that near ish. That level is such
(18:17):
a huge question mark surrounding not just the thunder for
this season, but in the future too, because like all
the intel behind the scenes is that Shay is the
kind of guy that kind of liked you know, he's
big into fashion, he likes he's got a big personality.
He's kind of a big city type, and so there
is kind of a more brief, urgent window for Oklahoma
City than you would think, and a lot of that
comes down to j dub and just how quickly he
(18:37):
becomes awesome.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Yeah, he might be moving to like Dallas or you know,
one of those big cities.
Speaker 6 (18:43):
We don't know.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
Yeah, what all right, you sound like somebody who knows
stuff about basketball. How do you feel about my Philadelphia
seventy six ers.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
They're going to be a really interesting team to see,
just the way they come together in terms of like
their their chemistry and the part of the season, just
because it kind of reminds me of a lot of
the other kind of super team builds where it's like
it's just a bunch of guys that got thrown together.
That said, I'm as big a Tyres Maxie fan as
you'll find. I think he's awesome. And one of the
big things with Tyres Maxi was like last year he
(19:15):
just shot the laces off the basketball and catch and
shoot situations, but he struggled off the dribble for whatever reason.
And then that kind of came through for him in
the playoffs. I mean, you guys saw him hit that
big shot that tied the game and what was a
Game five or game I think it was Game five
against Yeah, I think he have forty something in that
game is insane fifty And then, like Paul George, he's
(19:35):
in like the perfect role on this team because he's
basically a tertiary shot creator. He's basically like a juiced
up superstar version of Michael Porter Junior. In this matchup
where it's like Tyres Maxi and Embid are still going
to be running the primary action the majority of the
time down the floor, I would think, and then he's
just going to be kind of working off of that
that'll allow him to devote more of his energy to
(19:56):
the defensive end. I think really it just comes down to,
like how many of those kind of role players that
you threw together are you going to be able to
turn into useful rotation pieces and that that's just gonna
be something we got to figure out. I thought, uh uh,
the Yabuseli signing was interesting because he kind of fits
the build of like that modern His archetype has become
(20:18):
sneakily like one of the most valuable archetypes in the league,
which is like the big, strong four that can be
useful offensively, but that can like guard the other teams
big so that you can use your center as a roamer.
This was the big thing that Boston did, if you guys,
remember by putting they just put their They put Tatum
on the center every single time. Because Tatum could box
(20:39):
out centers and he couldn't be bullied on the block.
That allowed them to just use chrisps Porzingis or or
Al Horford to always guard the weakest above the break
shooter on the other team, and then they could try
to funnel things towards you know. That's how they beat Dallas, right,
And so that's the thing is like I don't think
Kelly Ubre is big and strong enough to guard centers,
but I think where Sean is. And so that's kind
(21:02):
of an interesting kind of look where you don't have to.
You don't need him to be super vertically athletic. You
just need him to box out centers and not get
bullied on the block. And now you can use em
beat as more of a roamer, and I think that
could be a really useful look for them defensively.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
For listeners who don't know, Yabuseli is the guy you
googled in the middle of the USA France game who
is like just yoking on people and having an incredible game.
And so when you googled him, you found out that
he was like the number sixteen pick with the Celtics
a number of years ago and like just kind of
sat bench for them. But yeah, I mean the reason
(21:37):
we were all googling him was because he he looks
like he he can do it, at least play some
some big minutes. So yeah, that's exciting. That's the thing
you're getting me, not crazily like I'm always surprised. I'm
always pleasantly surprised by like when he does good stuff
(21:57):
because I just like don't believe in him. But he did,
like play some good minutes last year. I just but
I really like the Yabooselli signing, Like I like the
guy that got from the heat, you know, like I
just yeah, Kale Martin, Like I like those guys. And
then obviously the Paul George thing is exciting. If he
can stay healthy, it's.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
An interesting look. Yeah, but Maxie Martin, because Martin then
becomes your athlete guard that guards the other team's best guard. Yeah,
that Maxie Martin, Paul George, Ubre Embiid is really fast,
believe it or not, which I think is important because
Embiid is slow and he struggles and transition in up
and down game. So surrounding him with a lot of
speed and athleticism I think is really smart.
Speaker 6 (22:40):
Yeah, it'll be interesting.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
I was, yeah, as I was talking about in the Olympics,
just watching him be slow to the ball, slow to
defensive rebounds, I was having flashbacks and.
Speaker 6 (22:52):
I don't know right now.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Yeah, you know what, Jason, Uh, that's that's the thing
that you could have said seventy percent of his career unfortunately.
So I'm hoping, I'm hoping this is the year you
know that we like managed to you know, he's he's
in shape when he needs to be, he's healthy when
he needs to be.
Speaker 6 (23:15):
And yeah, and then we're in business.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
We are our number three on MGM's list of second round. Baby,
that's all I want. Just get me out of the
second richest. Yeah, just me out of the second.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
The Drummond pickup was huge too, because, like, you know,
Maury's gonna basically tell Nick Nurse like mbads capped at
fifty games or something like that. Yeah, and yeah, they're
gonna be like, no back to backs, no more than
three games in a week, Like you know, they're going
to be holding him down. And so Andre Drummond was
like sneaky and awesome pickup because he's one of my
favorite I've ever had. Yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, because
(23:50):
that's right, he was there a couple of years ago.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Back.
Speaker 6 (23:52):
Yeah, he was all right, we should take a break.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
This went long, and we do have some nineties players
to talk about, so we'll be right back after this.
Speaker 6 (24:09):
And we're back.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
We are back.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
We're back, and we are back in nineteen nineties. What
the nineties, What a time to be alive. We the
Democratic National Convention last night. We got to got a
reminder when they played the Bulls intro music of Her
gives people.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
I'm surprised the lasers didn't come out too, I know,
but yeah, we've been talking about our favorite nineties players
with our guests. We've had a list that we show everybody.
Everybody picks a couple of names they want to talk about. Jason,
you picked Alan Iverson, the Dream and the Worm, uh,
and these are I'm I'm very excited to talk about
(24:54):
these three players.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
And I don't know who who do we Who do
we want to start with?
Speaker 1 (24:58):
I mean we've been we were just talking about the
same so maybe we just continue that by talking about
Alan Iverson. Yeah, I mean, I guess Jason set us
up here. We'll tell us why when you say I
want to If we're gonna talk about nineties players, these
are three people that picked.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
Why do you want to talk about Alan Iverson?
Speaker 4 (25:16):
Well, I think Allen Iverson falls into this group kind
of with Kobe to Tracy McGrady a little bit as well,
where like the new generation of basketball fans vastly under
rates because of some statistical anomalies compared to some of
the skill guards you see today, and I think that
it's a gross misunderstanding of just how different the game
(25:38):
was back then. I mean, like to put it simply,
every team was basically running two big lineups all the time.
The power forward was basically just a six ' nine,
two hundred and sixty pound gigantic human being who functioned
like a big There was just very little space to
get all the way to the.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Basket, and so you actually lead Donnis Haslumsnas has Live.
Speaker 4 (26:00):
Yeah, exactly. It was like, Okay, you're playing the Lakers.
It's like you're playing two bigs tonight. You know what
I mean, You're you're you're playing the Calves. Here comes
Drew Good and then Zydrona Sougawskaz. You know, it's just
always like a two big type of look. And so
you actually needed guards to eat up usage and to
take a lot of really tough shots. And so, like
I'm of the opinion that a guy like Alan Iverson
(26:20):
in particular, especially with the way that those sixers teams
were constructed basically around defensive personnel. Like if you took
Alan Iverson circa two thousand and two, two thousand and one,
and you have dropped him in the Dallas Maverick system,
in the Kyrie Irving role or in the Luka doncrich roll,
like I think he would have been a sixty percent
true shooting type of guy, and it's just it's just
(26:40):
the reality of the way the game is. And so
I think, like a lot of times, like he gets
kind of miscast now is like this bad you know,
bad teammate, a guy who was inefficient and just a
shot chucker, and it's just really unfortunate and like to me, like,
I'm I'm only thirty three. So like, even as we
get into some of these guys from the nine, these
I don't have as much like live experience watching them
(27:03):
from when I was a kid. But like for my
generation of Hoopers, Alan Iverson was one of the most
influential guys, and so many of the guards that I
play with picked parts of his game and tried to
replicate it. And I just I wish he was remembered
more fondly. Let's just put it that way.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Yeah, I mean, I think for people that remember, he's
remembered fondly. And I think if you're kind of piecing
together what like a memory of Alan Iverson based on
like clips you're seeing or articles you're reading, like after
the fact, that I can see how some people are like, well,
this guy seem like I'm a bit of a like
that selfish guy. But I but I just remember someone
who was so aggressive, uh and just you couldn't believe it.
(27:40):
For like his height, You're like, there's no this is
like six feet and he he is not afraid of anything.
I thought that that was captivating for me as a
kid because I remember seeing him at Georgetown and.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Those man those uniforms. I still think about those.
Speaker 6 (27:53):
Great forms that I really I went to Georgetown largely.
I'm going to ask you.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
I was like, did shorts were dope?
Speaker 6 (28:01):
They were so dope? Yeah, this show was just like
a cool school because of those John Thompson. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
But I mean I just remember, you know, even in
the two thousand and one finals too, just uh watching
him and being like it was like one of those
moments where it was easy for me to be dismissive
of the opposing team because I was such a Laker fan.
But party is also like, man, I love Alan Iverson
even though he's prevented us from going fully sixteen, And
oh I.
Speaker 6 (28:25):
Just watched him. Uh.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
I just watched like some highlights of him, and it
reminds me of It's like Jaw when he's got someone
on skates or like when he you just he's just
like at his most unstoppable, but like with a great
mid range game before mid range jumpers were outlawed by
a basketball analytics and but just the most dramatic crossovers
(28:53):
and just like he would do things to defenders where
you'd like see their body just like give up on
the court just with their crossover. Antonio Daniels, Yeah, there
was was that on the Lakers. No, no, no doubt
he did something to a Lakers garden again the death.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
And he stepped over.
Speaker 6 (29:13):
No, no, it wasn't the time. It wasn't the tie
low one.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
This one was he crossed somebody up and their body
just like kept going like four steps backwards and then
they just fell over.
Speaker 6 (29:24):
It's like it's in the middle.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
It's like five minutes in this highlight reel that we'll
link off too in the show notes. But it's, uh, yeah,
he was just like even what he did to Jordan
as a rookie, like where Jordan's like moving his body
back and forth and he just looks like me out there,
like Jordan just looked three steps too slow.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
I like it. After though, when he like people asked
Michael Jordan about that and he's STI playing. He's like, yeah, man,
He's like, I'm not gonna, you know, be out here
and say this guy doesn't have it. He's like, because
I'm I'm more trying to deny those opportunities for someone
to do that. He's like, but you know, he'll learn
how to play bas ball, like he'd had to sun
him in the same thing.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
You know, he will learn how to play basketball. You're like, okay,
I'm kids a lot of potential.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Yeah, when he learned how to play the game at
a higher.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Level, you know, he's really relying on physical ability at
the moment. And you're like, that is true. But also
I get it.
Speaker 4 (30:14):
Michael Well, his big sweeping crossover like that was like
it was just whatever whatevery kid did when they went
I mean, heck, it influenced players too. I mean Kobe's
crossover when he was young looked just like AI. It's
like big sweeping out to the side. Yeah, crazy length.
Speaker 3 (30:30):
Yeah, broke my game, but it was worth it because
the amount of times they called me for a carryover.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
They're like, I'm sorry, kid, what are you doing.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
I'm like, you're you're holding the ball up like this
I'm like, your hands aren't making enough.
Speaker 6 (30:41):
Sorry, all right, let's talk the dream.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
Uh really, I don't know, thirty years after his prime,
even with all the advancements and overall, you know, the
progressive nature of the game, there aren't that many big
men as fluid as he was there. I feel like
he you could put him at any point in time
and he would be dominant right like he is there
(31:09):
anyone whose game is like more of a just like Surefire.
Put him in and he's a top five player right now.
I feel like he's right there, right yeah for sure.
Speaker 4 (31:19):
Well absolutely because he was because he was so good
defensively too, yeah, which I think people forget, but like
he would like it's so funny when people compare and
be to him, because I do see some of it
in the sense where it's just this massive human that's
doing some guard stuff really, but the big difference is
like a King was in really good shape, so like
he had this like really quick quick feet. Like it's
(31:40):
so funny because people think of him as this is
this high level post player, which he obviously was, but
he also was like just a really good mid range
pull up jump shooter, so like he would face up
and like do a jab step and like hard move
to the left and shooter like he would rip through
the right and do a wonderable pull up like he
was a two guard and he had the right shoulder
fade he had would hook over his left shoulder. But
(32:01):
he had all these like mid range jump shots that
looked a lot like the two guards of the time.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
And so he was.
Speaker 4 (32:06):
He was this like Anthony Davis level mobile super lanth
defender who was blocking a ton of shots mixed with
like the one of the best face up games in
the league at the time. Watching him, I don't think people,
I think I think the the the Joel Embiid comparisons
are borderline offensive when you compare the difference in just
his mentality and how how seriously he took his his
(32:28):
body and his health and just his it. Just he's
just at another level in my opinion.
Speaker 3 (32:32):
Yeah, two times deepoy, two times Finals MVP, which I
don't think Embiid has won either of those.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
I don't think.
Speaker 6 (32:41):
I don't think we have a finals MVP.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
Three times black champ uh just but like again, just
a beautiful person to watch play basketball.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Just yeah, yeah, And I get those like the Jokic
comparisons to Like to a certain extent. And I think
there's also the interesting part with like team too, is
just he also has like a soccer background too. He's
like one of those like bigs who has the soccer
background who's just just because of that is looking at
bald distribution a little bit differently, like yeah, how or
(33:12):
like a lot of the guys who are coming from
Europe and stuff like that. But the other part that
I think I remember as a kid always thinking he
was boring to watch because it wasn't like as flashy.
And then as I got older and was like, yeah,
the foot like and you actually begin to understand footwork
and appreciate it that and you're like, yeah, that's that.
That should be impossible, Like your knees should be done
if you're that big moving like normal, No, not at all.
(33:35):
And then once he's like then I started like hearing
more stories about just how like aggressive he really was,
Like like you just duff people out, like on the
court in an arrow when like the fine was like
thirty bucks for hitting a guy and he's like, yeah, yeah, okay,
I'll do that.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
Watch this full one.
Speaker 6 (33:50):
You can't have your locker room six pack, right.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Buddy, Yeah, yeah, yeah, He's like, well, you have to
get through me.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
The nastiness is such an underrated basketball try. We're like
looking at players and like, it's so funny how when
we look at the guys that disappoint us, it's almost
always they don't have that nastiness. Yeah, right, like that
that the like desire to just not just win, but
to embarrass you in the process. Like that, it's almost
like a mean streak.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
Yeah, it's a personality defect that works perfectly for competitive sports.
Speaker 6 (34:21):
People will be like, oh my god, you guys Wenby
is a jerk. Yes, yeah, he's mean. That's great, dude.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
He took a little baby's lollipop. No, yes, okay, his shoulders.
Speaker 4 (34:38):
Are getting for autograph and he told him to screw off.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
He said, I'm not Victor.
Speaker 6 (34:42):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Wow, what else could it be?
Speaker 1 (34:47):
But yeah, I again, I think but one of those
people too. I think for a lot of younger fans
just do not really talk about much. I think like
a lot of older heads obviously do and though they
hear it, because a lot of the older players are
still always like people need to remember how good a
cheme Elijawan was, But yeah, for the U just.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
I think the one place then the comparison makes sense
to me is just that we got to see their
games like develop into people with like beautiful touch and footwork,
like from when they first got to college they were
so raw and like just completely different players. And then yeah,
so like that's that's the one place where it makes sense.
(35:28):
But in terms of like the game, that like the
scope and greatness of the game, I think you're right.
Speaker 4 (35:34):
It's I think it's realistic. I think you're right. I
think I think if you had to compare and be
to one single center in NBA history, it makes sense
that it would be a game. It's just you can't
you can't say he's like him.
Speaker 1 (35:48):
He just has some similarities, you know, right, Yeah, it's like,
well that rectangle looks like a square.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
Technically they are parallelograms, so we will we'll take that.
Speaker 4 (35:58):
And a lot of those throw a lot of those
Queen comparisons were thrown out early on when he was
in better shape and he was more healthy. I shouldn't
say more healthy because he was injured right away, but
when we were not we were it looked like do
you remember that first year, the first year and a
half when he started playing where it was.
Speaker 6 (36:14):
Like holy twenty ones or so. Yeah yeah, and like there.
Speaker 4 (36:18):
Was definitely that phase there where it was like maybe
this is what he could be, you know, but it
just pretty quickly turned into something else.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
Yeah sure, and then Rodman, this was my favorite part
of the Last Dance, which was one of my favorite
basketball experiences of yeah, the past ten years, was when
we got to we needed something, the Last Dance came
through and watching Rodman like getting to see his process,
how much he studied, Like just I didn't studied a
(36:48):
thing that I didn't really know you could study, but
like where you know, knew where everybody was gonna miss too,
was there before the ball got there.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
When he's talking about he's.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
Like it'll go ping and then go that way. Yeah,
this one and then it will be this one. I'm like, oh,
I don't what what kind of omitry do you call him?
Speaker 3 (37:06):
Yeah, he's just like watching a different game than like
when he's watching a game, he like gets excited about
the misses because he's like, yo, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (37:15):
That that clip got some real meme mileage around the
I remember I mind you COVID, so the bar was
a little lower.
Speaker 6 (37:20):
Yeah, yeah, we we were just like anything.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
Fine, let's give Judd Buschler his own podcast based on
at this moment.
Speaker 6 (37:30):
Uh, but yeah, Robmin, what great pick.
Speaker 3 (37:34):
I don't like, there's not really a comparison, Like there's
been people who are like kind of close to the
rebounding totals.
Speaker 4 (37:40):
But what Yeah, we'll just talk about why why.
Speaker 6 (37:42):
Did you pick Robmin?
Speaker 4 (37:44):
Well, he's kind of the opposite of a Keem in
the sense that, like, I don't think he has the
same level of like translatability from ara to era in
some ways, although it's it's it's always hard to tell
because you wonder about a guy like Rodman if he
was raised in this era, if his skill development would
have look different and he would have been a better
I always got to be careful with that. It's like
I always hate when younger people say like, oh, MJ
(38:06):
couldn't shoot threes, and it's like I have a feeling
if he came up now, he would have been a
very good three point later Like you like that, Like
he just wouldn't allow that to not be the case,
you know. Uh, But like I think it's you know,
we talked about the two big kind of look that
most teams had. You know, it was just something you
could get away with back then, having a player with
some more offensive limitations. But uh, you know, I think
(38:27):
anybody who's ever played basketball at any level knows that
the when it comes down to winning in real high
stakes environments, there's just it mostly comes down to dirty work,
and you got to have people who are willing to
do that sort of thing. And and you know, he's
just been a part of a lot of winning teams
within that context.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
Yeah, And I mean, like the thing that's also I
remember one of my first book reports or like middle
school book reports. I did that as bad as I
want to be his like biography that came out in
the nineties. They're like what, and I'm like, yeah, I
want to write about this. This is the one I'm
talking about.
Speaker 6 (39:02):
Literature in college, right. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
The reason he wore the wedding dress was to actually
symbolize the a malleability of our idea of what masculinity
is or is not. But like with Rodman, like the
thing that was so unbelievable is like you'd hear it's
like he'd play a game and then like lift weights
for like two hours after the game and then stay
up till five in the morning partying, and then you know,
(39:26):
show up on game day and then give you twenty
rebounds and like rinse and repeat. And I think that's
like a really wild part about is like you realize
just how much of a physical specimen you have to
be to have that kind of schedule and take that
just I pardon me, is like, God, imagine if you
went to bed at night or whatever, but then parton
(39:47):
like I don't know if you ever.
Speaker 4 (39:48):
Needed this easy if he slept, yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
But even then without it all, like so many players
stories about him were just like I can't believe how
this guy I was living and then the performances he
put in or like I think who was it Dirk
was talking about when he played on the Mavericks. He
was like did this guy didn't even know anything like
any of the schemes we were running at all. Like
(40:13):
he would take a shower like right before like apparently
did this before every game, forty five minutes before the game,
cold shower, miss all the meetings and then just get
out there and be like all right, I'm just gonna
do my thing and still like perform at that level
and you're like how how Yeah.
Speaker 4 (40:27):
There are a few times in NBA history where the
numbers just don't make sense. Like you look back at
like Wilt when he was like in the early early
phase of the NBA, the scoring numbers and the rebound
numbers he put up, and there've been just a handful
of other examples of that, and like Rodman's rebounding numbers
in the nineties are like that. You look at him
and you're like what, like how yeah, Like how in
(40:47):
the world did he do this? It wasn't just leading
the league seven years in a row. He was hitting
just preposterous numbers. And then I think we're actually going
to see this with Wemby now with the blocks and
steals like this, dude's just going to perennially be at
like five or six stocks per game. And I think
we're going to look back at and be history and
be remember, like be like remember Wemby in the mid
twenty twenties like that, Like I think I think that
(41:07):
was what Rodman was in the nineties, where just as
a complete like outlier in terms of statistical performance.
Speaker 3 (41:14):
Eighteen eighteen seventeen seventeen fifteen, sixteen fifteen, that those were
his average rebounds from ninety one through his third championship
season fourteen point nine.
Speaker 4 (41:29):
Yeah, what it's a year, but ye under fifteen a game.
Speaker 2 (41:33):
He's like, I wasn't going to the casino enough that year.
That was the problem.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
And then I got it together and then we won
another two championships.
Speaker 6 (41:41):
The stories of Ivor said, I'm Robman, like just rolling
in from being out the night before, like right before
the game, and uh and just putting, you know, giving
the other team fifties.
Speaker 4 (41:53):
Yeah, I feel like I mean, if either of you
guys ever played eighteen holes and then gone to play pickup, no, no, no, dude.
So I did that for the first time. It would
have been it was about a month and a half
ago now important context. It was in Arizona in July,
so it's a little but I went to play and
I was like, oh my god, I'm dying out here.
(42:14):
And all I could think, I think is like, how
is it that Jordan was playing thirty six holes and
then going and then going to play that night, Because
like golf is like it, it actually does take it
out of you more than you'd think you know, well
you're just like walking around.
Speaker 3 (42:30):
Yeah. Then there's also that famous story about him going
out and like, you know, having a bunch of beers
on the golf course and then going out and putting
up forty Yeah. Right, I have had a beer and
then like tried to run, like go for a run,
and I was like, oh, why am I running through concrete?
Speaker 2 (42:49):
Like my sides are ripping?
Speaker 3 (42:51):
Yeah, and it's just built different. Yeah, all right, should
we take a break and come back? Ye, rabid fire.
Speaker 5 (42:59):
Yeah, and we're back and we're back.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
Oh, Jason, it's been a really fun conversation up until
this point because you are now in the hot seat.
Speaker 2 (43:17):
This is the rapid fire round of budding.
Speaker 1 (43:19):
These are the fastest question and answer segments that we
have ever done in the history of podcasting ever. Okay,
we're gonna ask a question. You just answer it quick,
don't think too hard. Just give us the instant reaction.
And if you take too long and threaten our title
as fastest question and answer segment in podcasting.
Speaker 2 (43:36):
History, we will be very rude.
Speaker 3 (43:38):
Okay, just don't make me look like a full in
front of the NBA, Jason, don't we promise them? We said,
the show is going to be mediocre, but the fastest, say,
the rapid fire segment is going to be.
Speaker 1 (43:50):
So fastest you've ever seen. No, trust me, we will
be able to dunk on everybody we have on the show.
Just so you know.
Speaker 2 (43:58):
And your threat, it's a big you are.
Speaker 6 (44:02):
Different angles.
Speaker 5 (44:03):
Yeah, we don't like you.
Speaker 2 (44:04):
We don't like it, but it's back. Get the confidence back.
Here we go, Jason, are you ready? Yeah, let's do
it all right? Then here we go, Brian start the
clock right, Yeah, yeah, I'm just nervous, man. I was
just I was just rewatching the video and Jason's Twitter.
Speaker 3 (44:22):
Filelight real clean you wake off to the highlight reel
and the footnote the show.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
Wow wow wow? Uh here here, here we go. Uh
you should we do one?
Speaker 6 (44:36):
Should we do one?
Speaker 1 (44:37):
I mean sorry, I'm nervous again. I just I was
looking at another replay him.
Speaker 6 (44:41):
Why why don't we kick it off here?
Speaker 3 (44:42):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (44:43):
You want to go?
Speaker 2 (44:44):
Yeah, I'll go. Okay, this is the fastest question and
answer segment. Just so you know, Jason, this isn't us
being rusty.
Speaker 1 (44:50):
This is a little bit of this is how we
fake them out, you know what I mean a little
bit of fake.
Speaker 4 (44:55):
Is this like when you're on the polygraphere they ask
you all the boring questions first, Rea right.
Speaker 1 (45:00):
And just like a polygraph, this is also pseudo scientific.
Here's the first question, Jason, this is from our discord.
Is there a current comp for pre injury Grant Hill?
Speaker 4 (45:15):
I don't think so that that, like super springy two
guard pull up shooter hadn't really been I mean, it
is the closest thing we've had to but most of
the two guards we've had are like the Booker and
Hardin types, which are a little bit less athletic, a
little more skill based.
Speaker 6 (45:27):
Mm hmmmmmm. Okay, okay, that's correct.
Speaker 5 (45:29):
That is correct. That is correct.
Speaker 6 (45:31):
You got that one. I know you said, no way
he gets this one.
Speaker 2 (45:34):
But he got it.
Speaker 5 (45:35):
He nailed it.
Speaker 2 (45:35):
I'm nervous now.
Speaker 6 (45:37):
It is currently NBA Dunk Week.
Speaker 3 (45:39):
So what's your all time favorite in game dunk and
your four dunkers in your all time fantasy dunk contests?
Speaker 6 (45:46):
Dunk say dunking?
Speaker 4 (45:48):
There you go, and and admittedly biased, but the Lebron
dunk over use of Nurkic every time I see the highlight,
I still don't know how he did it. His body
was moving kind of like away from the rim, and
he took off from like the third hash outside the
block and was like this and just that was absurd.
Vince Carter's always number one for me all time that
(46:08):
Strow Miles Swift video. Every single time it comes around.
Speaker 6 (46:11):
I just have to watch it.
Speaker 4 (46:12):
That's like one of my rules. I have a handful
of rules as a human. You always watch the Strow
Miles Swift video when it comes around. I'll go with,
let's see so Carter lebron Stromile' if I have to
give you a fourth, I'll go with I'll go with
t Mac Yeah, yeah, tex Is getting got to you.
Speaker 2 (46:29):
Got to, you got to now.
Speaker 1 (46:31):
I guess this is something since we've been talking about
in the nineties and how younger fans kind of put
or just people who maybe not were as not engaged
with basketball back then, have some misconceptions about the game.
What is one of the biggest misconceptions that people have
about the way the game was played in the eighties
or nineties and the impact that it's had today.
Speaker 4 (46:53):
I think that the idea that that defenses are getting
worse is a major misconception. I think like people forget that.
Like the offense, the offense is always improving as we
get better at schemes and understanding how to generate better
shots for people, but also just the skill level of
players is increasing. But at the same time, like it's
not like the league isn't also trying to solve that.
(47:15):
On the defensive end, it's like we're seeing it now,
a team's trying to take away the three in the
rim and in different pick and roll coverages that are
designed to get the ball out of the primary ball
handler's hands. Defense is actually better than it's ever been.
It's just the offense is growing at a faster rate.
And I think that a lot of times there's just
a misconception about defense was better in the nineties.
Speaker 5 (47:33):
It wasn't.
Speaker 4 (47:34):
It was really good still, it's just as a league,
the offense is outpacing it right now.
Speaker 6 (47:39):
Yeah, okay, you up a little bit.
Speaker 1 (47:41):
Yeah that was the right answer, Jason, But it took
way too long for you to say that, So I
don't know if we can count that one, just so
you know, but that was the right answer.
Speaker 4 (47:48):
That was the right answer.
Speaker 3 (47:50):
Give us a dark horse team for this next year,
and also a dark horse player.
Speaker 6 (47:55):
Who you want to see on the twenty twenty eight
Olympic team.
Speaker 4 (47:58):
Dark horse team. I think a lot of people forget
how good Memphis was. I think they're gonna be top
we seed, like right away. I think they they kind
of found a couple of forwards in their system between
like guys like Vince Williams and and Gig Jackson and
John Rant I'd like, I threw out this stat the
other day, like he just immediately came in. It was
awesome and helped them win a win a lot of
games where he got hurt. What was the second part
(48:18):
of the question, All right.
Speaker 6 (48:19):
Give me a dark horse player? Do you want to
see on the twenty twenty eight Olympic team?
Speaker 4 (48:23):
On the twenty twenty eight Olympic Team? Ah, I'll go
with how about Kevin Durant.
Speaker 6 (48:31):
Lebron's a given back out there, But if.
Speaker 4 (48:35):
There was an old guy who would come back, I'd
be him, right because he's such a right right, Like yeah,
like Katie just taking spot up jump shots.
Speaker 2 (48:42):
Yeah, he's just like he's he's just stuck there in
the corner. Man just find him.
Speaker 1 (48:46):
He's in love to hoop, all right, And I got
to say we have seen your mixtape on the Twitter bio.
But what is your personal highlight for you as a
basketball player?
Speaker 2 (48:58):
Was the nastiest in game moment for you that you
still think about when you put yourself.
Speaker 5 (49:02):
To bedtnit O.
Speaker 4 (49:04):
That's a good question. I would say, if I had
to off the top of my head, I would say
when I was at when I was in Juco, I
had a tip dunk once that I surprised myself with
where I was coming down the lane and I was
actually just going to grab the offensive rebound. And when
(49:24):
I went up and got it, I remember vividly in
my head like looking over and seeing the rim like
right here, and I was just.
Speaker 2 (49:29):
Like, oh yeah, But I mean we've had that happen
to us, to Jack and I a lot like right there.
Speaker 3 (49:37):
Yeah too oft but it happens too often where I'm
not prepared for how high I jumped.
Speaker 4 (49:44):
Spoob.
Speaker 3 (49:46):
I wish I could get it through my thick head.
You have incredible springs down there, buddy.
Speaker 2 (49:52):
Got bunnies.
Speaker 4 (49:54):
I think I think that's probably it. Like I, just
like everybody else, there's a there's it's basketball for me,
and I'm sure it is for you guys. Too, Like
it's it's a thing that's lasted for decades for me.
So I just have, you know, a lot of memory.
Like you know what I've had a lot of fun
with is just like as an old guy playing in
like money tournaments more there's cash on the line. Yeah,
I just had I just had one a few weeks
ago where I put in three hundred bucks as an
(50:15):
entry feed. Me and a buddy of mine split the
entry fee and we brought a team in and like
it was double elimination and we lost in the first
championship game. We had to like come back and win
two in a row, and like the ac was broken
in the gym. It was like eighty five degrees and
like those moments when you like win the cash and
like and you're with a bunch of dudes who used
to play in college. Like, I've actually had a lot
of enjoyment in the game post college, which is something
(50:36):
that I didn't expect. The big part of that is
I'm just a lot better now than I used to
be when I was in college.
Speaker 2 (50:40):
WHOA, this is true. Some white men can jump. Yeah,
it turns out.
Speaker 1 (50:45):
And I find it troubling perfectly, all right, Any time
you get up there, Jack, You're like, why am I
going so high?
Speaker 6 (50:53):
I'm too high?
Speaker 2 (50:54):
This is can't handle the landing?
Speaker 6 (50:57):
Yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (50:59):
Adjacent to thank you so much for joining us on
Miles and Jack Got Mad Boosties. Where do the people
find you? Follow you, hear you, support you, read you,
all that good stuff.
Speaker 4 (51:07):
This is a lot of fun. I really appreciate you
guys having me on the Hoops Tonight YouTube channel, Hoops
Tonight podcast podcast feed, and then on Twitter at underscore
json lt is where I'm most active. I'm trying to
get better using Instagram, but Twitter's just where my biggest
following is right now. So that's where I like tweet
out show announcements and links and stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (51:24):
Okay, cool, Well, you can follow the hashtag mad Boosties
b sd I e s for show links and updates,
and then you'll also be able to join the discord
when you search for that hashtag. We have all the
information there. You can follow me on Twitter at Miles
of Gray. I'm at Jack Underscore O'Brien, and that.
Speaker 2 (51:43):
Was another fantastic episode on Miles and Jack. I'm mad
most these.
Speaker 6 (51:47):
In Yeah, I think it was pretty fantastic.
Speaker 2 (51:50):
Sweet I think it was.
Speaker 4 (51:51):
Wait.
Speaker 2 (51:51):
I mean, it's not often you get three dudes who
are just so used to being up there.
Speaker 1 (51:55):
You thought we had NASA suits on, you know what
I mean. But we are just three ortle men just
enjoying the game of basketball. Thank you, doctor Nasmith for
all you've done, and thank you to our calves for
being springy.
Speaker 2 (52:07):
And muscular and taking us to heights unseen before. All right, y'all,
that was it for us. We'll see you next week.
Bye bye bye,
The Daily Zeitgeist News
Hosts And Creators
Jack O'Brien
Miles Gray
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