Episode 36: Mailbag - Favorite Nets Player, Best 1st Round Matchup, and Mustard on Hot Dogs

Chris answers questions sent in by you, the listeners!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Hey, what's going on. It's Chris Carino. This is the
Voice of the Nets podcast. We are heading into the
final couple of weeks of the NET season playoff time.
It gets really exciting. I get ju stup for the playoffs.
A couple of things really get me excited. Because Tim
Capstraw noticed this about me in the game we just
played recently, as recording this in Miami on Saturday night,

(00:32):
a huge Net comeback win. I'm sure it might get
into that a little bit later on here on this
mail back episode of the Voice the Nets podcast. But
a couple of things get me psyched up. One is
great weather, and you get that in Miami we had
low eighties sunshine. It was gorgeous. So just coming to

(00:55):
the arena and that kind of environment on the BIS
Game Bay, it's just it just get me fired up,
all right. So I had a lot of juice on
Saturday night. And the other thing is playoffs, games with
playoff implications, and that game against Miami had huge playoff implications.
So those two things got me fired up. So now

(01:18):
as I record this, we got kind of like spring
is in the air in the in the Northeast, and
the games have playoff implications. Even though I'm coming off
a very late night, coming back from Orlando in a
game that yes, had some playoff implications and did not
work out well for Brooklyn. I'm excited to be recording
this and excited to be doing it with my producer

(01:42):
slash engineer here, Isaac Lee, who's joining me, who's going
to moderate the mail bag? So, yes, you're a producer,
engineer and moderator, moderator. It's like the press adding that
to my resume. Yes, podcast moderator, along with all your
other accomplishment. It's including the book of Lasso, which were

(02:03):
not I only want to get into too much Ted Lasso.
But you never know when you and I again never
and I do that. Yeah. So we're coming back from
Orlando last night, Isaaca, and you know again, I got
home about three am and it was disappointing. But I'll
just point this out. The nets went down to Florida.
I know jacque Bon wanted to get two wins because
you're you're in that mix now for the five six
seven spot. The knicks, the nets and the heat are

(02:25):
all jumbled up. You wanted to get two wins. You
probably if you would have said, you have to absolutely
get one. You gotta go one and one in this
back to back the one. I know people think Orlando
is some kind of pushover because they they're not going
to be in the playoffs this year, but they are
a sleeping giant I think. I mean watching them in

(02:47):
person yesterday, Boncaro didn't even go off and he's going
to be the rookie of the year. He didn't even
have a huge impact. Franz Wagner controlled the game, and
Marquel false has redeemed himself, maybe not to the level
where he was supposed to be coming out of college,
but I love the relationship with him and Jamal Moseley.

(03:07):
Jamal Moseley their head coach, who most people probably couldn't
identify if years are walking around Orlando, but I really
like him being around him at his press conference. Who
actually watched the end of the San Diego State game
on the TV with him after his press conference. Really
really impressed by him. But he has such a great
relationship Marquel faults every once in a while during the game,

(03:29):
they see them with their arms around each other's waist
talking to each other. You just tell there's a warmth there.
That's important. And they're gonna get a lottery pick this year.
I mean, if they hit the lottery and they get
a Wembon Yama, I mean, come on, get your Orlando
stock right now. But you know what it is. It's
really you know, it is Isaac too. And you're you're

(03:52):
a Clipper fan, right, you're out there, Yes, sir, your
Clippers found this out for a while and they hit
out it a little bit. If you get enough lottery picks, actually,
like you gotta be good. Like people used to mock
the Sixers in the process. They had all those lottery
picks and you know, people think it didn't work out. Well,
you know what, No, it did because they got Joel
embiid yes, and they turned Ben Simmons into James Harden

(04:16):
and they're making a runner of title this year. I
don't know if they're gonna win, but so it worked
out a little bit. You know, Sacramento this year. How
many lottery picks they've accumulated? Like the beam? Yeah, like
the beam? Right, And they're there. We saw them in
person last week and they're terrific. And they they beat
the nets and they didn't even have Kevin Hurder and

(04:36):
at first quarter, got hurt and went out. What a
trade that was. Again, that was using your your assets
to make trades to bring in guys like Hurder and
Sabonis to go along with guys you drafted like Fox.
So you know it. Mediocrity is not rewarded in the NBA,
Like you don't get anywhere being mediocre in the NBA.
Either be really good or really bad. And the Magic

(04:57):
had been bad for a while, but now you know what,
they were five and twenty. They are over five hundred
for like the last three four months. And in this
little stretch now last week with Miami, the Knicks and
the Nets all battling for five to six seven, Orlando's
beaten all three of them. So yes, you don't want

(05:18):
to panic. I don't want to make excuses for the Nets.
But they played at eight o'clock in Miami on Saturday
night and then had to play at six o'clock the
next night in Orlando. And yeah, it's only a thirty
five minute flight, but it takes you a long time
to get loaded up packed on the plane. Everybody bore
to get the bags on, get the equipment on, get

(05:40):
to the next place, get off, get to your hotel,
settle in. You know, it takes a while. You get in.
It's three o'clock. So listen, the Knicks, the Nets in
Miami have all lost to the Magic, so there's no
shame in that in the last week. And you need
it to beat Miami because now you get a win
and you gave them a loss. So that's where we
are with the Nets. Now. I thought we thought it

(06:03):
would be a great idea. Steve Goldberger, producer and Isaac
we got together said let's let's do a mail back
episode here. Let's connect with you guys out there. And
I solicited some on Twitter and the Net solicits some
on Instagram. Uh So we got ourselves some questions and
they're gonna run the gambit, obviously from the Nets to
the in the Brooklyn years, the New Jersey years. We're

(06:24):
gonna talk food, all kinds of stuff like that. So
stay with us, as they used to say on sports phone,
and uh and Isaac, let's let's let's you're gonna you're
gonna interpret these or you're gonna moderate these. Give us
who gave us the question maybe gives a little context
as well. So I'll let you, I'll let you begin

(06:45):
this this portion. I'm very excited about the mailback episode,
our very first mailback. Yes, of many, we'll do more
of many of many. Um. Our first question is from
real Sam Role, what is your favorite era in the
b Obviously you've been watching the NBA for you know,
your entire life, You've been working in and around the sport.

(07:06):
You've seen all of these different eras, however you defined them, Chris,
what is your favorite era? I guess where he asked
about NBA era, not just nets. I could give you both.
I give you both, let's do both. Why not? So
as far as just basketball, I think, like a lot
of people, when it comes to their fandom, it's always

(07:28):
nostalgic to go back to the time that really hooked
them on whatever it is that you're talking about, you know,
like I I'll always as great as the Yankees have
been in my life, and I'm a you Yankee fan,
I'll always go back to the late seventies, being like
a seven or eight year old kid getting hooked on basketball.
She'd be getting hooked on baseball and watching those Yankee teams.
You know, Great Nettles was my favorite player, Reggie Jackson

(07:50):
and Thurman months and all that. So, but when it
came to the NBA, I was a little I was
a little late as far as we're gravitating towards the NBA.
Husue college basketball fan when I was a kid, remember
it was a Villanova fan and that run they made
him when they won the championship and they beat Georgetown,
I was like a I was like a real actual
Villanova fan that whole year. You know, I had their

(08:12):
stuff up on the wall. I was following them in
the tournament, so that was like a huge deal when
they when they beat Georgetown. When I was watching that
the NBA, I mean I liked the NBA as well.
I was a huge Bernard King fan when I was
a kid. But I really got hooked in like where
like a lot of people in the NBA got hooked

(08:32):
in that early eighties. You know, that was the Knicks,
Bernard King, but also those years with the Lakers and
the Celtics and the sex version Doctor J Yeah, Magic
and Bird Like that's what really hooked me into the game. Now,
I'm not as get off your lawn. It was. Game
was better back in the eighties guy that it is now.

(08:52):
I think it's as entertaining as it's ever been right now,
but I always gravitate towards those Sunday afternoons turning on
CBS and UH and watching those those battles between those
teams and seeing games the old Boston Garden. That to
me was my favorite era. I know this is way
before you were born, Isaac, No, but I do know

(09:13):
a lot about it, as as somebody who studied a
lot of NBA history. Um, you got to watch Kareem, Yeah,
Kareem Abdul Jabar. Yeah. As as as an older you know,
I don't remember lu Al Cinder and I don't remember
young Kareem, but I remember Kareem, you know, energized with
magic coming to the Lakers and Cap and Cap the Cap,
the Captain. And it wasn't that I rooted for those teams.

(09:35):
It was just because because I was growing up in
New York, and I did. I did like the Knicks.
They were bad for a while, but I did like
Bernar Kang and they had a little good run there
like eighty five. But that's probably my favorite era now
I do again, I comparison is the Thief of Joy
is my one of my favorite things to say Um,
So it doesn't mean I don't like other eras. I mean,
I mean, how you know, how could you not you know,

(09:57):
love those you know when when the game starts to
get up tempo now and we're seeing games in the
one fifties and one forties. Funny. I was watching highlights
of Jason Kidd the other day because it was his
fiftieth birthday. Happy birthday, Jay Kid. I know things are
a little tough for Dallas right now looking rocky, but
he did celebrate his fiftieth birthday other day and one
of the NBA sites on social media put out all

(10:19):
like his great passes and his great plays, and he
was such a clutch player. And this leads me to
my favorite era of NETS basketball had to be the
Jay Kid years. My first year is doing played by
play and there was this one play where he's against Detroit.
I remember it was. It was a playoff game, and
it's a Sunday afternoon in Detroit and I'm courtside and

(10:41):
happened right in front of me. He gets at the
top of the key, he works right of the lane,
he drifts out to the baseline, right baseline, fadeaway, big bucket,
clinched the game. They go up I think two h
on Detroit in that series, and the score I think
was like seventy nine seventy three. This was the final
seconds of the game. Isaac, Wow, these are halftime scores. Yeah.

(11:02):
In the NBA today, next one game one, I should
say they they won one of the one of the
first two games. I remember the San Antonio series, the
game one when they won our Game two, when game one,
when they lost your Game two, when they won the
in the finals in O four. The game was in
the seventies. I mean, I don't know if that's better,
but it was certainly different. But it is today much

(11:25):
more physical. Yeah. So yeah, those are my two favorite
errors right there. Okay, Also, Isaac, you have to me
I tend to I tend to speak a lot and
go off in different directions. You have to make sure
you you lead me that make sure I answered the
question properly. I think you did this time, man. And
I'm well aware of your your drifty tendencies, Chris. I've

(11:47):
I've edited hours and hours of your voice. At this point,
you're like my drifty tendencies. I quite like it. Yeah. Um,
our second question from JJ Hungen Bby, who is the
best matchup for the Nets in the first round of
the playoffs. I'm assuming best, meaning who gives the Nets
the best chance to move on. Yeah, that's a that's

(12:10):
gonna be tough, because you know, you could say if
they have an outside chance of you know, they're only
a game and half of this retape this game and
half behind the Knicks to get into the fifth. So
you'd always say, well, as high up as you can go,
you're gonna face a lesser team even if you get fifth.
You're looking at Cleveland, who just beat them twice last week. Now,
the Nets kicked the game away the second game, eight

(12:34):
point lead with two and a half minutes to go,
just turned it over and couldn't control. It was a
circus down the stretch and they end up losing that game.
So you think, well, they could probably play with them.
The problem with Cleveland is they've got those two bigs
up front, Evan Mowbley and Jared Allen, and the Nets
struggle with size and rebounding. They don't rebound the ball well.

(12:58):
And Cleveland is the best defensive team in the NBA,
number one defensive rating in the NBA, and the Nets
have struggled. That's that's not the strength of the Nets
offensively is not the strength. So so that's not a
great matchup, right, Do you want to play Philadelphia and
Joel Embiid certainly not that I don't know about that.

(13:19):
I mean it would be a great storyline. You're going
up against Harden and you're only you don't have to travel,
You're only going down the road to Philadelphia, really and
but Inbiad is scary now the one thing though that
does and let me go through the team, so that
that's scary. Then Boston is the other possibility, even though
the Nets had that twenty eight point come back and
beat Boston, even though I do think they're almost better

(13:41):
equipment now this year to play Boston than they wore
last year when they got swept, because they've got big
wings who can deal with Brown and yeah, Dorian and
that showed up and that win against the Celtics where
they came back from twenty eight down back in early February,
back in February, So that's a possibility. But do you
really want to play the Celtics in Boston in a
postseason though? And we know what Milwaukee has been able

(14:01):
to do historically last few years against the Nets that
that's not a matchup you want. You want to historically
against um basically anybody, anybody. Yeah, there's no matchup or
your honest, so long winded answer. Here's here's the answer
I would give you. I'll take my shot with the Sixers, Isaac.
And here's why. Ooh okay, here's why they have blow

(14:23):
up potential. M Joel embiide as imposing physically as he is,
seems to always be a little fragile. Now he's played
all year right this. I think that's one of the
reasons why I probably would give h my MVP boat
because he's been durable this year, but he hasn't been healthy.

(14:45):
He's played through a lot of stuff. When you're one
of these lower seeds and you're going up against these
these higher teams, there's the potential, like a guy gets hurt.
I mean not, you're not rooting for injury, but it's
it's there's a history there. So if he's not one
hundred percent, what are the Sixers a team you can beat?

(15:06):
So it's hard to say, hey, we want to play
the Sixers because MB can get hurt. That's not what
I'm saying. They have the potential too with there's a
little you know, Harden's got a history and not playing
well in the playoffs, not coming through in big spots,
and the rest of that team has been streaky. There's
there's just an implosion, you know, air about that. That's

(15:30):
the only thing I'm saying. I think what I'm basically
saying is at all four teams, then that's really don't
match up great with any of them. But I'll take
my chances with the things that could go wrong with
the Sixers. So what you're saying is the Philadelphia seventy
Sixers have a high ceiling and a low floor, and
if you get lucky, you'll get the low floor version

(15:50):
of the Sixers, in which case then NETS can move on. Yes,
how do you think Klax matches up with mbid? He's
played him much better lately. You know, it's funny because
we've seen this matchup with the Sixers over the last
fear in the playoffs once when it was Jared Allen,
and Jared was very young and and be just bullied him,

(16:13):
and then you saw a little growth in Jared Allen
the next couple of years where he didn't let him
beat bully him. I'm seeing the same thing with Nick Claxton.
When Claxton first used to go against him, bead and
Be just tossed him around, he bullied him. Clax has
got Clax has got dog in him, like he's not
gonna back down from people. And he didn't do it

(16:33):
against him bad this year and Ebid got frustrated. There
was a play where he rejected him beat in a
game this year and then got mixed it up on
the other end with him. And they've got technicals like
Ebid tries to intimidate and Clacks doesn't have it. Now
they got to the thing about the Nets. You know,
Clax has got to doing a different way. He just

(16:55):
can't bang down there with him, and the Nets don't
have that guy they can go to that's just gonna
big seven footer or that just sits on the end
of the bench and when you need him against him Bid,
you put him in there, like when they had DeAndre Jordan. Right.
But now, I just in the last couple of times
they played the Sixers, you know they they haven't had
a great success, but um, the last time they played

(17:15):
him in Brooklyn, right, after the Trader was the first
game that the Nets had all their players, the new
guys together, very first game. They controlled the game throughout,
they had the game, they had a lead into the
into the fourth quarter late and then they couldn't score
the last like six minutes of the game, and Philadelphia
came back and won and won a close game late

(17:38):
and I don't they got to like a hundred on
like the last shot of the game. So you know,
that's the potential. So that's that's what I'm looking for.
That's that's I think what I'm looking for in terms
of saying that sixers Yeah, none limber good, but sixers
might I might be interesting. It's a pick your poison
situation right when you're lower seed in any in either conference.

(18:00):
And I like it because I just drive an hour
and fifteen minutes. Tom. Yeah, Philadelphia kind of underrated city
as far as like food goes. You know, there's a
lot of a lot of great little spots uh here
to cheese steak, but really it's the uh the pork
broccoli rob sandwich that you get and they're just little
placed down by the by the train station downtown Okay

(18:22):
market area. Yeah, Okay, a little little knowledge dropping knowledge, Chris,
all right, m our. Third question from Brian win four.
This is really simple. Who's your favorite Net of all time?
We already mentioned him here on the podcast. It's Jay Kidd,
Jason Kidd. Um. Now I do I see favorite or best?

(18:46):
That's another question because yeah, see, now I'm gonna I'm gonna,
I'm gonna venture you're complicating it. It's a simple question,
Chris implicated. Because my favorite guy, like my favorite person
that ever played for the Nets, I'm gonna say it's
brook Lopez. Wow. Okay, okay. But as far as like
to watch and like nostalgic and did the most for

(19:10):
my career in terms of my enjoyment in the games,
I got to do two NBA finals because of Jason Kidd. Yes,
So there, I know I complicated a very direct question,
but I can't leave out Brookie because he's my favorite
person I think that I've ever covered. Not that I
didn't like Jason Kidd, but but as far as a
player in watching him play, was probably Jason Kidd. I mean,

(19:31):
let's let's elaborate on that. Because everybody knows about Jay Kidd.
He's a legend, Hall of Famer. But Brookie, like obviously
he means a lot to the Nets. He was he
was with the Nets for a very long time. But
why do you why did you feel such a kindred
spirit or such fondness for him? Well, number one, he's
the franchise's all time leading scorer, and he played as

(19:53):
many seasons with the Nets as any other players ever played.
But Brooke was just a kind person. He just was
a regular guy. He was this gentle giant and he
would very he would just love to stop and have
a conversation with you about anything but basketball, you know.
And we did a I did a I did a

(20:14):
fundraiser one time with with my foundation and I got
him and Ronde Hollis Jefferson to dance for this video.
And he did it, you know, easily for me. You
know why. I mean one time I mentioned to him.
He came in this after he even played for the Nets.
He came in. You know, Brooks a big Disney guy, right,
has a property on Disney or whatever. And I think

(20:34):
he was out playing for the Lakers and I saw
him at the arena and uh, he was we were
just staying. He's asking about my family and all that.
Kind of stuff. And and I said, Oh, we're gonna
when we go out in La I'm taking a family
with me, but someone's going to Disneyland, so we might
go out there. He's, oh, wait a minute, you gotta
call If you're going to Disneyland, you gotta call me.
So I let him know. I said, yeah, we're going
on this day wherever he's goes. Oh, I'm gonna. I'm
gonna set you out and set us up with like

(20:56):
a concierge, like a person who traveled with us. It
was like a fast pass run on the right it myself.
It was unbelievable. He took care of it all and
was happy to do it, like he wanted to show
off Disney for us, Like he was that kind of guy,
Like he's just he's just a just a just a
sweetheart of a person. And I am. I am so
happy for him right now. What's going on in Milwaukee,

(21:17):
the fact that he got a ring um, the fact
that he's getting talked about for Defensive Player of the
Year this year. I mean, he had we I know,
we played him recently out in Milwaukee. He didn't have then.
The Nets weren't playing a lot of their regulars, but
there they were. It was a close game down the stretch.
Brook had nine block shots, most block shots in the
game this year in the NBA. So really really happy

(21:40):
for Brook Lopez. That's awesome. That's awesome. Yeah, I mean,
besides him being a nice person, even him as a
basketball player, you see him evolve over the years. Right,
as a net he's a low post, bruising, traditional center,
and then as the years went along, he developed a
three points shot. He developed a defensive game that was

(22:01):
far beyond what we would have expected from an offensive
fish blash mountain, right. And here's the thing about it,
and I'm not trying to toot my own horn here,
but when he played for the Nets, it used to
frustrate me. And I used to say it all the
time on the air that all these coaches wanted to
make him back to the basketball post guy. And that's
not what he wanted to do, and it's not why.

(22:22):
And he was automatic from the elbows and the top
of the key and aristand those are not the analytics shot.
But you know what analytics are. Analytics are stats, and
the analytics used to say Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, I
remember we used to when they were on the nets.
They used to shoot a lot of mid range shots

(22:43):
because even the analytics would tell you those guys are
a plus from that area. And Brooke was automatic with
that mid range jumper. The best shot at the shot
you can make exactly well, said Isaac. And the thing is,
if the guy's automatic from the top of the key,
sometimes I think he probably was better there than he

(23:05):
was catching it down on the block. So put the
ball in his hands at the top of the key,
because then he could either make a playoff that because
he could get to he could drill, he could put
it on the floor and go, or he can run
the offense in the high post. Or he could take
the shot. If you if you, if you play drop
on him, He's gonna take the shot and he's gonna

(23:25):
make it. He used to frustrate the hell out of me.
And look what happens. Boodenholzer embraces his jump shooting. He
moves him out. You know, it started with Kenny Atkinson.
Kenny Atkinson was when it was Brooks last year. Kenny
made him take threes and Brooke took more in his
career than he had in that season than he had

(23:46):
in his whole career, and he made him and he
started to see it right there. So the guy could
always shoot. And I always thought he was an incredibly
underrated rim protector. And now the way the Bucks play,
they play him in drop, he's at the rim, he
guards the rim, and then he could spread the floor.
He can still make plays off the high post if
he wants to. Um, and you're seeing him thrive right

(24:09):
now when he's got a ring because of it. Absolutely
absolutely um. Our next question was actually going to be
who do you think the greatest? Who do you think
is the greatest net of all time? But we already
stepped on that as J kid. Yeah, if we want
to throw, if we're going ABA, then we may have.
Then we then we further complicated by throwing doctor J Well,
Doc doc definitely has to be up there. Um for

(24:31):
the for the then the New York Nets, who won
then the most recent basketball championship in the New York area,
and that would be nineteen seventy five. Yeah, yeah, I mean,
I can't I can't talk, I can't talk any trash. Um.
We're just gonna move on to this next question here

(24:52):
from Anthony Chobot twenty. What's your favorite moment from the
ten year anniversary of the Nets? So they say over
the last ten years, I guess, or just this ten
year anniversary. What do you think, Isaac, Because why don't
they're celebrating the ten year anniversary, Chris, why don't Why
don't we interpret Anthony's question as a as a dual

(25:13):
pronged approach. Um. I think I've talked about this before
that the beginning in Brooklyn was a bit muted because
Hurricane Sandy hit, Like the first game they played some
preseason games with the first regular season game was supposed
to be Nets Knicks and it was going to open

(25:36):
up Barkley Sad a first regular season game, and then
Hurricane Sandy hit. They had to postpone everything and it
was a it was a tough time in the in
that area, you know, So it was muted a little bit. Um.
The first thing I ever, first time I was ever
in the completed Barkley Center, was jay Z's concert that
opened it up. I was there opening night, which was amazing, incredible,

(25:56):
just electric right seeing jay Z, seeing the building filled
the first time, which you had watched under construction and
been going on for how many years or whatever, So
that was that was an amazing moment, you know, seeing
the nets the playoffs there, I gotta say though, in
the ten years, the most electric game moment, you know,

(26:23):
besides being Pearl Jam there too a couple of times,
you know, but I digress the playoffs. Two years ago,
Kevin Durant his forty nine point triple double in Game
five against the Bucks to put them up three two.
Going back to Milwaukee for Game six, you know then

(26:46):
you had they got blown out by Milwaukee. Then in
Game seven there's Durant with the shot with his toe
on the line, which may be the loudest I've ever
heard Barkley Center. But that forty nine point triple double
still probably absolutely the greatest performance I've ever seen in
person by a basketball player, maybe by an athlete, especially

(27:08):
given with the injury to the Hardened, the injury to
Kyrie Irving. He was kind of carrying this group of
kind of role players with him trying to beat a
team that eventually would win the NBA championship that year. There,
you know that that stands out to me as the
the most bananas that Barkley Center has ever been and
the most electric that it had ever been with every

(27:30):
one of his you know, mid range, turnaround, fade away,
unguardable shots that would go in. They're just just absolutely incredible,
incredible performance. And as far as like the ten year anniversary,
UM what I what I love? I'm gonna throw something
in here, just a little bit of a curveball. They
brought in these, um, the red white and blue ABA

(27:53):
throwback uniforms. And you've seen these uniforms, Isaac, I know
you probably love them. Right, there's the old doctor j uniforms.
And when they and they transformed the court as well
to the red, white and blue. And when they and
even in the arena, shout out to Paul Camers, who's
in charge of all the arena operations. They they'll put

(28:15):
the scoreboard. They make it like the old dot Matrix scoreboard,
so it looks like a nineteen seventies scoreboard. And what
I love about it is you're connecting the past to
the present. You know. I felt like keeping the name
Nets when they read from New Jersey to Brooklyn was
important because it kept that lineage going back to Doctor

(28:39):
Jay and the ABA, or even going back to the
you know when when the ABA started and how important
that was to what we see in the NBA right now.
And also it connects the fans because yeah, we focus
on Brooklyn and Brooklyn's in that building and it's a lawyer.
Remember we talked to the director, their director, Shaka King,
and he talked about when I go in there, it's

(29:00):
like my neighborhood's in here. Yeah, you have that, you know,
But you also have a lot of fans of the
Nets now who are out in Long Island because they
were Aba Nets fans. You've got a lot of fans,
the ones who watch it on TV and listen on
the radio. A lot of them are out in New
Jersey who were New Jersey Nets fans. And the fact

(29:22):
that we kind of use those old ABA throwbacks, which
the Nets also war in the finals and oh four
against the Spurs. It just it helps create that connection.
You know, we root for laundry as fans a lot
of times, and the laundry connects as as fans. And
I love embracing the old stuff. So when I'm sitting

(29:42):
in Barkley Center, in that beautiful arena at Flatbush and
Atlantic and thinking about the ten years there, I'm also
looking up at the banners of Doctor j and Jason
Kidd and and what we're seeing right now. Um, it's
just it's just I love that connection. So that's what

(30:03):
I'm going to go with there. Great answer, fantastic answer.
And you know, acknowledging the fans a team really belongs
to the fans. You know, coaches change, players change, ownership changes,
or people in the organization change. But fans fans, that's
a lifelong thing. Absolutely that. It's all that and the

(30:24):
other thing about it. I think we talked about this
in another podcast. I think I broke it down. There
were like only fourteen franchises that have won a championship
in the NBA in the last forty years or twelve
or fourteen. That's not a lot. Like you think about
all the fans that root for those teams that never
get anywhere close. It's the journey, you know, this whole idea.

(30:46):
Even when we break down players or other they win
a ring, well I don't know, but but you got
to watch them for so long they didn't win a ring.
It doesn't make them not a great player. Like we
get two wrapped up sometimes in the end result. Now,
a lot of times the process will lead you to
an end result if you have right process. But there's
a lot of luck involved too. So you know, as fans,
it's each and every night you're enjoying the journey. Like

(31:07):
if you're a Net fan and you enjoyed their win
against the Heat the other night. If the season doesn't
end in a in a in a championship, it doesn't
take away your elation from what you felt in the
moment watching that win, watching that game. Speaking of speaking
of wins, here from Peter Iovine, what is your favorite

(31:29):
win of the year. So my answer to that question,
if we had taped this a few days ago, would
have been the twenty eight point comeback in Boston against Boston. Yeah, down,
down fifty one, twenty three, came back in Boston to
win that game. Now, whenever they win in Boston, it's fun.

(31:49):
You know, those fans are great fans, but it's it's
it's the definition of a hostile environment when you're going
there as a road team. So when you when you
see them all fired up on a Friday night and
they're and they're going nuts, and they're up twenty eight
and they're and they're just it's a party. And then
by the an hour later, they're booing their team and

(32:09):
they're walking out with like three minutes to go in
the game. I mean, that's fun. That's great as an
opposing team broadcaster. But so that's right up there. I
don't want to diminish that one. But the game on
this past Saturday night as we tape this, when they
go into Miami and win against the Heat, there were

(32:30):
it's it's all things considered, right, it was the importance
of the game, and the standings Nets had fallen for
the first time were behind Miami, and the standings in
the all important racesure six because you don't want to
get seven. Then you got to play a play in game, right,
so you want to get six. They're a half a
game behind Miami for the first time. They lost five
straight games the Nets. You're going into Miami, Miami shoots

(32:54):
like eighty percent in the first quarter. Max Strusse, who's
a good player but he's truths, has like twenty in
the first quarter, and I thought it was like, all right,
but they're only down like seven, all right, But then
they get down fourteen. They're they're down twelve with like
two and a half minutes to go in the second quarter,

(33:17):
they make a little bit of run back and they
actually get it to four at halftime, and I'm saying it, Tim.
At halftime, I'm like, I'm looking at the scoreboard, Tim,
and I don't know how the Nets are in this game.
And that usually bears well for you. Right when you're playing,
you're playing poorly, and they're they're shooting seventy percent in

(33:37):
the first half, and they score sixty nine points, and
with all this on the line, we're going, oh, man,
you know here, here's a game with everything on the line.
This could be your season, this game. And you come
out and you go up sixty nine points in the
first half, and you allow them shooting nearly seventy percent,
but somehow you're still in the game. And they come
out like I think fourteen of the first sixteen points,

(33:59):
they have a seventeen old run there in the third quarter.
They outscore the Heat thirty nine to eighteen. In the
second quarter, and I said this, I said this on
Twitter after the game. Might have been all things considered,
and considering everything I just explained, might have been one
of the best halves of basketball I ever saw on
NET team play. Wow, I mean there is a point there.

(34:20):
The Heat had twenty eight points in the second half
until oh Mary Yurt seven in garbage time gets at
three point play and like the last three seconds of
the game and give him thirty one points and gets
into a hundred. They had held him. They gave us
sixty nine points in the first half, and they needed
the oh Marry Yurt seven three point play with three

(34:42):
seconds to go to get to one hundred. So from
a balanced attack the offense, the way the bab moved.
They bring in a guy like Edmund Summing off the bench.
He gets like twelve points at fourteen minutes, goes end
to end with four seconds to go in the third
quarter and gets a bucket at the end of the
order to get you know, and it goes running in
high five and everybody like there were such life and

(35:05):
energy on the road. Snapped the five game losing streak,
you know, moved up in the standings hand in Miami
and other loss. So to me, maybe it's a little
proximity bias, but to me, that was my favorite win
of the year this year. Wow, what a what an
impassionate answer, Chris, I really like to tell you the
good weather in the playoff implications, they charge me up

(35:31):
a less passionate answer perhaps for this next you never
know me and Isaac. I'm passionate about a lot of
things from Deep Barack. What should be the nets next mascot?
So Deep Barrack, I have a feeling that's Doug Barrick,
who is a fan that a longtime NET fan comes
to his dad to games like great net fan comes

(35:53):
to see us, says hello and hangs out with mister Whammy.
Do you know mister Wammy is Isaac. I've not. He's
this older gentleman who actually turned eighty seven recently, and
uh and and Bruce and he's he's been going back
to the medal lands days. He's actually an attorney um

(36:15):
from Brooklyn and he wears a red turtleneck with a
nets black nets jersey that says Whammy on it. He's
been featured on like ESPN. He goes and you know
the maloikia, Isaac, where you do it a little like
you put your fingers out here trying to curse the shooter.
So he'll he goes behind the basket when the other
team is shooting, and he whammys him. You know, he

(36:37):
gives the maloikia. He tries to whammy him, but eighty
seven jumps out of his seat every time an opposing
players going to the line and does the whammy, doesn't
do it. The former Nets, by the way, won't whammy
fort Wow. Okay, that's loyalty. So I would think about
this like I hope that that mister Whammy is around forever.

(36:59):
But I have a couple of rules when it comes
to mascots. You maybe not thought I have so much
in depth. I thought this would be a five second answer. No, no, no,
nothing with me, Isaac. Mascots have to be you have
to be really friendly. I think furry helps. I think
playful athletic. When the Nets had Sly the Fox in

(37:23):
New Jersey, it's also you know, here's another thing about
the whammy, because my friend Miguel was Sly for a
long time, great athlete to do all the dunks and everything,
but playful could walk into party and just play with
all the kids and stuff. Who's in the costume is
as important as the costume. Probably Morrison and you could
sometimes tell over the years, you subtly you'd be able

(37:46):
to tell if it was a different guy in the
costume than it was years before. And they're like athletes.
They can't do it for fifty years, you know, like
they of course, but when the Nets moved to Brooklyn,
they kind of wanted to part ways with Sly and
going to different director shouldn't be new and everything. And
they had this Brooklyn Knight and he wasn't fuzzy, he

(38:06):
wasn't warm, he wasn't playful. He was a bit intimidating.
And the night went away after a while. And you
get at Brooklyn Knight, right, like if you're if you're
from Brooklyn, you're called a Brooklyn Knight. So they made
the Brooklyn Knight with a K. But he was like
a knight, like he was hard, he had armor. It
was not, you know, an armor. It's a thing that
kids need to be able to go up to and

(38:27):
hug right right. And recently, Ellie the Elephant is the
is the mascot for the Liberty, and she was Ellie
the Elephant was at the game the other night the
Nets honor the Liberty and which as an aside, Spencer
didn't what he described their best offense sometimes as they
go elephant hunting, where you go you're try and just

(38:49):
pick on the weakest link defensively not a great term
around Ellie obviously, But and I don't know if elephants
are really like they kind of moved slow, and but
kids like elephants. But as long as it's just like
furry and athletic and friendly, you need something, I would
love to see it one day come back. As long
as it's like furry and friendly. And because sometimes when

(39:11):
you have these like community events or you go to
visit schools, like nothing gets kids charged up like an
energetic mascot coming in and playing with them, and they
get all charged up and it makes it fun the
for them, it makes it fun for the players that
are they're doing an appearance. So that's like kind of
really analyzing it. But so maybe if Whammy like down

(39:33):
the road, and again I hope mister Whammy's around forever,
but he's you know, realistic, we know life. Maybe we
do some kind of a furry version of a Whammy guy.
We call him Whammy and or even it was you know,
an elephant or whatever it may be. But get the
red turtleneck, we get the jersey that says Whammy, and

(39:58):
and that could be the mascot. I like that. I
like that. You know, many many, many many years from now,
obviously we would hope, but we could honor his legacy.
You know, he could cursing whammy, maybe doing it when
he's a hundred. His energy, he is, he is something else. Man. Incredible.
That's awesome. That's awesome. Um. Some a couple of silly

(40:20):
questions as we round out this mail bag. Here from
Maddie ing, what is your favorite ice cream flavor? Cookies
and cream? Wow? Okay, okay, I mean it's crowd favorite.
Everyone loves the cookies and cream, but strong feelings for
the cookies and cream. Yeah. I've gone on so long

(40:41):
with all these other questions. I'm just gonna be very
direct and say, cookies and cream. Wow, you're you're you're
really uh, you're downshifting your energy. I enjoy this change
of pace. I'm not a huge sweet sky. It's where
me and my wife differ. I like a good cookies
and cream ice I'm very simple and I'm like a
couple of bites and I'm good. I mean, cookies and
cream is really good. I'll eat a whole bowl, but

(41:02):
I won't eat a container. M our final question is
a really important one. I think as a New Yorker,
you know you're you're your lifelong Tri States residents, You've
always been in the New York metropolitan area. So this
is gonna be this is gonna be a crucial, crucial answer.

(41:23):
Do you put ketchup or mustard on hot dogs? There's
only one correct answer for this question. It's it's it's
obviously mustard. In fact, of course, I so here you'd
be what what a shock? I can go on for
about twenty minutes about hot dogs. But because back in

(41:46):
the old days, the old metal nds, they used to
have the pressure room where everybody goes in and get
something to eat. They would always have great you know food,
hot food and iced meal. You can get a really
good meal and a pressure room. Back in the matter,
he's still do in Brooklyn. But but even then you
got to think. But they had this thing in the
Metalands where in the corner they had one of those
hot dog machines where it rolls, you know, they get

(42:07):
rolls around the little roll lads to cook the hot dog.
And they were known like guys around the league would
come and it was like they were coming. They needed
to get a hot dog from the Metal Ends press room.
So we had a we had an engineer filling in
one time and Capri I see he goes down and
he gets a hot dog at halftime or something, and

(42:27):
he's got ketchup all over it. And I look at
Capra and he's almost he's gagging, and he looks away.
I go, what's wrong. He goes, he's got ketchup on
a hot dog. I have a gag reflex. It's like,
I hate that so much, amazing a gag reflex. And
I realized that I don't maybe get a gag reflex,
but I probably feel about the same way. So you

(42:49):
can't do catch up on a hot dog. I sometimes
I don't eat hot dogs often. I'll do it when
in the summertime on the grill. That's great. But it's
almost like a mustard delivery device from me. I gotta
have a lot of golden, spicy brown mustard on that
to deliver the hot dog. And you say it's a
New York thing. It's funny you say that because I

(43:12):
was actually had the had a great privilege of being
able to go to a to the city. The other day.
Fordham University sponsored a memorial for a great Fordham alum
and the godfather of Fordham Broadcasting, Ben's Scully. Right, you
know out in la you know, Ben Scully's a big deal, right.
So I went to the actual memorial mass for Ben

(43:32):
Scully at Saint Patrick's Cathedral. What a great morning that was.
You know, Ben's family was there and everything. It was
really a nice thing. And my son's a freshman at
Fordham and all the kids in the radio station that
are working there now went and were there in the front.
It was great. But afterwards, I'm I'm leaving and they

(43:54):
have those hot dog stands on the corners, and you
know and the dirty water dogs as we used to
call it, always called them, and they're so probably so
bad for you. But my eye was so tempted. But
it was in the morning. I hadn't even eat and
breakfast yet, Like I just couldn't do it. But yeah,
those those with plenty of mustard. A little crowd. Thinking

(44:16):
back days at a baseball game, they used to have
the you used to go to Yankee game, they would
have the vendors would come around with the little box
that had the hot water in it and the dog
they would make a fresh one for you right there.
They don't do that anymore, not the same. But yeah,
so I bet you didn't know I was going to
get that far with hot No, definitely, not, definitely not.
I mean, my my opinion is a little bit more sacrilegious.

(44:36):
I think I'm a relish guy. I really enjoyed Releish.
Ellis right. I'm not a relish guy. But that's great,
That's that's right. Yeah. There's also there's a thing called, uh,
you know, you ever hear a Sabrette you know, the
hot dogs, Sabrett sab Hart ect Maybe that's a New
York thing. I don't know. Sabrett hot dogs are like
the really popular hot dogs in New York. And they

(44:57):
they give you this, and you would get this in
a dirty water dog guy, you know on the corner.
The onions, the onion mix, like a tomato based onion mix,
and they'll sell the jars of it in the in
the in the stories around the summertime too. The Sabrette
onion mix, which is also awesome, a little mustard too, tremendous.
And I said, you know before I before, I know

(45:18):
you said it was the last question. Sure, but I
did notice a few people had checked in, I know
when when I when I put out on Twitter, I
did see one that we didn't do, and I just
wanted to get to it because it's a poignant thing
for me. Okay, to ask yourself, because because I thought
you might ask one. But Mike Biseglia, who has a
podcast about food. That's why I wanted to get to it. Okay,

(45:39):
Mike delivers pod. Okay, I saw that he's he's a
guy used to work at fan But he asked me
about favorite city on the road that maybe kind of
not your traditional big city known for food that you
love the food. And I just wanted to say this one,
this one place, because it's always a surprise and it's

(46:02):
bittersweet right now for me. When people ask me what's
in one of my one of my favorite restaurants in
the country on the road, I say, my absolute favorite
restaurant in the country on the road wherever we travel
and we go to all the big cities, is in
Salt Lake City, Utah, Woo. And it's Italian and I've been,

(46:23):
you know, I've been to Italian restaurants in Italy. Nothing
is better than Vaulter's Osteria in Salt Lake City, and
the reason it's bittersweet is a big part of when
you went there. And the NBA family knows this. Vaulters
was this larger than life guy, white hair, always had

(46:45):
impeccably dressed, usually a sweater, vest and a tie. And
he greeted you like you or his long lost cousin
when you came in every time, and if he got
to know you, forget it. He was just the hug
I never got hugged harder than Vulter. Well, he recently
passed away. He had cancer. I had said a friend

(47:05):
of mine out there, who's going to be in Salt
Lake City, I said, you gotta go to Vaulters. And
he went and he said, you know, Balter didn't look
good at me. He was and then I saw pictures
he had lost his hair, that white hair. But everybody
around the league knew you'd go to Vaulters. It was
it was incredible. They the service, they served things table side.
It was like you were in Rome. I mean it

(47:28):
was just unbelievable. And the food was incredible. Vaulter I
actually got the coffee table book that he had put
out and it talked about his life. And he was
from Italy and he worked in these resorts that his
family owned in northern Italy. Uncle then owned it, and
then they sent them to go work at one of
their resorts in Northern Africa, and he worked there and

(47:49):
he developed all his culinary skills at his restaurant skills.
And then he went and worked at the Drake Hotel
in Manhattan, and had a couple of places in New
York and then went out to Salt Lake City, Utah.
And you know, he used to say, there's an Italian
restaurant New York. There's an Italian restaurant every block out here.
There isn't as much competition, but he didn't need it
didn't matter the competition. His stuff was authentic and real

(48:11):
and incredible. So I vaultered Nassy. I loved seeing him
and miss him. And hopefully Walters will still be the
same without him there, but it's going to definitely be
missing something. It's a major ingredient. But I just want
to get that out there rest in peace. Yeah, and

(48:32):
you know what, I knew, it was a great you know,
I send a friend out there one time and he
texted me and he goes, I know him in the
right place. When Greg Popitch is at the table next
to me. Yeah, yeah, that's a good sign usually with
the with the bottle of wine next to him too. Yes, yes,
So I don't want to not to end it on
a low note. I want to end it on a
celebratory note, because you talk about passion, Isaac. Nobody was

(48:53):
more passionate about food and friendship and life then Walter
Nassy and we should all live that way. It's like
watching it was like it was like a walkie, like
an older Italian ted Lasso. Just beautiful man, beautiful man. Chris.
Do you want to take us out? Yes? By the way,

(49:16):
so speaking of ted Lasso, I always give you something
to listen to. I always look. You know what I love, Isaac.
I love discovering music through TV shows. Have you ever
done that something or SoundHound something when you see him? Song?
So at the end, there's a very pointed scene at
the end of season two, episode two, and it was
a song and I had a Google so two of
season three, which is going on currently. Yes, let's let's

(49:38):
clarify for the audience. Yes, so there's a song and
I had a shazam it and it was a song
called night Falling, Nights Falling by Andrew Bird. And then
I did a little deep dive into his music and
you know, he's got a little violin thing going on
and poignant lyrics. And he was from the squirrel Nut Zippers,

(49:58):
remember that band, And and he's got a long, long career.
He's put out a lot of records. And then I
did a little more you know, reading on him. He
actually did some acting and he was in season four
of Fargo. He played the funeral director. And that was
the year where Chris Rock starred in Fargo, So that
would be so so Andrew Bird is my listening recommendation.

(50:21):
Night's falling and Fargo is something if you haven't seen
you ever seen Fargo the TV show? Why is it?
I have not? That's a recommendation from me. Season three
maybe a little u first couple of seasons. I mean,
Billy Billy bout Thornton's in the first one, like it's
a great it's not like it's based on the t
on the movie Fargo, but then it goes in different

(50:42):
and each season is a different kind of story with
different actors and everything. And season four was Chris Rock
and that's Andrew Bird played the funeral director. So there
you go. There are a couple of things to watch
and shout out, you know, speaking of Fargo, North Dakota. Right,
we have a listener Jim all the time tweets in
with us me and uh listen to our games in

(51:02):
North Dakota. About that one. We got fans out there, Isaac,
so uh, shout out to Jim, Shout out to everybody.
Isaac Lee, thanks so much for being a part of
being my sidekick here today. I liked, Oh no, thank
you for having me. Chris, we have to work you
in more. You're gonna make me work. Carter, I know, uh,
and Steve Goldberg and thanks to everybody there, Thanks to

(51:23):
everybody checking in on the mailback. We're gonna get to
more of those, gonna do that more. I didn't think
I'm like everybody. We guys brought up you and Steve
brought up a mail back episode. I said, what am
I gonna like? That'll be fifteen minutes? No, because I
talked to much, sir, Well sir anyway, Well, thanks Isaac,
Thanks everybody out there for tuning in. We're gonna again.

(51:44):
Playoffs are coming up, so we're gonna have We're gonna
have some more NETS related stuff coming up, and we
get definitely before the playoffs, we'll have Sarah Kustock and
and and Tim Capstraw on to break down those uh
those playoff series and break down the season. Thanks for listening,
Thanks for subscribing. Again. I'm Chris Carino and this has
been the voice of the NETS.