February 5, 2024 • 46 mins
This week on BULLY BALL, Boogie is BACK from Taiwan and we finally know what a Beer Leopard is. The duo discusses Embiid's injury and the impact the 65-game rule had. Plus, they discuss the trade deadline and Boogie gives his case for a Kyrie to the Lakers trade and they debate if the Cavs are contenders.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
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(01:05):
sports book. The Crown is yours. Welcome to Bullyball, presented
by DraftKings. I'm Rachel Nichols. That is, of course, DeMarcus Cousins.
And first of all, I want to compliment you on
(01:25):
the greenery behind you book. I really adds a lovely,
warm touch to the pod. I'm very happy. And also
note that you and the plant are not in Taiwan.
You are back. You are back in the States.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Absolutely absolutely, it was an amazing experience. I had an
incredible time out there. So much hospitality and so much love.
People just you know, genuinely genuinely nice out there. And
like I said, I had an amazing experience. So you know,
I'm glad to be back, Glad to be back home
with the fan. But you know, back to the regular schedule.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I have to tell you it pained me for the
entire few weeks you were over there to not know
what a beer leopard was. We discussed it and I
did some research. Well, you were on an airplane. I
know what it is, do you know?
Speaker 3 (02:13):
I still don't know, I don't. I don't please me.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
So the team you played for, for those who have
not been caught up, was called the Taiwan Beer Leopards,
and I kept I want to know, what's the beer leopard?
What's the logo of a beerard? What does it look like?
And finally I got some answers. I did some reporting.
The team is not actually called the beer Leopards. It's
the Taiwan Beer, which is a brand Leopards. Who knew.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
The Taiwan beer is actually really really good, by the way,
So is it?
Speaker 3 (02:49):
It's amazing? Oh that makes sense. Now that does make sense.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
It leaves a hole in the marketplace, though, because now
I am determined to design like a beer leopard logo,
and it's some team to wear it because it's such
a good idea. Wouldn't that merched out like a leopards drinking?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Actually they actually have some really don't merch over there,
so you know, adding to it. I don't think it
would be a bad play at all.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
There you go, there you go. I just want to
know I'm here for you if there's if you have
a question, I will find out the answer. All right,
we got some really bummer News yesterday. First up, Joelle
embiid he is in fact going to have knee surgery.
It will keep him out for a quote extended period
of time. And when I say extended, and one of
(03:36):
the stories I read a store said that it's not
out of the question. They won't rule out that he'll
return this season. Number you want the other way, right,
So the idea that they're even thinking about that is
just it's frustrating, right if you saw the season that
he had, if you look at the turn of events
that led up to this. He got hurt at the
(03:59):
end of a game again, the Warriors clearly having trouble
with it. In the next game that they played, I
think it was against the Pacers, and then the next
game after that was that game in Denver where he
set out and you remember just the absolute sure around
the league, on the internet everywhere was you know, people
(04:19):
calling him a coward because he hadn't played Nikolaiokic in
Denver since twenty nineteen. There was a ton of question marks.
Now against didn't even belong to still be in the
MVP race. It was a lot. It was a lot.
And Joelle, as we know, is very online. He pays
attention to what's on Twitter and Instagram and tiktak and
all that stuff. He loves to chip in himself sometimes,
(04:41):
so I'm sure he heard all of this stuff, people
questioning his manhood, questioning how he was as a player,
not saying he was like the old players, you know,
who used to play the eighty two games and all that.
So then he went out and played on it and
of course tore his meniscus. So I guess, biggie, what
I want to ask you is, what kind of pressure
do you feel he felt he was under. Do you
(05:02):
think it had a role in him actually playing that
last game.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
I absolutely think it played a role in it. Like
you said, he is a guy that pays attention to
what's being said, and you know that's not always a
bad thing. Some guys enjoy the criticism. The criticism you know,
allows you to, you know, kind of put that fire
underneath you to you know, play better or reach that.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Michael Jordan right famously read everything.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Absolutely absolutely, But you know, it is a very unfortunate situation,
and it goes back to the sixty five game rule.
I believe Joel was the front runner for another MVP
season and uh, you know, it sucks that it had
to end this way. And at the end of the day,
you know, Joel playing fifty games and completing the season.
(05:49):
It's not only better for the league, the fans, but
also for the Philadelphia organization. I'd rather have an NB
playing fifty games compared to one pressing to me to
sixty five game criteria and possibly had these type of results.
Like I said, it's very unfortunate. I mean, and you
understand why the league is trying to do it. You're
(06:10):
trying to put a band aid over something that's been
an issue for the past couple of years. So I
think they're going to continue to try to experiment with this,
or I would suggest that they try to keep experimenting
when just to try to find the perfect mixture for
not only the players, but for the fans as well well.
We all want to see the big fell on the floor.
Like I said, it's better for the NBA, it's better
(06:31):
for the fans, it's better for the game in general.
So this is an unfortunate situation, and we got to
go back to the drawing board and figure out what's
the best balance for these players in these fans.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Yeah, I mean, you know, I've been on my soapbox
about this since when they passed the role last year,
talked about it again at the beginning of the season.
I don't understand this, not because, as you said, I
understand why they want to curb load management. I understand
the fans who are so frustrated when they buy a
t get to see someone and they don't show up.
All of those things. I agree that is a problem
(07:05):
we need to solve. I just don't think this sixty
five game rule has anything to do with solving that problem,
because we have already seen that guys aren't necessarily coming
back from injury early in order to hit those sixty
five games. So it's not working. It's not doing it,
and the one guy who did, the one guy who
did try to do it, got a lot more hurt
(07:26):
and he's a huge star that the league won't have
for the next chunk of the season and maybe, you know,
toward the end of the season. So I just it's
not working. The one time it did work, it ended
up in disaster. And you know, I think the people
who are like, oh, if he doesn't play sixty five games,
he shouldn't be considered anyway. That's possibly true, But there
is a difference between having a hard mark that's in
(07:48):
your head that everyone is talking about all the way
around you all weekend. You're getting all this pressure versus
just the idea that, hey, the fewer games you play,
the less you will be in contention for MVP. It's
very different to me. It's a hard and fast number,
and of course he wouldn't be considered for MVP if
he played, you know, fifty eight games. Fifty games. People
are being so silly when they're kind of taking it
(08:10):
to that extreme. It just doesn't need to be a
hard number that's putting this kind of pressure on people,
and in general it's not working. So why don't we
find something that works for me? As I've said to you, like,
I think it's got to start with ownership. I think
the owners need to look out through their own house.
If you don't like as an owner that you're losing
TV money over the fact that guys don't play, make
(08:32):
your own guys play, not when they're hurt, but when
they're resting, that type of thing. So I just it
starts with them. Don't expect Adam Silver to be only
grown up in the room here. He's not a babysitter.
And I think what happened to Joelle is just it's
so like he was playing so great. He was scoring
a point a minute, Buggie, a point a minute. No
(08:54):
one has done that since Will.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
That's crazy, man, That's that's really unfortunate.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
And it's a bumber for the Sixers of course as well.
They're twenty six and eight with Joel. Without Joel, they
are four and ten. They are fifth in the East
right now. But I mean there's a lot of teams
around them who are making a lot of strides, the Calves,
the Knicks obviously now they're looking ahead up at them.
Does Philly, which had such the hot start to the season.
They're definitely considered one of the Eastern Conference's elite teams.
(09:25):
Do they now have to worry about falling into the
plan book or worse?
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Absolutely, I Mean the record speaks for itself at four
and ten went out the Big Fella, So it's definitely
a cause of concern, and they're going to have to
make some moves to just keep this team afloat to
the Big Fellow returns, if he even returns. So it's
definitely something that they need to, you know, put some
urgency behind and you know, now it kind of changes
(09:55):
the whole trajectory of their season because obviously you can
make moves that fit well with mbid on the floor,
but now you have to make a move just to
keep the team afloat while mb is absent. So they
definitely have a tough task on their hands and finding
that right you know, combination of players or the right solution.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
It's gonna be a tough one, but.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
I think it's possible, and they got some things to
figure out moving forward.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Absolutely, see, I think they might go the other way
and then, look, we don't know what the actual projection
is for Joel to be out. Maybe it's only you know,
maybe it's less than we think. But if it is
really a substantial part of what's left in the season,
if I'm Daryl Murray, i might just sort of say, Okay,
it's a shame, but this is what it is. The
reality is that we're not going to you know, win
(10:42):
the Eastern Conference this season, so let's just wait until
the summer to make any moves that we're going to make.
They'll have even more ammo. They've been saving a ton
of cap space for this coming summer and start again
when Joel Embiid is fresh and ready to go at
the beginning of next season hopefully. I mean, we saw
this with Jamal Murray Denver a few years ago when
he got hurt. They definitely thought the Nuggets that that
(11:04):
was going to be the year that they won the title,
and Jamal got hurt and it just put everything on hold.
But they stuck with what they had, They played the
guys they had, and you know, with some few alterations
around the margins, that's the team that won the NBA Championship.
So there is there is an argument for just sort
of cutting the bait and saying, Okay, you know this sucks,
(11:27):
it's not what we wanted, but let's not make it
worse by spending assets to chase after something that if
if Droelle is not there most of the year, rest
of the year, like I just they're not They're not
going on with that.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
I agree with that, Rach. And it's not an absolute
fail for them this season. Obviously, they they got a
brand new All Star and Tyrese Maxie. He can finish
out the year, continue to build his confidence, continue to
you know show he's you know, he's at that point
in his career where he's ready to you know, take
over and beat that second option for championship team. So
(12:01):
not all went wrong for this team this season, and
that's not a bad approach with how to finish out
this season, sit back, continue to develop the guys and
playing for this next season. I think them taking that
sample of what Denver did, I think that's not a
bad play for them either. So I can agree with
that absolutely.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Yeah, And look, they know better than any of us.
If Joelle is going to be back in four to
six weeks, that's a different story, but certainly didn't sound
like that from a bunch of the reporting around it yesterday.
And that leaves opportunities. My friend, four teams like the
Cleveland Cavaliers. They are thirteen and two in their last
fifteen games, best record in the NBA over the last
(12:40):
six weeks. Mobley and Garland they both returned with the
last three games, so now they are pretty much healthy.
But you also have to look at before that when
Donovan was just more than holding it down. He was
playing so well. They're currently in third place, they're only
one game behind the Bucks. Is it time to think,
especially with Philly sort of possibly dropping out here, that
(13:01):
the Calves are a true contender to be in the
Eastern Conference finals, to win the East, to be in
the finals. What do you think are they in the
position where they should make a deadline deal to up that?
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Uh? I think this is a team that can make
a lot of noise. Obviously, they weren't healthy in the
beginning of the season. Missing two key pieces in your
starting lineup is going to have that type of effect
on any team, no matter who's on the floor. And
credit to Donovan for keeping everything afloat while he you know,
his partners were missing in crime. But when it comes
(13:34):
to this Calves team, I think I think they're perfect
where they are. I don't I don't see any moves
really improving or making this team worse. So I'm comfortable
saying this team should stay where it is.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
You know, let your guys continue, let your returners continue
to get into a rhythm, find their rhythm, keep building
the chemistry with the team, and you know, by the
end of the year, this is a scary team. So
I think they stay put and just you know, play
this season out and just keep getting better at each game.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Look, I think it's unquestioned at this point we've played,
you know, more than half the season. The Celtics at
the class of the conference, right, I mean, they're the
team to be in the East, absolutely, But you look
at the Calves, only one game behind the Bucks and
we're about to talk about the trade deadline. If the
Bucks don't do anything significant at the deadline, that Calves
team is very feisty and definitely would be a challenge
(14:28):
to them with the way that Milwaukee's defense have been
and all the ways that the Calves can attack. I
don't know, I think it's be very interesting, and of
course the Knicks as well, what happens over the next
few months in the East. But it's just a huge
shakeup that's about to happen here. And according to Tankathon,
the Calves are twenty first in terms of having the
toughest remaining schedule, so definitely bottom third of the league.
(14:51):
That that means that they'll have an easier remaining schedule.
The Celtics, by the way, are twenty ninth, so they
have the most ho schedule, but still still if you
look at the games left, I mean that's we're getting
to that time of year. People think the All Star
Break is the midway point of the season. It's not.
It's almost two thirds of the way through the season.
(15:12):
And the Cavs definitely have an open road here with
a healthy bench, a healthy starting group, and the twenty
first toughest schedule, so that means the ninth easiest schedule
in the league going forward. I don't know, man, I'm
impressed with that team. I agree, all right, would you
need to talk about the Bucks because first we have
(15:33):
to mention what happened with Doc Rivers. He is one
and three so far with the Bucks as we sit here,
and yet he has been named the East Conference All
Star Coach. Buggy, I want to explain for people who
are not caught up, that honor goes to the coach
of the best team with the best record in the
conference every year by a certain date. But the exception
(15:54):
is if you coached in the previous year, you don't
have to do it again because coaches actually like having
that week. So Boston staff they would normally be named
the coach of the Eastern Conference team this year, but
they actually did it last year, so then it falls
to the coach of the next team in the standings, which,
as we just said, is Milwaukee. That is how Doc
(16:16):
got the honor. It is, of course, on the basis
of Adrian Griffin's work, and Doc knows this is silly.
He was asked over the weekend about it, and he
seemed as unhappy as everyone else. He said, quote, it's
ridiculously bad, he said, it really is. He also told
our friend Mark Stein that he intends to give Griff
the all star ring and bonus money that comes with
(16:36):
the spot. First of all, what did you think when
you heard this? And we're got to talk about what
might be done about it?
Speaker 3 (16:43):
I mean, I couldn't agree less with Doc. This is.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
A silly situation. You can't blame Doc for. If anything,
I blame the league for putting Doc in this situation.
I think Doc is handling this situation. That's way possible,
you know, giving him his check, giving him his ring
for you know, the honors that he did, you know,
get for this past season. But I feel like it
(17:11):
was so many other options they could have went with
besides putting Doc in this situation. I mean, Nick Nurse
could have been the coach this year.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
JB. Bickers.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
There's so many options as to who could have filled
that spot, but just you know, going to step below.
Like I said, I think Doc handled it the best
way possible, but they definitely put him in a situation
to where it makes him be the scape or look
like the bad guy, and that's just not the that's
not the reality of the situation.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Yeah, it's super unfortunate. And I know what the rule is,
and I just talked about it the rulers. You go
to the next the next team down and the coach
of that team, But I think this is the kind
of year where it's an odd situation and you have
to make an exception. And if I had been in
the league office, I would have you know, had a
phone call with Doc first. If he was going to
be like, no, I deserve it, it's mine, maybe you
(18:04):
don't touch it. But of course that's not how he
was going to be. We all know Doc rivers. He
wouldn't want to do something like that. I agree, he's
very genuine in this and maybe you step in and
say great, you know, because of the unusual circumstances. You know,
Boston's coaching staff is not going because of the rule,
Milwaukee's coaching staff is not going because the head coach
who earned the honor is no longer with the organization,
(18:24):
so we are going to the next team. And as
you said, like I just JB. Bicker Staff would love
that honor, right, and he's earned it considering all of
these work and sweat he is exactly. I mean, this
guy has been a stalwart on coaching staffs around the
league and then done the work with Cleveland. I mean,
he's been so impressive on that team that, as you remember,
(18:45):
had gone through a bunch of coaches before him, and
he gave him stability. He's worked so well with the
young players. He deserves something like this, And I just
think it's a shame that there couldn't be an alteration.
There is there anything in the All Star Game that
you want need to see, rules changes, anything else like
that besides the coaching famous year.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
I just believe it something has to come into play
to where it's a little more enjoyable for the guys
that do make All Star because a lot of things
going behind the scenes that you know, the average fan
and the average person doesn't know about or isn't aware of.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
For those guys that make what kind of stuff tell us.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
It's a lot of work, a lot of work, and
especially for it to be a time period of where
guys are supposed to be resting and preparing to you know,
come back for that second half and finish out strong.
So to me, it's just kind of weird how you
earn this All Star not but then you get even
more work just to go back into the season and
start work again. So but while everybody else is resting,
(19:47):
it's just it's kind of a weird dynamic.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
And you know, I can remember my situation with my.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
The year I got traded from Sacramento New Orleans, and
I remember telling me Steve like, I remember telling Steve like,
I don't want to play this uh this weekend, Like
I'm tired from the season. I want to rest up
and be ready to go for the second half of
the season. At the time, the Kings were a game
and a half out of the playoff spot. So my
(20:17):
whole mindset was and we had to eat. We had
pretty easy schedule going into the second half, so my
mindset was, we're about to make this late push and
we're gonna make the playoffs. So so for it to
be that type of a situation where I just have
to totally remove myself from the weekend just to be ready
for the second half. Like it has to become some
type of balance for these All Stars. So I would
(20:40):
say that's probably one of the biggest things. And I'm
pretty sure every other guy that's earned their honor, could
you know, speak on my bath or speak on their
own bath when it comes to just finding a way
to get a little more resting and having a little
more of an enjoyable weekend.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
I get that. I get that completely, and it does
put guys who have earned the spot and a weirdly
unfair disadvantage, So I don't know what they would do
about that. I do think the All Star Game and
All Star Weekend in general, because it's become this just
sort of big traveling circus show, is good for the league.
I think people love, you know, the NBA is a
star driven league. We love seeing the stars. We would
(21:18):
like a more competitive game. They've of course gone back
and forth with the elon ending and then it did work,
and then it didn't work, and now they're back to
East and West and the picking of the teams did work,
and that it didn't work, and all the stuff but
you know, we've talked for years about doing a one
on one kind of thing. You know, Tracy McGrady, our
teammate here, has a one on one league who you know,
(21:42):
he's been talking about how he could bring that to
All Star Weekend. I just I understand that guys don't
want to get embarrassed. But when we talk about, oh,
what the old school players would do versus what these
players would do, I get it. We all want to
talk about. You know, Michael Jordan played ninety games out
of eighty too, you know, whatever, whatever, But you know
what else he did. He competed in the All Star Game.
(22:04):
He competed in the Dunk Contest. Like, why are you
tell me? Why do players not want to put anything
of themselves on the line in a game like this?
Why can't it just be fun?
Speaker 3 (22:20):
I honestly.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
My reason behind it, I would blame it on the
fatigue and what I just said earlier. Yeah, it's so
much that goes behind the scenes of an All Star Weekend.
It's so much work outside of you know, the Dunk Contest,
the three point Contest, the All Star Game. Like, that's
the end of the day When those things occurrent there's
so much things in between that, between the appearances, the meetings.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
The media.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
It's just it's constant things.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
And it's not a situation where you know, you just
want to continue to just miss out because that's not
good for business. These things pushed so many other things
that go into this business. So you know, you're you
appearing at these different stops, these parties, these these business meetings,
these these photos, it's all of these things. It's only
(23:13):
a push for the NBA. So obviously you've got to
understand the business side of it and all of that
comes with it. And that's kind of where I'm asking,
where's the balance as far as it being an enjoyable
weekend for these All Stars and also being able to
catch up on the rest to not only give one
hundred percent effort during the All Star weekend, but also
(23:34):
be ready to come back and finish our strong going
into the second half of the season.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
And hello, you mentioned it. You had the weirdest All
Star weekend ever I think in the recent history and
possibly complete history of the NBA. You were playing for Sacramento.
You went into the weekend playing for Sacramento. I don't
remember if the names of the teams run the jerseys
of that particular year, but if they were, you would
have had Sacramento on your and the news broke was
(24:02):
it the morning of the All Star Game or even
during the All Star.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Game that you had been during the All Star.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Game during the game that you had been traded to
the Pelicans. And at that time, the trade deadline was
after the All Star Game, so the trade deadline had
been just a few days away, and the Kings made
a trade, and I remember being there covering the game,
and they still brought you out to have to talk
to the media afterward, which I thought was I just
(24:30):
felt so bad for you. I was like, I mean, look,
as a journalist, it was nice to be able to
talk to you, but you appropriately didn't really answer the
questions because you were so dazed right about what was happening,
and I just didn't do anyone any good. And so
I couldn't believe that you had to go out and
talk after that. But yeah, you got traded during the game,
(24:52):
and you know that is the reason, by the way,
that the trade deadline is now when it is because
of you. They flipped the trade deadlin and the All
Star Games, So you know it's your mark on league
history booking addition to all your on court accomplishments, all
the All Star appearances, but that last one was Sacramento.
(25:14):
That was the special one.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
All small part of history.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
The trade deadline is, of course this Thursday, and we
have some exciting news. Let me ask you a question.
Would all of you out there like to spend the
afternoon with a group that includes a league MVP, A Finals, MVP,
four NBA champions with twenty nine All Star appearances between them?
Would that group be like a fun group to hang
(25:39):
out with for during the trade deadline table? I think
that group is pretty good. In fact, I think that
you and me, Buggy, Matt Barnes, Steven Jackson, Kevin Garnett,
and Paul Pierce will all be hanging out live on
the All the Smoke YouTube channel Thursday. It will start
at one thirty pm Eastern thirty am Pacific time. It
(26:02):
will be on YouTube. We're just gonna kick it, hang out.
If there aren't any big trades, that doesn't matter, because
we are going to have an MVP, A Finals MVP
and four NBA Championships with twenty nine All Star appearances
shooting the shit and talking about stuff for two hours
and if there's trades, we'll be excited and we'll talk
about the trades. So if you would like to hang
(26:22):
out with us, everyone out there, please come hang out
with us. We'll put up a bunch of stuff on
the on the Instagram and everywhere else so you can
see all the details. But I'm very excited about that.
And I just want to preview here by asking you, boog,
which team do you think needs to make the trade
the most. Who are we going to be talking about
on that day the most?
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Oh, I think the biggest thing will probably be the Lakers.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Obviously they have championship aspirations.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
They're not where they want to be right now in
the season, and you know around this time they're always
looking to make moves, this time in the buyot market.
But with the trade line, trade deadline on the way,
I can see them being a very active team. You
want to squeeze this limit and get the most out
of these years left you have with Lebron on the roster,
(27:12):
So this go time for this team at every deadline,
so I can see them making a move. And I
would also say the Mavericks, and ironically, I think those
teams should actually make.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
A deal together.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
I think it, Oh, I mean d Loo and Kyrie
just just swap him out.
Speaker 3 (27:34):
I think I think.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Hear me out, hear me out for Dallas.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
I think it is I think I think when it
comes to d LO, I think Dlo gives that dynamic
of you know, kind of that Jayalen Bronson Luca combination.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
I think Luca is at his best when there is another.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
League guard next to him, as far as it being
more of a catch and shoot type of guy, a
guy that can potentially io and also playmate with. You know,
with Kyrie, we know he's looking to score every single time,
and that's just who Kyrie is, uh absolutely, which also
moves to my next point with what the Lakers need.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
They need another dynamic.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
I think Kyrie fits in perfectly with Lebron and a
d I think that's the perfect combination. And I mean,
obviously we can go into more details about a potential move,
but I mean I could see a Dlo RUI for Kyrie.
The MAVs then flip it to maybe potentially looking for
a guy like a Miles Bridges for a first round
(28:37):
pick or something of that nature. And I think the
MAVs improved tremendously over that time. Like I said, the
Lakers going they try to grab a Kyrie and potentially
maybe Alice Caruso. You got Kyrie, Alice Caruso, Van dool
Lebron James, Anthony Davis. I think both teams get better,
and I think they're then putting in a position to
(28:59):
where they have a chance to contend this season. So
just my opinion, I could be wrong, and my good
tells me I'm right.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
So well, if you're Rob Palinka, I understand what the
whole scenario is appealing. If you're Nico Harrison, I would
hang up on you. I'm sorry, I just I would.
If I was Nico, I would hang up on you.
I love you book, you know that, but I would
hang up the phone. Kyrie Irving hit one of the
greatest shots in NBA Finals history. You have plenty of
(29:28):
evidence that he can become unconscious under the highest pressure situations.
He wasn't just that game. He did it again and
again and again, d Loo and again. Really like Dilo,
and he's had a very impressive month or so. I
really want to give him credit for that. Not known
as an unconscious play out performer, or maybe he is,
but not in the direction that you would want. So
(29:51):
you know, I'm I'm not making that deal even for
Delo and RUI if I'm Nico. But I like how
you're thinking. I certainly think the Lakers MAVs need to
make it feel I would make the Miles Bridges deal,
of course, if that's offered. For absolute sure, I think
the Bucks really need to make a trade. I'm very
interested to talk about them when we hang out on Thursday,
(30:12):
because they spent most of their assets for Damian Lillard.
I still back the trade. I think they had to
do something. You know, Dame and Yannis had talked about
playing together for a while. Yannis, as you remember in
that previous month, not just was making noises about sort
of oh I don't know, like actually talked in a
New York Times article about the fact that he would
(30:33):
consider leaving the Bucks. So you had to do something.
And Davian Lillard is as good of a move as
I think you could have come up with in that moment.
But it left you with some defensive struggles and they've
known that all season, and we've seen it all season,
even though they're number two in the conference right now,
and I just think with limited assets, they are going
(30:55):
to have to try to do something. I don't know
if Bobby Pors is going to get moved, I don't
know what else they can do. Who else is out there.
Everyone's looking for a player that can, you know, stand
up defensively and still be contributor on offense. So it's
going to be hard task. But that's that's my level
of interest. Uh, you know, that's where I want to
see for sure. But yeah, like look, if that Lakers
mav Trap MAVs trade happens, I will give you like
(31:18):
a crown. I will give you like you know, some Taiwan.
Speaker 3 (31:24):
Just my thought.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
You could be proven right. I'm just I'm hanging out
on you. That's all I'm saying. Let's go to other
bets you may or made not take. It is time
for all take that bet presented by DraftKings. Will you
take this bet? Boogey? The Super Bowl is, of course
the Sunday DraftKings will have the forty nine ers right
now on the board, and the forty nine ers are
the two point favorites over the Chiefs. Who are you
(31:51):
taking to bet with? Are you taking the Chiefs with
that like two points, you know they could they get
it on? Are you taking the forty nine.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Ers on paper? I'm leaning towards the forty nine ers.
I think you know they've.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Been well even with giving the two points.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
I'm taking the forty nine ers on paper. But okay,
I'm gonna have to roll with Taylor Swift. Just the head.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
The amount of attention is this, this lady is receiving
the Super Bowl has basically become about her.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
I don't know what kind of.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Behind the scenes business is going on with, you know,
this Taylor Swift and NFL combination. But I'm gonna lean
with Taylor Swift because this is it is getting out
of hand right now. But I think I'm gonna go
with Taylor Swift on That's just my opinion.
Speaker 1 (32:49):
I don't know if she's on the Draft Kings betting board,
but to you, she should be. It should just say
forty nine ers versus Taylor Swift.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
Yeah, forty nine ers versus Taylor Swift for sure?
Speaker 1 (32:58):
All right? All right? I by the way, I want
to stand up. I think that the flak that Taylor
Swift has gotten has been ridiculous. It is not her
fault when the camera goes on her. It is good
for being good for everyone. The league and the Chiefs
have made three hundred and thirty million more dollars since
she has gotten involved and started showing up at games.
(33:19):
It's been great for the level of interest with non
traditional NFL fans and the fact that some NFL fans
you know, have to see her face three or four
times a game. It's it's not actually as much it
was at the beginning. But it's not actually as much
as people say it is. Right now, you can tough
it out. You'll be okay, you know, drink a beer,
do something. And those those three or four seconds she's
(33:41):
on the screen a few times during the game, it's okay.
You don't want to see the replay for the six
well no, no, each time, like they don't show her for
like five minutes each time, right, Like they flash to her,
it's maybe what you know, I don't know, six seconds
whatever it is, and then they go back to the game.
You're not You're not having your life interrupted every time
time they go to her. Is my point.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
It actually is when you you you've you've you're watching
this game to watch football. You're not here to see
Taylor Swift. So in a way, you are interrupting my day.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
Okay, Lebron James. When Lebron James shows up right at
an L. A. Rams game like you show him. In fact, they.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
Showed him one or two times, one or two times,
swag survant like that. That doesn't happen. That does not happen.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
I just think the pros outweigh the cons. I think
it is not that much to deal with. I love football,
like football is the reason I got into this job.
My entire life has been guided by loving football. It
is literally the reason that sent me to sports journalism school.
All of it. I get it. I love watching the games.
I get into it, I get into the x's nose.
(34:54):
I just don't think it ruins anyone's day to see
one of the most popular things well in the entire
world flash on the screen occasionally and know that has
brought a whole new group of fans to the game
who could be long term fans. And I don't know
if that's something that some people sort of in the
back of their minds have a problem with. They don't
want the game quote diluded with fandom by these new fans.
(35:17):
But that's ridiculous because the more fans of a sport
there can be that, the more great it is, the
more people you can bring into the tent. I just
I don't know, I will say this. I don't know
if you saw this, but the Japanese government has gotten
involved in the entire Taylor Swift situation. You know that
she is due to give a concert in Tokyo on
Saturday night, and the question was could she get to
(35:38):
the Super Bowl in time for Super Bowl Sunday if
she was in Tokyo on Saturday night, And the answer,
of course is yes, she can because Tokyo is seventeen
hours ahead of us, so she can get done, get
on a plane at midnight. It's a thirteen hour flight,
so she'll actually be in Tokyo Saturday night performing a
concert and then get to Las Vegas when it's still
Saturday night in Las Vegas and be able to get
(35:59):
a good night's sleep and go to the game. And
the Japanese government had to put out a statement assuring
Japanese fans that Taylor Swift was not going to cut
her concert short, that they were going to get the
full show before she got on the plane to go
to Nevada. So you are correct, she is the headline
for a lot of people for this game. But I'm
just I'm going to say I understand and like it's
(36:22):
okay to have different opinions on this. I just want
it to be okay to have different opinions on this, right.
I think there are a lot of people who are
finding this a lot of fun, who've gotten into football
because of it, and I don't think that's a bad thing.
And I think, you know, we got to understand there's
a lot of points of view here. So this is
this is how I feel. We're going to look at
the fun prop bet a DraftKings as well. What color data,
(36:45):
Raye Boogie? Do you think we'll be dumped on the
winning coach? You can actually bet on this.
Speaker 3 (36:52):
I might have to go with the purple art was
a favorite. Yeah, that's one of my favorites.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
So I could see with the weather conditions, the dryness
of the desert, I think Arctic blast would be perfect.
Speaker 3 (37:06):
Just makes sense.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
Purple is a favorite. Plus two twenty five, I'm going
with orange. I like the classic orange Gatorade has been
sort of you know, that was the prototype Orange Gatorade
dumped on people. I'm going with Orange. Well, we'll have
to see you and I will meet up next Monday
and we will discuss how our Gatorade bett came in.
You can also, I think, bet on water if you want,
but water. I just want to give everyone a little tip.
(37:32):
Water has not actually been dumped on the coach, I
think in the last decade or something. So you can
bet water if you want to, but just a tip
for me to you, it is unlikely to happen.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
And I mean, and while we were already on this topic,
it's something that you know, I read the other day
that really bothering me to my soul. And don't get
a twisted when I say this, but I'm gonna start
off by saying, I'm a huge Travis Kelce fan. I
think he's an incredible player, don't player, But when it
comes to the ball fade, y'all gonna have to put
(38:05):
some respect on the culture.
Speaker 3 (38:08):
I saw the.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
Article from the New York Times the other day where
he's getting all this credit for the ball fade, and
you know, he's you know, and this is now America's here,
like cut the shit, like I was rocking ballface as
my first haircut coming up as a young like ball
has been around for years, Like, this isn't something new,
this isn't something that has just been created. It's just now,
(38:32):
you know, Travis kelce is rocking something from the culture.
Speaker 3 (38:36):
Which is cool.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
The culture is the culture inspires a lot with what's
going on in the world. But I just want to
make sure we put the credit to the culture and
not to Travis Kelcey ball fade has always been around, Like,
let's get that correct.
Speaker 1 (38:50):
I mean, let's be honest. The mainstream media has been
getting this wrong since Elvis. Right, Elvis did not invent
rock and roll in the blues, I got to tell you,
so there have been many, many, many decades and I'm
sure before that of the same problem. And I didn't
see that New York Times article, but that is ridiculous,
uh and ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (39:11):
Played a ridiculous clip with this too. Yeah, that was ridiculous, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
Ridiculous, ridiculous. Indeed, Bookie Cousins, we do need to move
on to doom scroll because you know, we like to
check out social media, read the Internet, so you don't
have to you don't have to hunt around on your feed.
We will bring you the good stories. And what is
a better story than an NBA player who I'm sure
has so much trouble finding action, finally getting a date. Right,
(39:37):
isn't that lovely boy? Finally an NBA player out there,
That's right, Brean Williams. We all saw him earlier this season.
In fact, it was in September when he tried to
shoot his shot. Mavericks player of course, went to a
Dallas Wings playoff game and was hugging and talking to
(39:59):
Statue Sibulia after the game. There's video of this you
can see in the video, and of course the Internet
never never fails. A bunch of people were looking at
the bottom of the video where you can see his
hand out stretched and you can see the face of
his phone and the contacts were open to a new
contact on his phone, clearly to get her number, right,
(40:23):
So you see this happen. They're hugging, they're chatting. And
this week the Mavericks posted a photo of Williams walking
into the arena, you know, one of those sort of
you know, catwalk type things the guys are walking in,
and the tweet talked about how good he looked and
so bully pipes in on Twitter and said, well, he
got my number, so props to Grant. I'm happy for
(40:45):
both of them. Props to her. Right, that's a good
good of romance in it wasn't familiar with.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
Happy.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
Sometimes you got to put yourself out there. It's all good.
There were also several tweets and ig posts this week
reminding people that in Living Color is actually responsible for
their being big supertime halftime super Bowl halftime shows. Are
you familiar with this boogey? Do you know the story?
Speaker 3 (41:13):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
Actually, this is true story. This is incredible. Is that
super Bowl halftime shows? And I want to read this
because I want to get it right. This is what
super Bowl halftime shows used to be. And it's crazy
because it's not like you and I watched the Super
Bowl growing up, but I don't remember this. The halftime
show in nineteen eighty eight featured people jazzer sizing. That
(41:36):
was a halftime show. In nineteen eighty nine, they had
a magician dressed up as Elvis Presley. That was the
halftime show. His name, by the way, for the record,
was Elvis Presto. They had actors dressed as characters from
the peanuts just running around the field in nineteen ninety so,
this used to be what the halftime show was, kind
(41:58):
of like NBA halftimes during the regular season, you know,
when they just have sort of people there to entertain
the fans in the arena. Everyone else is watching TV,
goes to the bathroom, does whatever. So Fox, which was
a younger network at the time, decided that they wanted
to maybe take advantage of the fact that the halftime
(42:19):
show was such a dud there, and they started to
cook up this idea that maybe they could counter program
the Super Bowl. And this had never been done before.
Every network that wasn't broadcasting the Super Bowl prior to
this had just been like, Okay, we're basically putting bars
up on the TV for these four hours, because what's
the point. And Fox, who was a little bit of
(42:40):
a rebel in the game at that point, decided that
they could maybe get some viewers. Apparently Damon Waans was
part of this decision going to them, and an executive
sort of was noodling around with it, and so both
of them had the idea and sort of went forward here.
And in nineteen ninety two they heavily promoted in Living
Color was going to do a special sort of gorilla
(43:02):
episode right when the halftime show started, right when the
teams broke for halftime, and they go right up until
they promise, we will not we will return you to
the game. We will end right before halftime. They know
when the game is going to restart. You know, as
I said the Wayns Brothers, Jim Carrey, I mean you,
I don't have to tell people you know who was
on the show. I mean, it was an incredible moment.
(43:24):
And they did it, and man, they got eleven percent
of the Super Bowl viewership that year to switch over,
and considering the super Bowl viewership that year was eighty
million people, that's crazy. And it became legendary that they
did this gorilla broadcast. And of course, what did the
NFL do the next year once this challenge was laid out.
They got Michael Jackson to be at a halftime show.
(43:49):
I remember that show and the spectacle and all of
that stuff, and it's funny. I don't really remember a
halftime show before that. Now I know why, But isn't
that crazy?
Speaker 3 (43:57):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (43:58):
I'll never complained about I don't know the halftime show
because I could. I would be upset watching Elvis press though,
I'll be honest about it.
Speaker 1 (44:08):
So while y'all watching Usher on Sunday, just be grateful
to the in Living Color crew because they are the
reason you have good stuff to watch. That's all I'm saying.
Give them credit, as you said Bog earlier, give the
culture some credit, right.
Speaker 3 (44:23):
Get a culture some credit, man, please.
Speaker 1 (44:25):
There you go. And something else you said earlier in
the show. I'm giving you a heavy sigh right now.
The producers have been looking online as we've been going
through the show, and apparently some of the people out
on twitter land agree with you, Boogie that a Kyrie
for Ruey and d Lo trade would be a good idea.
(44:47):
So you have some backing.
Speaker 2 (44:49):
Thank you, thank you. I thought I was crazy. I'm
glad to know this other crazy motherfuckers with me.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
I still think y'all are crazy. So Nico, don't pick
up the phone. Don't don't pick up the phone for
that you don't.
Speaker 3 (45:05):
This is beneficial for you, guys, I promise Miles Bridges.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
Yes, Kyrie went to a He sat at a Lakers
playoff game to see if he could engender enough interest
from Lebron and the Lakers to get rumors going that
they were going to sign him this summer and it
didn't work. I'm just saying it's not gonna happen.
Speaker 3 (45:29):
This happen, it'll work now, and I said.
Speaker 1 (45:32):
It's not gonna happen. All right. You can catch all
episodes of bully Ball on the DraftKings Network. I'm excited
about that, and the All the Smoke Productions YouTube channel,
and of course wherever you get your podcasts, go back
to that podcast app. Rate us, review us, give us
those five stars, and we will see you on Thursday
for our live Trade Deadline hangout Special, whatever you want
(45:53):
to call it. Again, as I said, I don't even
care if trades happened at that point. It's gonna be
so much fun to just sit around and talk basketball
for two hours with all you guys. We will catch
you then, and we will catch you back on bully
Ball next week. I'll see you Thursday
Football fans, let's go. Super Bowl fifty eight is the
biggest game of the season and it's finally happening, which
means this is the last week end of the year
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(01:05):
sports book. The Crown is yours. Welcome to Bullyball, presented
by DraftKings. I'm Rachel Nichols. That is, of course, DeMarcus Cousins.
And first of all, I want to compliment you on
(01:25):
the greenery behind you book. I really adds a lovely,
warm touch to the pod. I'm very happy. And also
note that you and the plant are not in Taiwan.
You are back. You are back in the States.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Absolutely absolutely, it was an amazing experience. I had an
incredible time out there. So much hospitality and so much love.
People just you know, genuinely genuinely nice out there. And
like I said, I had an amazing experience. So you know,
I'm glad to be back, Glad to be back home
with the fan. But you know, back to the regular schedule.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I have to tell you it pained me for the
entire few weeks you were over there to not know
what a beer leopard was. We discussed it and I
did some research. Well, you were on an airplane. I
know what it is, do you know?
Speaker 3 (02:13):
I still don't know, I don't. I don't please me.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
So the team you played for, for those who have
not been caught up, was called the Taiwan Beer Leopards,
and I kept I want to know, what's the beer leopard?
What's the logo of a beerard? What does it look like?
And finally I got some answers. I did some reporting.
The team is not actually called the beer Leopards. It's
the Taiwan Beer, which is a brand Leopards. Who knew.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
The Taiwan beer is actually really really good, by the way,
So is it?
Speaker 3 (02:49):
It's amazing? Oh that makes sense. Now that does make sense.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
It leaves a hole in the marketplace, though, because now
I am determined to design like a beer leopard logo,
and it's some team to wear it because it's such
a good idea. Wouldn't that merched out like a leopards drinking?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Actually they actually have some really don't merch over there,
so you know, adding to it. I don't think it
would be a bad play at all.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
There you go, there you go. I just want to
know I'm here for you if there's if you have
a question, I will find out the answer. All right,
we got some really bummer News yesterday. First up, Joelle
embiid he is in fact going to have knee surgery.
It will keep him out for a quote extended period
of time. And when I say extended, and one of
(03:36):
the stories I read a store said that it's not
out of the question. They won't rule out that he'll
return this season. Number you want the other way, right,
So the idea that they're even thinking about that is
just it's frustrating, right if you saw the season that
he had, if you look at the turn of events
that led up to this. He got hurt at the
(03:59):
end of a game again, the Warriors clearly having trouble
with it. In the next game that they played, I
think it was against the Pacers, and then the next
game after that was that game in Denver where he
set out and you remember just the absolute sure around
the league, on the internet everywhere was you know, people
(04:19):
calling him a coward because he hadn't played Nikolaiokic in
Denver since twenty nineteen. There was a ton of question marks.
Now against didn't even belong to still be in the
MVP race. It was a lot. It was a lot.
And Joelle, as we know, is very online. He pays
attention to what's on Twitter and Instagram and tiktak and
all that stuff. He loves to chip in himself sometimes,
(04:41):
so I'm sure he heard all of this stuff, people
questioning his manhood, questioning how he was as a player,
not saying he was like the old players, you know,
who used to play the eighty two games and all that.
So then he went out and played on it and
of course tore his meniscus. So I guess, biggie, what
I want to ask you is, what kind of pressure
do you feel he felt he was under. Do you
(05:02):
think it had a role in him actually playing that
last game.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
I absolutely think it played a role in it. Like
you said, he is a guy that pays attention to
what's being said, and you know that's not always a
bad thing. Some guys enjoy the criticism. The criticism you know,
allows you to, you know, kind of put that fire
underneath you to you know, play better or reach that.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Michael Jordan right famously read everything.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Absolutely absolutely, But you know, it is a very unfortunate situation,
and it goes back to the sixty five game rule.
I believe Joel was the front runner for another MVP
season and uh, you know, it sucks that it had
to end this way. And at the end of the day,
you know, Joel playing fifty games and completing the season.
(05:49):
It's not only better for the league, the fans, but
also for the Philadelphia organization. I'd rather have an NB
playing fifty games compared to one pressing to me to
sixty five game criteria and possibly had these type of results.
Like I said, it's very unfortunate. I mean, and you
understand why the league is trying to do it. You're
(06:10):
trying to put a band aid over something that's been
an issue for the past couple of years. So I
think they're going to continue to try to experiment with this,
or I would suggest that they try to keep experimenting
when just to try to find the perfect mixture for
not only the players, but for the fans as well well.
We all want to see the big fell on the floor.
Like I said, it's better for the NBA, it's better
(06:31):
for the fans, it's better for the game in general.
So this is an unfortunate situation, and we got to
go back to the drawing board and figure out what's
the best balance for these players in these fans.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Yeah, I mean, you know, I've been on my soapbox
about this since when they passed the role last year,
talked about it again at the beginning of the season.
I don't understand this, not because, as you said, I
understand why they want to curb load management. I understand
the fans who are so frustrated when they buy a
t get to see someone and they don't show up.
All of those things. I agree that is a problem
(07:05):
we need to solve. I just don't think this sixty
five game rule has anything to do with solving that problem,
because we have already seen that guys aren't necessarily coming
back from injury early in order to hit those sixty
five games. So it's not working. It's not doing it,
and the one guy who did, the one guy who
did try to do it, got a lot more hurt
(07:26):
and he's a huge star that the league won't have
for the next chunk of the season and maybe, you know,
toward the end of the season. So I just it's
not working. The one time it did work, it ended
up in disaster. And you know, I think the people
who are like, oh, if he doesn't play sixty five games,
he shouldn't be considered anyway. That's possibly true, But there
is a difference between having a hard mark that's in
(07:48):
your head that everyone is talking about all the way
around you all weekend. You're getting all this pressure versus
just the idea that, hey, the fewer games you play,
the less you will be in contention for MVP. It's
very different to me. It's a hard and fast number,
and of course he wouldn't be considered for MVP if
he played, you know, fifty eight games. Fifty games. People
are being so silly when they're kind of taking it
(08:10):
to that extreme. It just doesn't need to be a
hard number that's putting this kind of pressure on people,
and in general it's not working. So why don't we
find something that works for me? As I've said to you, like,
I think it's got to start with ownership. I think
the owners need to look out through their own house.
If you don't like as an owner that you're losing
TV money over the fact that guys don't play, make
(08:32):
your own guys play, not when they're hurt, but when
they're resting, that type of thing. So I just it
starts with them. Don't expect Adam Silver to be only
grown up in the room here. He's not a babysitter.
And I think what happened to Joelle is just it's
so like he was playing so great. He was scoring
a point a minute, Buggie, a point a minute. No
(08:54):
one has done that since Will.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
That's crazy, man, That's that's really unfortunate.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
And it's a bumber for the Sixers of course as well.
They're twenty six and eight with Joel. Without Joel, they
are four and ten. They are fifth in the East
right now. But I mean there's a lot of teams
around them who are making a lot of strides, the Calves,
the Knicks obviously now they're looking ahead up at them.
Does Philly, which had such the hot start to the season.
They're definitely considered one of the Eastern Conference's elite teams.
(09:25):
Do they now have to worry about falling into the
plan book or worse?
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Absolutely, I Mean the record speaks for itself at four
and ten went out the Big Fella, So it's definitely
a cause of concern, and they're going to have to
make some moves to just keep this team afloat to
the Big Fellow returns, if he even returns. So it's
definitely something that they need to, you know, put some
urgency behind and you know, now it kind of changes
(09:55):
the whole trajectory of their season because obviously you can
make moves that fit well with mbid on the floor,
but now you have to make a move just to
keep the team afloat while mb is absent. So they
definitely have a tough task on their hands and finding
that right you know, combination of players or the right solution.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
It's gonna be a tough one, but.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
I think it's possible, and they got some things to
figure out moving forward.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Absolutely, see, I think they might go the other way
and then, look, we don't know what the actual projection
is for Joel to be out. Maybe it's only you know,
maybe it's less than we think. But if it is
really a substantial part of what's left in the season,
if I'm Daryl Murray, i might just sort of say, Okay,
it's a shame, but this is what it is. The
reality is that we're not going to you know, win
(10:42):
the Eastern Conference this season, so let's just wait until
the summer to make any moves that we're going to make.
They'll have even more ammo. They've been saving a ton
of cap space for this coming summer and start again
when Joel Embiid is fresh and ready to go at
the beginning of next season hopefully. I mean, we saw
this with Jamal Murray Denver a few years ago when
he got hurt. They definitely thought the Nuggets that that
(11:04):
was going to be the year that they won the title,
and Jamal got hurt and it just put everything on hold.
But they stuck with what they had, They played the
guys they had, and you know, with some few alterations
around the margins, that's the team that won the NBA Championship.
So there is there is an argument for just sort
of cutting the bait and saying, Okay, you know this sucks,
(11:27):
it's not what we wanted, but let's not make it
worse by spending assets to chase after something that if
if Droelle is not there most of the year, rest
of the year, like I just they're not They're not
going on with that.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
I agree with that, Rach. And it's not an absolute
fail for them this season. Obviously, they they got a
brand new All Star and Tyrese Maxie. He can finish
out the year, continue to build his confidence, continue to
you know show he's you know, he's at that point
in his career where he's ready to you know, take
over and beat that second option for championship team. So
(12:01):
not all went wrong for this team this season, and
that's not a bad approach with how to finish out
this season, sit back, continue to develop the guys and
playing for this next season. I think them taking that
sample of what Denver did, I think that's not a
bad play for them either. So I can agree with
that absolutely.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Yeah, And look, they know better than any of us.
If Joelle is going to be back in four to
six weeks, that's a different story, but certainly didn't sound
like that from a bunch of the reporting around it yesterday.
And that leaves opportunities. My friend, four teams like the
Cleveland Cavaliers. They are thirteen and two in their last
fifteen games, best record in the NBA over the last
(12:40):
six weeks. Mobley and Garland they both returned with the
last three games, so now they are pretty much healthy.
But you also have to look at before that when
Donovan was just more than holding it down. He was
playing so well. They're currently in third place, they're only
one game behind the Bucks. Is it time to think,
especially with Philly sort of possibly dropping out here, that
(13:01):
the Calves are a true contender to be in the
Eastern Conference finals, to win the East, to be in
the finals. What do you think are they in the
position where they should make a deadline deal to up that?
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Uh? I think this is a team that can make
a lot of noise. Obviously, they weren't healthy in the
beginning of the season. Missing two key pieces in your
starting lineup is going to have that type of effect
on any team, no matter who's on the floor. And
credit to Donovan for keeping everything afloat while he you know,
his partners were missing in crime. But when it comes
(13:34):
to this Calves team, I think I think they're perfect
where they are. I don't I don't see any moves
really improving or making this team worse. So I'm comfortable
saying this team should stay where it is.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
You know, let your guys continue, let your returners continue
to get into a rhythm, find their rhythm, keep building
the chemistry with the team, and you know, by the
end of the year, this is a scary team. So
I think they stay put and just you know, play
this season out and just keep getting better at each game.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Look, I think it's unquestioned at this point we've played,
you know, more than half the season. The Celtics at
the class of the conference, right, I mean, they're the
team to be in the East, absolutely, But you look
at the Calves, only one game behind the Bucks and
we're about to talk about the trade deadline. If the
Bucks don't do anything significant at the deadline, that Calves
team is very feisty and definitely would be a challenge
(14:28):
to them with the way that Milwaukee's defense have been
and all the ways that the Calves can attack. I
don't know, I think it's be very interesting, and of
course the Knicks as well, what happens over the next
few months in the East. But it's just a huge
shakeup that's about to happen here. And according to Tankathon,
the Calves are twenty first in terms of having the
toughest remaining schedule, so definitely bottom third of the league.
(14:51):
That that means that they'll have an easier remaining schedule.
The Celtics, by the way, are twenty ninth, so they
have the most ho schedule, but still still if you
look at the games left, I mean that's we're getting
to that time of year. People think the All Star
Break is the midway point of the season. It's not.
It's almost two thirds of the way through the season.
(15:12):
And the Cavs definitely have an open road here with
a healthy bench, a healthy starting group, and the twenty
first toughest schedule, so that means the ninth easiest schedule
in the league going forward. I don't know, man, I'm
impressed with that team. I agree, all right, would you
need to talk about the Bucks because first we have
(15:33):
to mention what happened with Doc Rivers. He is one
and three so far with the Bucks as we sit here,
and yet he has been named the East Conference All
Star Coach. Buggy, I want to explain for people who
are not caught up, that honor goes to the coach
of the best team with the best record in the
conference every year by a certain date. But the exception
(15:54):
is if you coached in the previous year, you don't
have to do it again because coaches actually like having
that week. So Boston staff they would normally be named
the coach of the Eastern Conference team this year, but
they actually did it last year, so then it falls
to the coach of the next team in the standings, which,
as we just said, is Milwaukee. That is how Doc
(16:16):
got the honor. It is, of course, on the basis
of Adrian Griffin's work, and Doc knows this is silly.
He was asked over the weekend about it, and he
seemed as unhappy as everyone else. He said, quote, it's
ridiculously bad, he said, it really is. He also told
our friend Mark Stein that he intends to give Griff
the all star ring and bonus money that comes with
(16:36):
the spot. First of all, what did you think when
you heard this? And we're got to talk about what
might be done about it?
Speaker 3 (16:43):
I mean, I couldn't agree less with Doc. This is.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
A silly situation. You can't blame Doc for. If anything,
I blame the league for putting Doc in this situation.
I think Doc is handling this situation. That's way possible,
you know, giving him his check, giving him his ring
for you know, the honors that he did, you know,
get for this past season. But I feel like it
(17:11):
was so many other options they could have went with
besides putting Doc in this situation. I mean, Nick Nurse
could have been the coach this year.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
JB. Bickers.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
There's so many options as to who could have filled
that spot, but just you know, going to step below.
Like I said, I think Doc handled it the best
way possible, but they definitely put him in a situation
to where it makes him be the scape or look
like the bad guy, and that's just not the that's
not the reality of the situation.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Yeah, it's super unfortunate. And I know what the rule is,
and I just talked about it the rulers. You go
to the next the next team down and the coach
of that team, But I think this is the kind
of year where it's an odd situation and you have
to make an exception. And if I had been in
the league office, I would have you know, had a
phone call with Doc first. If he was going to
be like, no, I deserve it, it's mine, maybe you
(18:04):
don't touch it. But of course that's not how he
was going to be. We all know Doc rivers. He
wouldn't want to do something like that. I agree, he's
very genuine in this and maybe you step in and
say great, you know, because of the unusual circumstances. You know,
Boston's coaching staff is not going because of the rule,
Milwaukee's coaching staff is not going because the head coach
who earned the honor is no longer with the organization,
(18:24):
so we are going to the next team. And as
you said, like I just JB. Bicker Staff would love
that honor, right, and he's earned it considering all of
these work and sweat he is exactly. I mean, this
guy has been a stalwart on coaching staffs around the
league and then done the work with Cleveland. I mean,
he's been so impressive on that team that, as you remember,
(18:45):
had gone through a bunch of coaches before him, and
he gave him stability. He's worked so well with the
young players. He deserves something like this, And I just
think it's a shame that there couldn't be an alteration.
There is there anything in the All Star Game that
you want need to see, rules changes, anything else like
that besides the coaching famous year.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
I just believe it something has to come into play
to where it's a little more enjoyable for the guys
that do make All Star because a lot of things
going behind the scenes that you know, the average fan
and the average person doesn't know about or isn't aware of.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
For those guys that make what kind of stuff tell us.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
It's a lot of work, a lot of work, and
especially for it to be a time period of where
guys are supposed to be resting and preparing to you know,
come back for that second half and finish out strong.
So to me, it's just kind of weird how you
earn this All Star not but then you get even
more work just to go back into the season and
start work again. So but while everybody else is resting,
(19:47):
it's just it's kind of a weird dynamic.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
And you know, I can remember my situation with my.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
The year I got traded from Sacramento New Orleans, and
I remember telling me Steve like, I remember telling Steve like,
I don't want to play this uh this weekend, Like
I'm tired from the season. I want to rest up
and be ready to go for the second half of
the season. At the time, the Kings were a game
and a half out of the playoff spot. So my
(20:17):
whole mindset was and we had to eat. We had
pretty easy schedule going into the second half, so my
mindset was, we're about to make this late push and
we're gonna make the playoffs. So so for it to
be that type of a situation where I just have
to totally remove myself from the weekend just to be ready
for the second half. Like it has to become some
type of balance for these All Stars. So I would
(20:40):
say that's probably one of the biggest things. And I'm
pretty sure every other guy that's earned their honor, could
you know, speak on my bath or speak on their
own bath when it comes to just finding a way
to get a little more resting and having a little
more of an enjoyable weekend.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
I get that. I get that completely, and it does
put guys who have earned the spot and a weirdly
unfair disadvantage, So I don't know what they would do
about that. I do think the All Star Game and
All Star Weekend in general, because it's become this just
sort of big traveling circus show, is good for the league.
I think people love, you know, the NBA is a
star driven league. We love seeing the stars. We would
(21:18):
like a more competitive game. They've of course gone back
and forth with the elon ending and then it did work,
and then it didn't work, and now they're back to
East and West and the picking of the teams did work,
and that it didn't work, and all the stuff but
you know, we've talked for years about doing a one
on one kind of thing. You know, Tracy McGrady, our
teammate here, has a one on one league who you know,
(21:42):
he's been talking about how he could bring that to
All Star Weekend. I just I understand that guys don't
want to get embarrassed. But when we talk about, oh,
what the old school players would do versus what these
players would do, I get it. We all want to
talk about. You know, Michael Jordan played ninety games out
of eighty too, you know, whatever, whatever, But you know
what else he did. He competed in the All Star Game.
(22:04):
He competed in the Dunk Contest. Like, why are you
tell me? Why do players not want to put anything
of themselves on the line in a game like this?
Why can't it just be fun?
Speaker 3 (22:20):
I honestly.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
My reason behind it, I would blame it on the
fatigue and what I just said earlier. Yeah, it's so
much that goes behind the scenes of an All Star Weekend.
It's so much work outside of you know, the Dunk Contest,
the three point Contest, the All Star Game. Like, that's
the end of the day When those things occurrent there's
so much things in between that, between the appearances, the meetings.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
The media.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
It's just it's constant things.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
And it's not a situation where you know, you just
want to continue to just miss out because that's not
good for business. These things pushed so many other things
that go into this business. So you know, you're you
appearing at these different stops, these parties, these these business meetings,
these these photos, it's all of these things. It's only
(23:13):
a push for the NBA. So obviously you've got to
understand the business side of it and all of that
comes with it. And that's kind of where I'm asking,
where's the balance as far as it being an enjoyable
weekend for these All Stars and also being able to
catch up on the rest to not only give one
hundred percent effort during the All Star weekend, but also
(23:34):
be ready to come back and finish our strong going
into the second half of the season.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
And hello, you mentioned it. You had the weirdest All
Star weekend ever I think in the recent history and
possibly complete history of the NBA. You were playing for Sacramento.
You went into the weekend playing for Sacramento. I don't
remember if the names of the teams run the jerseys
of that particular year, but if they were, you would
have had Sacramento on your and the news broke was
(24:02):
it the morning of the All Star Game or even
during the All Star.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Game that you had been during the All Star.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Game during the game that you had been traded to
the Pelicans. And at that time, the trade deadline was
after the All Star Game, so the trade deadline had
been just a few days away, and the Kings made
a trade, and I remember being there covering the game,
and they still brought you out to have to talk
to the media afterward, which I thought was I just
(24:30):
felt so bad for you. I was like, I mean, look,
as a journalist, it was nice to be able to
talk to you, but you appropriately didn't really answer the
questions because you were so dazed right about what was happening,
and I just didn't do anyone any good. And so
I couldn't believe that you had to go out and
talk after that. But yeah, you got traded during the game,
(24:52):
and you know that is the reason, by the way,
that the trade deadline is now when it is because
of you. They flipped the trade deadlin and the All
Star Games, So you know it's your mark on league
history booking addition to all your on court accomplishments, all
the All Star appearances, but that last one was Sacramento.
(25:14):
That was the special one.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
All small part of history.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
The trade deadline is, of course this Thursday, and we
have some exciting news. Let me ask you a question.
Would all of you out there like to spend the
afternoon with a group that includes a league MVP, A Finals, MVP,
four NBA champions with twenty nine All Star appearances between them?
Would that group be like a fun group to hang
(25:39):
out with for during the trade deadline table? I think
that group is pretty good. In fact, I think that
you and me, Buggy, Matt Barnes, Steven Jackson, Kevin Garnett,
and Paul Pierce will all be hanging out live on
the All the Smoke YouTube channel Thursday. It will start
at one thirty pm Eastern thirty am Pacific time. It
(26:02):
will be on YouTube. We're just gonna kick it, hang out.
If there aren't any big trades, that doesn't matter, because
we are going to have an MVP, A Finals MVP
and four NBA Championships with twenty nine All Star appearances
shooting the shit and talking about stuff for two hours
and if there's trades, we'll be excited and we'll talk
about the trades. So if you would like to hang
(26:22):
out with us, everyone out there, please come hang out
with us. We'll put up a bunch of stuff on
the on the Instagram and everywhere else so you can
see all the details. But I'm very excited about that.
And I just want to preview here by asking you, boog,
which team do you think needs to make the trade
the most. Who are we going to be talking about
on that day the most?
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Oh, I think the biggest thing will probably be the Lakers.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Obviously they have championship aspirations.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
They're not where they want to be right now in
the season, and you know around this time they're always
looking to make moves, this time in the buyot market.
But with the trade line, trade deadline on the way,
I can see them being a very active team. You
want to squeeze this limit and get the most out
of these years left you have with Lebron on the roster,
(27:12):
So this go time for this team at every deadline,
so I can see them making a move. And I
would also say the Mavericks, and ironically, I think those
teams should actually make.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
A deal together.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
I think it, Oh, I mean d Loo and Kyrie
just just swap him out.
Speaker 3 (27:34):
I think I think.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Hear me out, hear me out for Dallas.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
I think it is I think I think when it
comes to d LO, I think Dlo gives that dynamic
of you know, kind of that Jayalen Bronson Luca combination.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
I think Luca is at his best when there is another.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
League guard next to him, as far as it being
more of a catch and shoot type of guy, a
guy that can potentially io and also playmate with. You know,
with Kyrie, we know he's looking to score every single time,
and that's just who Kyrie is, uh absolutely, which also
moves to my next point with what the Lakers need.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
They need another dynamic.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
I think Kyrie fits in perfectly with Lebron and a
d I think that's the perfect combination. And I mean,
obviously we can go into more details about a potential move,
but I mean I could see a Dlo RUI for Kyrie.
The MAVs then flip it to maybe potentially looking for
a guy like a Miles Bridges for a first round
(28:37):
pick or something of that nature. And I think the
MAVs improved tremendously over that time. Like I said, the
Lakers going they try to grab a Kyrie and potentially
maybe Alice Caruso. You got Kyrie, Alice Caruso, Van dool
Lebron James, Anthony Davis. I think both teams get better,
and I think they're then putting in a position to
(28:59):
where they have a chance to contend this season. So
just my opinion, I could be wrong, and my good
tells me I'm right.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
So well, if you're Rob Palinka, I understand what the
whole scenario is appealing. If you're Nico Harrison, I would
hang up on you. I'm sorry, I just I would.
If I was Nico, I would hang up on you.
I love you book, you know that, but I would
hang up the phone. Kyrie Irving hit one of the
greatest shots in NBA Finals history. You have plenty of
(29:28):
evidence that he can become unconscious under the highest pressure situations.
He wasn't just that game. He did it again and
again and again, d Loo and again. Really like Dilo,
and he's had a very impressive month or so. I
really want to give him credit for that. Not known
as an unconscious play out performer, or maybe he is,
but not in the direction that you would want. So
(29:51):
you know, I'm I'm not making that deal even for
Delo and RUI if I'm Nico. But I like how
you're thinking. I certainly think the Lakers MAVs need to
make it feel I would make the Miles Bridges deal,
of course, if that's offered. For absolute sure, I think
the Bucks really need to make a trade. I'm very
interested to talk about them when we hang out on Thursday,
(30:12):
because they spent most of their assets for Damian Lillard.
I still back the trade. I think they had to
do something. You know, Dame and Yannis had talked about
playing together for a while. Yannis, as you remember in
that previous month, not just was making noises about sort
of oh I don't know, like actually talked in a
New York Times article about the fact that he would
(30:33):
consider leaving the Bucks. So you had to do something.
And Davian Lillard is as good of a move as
I think you could have come up with in that moment.
But it left you with some defensive struggles and they've
known that all season, and we've seen it all season,
even though they're number two in the conference right now,
and I just think with limited assets, they are going
(30:55):
to have to try to do something. I don't know
if Bobby Pors is going to get moved, I don't
know what else they can do. Who else is out there.
Everyone's looking for a player that can, you know, stand
up defensively and still be contributor on offense. So it's
going to be hard task. But that's that's my level
of interest. Uh, you know, that's where I want to
see for sure. But yeah, like look, if that Lakers
mav Trap MAVs trade happens, I will give you like
(31:18):
a crown. I will give you like you know, some Taiwan.
Speaker 3 (31:24):
Just my thought.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
You could be proven right. I'm just I'm hanging out
on you. That's all I'm saying. Let's go to other
bets you may or made not take. It is time
for all take that bet presented by DraftKings. Will you
take this bet? Boogey? The Super Bowl is, of course
the Sunday DraftKings will have the forty nine ers right
now on the board, and the forty nine ers are
the two point favorites over the Chiefs. Who are you
(31:51):
taking to bet with? Are you taking the Chiefs with
that like two points, you know they could they get
it on? Are you taking the forty nine.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Ers on paper? I'm leaning towards the forty nine ers.
I think you know they've.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Been well even with giving the two points.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
I'm taking the forty nine ers on paper. But okay,
I'm gonna have to roll with Taylor Swift. Just the head.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
The amount of attention is this, this lady is receiving
the Super Bowl has basically become about her.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
I don't know what kind of.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Behind the scenes business is going on with, you know,
this Taylor Swift and NFL combination. But I'm gonna lean
with Taylor Swift because this is it is getting out
of hand right now. But I think I'm gonna go
with Taylor Swift on That's just my opinion.
Speaker 1 (32:49):
I don't know if she's on the Draft Kings betting board,
but to you, she should be. It should just say
forty nine ers versus Taylor Swift.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
Yeah, forty nine ers versus Taylor Swift for sure?
Speaker 1 (32:58):
All right? All right? I by the way, I want
to stand up. I think that the flak that Taylor
Swift has gotten has been ridiculous. It is not her
fault when the camera goes on her. It is good
for being good for everyone. The league and the Chiefs
have made three hundred and thirty million more dollars since
she has gotten involved and started showing up at games.
(33:19):
It's been great for the level of interest with non
traditional NFL fans and the fact that some NFL fans
you know, have to see her face three or four
times a game. It's it's not actually as much it
was at the beginning. But it's not actually as much
as people say it is. Right now, you can tough
it out. You'll be okay, you know, drink a beer,
do something. And those those three or four seconds she's
(33:41):
on the screen a few times during the game, it's okay.
You don't want to see the replay for the six
well no, no, each time, like they don't show her for
like five minutes each time, right, Like they flash to her,
it's maybe what you know, I don't know, six seconds
whatever it is, and then they go back to the game.
You're not You're not having your life interrupted every time
time they go to her. Is my point.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
It actually is when you you you've you've you're watching
this game to watch football. You're not here to see
Taylor Swift. So in a way, you are interrupting my day.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
Okay, Lebron James. When Lebron James shows up right at
an L. A. Rams game like you show him. In fact, they.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
Showed him one or two times, one or two times,
swag survant like that. That doesn't happen. That does not happen.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
I just think the pros outweigh the cons. I think
it is not that much to deal with. I love football,
like football is the reason I got into this job.
My entire life has been guided by loving football. It
is literally the reason that sent me to sports journalism school.
All of it. I get it. I love watching the games.
I get into it, I get into the x's nose.
(34:54):
I just don't think it ruins anyone's day to see
one of the most popular things well in the entire
world flash on the screen occasionally and know that has
brought a whole new group of fans to the game
who could be long term fans. And I don't know
if that's something that some people sort of in the
back of their minds have a problem with. They don't
want the game quote diluded with fandom by these new fans.
(35:17):
But that's ridiculous because the more fans of a sport
there can be that, the more great it is, the
more people you can bring into the tent. I just
I don't know, I will say this. I don't know
if you saw this, but the Japanese government has gotten
involved in the entire Taylor Swift situation. You know that
she is due to give a concert in Tokyo on
Saturday night, and the question was could she get to
(35:38):
the Super Bowl in time for Super Bowl Sunday if
she was in Tokyo on Saturday night, And the answer,
of course is yes, she can because Tokyo is seventeen
hours ahead of us, so she can get done, get
on a plane at midnight. It's a thirteen hour flight,
so she'll actually be in Tokyo Saturday night performing a
concert and then get to Las Vegas when it's still
Saturday night in Las Vegas and be able to get
(35:59):
a good night's sleep and go to the game. And
the Japanese government had to put out a statement assuring
Japanese fans that Taylor Swift was not going to cut
her concert short, that they were going to get the
full show before she got on the plane to go
to Nevada. So you are correct, she is the headline
for a lot of people for this game. But I'm
just I'm going to say I understand and like it's
(36:22):
okay to have different opinions on this. I just want
it to be okay to have different opinions on this, right.
I think there are a lot of people who are
finding this a lot of fun, who've gotten into football
because of it, and I don't think that's a bad thing.
And I think, you know, we got to understand there's
a lot of points of view here. So this is
this is how I feel. We're going to look at
the fun prop bet a DraftKings as well. What color data,
(36:45):
Raye Boogie? Do you think we'll be dumped on the
winning coach? You can actually bet on this.
Speaker 3 (36:52):
I might have to go with the purple art was
a favorite. Yeah, that's one of my favorites.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
So I could see with the weather conditions, the dryness
of the desert, I think Arctic blast would be perfect.
Speaker 3 (37:06):
Just makes sense.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
Purple is a favorite. Plus two twenty five, I'm going
with orange. I like the classic orange Gatorade has been
sort of you know, that was the prototype Orange Gatorade
dumped on people. I'm going with Orange. Well, we'll have
to see you and I will meet up next Monday
and we will discuss how our Gatorade bett came in.
You can also, I think, bet on water if you want,
but water. I just want to give everyone a little tip.
(37:32):
Water has not actually been dumped on the coach, I
think in the last decade or something. So you can
bet water if you want to, but just a tip
for me to you, it is unlikely to happen.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
And I mean, and while we were already on this topic,
it's something that you know, I read the other day
that really bothering me to my soul. And don't get
a twisted when I say this, but I'm gonna start
off by saying, I'm a huge Travis Kelce fan. I
think he's an incredible player, don't player, But when it
comes to the ball fade, y'all gonna have to put
(38:05):
some respect on the culture.
Speaker 3 (38:08):
I saw the.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
Article from the New York Times the other day where
he's getting all this credit for the ball fade, and
you know, he's you know, and this is now America's here,
like cut the shit, like I was rocking ballface as
my first haircut coming up as a young like ball
has been around for years, Like, this isn't something new,
this isn't something that has just been created. It's just now,
(38:32):
you know, Travis kelce is rocking something from the culture.
Speaker 3 (38:36):
Which is cool.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
The culture is the culture inspires a lot with what's
going on in the world. But I just want to
make sure we put the credit to the culture and
not to Travis Kelcey ball fade has always been around, Like,
let's get that correct.
Speaker 1 (38:50):
I mean, let's be honest. The mainstream media has been
getting this wrong since Elvis. Right, Elvis did not invent
rock and roll in the blues, I got to tell you,
so there have been many, many, many decades and I'm
sure before that of the same problem. And I didn't
see that New York Times article, but that is ridiculous,
uh and ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (39:11):
Played a ridiculous clip with this too. Yeah, that was ridiculous, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
Ridiculous, ridiculous. Indeed, Bookie Cousins, we do need to move
on to doom scroll because you know, we like to
check out social media, read the Internet, so you don't
have to you don't have to hunt around on your feed.
We will bring you the good stories. And what is
a better story than an NBA player who I'm sure
has so much trouble finding action, finally getting a date. Right,
(39:37):
isn't that lovely boy? Finally an NBA player out there,
That's right, Brean Williams. We all saw him earlier this season.
In fact, it was in September when he tried to
shoot his shot. Mavericks player of course, went to a
Dallas Wings playoff game and was hugging and talking to
(39:59):
Statue Sibulia after the game. There's video of this you
can see in the video, and of course the Internet
never never fails. A bunch of people were looking at
the bottom of the video where you can see his
hand out stretched and you can see the face of
his phone and the contacts were open to a new
contact on his phone, clearly to get her number, right,
(40:23):
So you see this happen. They're hugging, they're chatting. And
this week the Mavericks posted a photo of Williams walking
into the arena, you know, one of those sort of
you know, catwalk type things the guys are walking in,
and the tweet talked about how good he looked and
so bully pipes in on Twitter and said, well, he
got my number, so props to Grant. I'm happy for
(40:45):
both of them. Props to her. Right, that's a good
good of romance in it wasn't familiar with.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
Happy.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
Sometimes you got to put yourself out there. It's all good.
There were also several tweets and ig posts this week
reminding people that in Living Color is actually responsible for
their being big supertime halftime super Bowl halftime shows. Are
you familiar with this boogey? Do you know the story?
Speaker 3 (41:13):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
Actually, this is true story. This is incredible. Is that
super Bowl halftime shows? And I want to read this
because I want to get it right. This is what
super Bowl halftime shows used to be. And it's crazy
because it's not like you and I watched the Super
Bowl growing up, but I don't remember this. The halftime
show in nineteen eighty eight featured people jazzer sizing. That
(41:36):
was a halftime show. In nineteen eighty nine, they had
a magician dressed up as Elvis Presley. That was the
halftime show. His name, by the way, for the record,
was Elvis Presto. They had actors dressed as characters from
the peanuts just running around the field in nineteen ninety so,
this used to be what the halftime show was, kind
(41:58):
of like NBA halftimes during the regular season, you know,
when they just have sort of people there to entertain
the fans in the arena. Everyone else is watching TV,
goes to the bathroom, does whatever. So Fox, which was
a younger network at the time, decided that they wanted
to maybe take advantage of the fact that the halftime
(42:19):
show was such a dud there, and they started to
cook up this idea that maybe they could counter program
the Super Bowl. And this had never been done before.
Every network that wasn't broadcasting the Super Bowl prior to
this had just been like, Okay, we're basically putting bars
up on the TV for these four hours, because what's
the point. And Fox, who was a little bit of
(42:40):
a rebel in the game at that point, decided that
they could maybe get some viewers. Apparently Damon Waans was
part of this decision going to them, and an executive
sort of was noodling around with it, and so both
of them had the idea and sort of went forward here.
And in nineteen ninety two they heavily promoted in Living
Color was going to do a special sort of gorilla
(43:02):
episode right when the halftime show started, right when the
teams broke for halftime, and they go right up until
they promise, we will not we will return you to
the game. We will end right before halftime. They know
when the game is going to restart. You know, as
I said the Wayns Brothers, Jim Carrey, I mean you,
I don't have to tell people you know who was
on the show. I mean, it was an incredible moment.
(43:24):
And they did it, and man, they got eleven percent
of the Super Bowl viewership that year to switch over,
and considering the super Bowl viewership that year was eighty
million people, that's crazy. And it became legendary that they
did this gorilla broadcast. And of course, what did the
NFL do the next year once this challenge was laid out.
They got Michael Jackson to be at a halftime show.
(43:49):
I remember that show and the spectacle and all of
that stuff, and it's funny. I don't really remember a
halftime show before that. Now I know why, But isn't
that crazy?
Speaker 3 (43:57):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (43:58):
I'll never complained about I don't know the halftime show
because I could. I would be upset watching Elvis press though,
I'll be honest about it.
Speaker 1 (44:08):
So while y'all watching Usher on Sunday, just be grateful
to the in Living Color crew because they are the
reason you have good stuff to watch. That's all I'm saying.
Give them credit, as you said Bog earlier, give the
culture some credit, right.
Speaker 3 (44:23):
Get a culture some credit, man, please.
Speaker 1 (44:25):
There you go. And something else you said earlier in
the show. I'm giving you a heavy sigh right now.
The producers have been looking online as we've been going
through the show, and apparently some of the people out
on twitter land agree with you, Boogie that a Kyrie
for Ruey and d Lo trade would be a good idea.
(44:47):
So you have some backing.
Speaker 2 (44:49):
Thank you, thank you. I thought I was crazy. I'm
glad to know this other crazy motherfuckers with me.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
I still think y'all are crazy. So Nico, don't pick
up the phone. Don't don't pick up the phone for
that you don't.
Speaker 3 (45:05):
This is beneficial for you, guys, I promise Miles Bridges.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
Yes, Kyrie went to a He sat at a Lakers
playoff game to see if he could engender enough interest
from Lebron and the Lakers to get rumors going that
they were going to sign him this summer and it
didn't work. I'm just saying it's not gonna happen.
Speaker 3 (45:29):
This happen, it'll work now, and I said.
Speaker 1 (45:32):
It's not gonna happen. All right. You can catch all
episodes of bully Ball on the DraftKings Network. I'm excited
about that, and the All the Smoke Productions YouTube channel,
and of course wherever you get your podcasts, go back
to that podcast app. Rate us, review us, give us
those five stars, and we will see you on Thursday
for our live Trade Deadline hangout Special, whatever you want
(45:53):
to call it. Again, as I said, I don't even
care if trades happened at that point. It's gonna be
so much fun to just sit around and talk basketball
for two hours with all you guys. We will catch
you then, and we will catch you back on bully
Ball next week. I'll see you Thursday
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