<v Speaker 1>Wednesday, April first, twenty twenty six, you are listening to

<v Speaker 1>the Daily Dose Sports podcast and I am your host,

<v Speaker 1>Clint Daily, coming to you from my igh ced here

<v Speaker 1>in Denver, Colorado, and we are back for another week

<v Speaker 1>of tucking sports with a dose of common sense. Say

<v Speaker 1>Happy Wednesday to you. I hope you had a good weekend.

<v Speaker 1>I hope that your week is going well so far.

<v Speaker 1>I hope you and your family and your friends you're

<v Speaker 1>all staying strong and you're all staying healthy right now.

<v Speaker 1>And I hate to point this out right up front,

<v Speaker 1>but I need to do that because I hate to

<v Speaker 1>rain on some people's parades right off the bat. But

<v Speaker 1>please remember that today is April Fool's Day. Please remember

<v Speaker 1>that when you start seeing some nonsensical sports news.

<v Speaker 2>Don't believe that hype.

<v Speaker 1>Today is the day for a lot of people who

<v Speaker 1>aren't actually funny to try to be funny. And I

<v Speaker 1>am letting you know right up front, don't fall for it.

<v Speaker 1>Most of that stuff doesn't usually work. But every once

<v Speaker 1>in a while you'll see somebody on like social media

<v Speaker 1>or something and they'll trip you up on a story like,

<v Speaker 1>oh no, did my favorite team really just trade away

<v Speaker 1>their best player. Yeah, don't believe it. It's all April

<v Speaker 1>Fool's nonsense today. Sorry for the spoiler alert upfront. Hey,

<v Speaker 1>jumping right into college basketball. That final four is now set.

<v Speaker 1>The Arizona Wildcats crushed both Arkansas and Purdue and are

<v Speaker 1>looking absolutely dominant as they go to the final four

<v Speaker 1>out of the West Region. The Michigan Wolverines stomped Alabama

<v Speaker 1>and then they scorched Tennessee and the Elite eate. At

<v Speaker 1>one point in that Tennessee game, Michigan went on a

<v Speaker 1>twenty one to zero run before beating them by thirty

<v Speaker 1>or so, and they make it to the final four

<v Speaker 1>from the Midwest Region.

<v Speaker 2>Illinois shocked Houston in Houston and.

<v Speaker 1>Then fought past a pesky Iowa team and they go

<v Speaker 1>to the final four out of the South Region. And

<v Speaker 1>then the Duke Blue Devils decided to make some history.

<v Speaker 1>The Blue Devils had to battle a bit to get

<v Speaker 1>by Sienna in the opening round, and then they had

<v Speaker 1>to fight off a scrappy Saint John's team in the

<v Speaker 1>sweet sixteen. But in the Elite eight they were up

<v Speaker 1>by fifteen and a half. They were putting the Yukon

<v Speaker 1>Huskies away easily, and then the Huskies rallied, and then

<v Speaker 1>Duke faltered, and then Yukon hit a few shots, and

<v Speaker 1>then Duke missed a few shots, but with ten seconds left,

<v Speaker 1>the Blue Devils were up by two. They have the ball,

<v Speaker 1>They're gonna close out the game. They're gonna hit some

<v Speaker 1>free throws, and they'll be going back to the Final

<v Speaker 1>Four in back to back seasons. And then instead of

<v Speaker 1>holding the ball and shooting free throws, Duke tried to

<v Speaker 1>force a few passes and get that exclamation dunk at

<v Speaker 1>the end of the game, but insie. Instead, they turned

<v Speaker 1>it over and Yukon hit a three from the logo

<v Speaker 1>to win it. Hey, the Duke Blue Devils crashed faster

<v Speaker 1>and harder than a Tiger Woods suv. And now the

<v Speaker 1>Yukon Huskies, not the Duke Blue Devils, are advancing to

<v Speaker 1>the Final Four. Now do I take any I don't know,

<v Speaker 1>weird Shoden freud joy out of Duke losing?

<v Speaker 2>Of course I do.

<v Speaker 1>Is it actually true that when Duke loses a big

<v Speaker 1>game an angel gets its wings?

<v Speaker 2>I don't know.

<v Speaker 1>I mean probably, but either way, Yukon is advancing and

<v Speaker 1>Duke is going home In crushing fashion in back to

<v Speaker 1>back seasons. You know, we wonder to hear on the

<v Speaker 1>dose just last week if that soft conference might come

<v Speaker 1>back to bite the Dukies. I mean, I don't know

<v Speaker 1>who saw that coming. That was next level. So this

<v Speaker 1>coming Saturday, we will now get in the final four,

<v Speaker 1>number three Illinois versus number two Yukon. Hey, Illinois big,

<v Speaker 1>they are talented point guard Keaton Wegler has been dominating.

<v Speaker 1>He's averaging eighteen points and five assists a game. And

<v Speaker 1>what I wonder, will you kind of have a bit

<v Speaker 1>of a hangover from that wild comeback against Duke? Hey,

<v Speaker 1>it might be impossible not to. I am going to

<v Speaker 1>actually take Illinois in a close game, But I mean,

<v Speaker 1>maybe Yukon is just starcross this year after that Duke game.

<v Speaker 1>Who even knows I'm gonna take Illinois, But maybe it

<v Speaker 1>is just the year of the Husky. And then in

<v Speaker 1>the second game on Saturday, we will get the main

<v Speaker 1>event and what is honestly probably the game for the

<v Speaker 1>national championship because we get two number one seeds as

<v Speaker 1>Arizona and Michigan will square off. Hey, both teams have

<v Speaker 1>barely even been tested in this tournament. Arizona has won

<v Speaker 1>their four tournament games by an average of twenty one

<v Speaker 1>points per game. Michigan has won their four games by

<v Speaker 1>an average of twenty three points per game. Michigan, of course,

<v Speaker 1>is being led by big man Yaxul Lindeborg, who is

<v Speaker 1>just doing everything for them. Meanwhile, Arizona has that electric

<v Speaker 1>backcourt tandem of braden Bury's and Jaden Bradley, and I

<v Speaker 1>actually think that this could be one of those epic

<v Speaker 1>Final four games that almost kind of overshadows the title

<v Speaker 1>game on Monday Night. If you know anything about March

<v Speaker 1>Madas history, we have had a few of those games.

<v Speaker 1>Every once in a while, you do get those final

<v Speaker 1>four games that are better than the title game itself.

<v Speaker 1>But because of their depth, I am going to give

<v Speaker 1>Arizona the slightest edge and then I will take the

<v Speaker 1>Arizona Wildcats to win the championship on Monday Night. No,

<v Speaker 1>they haven't done anything since ninety seven, but here we are.

<v Speaker 1>I mean, it is about that time for Arizona to

<v Speaker 1>win once again. It's almost been thirty years. I guess

<v Speaker 1>that's how Arizona does things. Hey, real quick. We also

<v Speaker 1>had a major shakeup in our daily racket Challenge now

<v Speaker 1>B Haggarty has a close lead and B. Haggarty has

<v Speaker 1>Yukon winning it all. England too is now in second

<v Speaker 1>place with Arizona as their champ, and England Too is

<v Speaker 1>actually tied with Daily Dos Junior, who is actually I

<v Speaker 1>believe my son, but he had Florida winning it all

<v Speaker 1>as I did. However, he still has two teams in it,

<v Speaker 1>so we'll see how that goes. In third place, we

<v Speaker 1>do have defending champion Billy Oh, but he has Houston

<v Speaker 1>winning it. And then we have a few more entries

<v Speaker 1>that also picked Arizona that are not very far behind,

<v Speaker 1>so that bracket challenge is not over. It will be

<v Speaker 1>decided on Monday night and we will announce the winner

<v Speaker 1>of the Daily Dose Bracket Challenge next week here on

<v Speaker 1>the Dose. Remember you can check the current standings over

<v Speaker 1>at ESPN or just go over to Daylydo sports dot

<v Speaker 1>com where you can find all of our content including

<v Speaker 1>the podcast, videos, some history, some photos, some Daily Dose gear.

<v Speaker 1>If you need it, just stop by Daily dosports dot com. Hey,

<v Speaker 1>it Dawn with does we are actually going to begin

<v Speaker 1>to turn our attention a little bit towards the NBA.

<v Speaker 1>You know I've got another podcast hosts, but he's not

<v Speaker 1>just a podcast host. He's a writer, he's a producer,

<v Speaker 1>he's a sports contributor, and you know he looks at

<v Speaker 1>the NBA in a way that I definitely can appreciate.

<v Speaker 1>In fact, we have so much to get to we

<v Speaker 1>need to jump into our interview with you, Riah Young

<v Speaker 1>right now joining us right now on the Daily Delus.

<v Speaker 1>We're going to talk a little bit about the NBA

<v Speaker 1>because you might not realize this, but did you know

<v Speaker 1>they are only like seven eight games left in this

<v Speaker 1>regular season. Well, fortunately I've got a guy to come

<v Speaker 1>in and talk about the NBA and discuss maybe a

<v Speaker 1>little bit what we can expect going into that postseason,

<v Speaker 1>but also just talk NBA in general, because you're Riah

<v Speaker 1>Young is a podcast host, he's a producer, He's a

<v Speaker 1>sports contributor, primarily known for his work covering the Philadelphia

<v Speaker 1>seventy six ers, but he knows a lot about the

<v Speaker 1>NBA in general. He currently serves as host and producer

<v Speaker 1>for the NBA Now and Then podcast. He also is

<v Speaker 1>an occasional host for the Sixers Sense podcast. But I'll

<v Speaker 1>tell you what I like about our guest today. Instead

<v Speaker 1>of the constant you know, who is better? Argument?

<v Speaker 2>Who was the goat? Who is this? Who is that?

<v Speaker 1>He kind of looks at modern day players and compares

<v Speaker 1>them to players from previous areas, which I personally love.

<v Speaker 1>You're a young I can't wait to talk some NBA

<v Speaker 1>with you. Welcome to the Daily Dose today, Clean, Thank.

<v Speaker 3>You for having me.

<v Speaker 4>It is an honor to be with you, and I

<v Speaker 4>look forward to talking nuggets. I look forward to talking

<v Speaker 4>NBA and as a Sixers fan, I'm showing Denver pride

<v Speaker 4>with my NBA going to the NBA jam old school honus.

<v Speaker 3>Listen, I'm an mbied guy.

<v Speaker 4>But the reality is is Jokich's hands down the best

<v Speaker 4>center in the game today. There's so many amazing things

<v Speaker 4>he can do.

<v Speaker 3>And Mad mad.

<v Speaker 4>Respect to him and to your franchise. Who won a

<v Speaker 4>championship not too long ago.

<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it seems like ancient history, at least to me

<v Speaker 1>right now, But I know the playoffs are coming, They've

<v Speaker 1>got a chance.

<v Speaker 2>You're right. Give me a little bit of your background.

<v Speaker 2>Where did you grow up? Where are you from?

<v Speaker 4>Sure, I'm from the Philadelphia area and I grew up

<v Speaker 4>a Sixers fan, like I said, And I lived in

<v Speaker 4>Philly for pretty much the majority of my childhood, and

<v Speaker 4>then I moved to South Jersey, and then from South Jersey,

<v Speaker 4>I went to college in Virginia, a small school called

<v Speaker 4>Hampton University, and then from there I came back home

<v Speaker 4>and I've been an educator in New Jersey for god

<v Speaker 4>almost twenty five years. So that's my career as an educator.

<v Speaker 4>But my love and passion is for hoops. I love

<v Speaker 4>talking hoops. I love talking to people who know about hoops.

<v Speaker 4>You're a former coach yourself, and you have a great show.

<v Speaker 4>So yeah, that's a little bit about my background and

<v Speaker 4>a little bit about my show. And thank you for

<v Speaker 4>the compliment about the comparison not looking at who's better,

<v Speaker 4>because I feel like in this day and age, not that.

<v Speaker 3>It's lazy, but I think it's just too easy.

<v Speaker 4>To fall into the trap of debating which players from

<v Speaker 4>yesterday are better than players of today or vice versas.

<v Speaker 4>So what we do with what we do with NBA

<v Speaker 4>now and then is, first off, Clint, we believe that

<v Speaker 4>basketball is more than highlights and championships, first off. Second

<v Speaker 4>of all, we believe that or our goal is to

<v Speaker 4>bridge ras while also connecting NBA fan and generations of

<v Speaker 4>fans through our comparisons. And what we do, Clint is

<v Speaker 4>we compare using statistics, accolades teammates right because absolutely in

<v Speaker 4>our own and we also do the bio of each player,

<v Speaker 4>which is my segment, because we peel back layers so

<v Speaker 4>that true fans of NBA players can understand why their

<v Speaker 4>favorite player became as great as they did. They didn't

<v Speaker 4>do it alone, which is we mentioned teammates. So we

<v Speaker 4>have a great time doing it. We're in season three

<v Speaker 4>right now, and I'm glad I have the opportunity to

<v Speaker 4>share that with you on your show.

<v Speaker 2>I love it. I've got to ask, and there is

<v Speaker 2>no wrong answer.

<v Speaker 3>Were you an not?

<v Speaker 2>What yourself? Did you play back in the day?

<v Speaker 4>Yeah, well I started out, believe it or not.

<v Speaker 3>I started as a competitive swimmer.

<v Speaker 2>Really, yeah, I started.

<v Speaker 4>There's a movie made about my swim team called Pride.

<v Speaker 4>I don't know if you saw that movie with Terrence Howard.

<v Speaker 2>I'm familiar, Yeah, Ernie McK yeah.

<v Speaker 4>So it was the first all African Americans swim club

<v Speaker 4>in North Philadelphia and I was on that swim team.

<v Speaker 4>So I was a swimmer first and then I played

<v Speaker 4>hoops like every kid does. I didn't play for my

<v Speaker 4>high school because I was kind of a rent.

<v Speaker 2>And I just just flat.

<v Speaker 3>Out, I'm not gonna lie.

<v Speaker 4>I wasn't good enough. I was good, but not good enough.

<v Speaker 4>So I grew up, you know, loving hoops. I ended

<v Speaker 4>up coaching like you did, but not at the high

<v Speaker 4>school level. I coached rec league ball at the middle

<v Speaker 4>school level. So so yeah, that was my that was

<v Speaker 4>my sport.

<v Speaker 3>It was swimming.

<v Speaker 2>And then hoo's I gotta ask this too. We just

<v Speaker 2>we gotta be we gotta paint that picture.

<v Speaker 1>We gotta paint that background picture, favorite player and team

<v Speaker 1>growing up? Who is the guy that you're like, Oh,

<v Speaker 1>that's my guy? And I know that's a difficult question.

<v Speaker 3>No it's not. It's not difficult. Obviously.

<v Speaker 4>I grew up a Sixers fan, sure, but I do

<v Speaker 4>have a one A and one B favorite player. So

<v Speaker 4>the player that really helped me fall in love with

<v Speaker 4>basketball was Charles Barkley.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I was.

<v Speaker 4>In middle school, number thirty four. Once Doc retired, it

<v Speaker 4>was his team. So once Charles came in, there were

<v Speaker 4>so many highlights that resonate with me.

<v Speaker 3>Now as an almost fifty year old man.

<v Speaker 4>So, but the one b players Isaiah Thomas, because you know,

<v Speaker 4>I'm five to eleven, and when you're a kid, you

<v Speaker 4>see a player in the court that you can relate

<v Speaker 4>to that's not a super giant on the court, someone

<v Speaker 4>that can manipulate the ball, get other players involved, and

<v Speaker 4>they won two championships as a result of his leadership.

<v Speaker 4>So I would say, Charles Barkley and Isaiah Thomas.

<v Speaker 1>I'm really glad that you brought those two guys up,

<v Speaker 1>because you want to talk about two guys that again,

<v Speaker 1>we were talking a little bit before we started recording.

<v Speaker 1>A lot of times we take you know, this player,

<v Speaker 1>we take this this Hey it's kobeis Lebron, it's whoever,

<v Speaker 1>and we just elevate them. Hey, they're right up there

<v Speaker 1>with Jordan. You got to get past guys like Barkley.

<v Speaker 1>You got to get past guys like Bird you got

<v Speaker 1>and I understand the champion, I get it, but there

<v Speaker 1>are a lot of players that get forgotten just how

<v Speaker 1>good they truly work. So I'm really glad you brought

<v Speaker 1>up two guys that get forgotten a lot. I got

<v Speaker 1>to ask, how did you get into podcasting? How did

<v Speaker 1>this all get started.

<v Speaker 4>So in twenty twenty, I was I was on the

<v Speaker 4>board for the Philadelphia Writers' Conference, and what we would

<v Speaker 4>do is we would allow writers from all over the

<v Speaker 4>Philadelphia region to come in and collaborate network. And I

<v Speaker 4>was doing that volunteer for at least five years. At

<v Speaker 4>that point, i'd been published I think maybe twice, so

<v Speaker 4>my writing career was really kind of stagnant. And then

<v Speaker 4>one day I just realized, you know, let me put

<v Speaker 4>down something where you know, I'm not getting as much

<v Speaker 4>value out of it even though I was helping others,

<v Speaker 4>and I said, let me start writing myself. So I

<v Speaker 4>ended up applying for a fan sided job, the Sixer Sense,

<v Speaker 4>which you mentioned earlier. So I started writing about the

<v Speaker 4>seventy six ers. From there, I started listening to the

<v Speaker 4>podcast that they had, and I reached out to the

<v Speaker 4>two guys my editors. I said, look, you guys know ball,

<v Speaker 4>but I can help you with your audio quality. I

<v Speaker 4>can help you with the production side. So I pretty

<v Speaker 4>much volunteered and from there that's how I got into podcasting.

<v Speaker 1>So now I listed you know now and then, but

<v Speaker 1>you've got a couple other podcasts that you're doing too,

<v Speaker 1>or that you're at least involved with, aren't you?

<v Speaker 2>What else do you have gone?

<v Speaker 4>Absolutely, we are doing doing movie reviews, but not just

<v Speaker 4>any movie reviews, Clint. We do basketball movie oh boy.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

<v Speaker 4>And we had a blast looking back at the original

<v Speaker 4>Space Jam because it's the thirty year anniversary.

<v Speaker 3>This year movie came out.

<v Speaker 4>Yeah, we were able to go into the behind the

<v Speaker 4>scenes details of how the movie was made. We actually

<v Speaker 4>interviewed the lead animator from Space Jam. He's over over

<v Speaker 4>across the pond. His name is Neil Boyle. Gave us

<v Speaker 4>some really great nuggets about what it was like working

<v Speaker 4>with Michael Jordan, some of the challenges of taking live

<v Speaker 4>live action with animation. It was really a remarkable interview

<v Speaker 4>because he told us things that, you know, we had

<v Speaker 4>never heard and you can't even find on the internet.

<v Speaker 3>So we do movie reviews.

<v Speaker 4>We also did a movie review on a really great

<v Speaker 4>basketball film Coach Carter.

<v Speaker 3>Of course, can't go wrong with Sam Jackson, right right.

<v Speaker 4>We did that and we did that movie review. And

<v Speaker 4>the other podcast we do is we do our fifty

<v Speaker 4>forty ninety interviews. So we, like you do, we invite

<v Speaker 4>guests on our show and give them a platform to

<v Speaker 4>elevate the projects they're doing. We do authors, we do

<v Speaker 4>former coaches, players, et cetera.

<v Speaker 3>And we've been doing that. We've been interviewing people for

<v Speaker 3>about two years.

<v Speaker 4>Now.

<v Speaker 1>Wow, you are you're staying busy. You're doing a lot

<v Speaker 1>of things. Okay, we talked about it just a little bit.

<v Speaker 1>But you do your comparison podcast. You kind of look

<v Speaker 1>back and you look at now and then give me

<v Speaker 1>a few modern day players that maybe first come to

<v Speaker 1>mind and who they best compare with from a previous era.

<v Speaker 4>All right, well, I'll go with I can go with

<v Speaker 4>some comparisons of what's coming up in season three of

<v Speaker 4>NBA now and then.

<v Speaker 2>I love it fair absolutely.

<v Speaker 4>Tomorrow we're actually recording an episode where we are comparing

<v Speaker 4>Mike Conley, who's little in the tooth, but we want

<v Speaker 4>to give him as Flowers now because she has a

<v Speaker 4>really steady career as a point guard. So we're comparing

<v Speaker 4>him to another steady point guard, Andre Miller, who used

<v Speaker 4>to play who used to.

<v Speaker 1>Play in Denver, Utah. You yeah, I remember both of

<v Speaker 1>those players very well. That's an excellent comparison. I like

<v Speaker 1>that a lot. That is That is good stuff, you know,

<v Speaker 1>It's funny because we tend to listen in the world

<v Speaker 1>of sports to the loudest. So the fans that are

<v Speaker 1>the loudest, but they get the most attention, they get

<v Speaker 1>the most.

<v Speaker 2>Well.

<v Speaker 1>The problem is that the fans that are the loudest

<v Speaker 1>are usually the youngest. Yes, and you're right, God love him.

<v Speaker 1>They just don't know anything. They have no sense of history.

<v Speaker 1>They have no sense of what came before them. So

<v Speaker 1>I understand when they look at today and they go, hey,

<v Speaker 1>Sean Gills, Alexander is the best player that ever walked

<v Speaker 1>the earth.

<v Speaker 2>I get it.

<v Speaker 1>I can appreciate it. It's just not founded in much history.

<v Speaker 1>That's why I really love what it is that you're doing,

<v Speaker 1>because you're bringing not only are you putting say An

<v Speaker 1>SGA back into that light, but you're bringing some of

<v Speaker 1>those guys that played back then and giving them a

<v Speaker 1>little more recognition. Saying, wait a second, you're forgetting there

<v Speaker 1>was guys that came before him.

<v Speaker 2>Yep, yep, that's what I absolutely love what you're doing.

<v Speaker 4>So I'll give you a couple more so in a

<v Speaker 4>couple of weeks, we'll be comparing Drew Holliday.

<v Speaker 1>To Gary Payton, excellent comparison, especially defensively and the way

<v Speaker 1>they can lock someone down and just make you work

<v Speaker 1>for everything offensively excellent comparison.

<v Speaker 2>Yeah. I like what you guys are doing. This is

<v Speaker 2>good stuff.

<v Speaker 4>Yeah, let me give you a couple more so. We

<v Speaker 4>do all positions, obviously do guards forwards. We have a

<v Speaker 4>power forward comparison coming where I know Anthony Davis is

<v Speaker 4>hurt right now, but you cannot dismiss his impact, you

<v Speaker 4>cannot dismiss his talent and all star. But we're comparing

<v Speaker 4>him to another amazing power forward play for Minnesota. We're

<v Speaker 4>going with Kevin garn.

<v Speaker 1>Garnet, Sure, yeah, sure, if if Anthony Davis could stay

<v Speaker 1>on the floor, that's who he is, right, that's that's

<v Speaker 1>a very similar comparison. Yeah, that's a really really good comparison.

<v Speaker 1>I like what you're doing. That That is good stuff.

<v Speaker 1>It's so funny too, because I've been saying that for

<v Speaker 1>years on the Dose and talking about forget comparing and

<v Speaker 1>saying one's better than the other.

<v Speaker 2>Let's just try to.

<v Speaker 1>Find one that is the modern day version of that guy.

<v Speaker 1>Because you're looking at things through a through a modern lens,

<v Speaker 1>and it's it's completely unfair to some of those those

<v Speaker 1>previous era guys. Okay, I've got to ask you a

<v Speaker 1>couple of things. You're right, I'm getting concerned about the NBA.

<v Speaker 1>We're gonna talk about the playoffs here in just a minute,

<v Speaker 1>but I'm getting a little bit worried about the NBA.

<v Speaker 1>And I'll tell you a few reasons why. One, the

<v Speaker 1>NBA is looking at expanding. They're looking going back to Seattle,

<v Speaker 1>which we remember some of those great teams up in

<v Speaker 1>the Seattle with SuperSonics.

<v Speaker 2>I love the idea. And they're looking at going into Vegas.

<v Speaker 1>I know Utah is not thrilled as they are, you know,

<v Speaker 1>able to throw rock to Vegas and they don't want

<v Speaker 1>to have their friends stolen from them. But here's my

<v Speaker 1>worry the NBA. I don't want them to stress themselves

<v Speaker 1>too thin. And I'm worried about adding two more franchises.

<v Speaker 1>And I don't know that we have the superstar quality

<v Speaker 1>right now.

<v Speaker 2>And I know a lot of that is cyclical, but

<v Speaker 2>do we have enough superstars to add two more franchises?

<v Speaker 2>Does that sound right?

<v Speaker 4>All I have to say is if you look across

<v Speaker 4>the Atlantic Ocean, yeah, we have a whole continent of

<v Speaker 4>NBA quality players. That's the euro League, whether it's France,

<v Speaker 4>whether it's Spain, whether it's Greece. I mean, there's a

<v Speaker 4>lot of great players across the ocean that can come

<v Speaker 4>over and fill some of those slots. And we do

<v Speaker 4>have guys in the G League. You know, every franchise

<v Speaker 4>has a G League team. I used to cover the

<v Speaker 4>Delaware Blue Coats for the seventy six ers, or go

<v Speaker 4>to the games. Do right up by the way, cool story,

<v Speaker 4>Mac McClung. Yeah, when I would cover the Blue Coats,

<v Speaker 4>every time he was on the floor, he was the

<v Speaker 4>best player. Sure he's not the biggest, not the fastest,

<v Speaker 4>but every time he was the best player on the floor.

<v Speaker 4>He recently broke the G League record. He's the all

<v Speaker 4>time scorer. I remember after he won his first Dunk Contest.

<v Speaker 4>I was at the game and in the press room.

<v Speaker 4>It was his first interview. It was like the All

<v Speaker 4>Star Game was Saturday night, at least that was the

<v Speaker 4>Dunk Contest Wednesday night.

<v Speaker 3>I'm sitting right in front of him and I asked him.

<v Speaker 4>I said, I said, Mac, congratulations on winning a Dunk

<v Speaker 4>Contest title.

<v Speaker 3>I said, if you could describe, you know.

<v Speaker 4>What the weekend was like for you. You know what

<v Speaker 4>stood out to you besides winning the title? You know

<v Speaker 4>what he said, Clint, He gave me the safest answer.

<v Speaker 4>He's like, well, you know, it was exciting and I

<v Speaker 4>was just glad that my family was there. I'm like, man,

<v Speaker 4>that's not what I want to hear about, you know,

<v Speaker 4>hanging with Lebron. He gave the ultimate PC the answer,

<v Speaker 4>which is fine. But the point is is when you

<v Speaker 4>have players like Mac McClung, who I cannot understand why

<v Speaker 4>he doesn't get NBA playing time.

<v Speaker 3>Agreed because he's so good.

<v Speaker 4>I don't have no reservations about Seattle or Vegas expanding

<v Speaker 4>the NBA teams. I think we won't have any issues.

<v Speaker 4>I mean, I'm sure teams are going to be disappointed

<v Speaker 4>that they have to lose players in their draft, but

<v Speaker 4>have no issues, have no issues at all.

<v Speaker 2>Do you have any thoughts?

<v Speaker 1>And I know that Adam Silver is starting to look

<v Speaker 1>really really seriously. They released a few options that they're

<v Speaker 1>trying to maybe try to find a foothold.

<v Speaker 2>What do they do about the tanking? We know teams

<v Speaker 2>are tanking.

<v Speaker 1>We know teams just are hoping to get that big

<v Speaker 1>draft pick, and with you know, college basketball, everybody kind

<v Speaker 1>of looked at all the nil stuff, how it's going

<v Speaker 1>to ruin college basketball. No, it's actually made it way better.

<v Speaker 1>College basketball is phenomenal right now, it's really really good. Hey,

<v Speaker 1>we've got a class coming, We've got a group of

<v Speaker 1>rookies coming that is going to be amazing. Is there

<v Speaker 1>any fixed for tanking or do we just kind of

<v Speaker 1>have to green and bear it.

<v Speaker 4>I like the idea, I forget who floated it, of

<v Speaker 4>getting rid of the draft period, letting these guys come

<v Speaker 4>out of college or overseas and sinus free agents.

<v Speaker 3>I think that's the only way you can ensure that.

<v Speaker 4>Teams won't purposely lose expecting some type of higher order

<v Speaker 4>of selection.

<v Speaker 3>So yeah, I don't know how to fix that.

<v Speaker 4>I do know that someone said, well, have a play

<v Speaker 4>in tournament where the bottom eight teams play for the

<v Speaker 4>best pick. My question is you, Clint, if I'm the

<v Speaker 4>ninth guy on the bench, Yeah, why would I play

<v Speaker 4>hard so that we can get a guy that can

<v Speaker 4>replace me to take my job?

<v Speaker 2>No, you're right, why would I.

<v Speaker 3>Play hard for that? You would? Makes no sense in

<v Speaker 3>the world.

<v Speaker 1>And if your team is good enough to win that

<v Speaker 1>do they need that guy? Because there's another team that's

<v Speaker 1>gonna lose and they apparently need it.

<v Speaker 2>Worse than you do.

<v Speaker 1>Hello, it just I don't know how you fix it.

<v Speaker 1>I don't understand what they're gonna do to try to

<v Speaker 1>get rid of this. Okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna put

<v Speaker 1>that stuff aside, and I'm not gonna I'm not gonna

<v Speaker 1>talk about the the foul bating. I'm not gonna talk

<v Speaker 1>about the yet the officiating. Right now, we're gonna we're

<v Speaker 1>gonna pass that by. I want to look at the playoffs.

<v Speaker 1>I want to look at the postseason, because we're looking

<v Speaker 1>right now the East. You keep I keep thinking the

<v Speaker 1>East is catching the East is catching the West, and

<v Speaker 1>now I'm looking at the West and going, man, the

<v Speaker 1>West has just gotten It just keeps getting better. It

<v Speaker 1>just keeps It's so stacked right now, and now you

<v Speaker 1>add a few more teams in that western side.

<v Speaker 2>All right, let's let's take a look real briefly at

<v Speaker 2>the East.

<v Speaker 1>And you don't have to drill down to to team,

<v Speaker 1>you know, six, seven, eight, I don't care. Who are

<v Speaker 1>the teams who really like coming out of the East.

<v Speaker 4>So until Kate Cunningham went down, I was I was

<v Speaker 4>on the Pistons train man of how they play the defense,

<v Speaker 4>the hard nose.

<v Speaker 1>There.

<v Speaker 3>They are just a quality team.

<v Speaker 4>I think the continuity of despite them being through multiple

<v Speaker 4>losing seasons, you grow from that, and these young guys

<v Speaker 4>have figured it out and with good coaching.

<v Speaker 3>I did like Detroit, but at this point Boston.

<v Speaker 4>Yes, it's they've been together so long, they know each other.

<v Speaker 3>They have a great coach, probably the best coach in

<v Speaker 3>the entire league. Yeah.

<v Speaker 4>I do like the Knicks just because I just like

<v Speaker 4>their team. They have talent, they have continuity. Uh, my team,

<v Speaker 4>the Sixers, I'm very disappointed. I have no expectations, so

<v Speaker 4>I don't get upset either day. I know Harden is

<v Speaker 4>doing pretty good for the Cavs since he got there,

<v Speaker 4>but yeah, I've seen what it's like to have Harden

<v Speaker 4>start off hot and then hit the playoffs, and we

<v Speaker 4>know the playoffs. Yeah, yeah, So I don't really believe

<v Speaker 4>in Cleveland. But if there were a sleeper to make noise,

<v Speaker 4>I really like Charlotte. I'm not saying they're gonna win

<v Speaker 4>the championship. No, No, they might surprise them.

<v Speaker 3>They might win. They might win a series.

<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and if they did, honestly, who would have it

<v Speaker 1>right now, aside from people in Charlotte.

<v Speaker 2>Everybody but who they won one.

<v Speaker 1>But be careful because if you're one of those, you know,

<v Speaker 1>higher seeds and you get Charlotte, it's gonna be as

<v Speaker 1>easy as as what you might think it is.

<v Speaker 2>And I'm right there with you.

<v Speaker 1>I look at at the Knicks and go, maybe that

<v Speaker 1>point guard he's just so tough. My goodness, he just

<v Speaker 1>comes out every single night and kind of wills them

<v Speaker 1>to be good. They had that playoff situation last year

<v Speaker 1>and and now you're waiting and going, Okay, well they're

<v Speaker 1>gonna do this year. They have a great and regular season,

<v Speaker 1>maybe they can you turn it on the postseason. I

<v Speaker 1>guess we're gonna find out. I'm right there with you.

<v Speaker 1>I look at Boston their experience. They're getting maybe one

<v Speaker 1>of the best players in the entire league, you know,

<v Speaker 1>back fully healthy. Now Boston's gonna be so dang to beat. Yeah,

<v Speaker 1>that's disappointing to me.

<v Speaker 2>All right, that's all we can say. All right, let's

<v Speaker 2>move over to the other side.

<v Speaker 1>Who are those teams that you're looking at in the West,

<v Speaker 1>because that West, I just keep thinking, Okay, it's a

<v Speaker 1>two team race, Okay, okay, so three team race. Okay,

<v Speaker 1>now it's like a seven team race. I don't even know.

<v Speaker 1>The West is so stacked. Again, who are you liking

<v Speaker 1>in that Western Conference?

<v Speaker 4>Wow, it's hard not to go with Oklahoma City or

<v Speaker 4>San Antonio. Yeah, because of the youth, the boldness of them,

<v Speaker 4>like they they walk around like they belong. They do

<v Speaker 4>talk about teams that guys are barely twenty two to

<v Speaker 4>twenty three, but they're they're walking on court and walking

<v Speaker 4>into the locker room, they're walking into visiting arenas like

<v Speaker 4>they own the place.

<v Speaker 3>So I like both teams.

<v Speaker 4>I do like Denver because I mean when you have

<v Speaker 4>Jokic and Jamal Murray, like proven champions, all stars.

<v Speaker 3>So I do Denver?

<v Speaker 4>Do you do I think they can beat Okac or

<v Speaker 4>the Spurs in a seven game series.

<v Speaker 3>I don't know. Uh, the other team.

<v Speaker 4>Don't sleep on Minnesota because Anthony Edwards I think has

<v Speaker 4>another level that he wants to go to.

<v Speaker 3>And when that happens, look out, you look out.

<v Speaker 2>Look they are loaded. They've got a ton as well.

<v Speaker 1>You brought up san Antonio, and I know they're young,

<v Speaker 1>and I know we kind of look at teams in

<v Speaker 1>the NBA, especially like you gotta earn, you gotta get

<v Speaker 1>through a few playoff series, you gotta get beat up.

<v Speaker 1>You're right, they're so good. I don't know if it matters.

<v Speaker 1>They might not have to earn those lumps. They might

<v Speaker 1>just go in and win the dang thing. They're so talented.

<v Speaker 1>I can't believe how good they're playing.

<v Speaker 4>Yeah, yeah, I think the spurs Man Wemby is. We

<v Speaker 4>compared Victor winmbin Yama in season three, our first episode

<v Speaker 4>from season three, we compared them to Wilt Chamberlain. The

<v Speaker 4>reason why we did that is because in the late

<v Speaker 4>fifth these early sixties, the NBA, the ABA, anyone have

<v Speaker 4>never seen anything like what before, and no matter who

<v Speaker 4>you put on the floor, there was nothing you could

<v Speaker 4>do to deter his offense or avoid his defense. And

<v Speaker 4>you've heard all week from former players, current coaches, analysts,

<v Speaker 4>all of a sudden, they're on the Whimby bandwagon for MVP.

<v Speaker 4>Not to say that I predicted he would be MVP

<v Speaker 4>or in the candidacy of it, but when we started

<v Speaker 4>covering him and we peeled back layers of his career,

<v Speaker 4>his background, and you look at the progression hanging out

<v Speaker 4>with monks, training with monks, going and out, or not

<v Speaker 4>going into space, but hanging astronauts. Yeah, he is mentally Clint,

<v Speaker 4>He's on another level.

<v Speaker 2>He is on different dude.

<v Speaker 4>It's like he's like a Kobe mentality type guy where

<v Speaker 4>he wants to he wants to be number one. He

<v Speaker 4>wants to go out and just take what he believes

<v Speaker 4>belongs to him, and that's a title or a championship trophy.

<v Speaker 1>When you see how much he cares not only about

<v Speaker 1>the All Star Game, he actually got guys to care

<v Speaker 1>about the Yeah, to care about a Tuesday night back

<v Speaker 1>to back. This is something we need desperately. He is

<v Speaker 1>the guy that I'm looking at right now. We talked

<v Speaker 1>about some of the things I'm worried about with the NBA.

<v Speaker 1>There's a guy that I look at and go, Okay,

<v Speaker 1>maybe that's the guy that's going to fix some things

<v Speaker 1>because he's getting guys to play a little bit more

<v Speaker 1>and to play a little bit harder. And I absolutely

<v Speaker 1>love that aspect of his game. I've got to ask this.

<v Speaker 1>I know you're you're in Philly. Do we give any

<v Speaker 1>credence whatsoever to the Lakers? Should we start being concerned

<v Speaker 1>about the Lakers and going on? I don't know they

<v Speaker 1>they might win a series or two because I'm looking

<v Speaker 1>at him and going, Okay, they've still got their flaws right,

<v Speaker 1>and their best players still won't play defense, but they're

<v Speaker 1>getting better defensively and it kind of feels like they're

<v Speaker 1>starting to figure some things out. Should we be worried

<v Speaker 1>about the Lakers at all?

<v Speaker 4>I don't think the Lakers. Look, I don't dislike Lebron.

<v Speaker 4>I like Lebron a lot.

<v Speaker 3>I love Luka.

<v Speaker 4>Doncis we compared Luca to Larry Bird and see one?

<v Speaker 4>And of course Austin Reeves is a phenomenal player.

<v Speaker 3>Yep. I just think DeAndre Ayton.

<v Speaker 2>There you go.

<v Speaker 4>I don't know if you can win with a guy

<v Speaker 4>that is not a true impact player on defense.

<v Speaker 3>Is he solid? I mean, he's a good player.

<v Speaker 4>But I just don't know if they have enough to

<v Speaker 4>compete against Webinyamo or Rudy Gobert or even Yolkis for

<v Speaker 4>that matter.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

<v Speaker 1>Yeah, And when you see how early they could end

<v Speaker 1>up matching up, I mean, what if they do the

<v Speaker 1>Spurs in the first round. Scary, scary, And that's the

<v Speaker 1>that's the scariest part to me about the West is

<v Speaker 1>when you look at some of the matchups, because you

<v Speaker 1>think of the teams we named, you know, six seven

<v Speaker 1>teams were like oh, you know, when you start looking

<v Speaker 1>at the matchups and you go, oh, wait a second,

<v Speaker 1>that might be a first round matchup.

<v Speaker 3>Oh that's getting good news tough. Yeah, yeah jj JJ.

<v Speaker 4>Reddick's would be standing up till five in the morning

<v Speaker 4>on his on his whiteboard and like in the commercial,

<v Speaker 4>what he's yes draws.

<v Speaker 1>And Reddick is a guy that he's got to be

<v Speaker 1>just be operating on no sleep. I don't know how

<v Speaker 1>you how you live with that team. That team would

<v Speaker 1>drive me absolutely crazy. Don't get me wrong, They're insanely talented.

<v Speaker 1>And also they would drive me nuts because I've got

<v Speaker 1>to figure out how to get shots for him, how

<v Speaker 1>to get playing time for him, how to get this

<v Speaker 1>guy that, and also how to get DeAndre Ayton to

<v Speaker 1>act like he even pretends to care because he is

<v Speaker 1>just such a different dude.

<v Speaker 3>Man.

<v Speaker 2>There's just so many teams.

<v Speaker 1>That is why I worry for my nuggets, because yes,

<v Speaker 1>I'm Nuggets fan, I'm hoping that it's so stacked. I

<v Speaker 1>don't know if they can hang. And we saw them

<v Speaker 1>take Oklahoma City last year to seven. Speaking of Oklahoma City,

<v Speaker 1>so deep, they play so hard. Defensively, they play hard

<v Speaker 1>every night. They can shoot it. Do you look at

<v Speaker 1>Oklahoma City and go Okay, But here's the weakness we

<v Speaker 1>got to worry about?

<v Speaker 2>Is there one?

<v Speaker 4>Honestly, I don't think. I don't think that team has

<v Speaker 4>a weakness.

<v Speaker 2>I don't know if they do.

<v Speaker 4>I don't think, because you know, with the Lakers, you

<v Speaker 4>can say, okay, offensively, they're set. Defensively, Denver number one

<v Speaker 4>offensive team in the league. They're point differential. I think

<v Speaker 4>they're like plus four or five. But defensively, we don't know.

<v Speaker 4>Horrible Sol for you horrible, Okay, you said it, not me.

<v Speaker 4>I watch him a lot more than I do Oklahoma

<v Speaker 4>City they just picked up, and I would argue one

<v Speaker 4>of the worst trades in Philadelphia franchise history. I was

<v Speaker 4>a big Jerry McCain fan. Oh yeah, the last year

<v Speaker 4>was is a rookie year, and when I was watching

<v Speaker 4>him play, I watched every six Ers game. I'm like,

<v Speaker 4>this guy has get ready for this. It's not a

<v Speaker 4>hot take. This guy has Steph Curry vibes. When I

<v Speaker 4>say Steph Curry, I'm not saying, you know, changing the

<v Speaker 4>game or breaking records, of course, but in terms of

<v Speaker 4>confidence to shoot the ball anywhere on the floor, I

<v Speaker 4>think he's an underrated playmaker. I think he can score

<v Speaker 4>in all levels. He makes good decisions when he gets

<v Speaker 4>in the paint.

<v Speaker 3>And that was as a rookie. Yeah, it was a streak.

<v Speaker 4>He played like sixteen games or something. He was averaging

<v Speaker 4>twenty one points, something ridiculous.

<v Speaker 3>And they got hurt.

<v Speaker 4>This year comes, he's trying to get back on the court.

<v Speaker 4>He's got a you know, a bad I think he

<v Speaker 4>messed his hand up or his finger, and then he

<v Speaker 4>was dealing with his recovery and his knee. And then

<v Speaker 4>what do the Sixers do in a win now moment

<v Speaker 4>when you need bodies to help him? Be in Paul George,

<v Speaker 4>you let a player walk and get nothing in return.

<v Speaker 4>Jared McCain is killing it in Oklahoma City and he's

<v Speaker 4>not even a starter. So my point to answer your question,

<v Speaker 4>Oklahoma City has depth, more depth than any team in

<v Speaker 4>the league.

<v Speaker 3>Anybody name any other team.

<v Speaker 4>There's no one deeper than Oklahoma City. Chet is a problem,

<v Speaker 4>ASGA is a problem. Jay Williams is a problem. I mean,

<v Speaker 4>they don't have any flaws in my opinion.

<v Speaker 1>No, the way they're officiated is a problem. I'm just playing.

<v Speaker 1>I'm just playing. I had to throw that out there

<v Speaker 1>for those fans. But although there is some weirdness to

<v Speaker 1>how they are officiated, I will say that.

<v Speaker 2>But no, you're exactly right.

<v Speaker 1>The way that they play defense and especially the way

<v Speaker 1>that they can shoot it from distance.

<v Speaker 3>Yep.

<v Speaker 1>You almost have to hope, like when they went through

<v Speaker 1>that little slump around Christmas time, that they just have

<v Speaker 1>a week where they just can't shoot it.

<v Speaker 2>And other than that, good.

<v Speaker 1>Luck because they're just so deep, so good on both ends. Yeah,

<v Speaker 1>they're gonna be really good.

<v Speaker 4>There's a team and I'm glad you reminded me of that.

<v Speaker 4>If there's a team that can take down Oklahoma City,

<v Speaker 4>we know it's San Antonio. Something about women and Yama.

<v Speaker 3>He's got it out for Chat.

<v Speaker 4>Yes, he looked back to when they were playing, like

<v Speaker 4>before they came to the NBA, he had a chip

<v Speaker 4>on his shoulder.

<v Speaker 2>Yep.

<v Speaker 4>With Chat, I don't know if he's like you know

<v Speaker 4>this guy thinks. It's kind of like remember when Jordan

<v Speaker 4>and Drexler would get he would get hyped up because

<v Speaker 4>people were comparing him to Drexler, and he kind of

<v Speaker 4>took offense.

<v Speaker 2>To that, highly offended.

<v Speaker 4>That's kind of how I take how Wemby looks at Chet.

<v Speaker 4>He's like this guy, Okay, he's tall, he can shoot,

<v Speaker 4>but he's not me. And I think that's the motivation

<v Speaker 4>that Wemby has when he plays against him.

<v Speaker 1>No, you're exactly right, because every time he plays them,

<v Speaker 1>he plays like his life and death.

<v Speaker 2>He wants to beat them.

<v Speaker 1>And and you bring up another another pair point and

<v Speaker 1>we'll get to this team next. But we have a

<v Speaker 1>guy here in Denver that, for some reason, and I

<v Speaker 1>don't know exactly what it is, he hates the Los

<v Speaker 1>Angeles Lakers, but I love him for it. And that

<v Speaker 1>is Jamal Murray because he saves his best for the Lakers.

<v Speaker 1>And Denver concerns me. They've got more depth this year.

<v Speaker 1>They've got more depth than I think they they had

<v Speaker 1>even the year that they wanted. The problem is that

<v Speaker 1>the West is so much better, and I'm not sure

<v Speaker 1>I trust Adelman as a head coach, I haven't seen anything.

<v Speaker 1>It gives me confidence that this is the guy right now.

<v Speaker 1>I am fully convinced Nikola Jokic is the head coach

<v Speaker 1>of the Denver Nuggets until proven otherwise.

<v Speaker 3>Well, if there was ever.

<v Speaker 4>To be a cerebral player, player coach on the floor,

<v Speaker 4>you would want it to be Yokic because he sees things.

<v Speaker 3>He's kind of like Neo and the Matrix.

<v Speaker 4>He sees things so far ahead of everyone else, including

<v Speaker 4>players who are on the court, not just coaches. So

<v Speaker 4>Jamal Murray, I'm glad you brought him up because we

<v Speaker 4>compared Jamal Murray in Season one of NBA Now and

<v Speaker 4>then we compared.

<v Speaker 3>Him to Darren Williams.

<v Speaker 2>Oh great.

<v Speaker 3>Darren Williams is more of a you know, past or distributor.

<v Speaker 4>But if you look at their style of play, their fluidity,

<v Speaker 4>their ability to you know, pull up from anywhere on

<v Speaker 4>the court, they're one in the same player. And when

<v Speaker 4>we did the research on his background, I don't know

<v Speaker 4>if you know this, So all the Nuggets fans, I

<v Speaker 4>don't know if you know this, but check it out.

<v Speaker 4>Jamal Murray's dad had such a huge impact on his development.

<v Speaker 4>We're talking having his son grown up as a young

<v Speaker 4>player shooting free throws blindfolded.

<v Speaker 3>Also, his dad.

<v Speaker 4>Would have him sit down and watch Kung Fu movies

<v Speaker 4>with him, and he would talk to his son like, yeah,

<v Speaker 4>you know, did you see the balance on that martial artist?

<v Speaker 4>And his dad would deliberately train him as a young

<v Speaker 4>player for not only skill but patience. He would have

<v Speaker 4>him shooting free throws blindfolded and he wouldn't give him

<v Speaker 4>the ball to shoot his next free throw until a

<v Speaker 4>full minute went by. So yeah, So it's for Jamal

<v Speaker 4>Murray when you think about why is he so poised,

<v Speaker 4>why is he able to elevate his game at the

<v Speaker 4>highest level in the most pressure situation, It's because his

<v Speaker 4>dad trained him to be ready for those moments of pressure.

<v Speaker 3>And it shows every.

<v Speaker 4>Time he plays in big games. You know, the fifty

<v Speaker 4>point game in the Bubble. I mean, if Yokis wasn't there,

<v Speaker 4>I mean his numbers might dip, but.

<v Speaker 3>He's he's a star man. I love Jamal Murray.

<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and Jamal Murray, and I know, you know, make

<v Speaker 1>the mistake is the MVP. They don't win that championship

<v Speaker 1>without Murray. It's not even close. And that is the

<v Speaker 1>reason that this year they have a chance. He's putting

<v Speaker 1>together his best regular season. Now we've got to see

<v Speaker 1>can he do it in the postseason. And also can

<v Speaker 1>they get Aaron Gordon to stay on the floor every

<v Speaker 1>game because that has been a bit of a problem

<v Speaker 1>banged up the way he plays. I mean, he's a

<v Speaker 1>big physical guy, but a big physical guy as he

<v Speaker 1>ages turns into a hurt physical guy.

<v Speaker 2>And that's what we're seeing here. When you look at

<v Speaker 2>Aaron Gordon, you.

<v Speaker 3>Need him, you need it.

<v Speaker 2>We have to have him.

<v Speaker 4>When I watched when I watch that Finals, he was

<v Speaker 4>he was the key for you guys. He had matchup

<v Speaker 4>problems against the other team. They they didn't know how

<v Speaker 4>to stop him. So I think he's a crucial crucial

<v Speaker 4>piece to your your championship hopes.

<v Speaker 1>And he's the guy as much as Murray gets credited

<v Speaker 1>and deserves it for understanding how to play with and

<v Speaker 1>the two man game that they play. That high low

<v Speaker 1>that Aaron Gordon has with Yok is every bit as

<v Speaker 1>dangerous and sometimes even more dangerous from a standpoint of

<v Speaker 1>what what do you do? How do you stop him?

<v Speaker 1>But he's got to be on the court and he's

<v Speaker 1>got to be healthy. He's got to be able to,

<v Speaker 1>you know, go run and play, and that is that

<v Speaker 1>is the most concerning thing. They've got to have him

<v Speaker 1>playing at full speed otherwise.

<v Speaker 2>I just that West is two stacked. I think it's

<v Speaker 2>gonna be really real tough.

<v Speaker 4>Can I ask you a question about because you know

<v Speaker 4>you you watch every game and you've been covering him

<v Speaker 4>for his entire career. Is it is it odd to

<v Speaker 4>you guys out in Denver that he loves basketball but

<v Speaker 4>it's not his end all be all in life. He's

<v Speaker 4>so kind of nonchalant about it.

<v Speaker 1>How do you I'm really glad that you brought that.

<v Speaker 1>I'm really glad that you brought that up because that

<v Speaker 1>is such a great point. Here is here is the

<v Speaker 1>little secret that nobody knows, and I'm gona I'm gonna

<v Speaker 1>share the inside secret.

<v Speaker 2>Okay, Jokic thinks it's.

<v Speaker 1>Hilarious that everyone else thinks he's kind of nonchalant about

<v Speaker 1>basketball because of that's how that's how he carries himself.

<v Speaker 1>That's how that's how he portrays himself. Basketball is take

<v Speaker 1>it or leave. But I would much rather be playing

<v Speaker 1>with my ponies and I and I get it, because

<v Speaker 1>that's how it looks. However, this man is averaging a

<v Speaker 1>triple double every single night against the best in the world,

<v Speaker 1>and he's making it look easy.

<v Speaker 2>There is no way he.

<v Speaker 1>Doesn't have the drive of a Jordan, of the Lebron,

<v Speaker 1>of one of these Kobe Bryant types that is a psycho.

<v Speaker 2>And from what I understand from people in the building,

<v Speaker 2>he's a psycho.

<v Speaker 1>He just hides it and he pretends like, hey, win

<v Speaker 1>or lose whatever, I'm gonna go play with my horses.

<v Speaker 1>But when you look at what he's doing, if he's

<v Speaker 1>not as driven as he as he apparently is, he's

<v Speaker 1>making a fool of the NBA. Yeah, because if he's

<v Speaker 1>doing this and not really caring, my goodness, what does

<v Speaker 1>that say. What would he be like if he really cared. No,

<v Speaker 1>he's a psycho. He just hides it. And I think

<v Speaker 1>he thinks it's kind of funny.

<v Speaker 2>I think he thinks it's.

<v Speaker 1>Kind of funny that they won the title and he

<v Speaker 1>was like, Okay, now I can go home. I think

<v Speaker 1>he thinks that kind of it's kind of a dig everybody.

<v Speaker 1>And when you think about it, if you went over

<v Speaker 1>season and you went over to you know, somewhere over

<v Speaker 1>in the eastern block and you're playing over there and

<v Speaker 1>everybody said, hey, you won the championship. What the first man,

<v Speaker 1>I'm going home to Philly. This stuff is silly to me.

<v Speaker 1>Wouldn't that be the ultimate thing to be able to say?

<v Speaker 1>And I think that's what he That's how he operates,

<v Speaker 1>and I think he thinks it's kind of funny.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, Jokic is different, man.

<v Speaker 4>I think if you listen to when he was drafted,

<v Speaker 4>I think there was an interview with melik At Andrews

<v Speaker 4>and she was talking to him about, you know, him

<v Speaker 4>being drafted during the doing a commercial, a Taco Bell commercial,

<v Speaker 4>and he, you know it, took took a shot at himself,

<v Speaker 4>was like, oh yeah, ha ha, you know because I'm.

<v Speaker 3>The fat boy.

<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

<v Speaker 4>That's what I love about Jokic just he just he

<v Speaker 4>does and.

<v Speaker 3>Take things too seriously.

<v Speaker 4>But to your point, you know better than me, he

<v Speaker 4>is psycho, but he hides it well. And I know

<v Speaker 4>that whoever does his thirty for thirty or whatever documentary,

<v Speaker 4>I'm going to be locked in because.

<v Speaker 3>I can't wait.

<v Speaker 4>I can't wait to hear about his career and what

<v Speaker 4>he really thought about different things that the embide rivalry,

<v Speaker 4>which really isn't a rivalry, is embid barely plays and play.

<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

<v Speaker 1>Yeah, Well, and here's the reason, because I had heard

<v Speaker 1>that from a couple of different people, and I'd heard

<v Speaker 1>that from some some NBA kind of in the locker

<v Speaker 1>room kind of guys that they were like, oh, no,

<v Speaker 1>he's got everybody fooled.

<v Speaker 2>He's a psycho.

<v Speaker 1>But here's here's the kind of evidence I guess I'll

<v Speaker 1>throw out there. When you see his brothers and if you,

<v Speaker 1>if you know much about that, you know the whole

<v Speaker 1>situation when his brothers were kind of taking center stage

<v Speaker 1>there for a couple of weeks with a couple of

<v Speaker 1>twins that were playing for the Clippers. His brothers are

<v Speaker 1>who he had to compete with every day.

<v Speaker 2>Yep, his brothers are legit psycho.

<v Speaker 1>They're there's no way that it doesn't burn in him

<v Speaker 1>to be great because he had to play against those guys,

<v Speaker 1>and those guys scare me to death. And by the way,

<v Speaker 1>scared a couple guys into some dnps that were professional

<v Speaker 1>athletes because they legit might be psycho.

<v Speaker 2>So I think I think it was. I think it

<v Speaker 2>was in him. I think he was raised that way.

<v Speaker 1>The only thing with him is as a kid, he

<v Speaker 1>didn't grow he wasn't as big as they were. And

<v Speaker 1>then when he all of a sudden got big, he

<v Speaker 1>was like, oh, I've been playing as a point guard

<v Speaker 1>to feed them this whole time, and now I'm the

<v Speaker 1>big guy.

<v Speaker 2>And I think that kind of threw everything off.

<v Speaker 3>So jokicch We covered Yokich.

<v Speaker 4>We compared him to Tim Duncan in season season two.

<v Speaker 2>Interesting comparison. Yeah, I like that.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

<v Speaker 4>Originally though Clint I was I was not for it.

<v Speaker 4>But Lucas Johnson, who's one of our guys, He's.

<v Speaker 3>Like, we gotta do it. He wouldn't.

<v Speaker 4>He did not relent. He just was like, we're doing it.

<v Speaker 4>I don't care what you said. Was all right, fine,

<v Speaker 4>So we compared Jokic to Tim Duncan, to quiet superstars,

<v Speaker 4>two guys that impact the game in more ways than

<v Speaker 4>But when I was doing the research in Jokic, you

<v Speaker 4>mentioned his brothers. I'm sure you know that Namanja he

<v Speaker 4>attended Detroit Mercy.

<v Speaker 3>Right, Yeah, played there.

<v Speaker 4>Yeah, so you mentioned Okay, he grew up with them,

<v Speaker 4>all right, So he's playing against his brothers. He grew

<v Speaker 4>up in a small town with forty thousand people overseas.

<v Speaker 4>He was twenty years old when he won an MVP

<v Speaker 4>in the Adriatic League and he was drafted in the

<v Speaker 4>second round and his first season or two, I think

<v Speaker 4>he was a backup for Forget who was on Denver

<v Speaker 4>at the time, who was the center.

<v Speaker 1>Well he was there was the other kid that they

<v Speaker 1>drafted the same year. Yeah, and he ended up shifting

<v Speaker 1>him off to Portland. Yes, and he was kind of

<v Speaker 1>sitting behind him too, And I'm totally spacing his name,

<v Speaker 1>but he was kind of backing up him, even though

<v Speaker 1>when you actually watched both of them play, Oh, these

<v Speaker 1>are two different animals.

<v Speaker 2>They looked the same, but they're not the same. Yeah.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, But the point is he was. He was a backups.

<v Speaker 2>He didn't Nurkic.

<v Speaker 4>Yeah, Nurkic right, didn't flourish right away. So to see

<v Speaker 4>him make that progression lose weight, I remember he lost

<v Speaker 4>all that weight over the summer.

<v Speaker 3>He came back.

<v Speaker 2>I'm like, wow, Yokis looks good different.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, he looks really good.

<v Speaker 4>So shedding those pounds, you know, developing chemistry. Mike Malone,

<v Speaker 4>I know he's not there anymore. But I thought he

<v Speaker 4>was a good coach for you too. But Jokis is

<v Speaker 4>such a special player that I used to argue that

<v Speaker 4>Embiid was better. But it got to a point where

<v Speaker 4>I'm like, what am I doing? I'm such a homer.

<v Speaker 4>Let me give this man credit when credit is due,

<v Speaker 4>because Jokic is doing things that no center has ever

<v Speaker 4>been able to do.

<v Speaker 1>That Ceriod, here's my question for you. You mentioned that

<v Speaker 1>you guys compared him to Tim Duncan. Yeah, but you

<v Speaker 1>were kind of pushing back against that. Who did you

<v Speaker 1>want to compare him to.

<v Speaker 4>Let's see if you can take a guess.

<v Speaker 2>Well, I know who I compare him to. That they

<v Speaker 2>are in the same position.

<v Speaker 1>But oh, okay, because of his brain, because of his

<v Speaker 1>his vision, and it's going to sound insane.

<v Speaker 2>I would absolutely compare him to Larry Bird.

<v Speaker 1>Can't run, can't jump, and why is he embarrassing the league?

<v Speaker 3>That's a good point.

<v Speaker 2>Bird was, yes, and but like I said, not the

<v Speaker 2>same position.

<v Speaker 1>But and and when you you know, you look at

<v Speaker 1>Tim Duncan and you're like, hey, the fundamental nobody's gonna

<v Speaker 1>you know, rush down to the you know this to

<v Speaker 1>the arena to watch a guy, you know, kiss the

<v Speaker 1>backboard every every shot.

<v Speaker 2>No, I get it. I can see the comparison.

<v Speaker 1>I'm okay with that because Tim Duncan was phenomenal, was

<v Speaker 1>so so good.

<v Speaker 2>Also a swimmer. Oh I like that.

<v Speaker 1>Also, Duncan had to have those two guys helping him. Yeah,

<v Speaker 1>and two really really good guys that probably don't get

<v Speaker 1>as much recognition as they deserve, and Mona Ginobi and

<v Speaker 1>Tony Parker, but two really really good players that I

<v Speaker 1>don't know that.

<v Speaker 2>He wins those titles without him.

<v Speaker 4>Yeah, to answer your question, originally we had Jokic being

<v Speaker 4>compared Toonis.

<v Speaker 2>Okay, yeah, Papa obviously.

<v Speaker 1>And the hard part was Sabonis is we didn't get

<v Speaker 1>to see him until he's an old man. If you're

<v Speaker 1>watching him as a young kid, and you know, you

<v Speaker 1>see some of the old film or whatever, you can't

<v Speaker 1>tell a competition, but you're like, the game was very similar,

<v Speaker 1>the way he passed, the way he saw the floor,

<v Speaker 1>the way he shot. Yeah, it could totally totally sit man.

<v Speaker 1>You know, I could sit here and talk hoop with

<v Speaker 1>you all night. I'm gonna have to I can't do that.

<v Speaker 1>We've got other things we've got to get to. But

<v Speaker 1>first and foremost, I want to say thank you for

<v Speaker 1>stopping by the Daily Dose. You're welcome anytime, and I

<v Speaker 1>genuinely mean that. Second, I'm going to put you on

<v Speaker 1>the spot. You've probably already given it to me, but

<v Speaker 1>now we're going to ask for it in you know,

<v Speaker 1>kind of black and white.

<v Speaker 2>Your pick for the NBA Finals. Who's it going to be?

<v Speaker 3>Wow?

<v Speaker 4>So one Eastern conference in one Western conference, that's it?

<v Speaker 3>Team? Okay? Do you got well?

<v Speaker 4>I was going to say Detroit, but there I think

<v Speaker 4>Kate is not going to make it back.

<v Speaker 1>And if he does, yeah, and that's that's not a

<v Speaker 1>sprained ankle, that's yeah, that's a serious situation for sure.

<v Speaker 4>All Right, I'm going to go out on a limb

<v Speaker 4>and Stephen A. Smith would be happy with this prediction.

<v Speaker 4>I think the Knicks find a way to make it

<v Speaker 4>to the finals. I think I love it. I think

<v Speaker 4>they figure it out kat Jalen Brunson. Remember those three players, Brunson,

<v Speaker 4>Bridges and Heart.

<v Speaker 3>They have they've been playing together. Pat.

<v Speaker 4>I think it's hungry. Jordan Clarkson, I think is hungry.

<v Speaker 4>I think they have good depth and I think they'll

<v Speaker 4>make it to the finals.

<v Speaker 3>Will they win? I don't think so because.

<v Speaker 4>I'm going to go with Oklahoma City coming out of

<v Speaker 4>I would like to say san Antonio because I really

<v Speaker 4>like Wemby. I just think they have to pay their

<v Speaker 4>dues a little bit more. I think Oklahoma City will

<v Speaker 4>figure it out, and they have more depth than san Antonio.

<v Speaker 1>They do know, without a doubt, they do san Antonio

<v Speaker 1>from not in that conference. It just might be a

<v Speaker 1>few more players in a few more years away. They've

<v Speaker 1>got plenty of time. But yeah, I think I think

<v Speaker 1>you make a really good point because Oklahoma City just

<v Speaker 1>looks way too stacked and looks way too good.

<v Speaker 2>Riyah.

<v Speaker 1>Like I said, I could sit here and talk hoop

<v Speaker 1>with you all night. But before I let you go,

<v Speaker 1>I've got to ask you, where can people find what

<v Speaker 1>you're doing? Where can people keep up on what you're doing?

<v Speaker 1>Because I know my listeners are gonna want to tune

<v Speaker 1>into what it is you have gone, So where should

<v Speaker 1>they go?

<v Speaker 4>Sure, we are on every social media platform. We're on Instagram, TikTok,

<v Speaker 4>We're on Facebook, We're on x We're even on Pinterest.

<v Speaker 4>So okay, you can find us anywhere, But if you

<v Speaker 4>really want to find our content all of our comparisons,

<v Speaker 4>we are on NBA now and then dot Com again,

<v Speaker 4>NBA now and then dot Com soon to be Clint.

<v Speaker 4>We're in the middle of a rebrand. We're gonna ask

<v Speaker 4>we're gonna be basketball now and then, But until that happens,

<v Speaker 4>you can find us on NBA now and then dot Com.

<v Speaker 1>I absolutely love it, you're on it. Cannot thank you

<v Speaker 1>enough for stopping by the Daily Dose. I truly enjoyed

<v Speaker 1>our visit and like I said, would love to have

<v Speaker 1>you back at any time.

<v Speaker 2>Really enjoyed our conversation.

<v Speaker 4>Thank you, Clinn, I appreciate it. And good luck with

<v Speaker 4>the Nuggets this year.

<v Speaker 2>We're gonna need all the luck we can get.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

<v Speaker 1>Hey, next week of the Dose, we will be recapping

<v Speaker 1>that national Championship game that will be taking place on

<v Speaker 1>Monday night. We might have to take a brief look

<v Speaker 1>back at the college basketball season in general, and you know,

<v Speaker 1>we'll be keeping up to date on all that is

<v Speaker 1>going on in the world of sports. So be sure

<v Speaker 1>you stop by the Dose and be sure you let

<v Speaker 1>a friend know to the same. I want to say

<v Speaker 1>thank you so much to writer and podcaster. You're right

<v Speaker 1>young for stopping by the Daily Dose. I thoroughly enjoyed

<v Speaker 1>our conversation and hope you'll stop by again. And hey,

<v Speaker 1>I do encourage you all go check out the Now

<v Speaker 1>and Then podcast. You will be entertained. And I want

<v Speaker 1>to say thank you to each and every one of

<v Speaker 1>you for listening to The Daily Dose every week. Thank

<v Speaker 1>you for the emails, thank the the text, thank you

<v Speaker 1>the tweets, but more than anything, thank you for sharing

<v Speaker 1>the show, for sharing the videos, and for sharing the

<v Speaker 1>articles with someone that you know. We absolutely love it

<v Speaker 1>when you do that. Have to think you could not

<v Speaker 1>do any of this without you. I will see you

<v Speaker 1>all next Wednesday. Have a great week everybody, and enjoy

<v Speaker 1>the college basketball National Championship