I ain't on nobody's side. You know, most people jump on him and be like, oh he did. I ain't jumping on nobody's side because I don't care who went. I don't know neither one of these niggas. But what I do know is I like I like the competition of it.
Welcome Back, Unplugged, our weekly stroll around. What's going on, Jack, There's a lot going on. You're coming straight from Virginia. I'm happy to be in Miami, so I was in classical before we get to that. Real quick tickets on sales Chicago and Detroit, our live tour for all the Smoke Productions dot com slash tour to get your tickets.
Be there or just keep being a square. Don't want to miss it. But how was Virginia? Virginia was cool? Man.
Shout out to Adam and Ibsen, the Classic, Bobby Ai and everybody that was involved, Tim Darius Miles.
It was great with Yeah, Karee Reid, my.
Son got a chance to get a great experience being with the top player. You know, learning a lot this week and uh a lot of these kids that I got a chance to grow with that I continue to grow with this game, I'm gonna have some great careers and a lot I'm gonna be pro. So it was a great weekend. I was a yeah, I was good man,
he was. He was happy to be home. I think that the city everybody came out to fill up the Hampton Coliseum and uh, you know, you should do something like that in your hometown, specially for guys like that. We did the dunk contest and three point contests at Bethel and it was sold out.
Yeah, it was.
It was like a Friday high school game, packed the water wall. So it was a good weekend. Love it, Love it man.
Shout out the classic shout out to you Patriots roast Tom Brady, Craft, Belichick, Kim Kardashi and probably got the coldest roast of the whole evening.
But uh, that was good.
What was the one guy's name that said the ship about Craft and Brady went up there and said, don't say that ship again. Jeff Ross, Jeff Jeff Ross were talking big. He's the go that you wanted to go to ros He said some ship about the massage things, and everyone laughed for a second.
Brady went up there, hot mic, don't do that ship again.
Uh, Jack any of your former teams. You think he could do a roast, It's not even close. That Warrior team we had.
I think that that team would do a hell of a roast you Bead, monte Al, Petrice, Ja Rich.
Yeah, it'll be pretty wo'd be pretty funny.
I think that Love City team too, could have could definitely do a roast. Have some characters on that team, Blake and dj alone, like dj CP with his little sneak diss and Jamal his little funny ass JJ.
That would have been a good one. Stephen A.
Smith Shaw I went out there while you was busy in Virginia to talk to him and check his temperature.
And he said, when he sees you on side, he's smacking you. I cannot wait, I cannot wait. I'm looking dead in this camera way.
No, he just said he wanted to talk to you.
That's it.
He said he was a little mad mad at you, but he still got love for you. He's got love for us, still wants to see do well. Obviously, I went out there and kind of, you know, said what our issues were, and he explained the side and you know, I'm again I've been a big fan of him and known it for a long time and obviously don't agree with everything he says, but at the end of the day, like I know him well enough to know that he
means well. You guys have kind of had a little back and forth, which is which which makes it good, you know, because we are a duo on the team, but we're also individual. So at some point if you all decide to sit down, Nope, that'll be interesting. Since we've last conversated, some teams have been eliminated.
The Clippers have gone.
Down, which was you know, my pick at the beginning of the year to represent the Western Conference, and it wouldn't banned that we all thought they would do. So with that ross health health health has been the key. They lost in six to Dallas, and we'll get to them a little bit. But co I only played two games, average twelve points in those games. Both losses hard and PG struggled. Russ struggled hard. As a free agent, Paul George has a forty eight million dollar player option.
Russ has a smaller player option.
Kawhi just extended three years one fifty so he's about fifty million a year going into this new arena. Jack, what do you see also I think Tylu is a free agent from the coaching side, because I'm here talks to him possibly going down the hallway Clippers. Overall, pg's staying, are going hard and staring tore going. Are we ever going to see a healthy Kawhi again?
That's that's the big question. I mean, I think you can't predict that.
I mean, Tylu made a joke that he made a joke that he going back to lower management because he missed so many games. But I think it's it's a perfect time with the situation, contract situations with everybody, it's perfect time to break it up. It's a perfect time you going into a new arena. You might as well just try to start new. This ain't working, you know, you might just try to get new and try to
try to offload Kawhi if you can. You know, James Hard as a free agent, Paul's definitely gonna opt out because this teams just want to throw him in the bag right now. So this is the perfect time to go into that new arena, new coach, new team, and just try something new.
Change the team name while you're at it. No bullshit.
But I mean, I think the interesting person on the roster to me is obviously Kawhi being healthy and if we're gonna get a chance to see that, because I think he played and I don't want to mistake he played a lot of games this year. I know he didn't sit out very much, but when they needed him the most of the playoffs, he wasn't there. But Paul George, you know, there's talks of Indiana, uh shit, the Nicks.
You're hearing a lot of different things. Obviously this is all speculation right now, but I think Paul George could be the one guy if he decides to leave. You know, teams are still gonna throw him good money, so it'd be interesting to see where he lands if he.
Does decide to leave.
But again, all three shit, all four of those guys we mentioned are at home, you know what I mean, So there ain't no telling them if they want to try to see Hey, let's try one Moey. They just haven't been healthy. We haven't seen both these they're both their stars healthy at the right time.
So what if one of those guys go to the other locker room?
Look at it goal with locker room.
Well, if you remember, if you were calling, we had were I think we were talking about this in our group chat the other day.
Doc Rivers did not want to trade SGA.
For Paul George, and I think that would have if it didn't happen, it would have killed the trade and Kawhi allegedly would have went to the Lakers. But I remember Doc was really adamant about everything they had to give up first and foremost, but he.
Knew Shay was going to be a star.
So it's been some you know, some some management moves on both those LA teams, uh in the front office that kind of have hindered teams in the past. Hand for the years Milwaukee. Speaking of Doc Rivers losing six no Yiannis, which is we knew they weren't going to
do anything without him and going into that. Those cast strains are dangerous, and I think they saw what happened with KD with KD trying to push through a calf strain and he tore his achilles when he was with Golden State, So I think they aired on the side of caution, which was very smart.
I think they should have played the nasties more minutes. I mean, it's the closest thing to be honest.
Like DNA wise, yes, okay, can't get the worse Thanname.
Dame was hurt.
Dame was in and now, but played well while he was in there. A tough first season for Dame in Milwaukee for the first time. You know, we hear him mention the off the court stuff, and Dame has always been so locked in in one of the blessed players this league has seen since he's came in the league. But divorce ain't easy, you know, and then moving across the country away from your kids on top of it, so I can only imagine.
You know, what he was going through.
Hopefully he comes back well, arrested mentally and physically and stronger next year. Doc Rivers got this big deal. This team was thirty and thirteen when Doc took over. Under Doc, they were nineteen and twenty three. So obviously Doc gets a pass now without their best player being there. But for some reason, he keeps getting these opportunities with a lot of these teams with a lot of talent and
hasn't necessarily produced. I mean, when Giannis was there, they still were hovering around five hundred.
So what do you think the outlook for this team is?
I mean, Lopez is getting older, Porters is getting older, Middleton look is getting older. All these guys looked a little old during this run. That young Indiana team came in there and up the pace and played their game. Is it time for this team to blow up as well?
Let me makes you a serious question.
How long did we think just running downhill full speed dominating was gonna last? You know what I'm saying? Like his game never evolved. Gianna's game has been the same. He's gotten stronger and bigger since he came into the league. As far as this game wise, it's.
Evolved, I definitely think it's evolved, but I think his main thing has been his main thing and going downhill, I would say.
I would say if he starts shooting threes like he always been the guy that attack downhill one two dunk and he's just been getting stronger and more smarter over the years. But this game is like the skill wise has not went nowhere. So that's only gonna take you so far. So when he when he started to get hurt like this, the way he plays, it's gonna continue to happen, bro because he's getting older. So what do
y'all think? Y'all gonna go from here. You know what I'm saying, Bring it doc in That ain't gonna change nothing. Yan is getting older. You see Damee being hurt more. Now you got Poortis, you got Lopez. All these guys are up the tage. You know what I'm saying. But Middleton is not a guy that you that you can just win with byicef. He's not a guy you can
plug two guys, you know what I mean. Like so it's it's it's a big decision making time for them, Matt, because they can this This can keep them in a in a stagnan place for three four years or you know what I'm saying. They can try to make some changes now you know what I mean, just to stay in the winning in the winning percentage.
It just showed you how fast your window can close. Right, You thought one player they won a championship, and you thought they'd have a window to make a little run. And that ship shut before it before before you.
Knew it, it was shut. Not a ton of assets.
That trade for Holiday for for for Dame was a very interesting trade that you know, sometimes they don't work out, and obviously you can't judge something off the first year. You know you're gonna be You're gonna take dang though, but you are gonna take them. But you I think they also or misunderstood how much Drew meant to that team. You know, first team on defense, someone that took the best guard every time, someone who hit big shots in
the clutch when Middleton or Jiannis wasn't there working. Holliday was someone who stepped up. So I definitely think that trade on the defensive end slowed that team down.
So we'll see.
Moving on though, to Dallas and what Kyrie Irving has been doing, only averaging twenty seven points on fifty two to forty five eighty five splits. First, the Clippers in the first round looked like a man on a mission. Let's compare. First of all, let's just talk about the way he played in this first round, So just super confident.
I think.
J Kid has given him the confidence just go out there and be Kyrie. I think's big that people not talking about is how he's competing on the defensive end. He shut James down, you know what I'm saying. You know, people try to talk about how they had beef and all that, but he spoke on it in the press conference.
I they have respect for each other, but they love to compete, and Kyrie played his ass off on defense, and so that kind of oh, you know, I mean, I'm a defensive guy, so I know he can score. I know he's probably the most skilled person we've ever seen with the basketball, But defensively wise, I think that's why they were able to win that series in such a decisive manner, because they took the challenge on the defensive side.
I don't think I've seen Kyrie play this well, and it's for the reason you said his his he stepped up on the defensive end. He's really put that work in on the defensive end, and it showed this series. And as you said, one of the most skilled guys we've ever seen with the ball, which brings me to
this this comparison. You know, obviously he worked well with Braun in Cleveland, and you know, some lips say Lucas in the mold of bron and their chemistry and understanding of each other's game and this small amount of time they've been together, they they're the scariest duo in basketball that's left in the playoffs right now. I would say so it's gonna be interesting against the young OKC team. What do you think about them as a duo and and them going into this second round against okay see.
This first round has helped them because I think, to me, okay see, he's a better team. But offensively, the Clippers are a better team. As far as harder to guard, Clippers were the Clippers were harder to guard in the first round, and it will be the guard okay seeing this in the second round. And even though they got SGA, So I think I think this that first series is gonna help them be better in this series. I just think as far as the core guys that get mad,
it always come down to the core guys. With the Dallas Mavericks, we know what you're gonna give from Kyrie and Luca and and Luke, and Luca might do some crazy shit. Well he'll win your two games on the road or something like that. But what are these core guys gonna do? Because as as as the playoffs, as you go to the next round, each possession gets more tighter, the nerves, you know, people can't make those shots because
of the each each possession count. So it's gonna be the core guys to see what they do.
I think, you know, this is just a perfect example of just getting hot at the right time. And I feel like they're playing with great chemistry right now. So those role players, the hardaway juniors, the Lively, the PJ Washington, these guys are all stepping up and maybe playing a little bit above who they naturally are because the team is rolling so well, and Kyrie and Luco are rolling so well. So I think it's definitely gonna be an
interesting series. Okay see, I mean a young team that that's ready to take that leap, you know, and something we both says, we just had to see it, not that we didn't believe in him, We just had to see how these young players perform.
Under these big lights.
And okay see, did a great job in the first round and they're really going to get tested this next round.
So definitely looking forward to this series.
Well, these are great opportunities for you know, the others or the Cords you'd like to say, or to really make a name for themselves and come out here and make a splash. And you were someone who came out in the playoffs and made a splash and got yourself a nice deal and made yourself a household name. So Dallas has a few guys on the team that have that opportunity this year in the playoffs, and it'll be interesting to see if they make that jump. Lakers Lakers, Lakers, Lakers.
Darvin Ham canned obviously the fall guy. A lot of people have been saying, in particularly JR.
J R.
Smith said, he tweeted, but have you seen this team? Thoughts on d Ham getting fired? Obviously, this roster was poorly constructed. It was something we said a while ago. But also, I really want to say before we get to dissecting this roster, they just ran into a really good Denver team, you know what I mean. If they would have drawn someone else, they might not have had the dishes. I don't think they would have went to the finals, but I think they possibly could have got
out of the first round. But they just played a really good different team. But nevertheless, you know that Lakers seat is a hot seat. Our brother, Darvin Ham is gone. You know, the front office, I think we talked on our last time we spoke with the front office did with that Russ move and getting rid of Coups and Caruso and Dreb Val McGee and Dwight Howard, the core, some of those core others from those championship teams, So
I really look at more. Darvin Ham has some work to do as a head coach, but the roster and the moves that managed and made in the last three or four years that got him a ring, but has also hindered them.
Dam got to take the blank for this man, because you know, history tells us your star players got to deal with the buckle the blame.
They gotta take that heat, you know what I'm saying.
I mean when when San Antonio wasn't winning, they was blaming Tima Gino. But they getting older, they getting older, then they'll come back and win one. You know what I'm saying. It's all your star players normally get the bull of the heat, but for some reason, when it's dealing with Lebron the Lakers, he gets no blame. And you can't and you can't take you can't take ad out of it. Ad, even though you played well in crunch minutes, you was
not there. So you have to put the guys that make the most money have to get the bull of the blame. You can't blame the young guys that was on the team. They're only getting so many limited shots, and half the time you don't know when your shots are even coming, you know what I'm saying. So I can't put the blame on the others. I just I just can't, Bro, you know what I'm saying. If you want to put some of the others in that, throw some of the stars in there, you know what I'm saying.
But for the most part, you can't blame these young guys, bro, because all when when when when they do win and all the glories going up, they giving it to the stars. They're not giving the glory to the young guys when all the glories talked about with the Lakers. So when y'all, y'all want to give the glory to the to the stars when they doing all well and they wanted, you give the same yeah, yeah to the criticism to those guys and blame it on them.
When you lose, don't blame it on the coach.
It's always the coach's faults now it's never the player's faults anymore, which is crazy because the responsibility has gone up for the players because the money's gone up, So you're responsibly should go up. But at the end of the day, we're seeing a ton of coaches be the fall guys for talented teams that first of all weren't put well together. And then you know some stars didn't play well. So it'll be intering to see, you know, moving forward.
Let me ask you a question, No, how would you handle this situation like that if he was a coach.
Bron just calls the time out and comes to the sideline and uh as as he's coming to line nine sid you was drawing up a play, He's just yelling.
At you give me the board, give me the board, give me the board, like that's mad, disrespectful. As the coach, he wouldn't do that, the great Papovich.
I've seen it done before. I've seen Kobe do it though, I've seen Baron do it. Though I've seen a lot of people do it in those you know, in those minutes. I've seen andre iguad to do it with the Warriors. So the context sometimes you have to have the full context. And I saw the edit just this morning on social media.
How Bron.
You know, Bron wanted to draw something up as d hand, But I don't say, look at that mean, you could be right, some people could look at that, but I've seen other star players, and you know, not even the best players sometimes Iguadala do that in the Warriors hudle, So that didn't really.
Look it was like, give me this, you don't know what you're doing type. I was. I got a coach.
I mean, I tell you, I mean, the energy has to be taken in consideration. I'm not I'm not mad at that, but like I said, I've just seen other guys do it. But I just think, you know, just coaching Bron ain't easy, and guys have fallen by the wayside.
You know.
You look at David Black and his record what he.
Was able to do, and he was as, yeah, it's tough.
I mean, it's Broun is a gift in the curse.
Keep everybody else look at me. The coaches y'all had He's been there.
Some other ship. You know, it's a lot of other ships going on. So we'll have to see what happens with these guys and where Bron lands. If the Lakers decided to snatch Brownie, I want to see that though, I do want to see I'm definitely looking forward to that. Opportunity for Home be the first one to do it, so we'll have to see a wild take that may
not end up being that wild. Jason Williams of ESPN said, I really think Jayden Brunson is going to go down as one of the greatest Knicks, if not the greatest Nick of all time.
Hot take.
Some may think it's wild, but if you think about it, we came up with a short list of you know, you thought Walt Frager is the most break it down, how you said, how you said it.
I felt like Walt Fraser is the best Nick of all time because he brought a championship there. I felt like Mellow is the most known, you know what I'm saying, and the Patrick Ewing is the most respected.
So we're just Brunson fitting that Brunson continues, he.
Wins the championship, He's definitely going to scott past all them considering the time wein.
You know what I'm saying, He's going to pass all of them overnight.
Over What the Knicks have done is, you know, there's a couple of those guys are starters. You would think normally that a de Vincenzo or Josh Hart would be a bench mob type guy. But those guys are playing amazing alongside Brunson, so it kind of tastes the depth out of their bench if you think about it.
Yeah, this day last year start though, because I don't go how far they're gonna go. They get another star over there and one of them guys going to the wood.
It's okay if they does. I mean, who is there? Who's their number two?
Right now? I think both those two guys are playing their mind right. They have a real number two unless you're not.
I mean, can you call Josh Hard or Demoncenzo all as great as they're playing, can you call them a real number two? The number two is a twenty plus point score every now, play body.
He could be og some night.
He slows everything down, he hold the ball. He's one dimensional like he don't make you really, don't make nobody better. He's a turnover prone like no man. They gotta get rid of him.
So it's time to get rid of him and slide at what a PG do and or Donovan Mitchell do.
In a situation with the Knicks.
I wouldn't go down the Mitch. I'll go more of a bigger guard PG PG. You know what I'm saying, I do PG.
You got to get them right. You need to. You need to replace Randall with an athletic big man.
I like the big man that got now because he's brewed, he played plays with, he's rebound, he bangs.
Yeah, he does his job and you't got to pay much.
Anthony Edwards, I think has taken the league by storm, the world by storm, you know, as the influx of European talent grown has grown and continues to grow. I think Anthony Edwards has taken that challenge of being the next American face.
You know.
I think Joe will get back in that mix once we get consistently see him on the court. Jason Tatum has an opportunity to be at the top of that if he can take his Celtics to the next level. But I mean he went they went in and got Game one against Denver, and he played incredible. I mean, so far he's having in thirty three, eight and six on forty three percent shooting from the three point line. His moves, his tenacity, You're seeing a lot of MJ and Cole and Anthony Edwards at twenty two.
Scary.
It's just so exciting, man, because and if she kiss keep me funky. We wanted to see some of this in Lebron. He's so, he's so, he's so dominant offensively and six eighth. We'll never see a basketball player that looks like Lebron else we expect him to show that same thing that Kobe and George show.
I don't know what, what does dude eat before games?
But to see a young kid like that take pride in defense and stopping the best player at the end of the games and just competing for the whole four day minutes match on this level, but also stepping up and playing and carrying his team like that's that's that's that's it's good to see, man, because people have gotten away, well what basketball is. It's not just scoring, it's not just being one dimensional. It's playing on both sides of the ball. It's competing all games. You know what I'm
saying talking to little trash, he has he has. He has found a way to absorb all the things that we love about basketball and show us again why we love it.
Matt.
A lot of guys don't play like he played a game and appreciate the game the way he does. And his shows on the court, and I think that's why so many people are saying he's the new face of the league because he's playing basketball.
He's not being one dimension.
Yeah, I mean both sides of the ball. Three level score. Another thing that I think gets overlooked as he's the leader of that team too. Yes, I mean I think a year or two ago there was a little head button of if it's a Cats team or Anthony Edwards team, and obviously it's Ants team. And he's been able to get those older guys to fall in line and follow him the go bearts. The Towns got great role players. It's a well put together team. They have depth. You know,
they got that vet in Mike Conley. But I also want to shut out Gobert. I think he takes a lot of heat, but he's done his job so far. He's done what he's been paid to do. And he made it tough for Yokic all game to able to throw two other guys on him. So reminists up that when the Lakers were able to beat them and Jokicic was asked how can he counter their big line up, and he said he needed to replicate himself. He needs
another yolkic you out there to do it. So the fact that they went in game one led by Anthony Edwards, would he get forty three? Forty three in Denver on the defending Champs Court? I mean, so a lot, lot of a lot of series left. But just love his energy and the way he attacks the game because the team follows behind him.
This beef, this music, beef Jack.
I love it, but I'm.
Gonna let you go first. What do you think about this, Kendrick Drake? I like it. I mean, I'm enjoined it too.
I'm not one of those people that sit down and dissect every song in every bar, but I like to be I really listen to what the beasts and I think, you know, for the most part, Kendrick is it's really winning it, you know, if you can judge it. I mean, I ain't on nobody's side.
You know.
Most people jump on him and be like, oh he did. I ain't jumping on nobody's side because I don't care who win. I don't know neither one of these niggas.
But what I do know is I like it.
I like the competition of it, you know what I mean. And just as the music side of it. To me, my paying Kendrick is making better disc records, that's it.
I think it's good for the sport. I think it's good for the sport of music.
I think the music has been on life support for a little bit, so I think it's bringing energy back. I want to shout out Drake for bringing Kendrick back, you know, Kendrick. You know, we always like where's Kendrick at? You know, And I think this competitiveness has got him outside. I think it's good for it. I hope it stays here.
This could arguably arguably be one of the greatest battles of all time, the way these guys are going back and forth, and I hope that people don't make it see because it really I haven't seen the West Coast this united in a long time. The West Coast is really united on this Kendrick shit. And I'm I'm a huge fan of both. I'm a huge fan of Drake as well, and I hope that it after this. I mean, people could just respect their crafts and what it is and it doesn't have to be one or the other.
Or if you fuck with Drake, you can't fuck with Kendrick. You fucking you can't fuck with Drake stupid. I think it's it's been great for the sport. I hope it stays sporty. But these motherfuckers are going at each other man, and that that mustard beat, and they're not like us.
Boy.
So we'll see our guy b Brad Brad Miller drops this week this Thursday. It's our guys, shout out brass. So you guys make sure you tap in check that out out here in Miami right now. So we're gonna lock in a couple of shows, so we'll have those coming to you soon. And Jack, you're out here doing fight town too. Fight time is bad. Talk to us about it.
What you got going on with your.
Miami and we out here in Miami and spend times with spend time with the great Roy Jones, get to know him.
And also how that David bena Vedez, the Mexican must fight times back? Man? Is that next? Better than that? Is that Canlo's next matchup? I hope.
I don't want to see Canelo fight nobody else, but yeah, yeah, it's Canelo.
Please, bro, please, you're such a big fan.
He had a nice show on the other night. It looked it looked easy. Can I take another message ahead? Hello, coming from five man. I'm a big fan.
I wonder if you recall when we had the press conference in New York how giddy I was to meet you. Remember, you know what I'm saying. I was just happy to be You probably don't remember. Yeah, it's okay.
You probably understand nothing I said at the time either.
But Bro, just give us a real good fight for this next one man, Please, Bena be there is a bug Crawt. Please, Bro, I'm a big fan. Please give us. Just give us one of them to next fight.
Please. Thank you you heard it first. Thank you so much.
Catch um plugged on all the Smoke Production YouTube and the DraftKings Network.
We'll see y'all next week.