Nightcap - Hour 2: LeBron’s best teammate, Popovich out for remainder of season, Jokic Taco Bell

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Who's scoring big this NBA season?

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Boostmobile is now legit nationwide five G network. So I have to take a break from all the jokes here for just a second and put my serious boards on, because I would never ever joke about a five G network that has invested billions in building five G towers across the country, not even once, not even if mister Boostmobile himself asked me to. There's nothing funny about it. Boozmobile is now legit nationwide five G network and also

Who do you believe is Lebron James' best partner?

I mean, it could be Kyrie, it could be it could be the Wade, it could be Luca. Obviously, listen, goddamn Lebron is like a fucking the Lake.

God talg it man. Sorry'all, my bad.

Lebron is a lego piece on could you could plug him, You could plug him anywhere and he gonna fit it. Put him anywhere, you can put it with anybody and it's gonna fit because Lebron is that He's just that great.

Lebron is really that great.

He can adjust his game depending depending on who he's playing with. Yeah, he can play off the ball, he could dominate the ball, he could bring the ball up, he could play pointed, I mean, he can do everything, so I understand what I understand what he's saying. But it's it's it's almost it's almost like diminishing Lebron's greatness and saying that, look, it doesn't matter who he's playing with.

He can adjust to the people that he's playing with.

It doesn't matter when he showed that he did it with Kyri Reade, he did it with d Wade, he won.

He did a win with Luca.

Obviously, there's some more pieces that need to be added to that puzzle before they get to that point to where they're you know, they're they're back to their winning ways.

But it's only so much time.

Time is taken, you know, over there, which is why, which is why I like. I like my idea of embid. We ain't got none to lose because you need a pig.

But then he but here's the thing you get, You get embiid and then you got to give him the rock.

Luca needs the rock.

Luca gonna have the ball more because Luca, as I said last night, Luca is better on the ball than he is off the ball. Lebron James needs the ball. But Lebron can play off the ball. You're gonna see a lot of lobs. You see Lebron coming through like Batman with those lobs. You see Lebron getting out on the floor. He has somebody that he can trust wholeheartedly to run the offense and not ever have to come get the ball since I got.

It from here. Luca can do that.

Yeah, he can create his own shot too.

Huh, Luca can create He's the best Luca.

What Luca can do as opposed to what Luca can handle the ball, run the offense, get his own shot, get everybody else involved, and give.

You forty fifteen and twelve.

It's deficient, but think about this. I'm gonna go back to it and be things more time. Think about Luca being able to run the offense. Think about Lebron, Think about the offensive way the offense is being run. Think about the spacing that he is created because what they have offensively and what that would do finmb right, not very many double teams right, allowing you to.

Sit in the painting to do what you do best.

And if rotation you have to go mid range to go three, you get bad. He doesn't have to do much much running outside of going up and down in transition and playing defense.

Well, see, you.

Gotta be careful, o Joe, because a lot two things can be true. Luca might be the better player individually, but that don't mean that he's the best player with Lebron as a duo. Because you take one person that can sing over here, another person that can sing over there, and bring them together, and you might not get that beautiful. You might not get Tina Marie and Rick James. You might not get Stephanie Mills and Teddy Pendergrass. You see, I'm not get Barry White and Lisa Stanfield. Now Lisa

As good as Lebron and Luca r at least you gonna get people Bryson and Roberto Flack.

Yes, come on that, yeah, yes.

And because of who they are and based on the resume and the great ones that Lebron is played with regards of who's better than who's that.

They're still going to win. Because the duo, especially when you put them together.

You know what you're getting. We only got four games.

Let's hold off before we say Luke and Lebron is the best all the other duos. He won two championships with d Wade. He won a championship with Kyrie. He won a championship with Ad. Let's let's make then, you know, let's wait more than a game, a four game before we decide, Okay, we're good. The seventy six Joel Embiid

Oh Joe, Yeah, the Joel and Beech shut it down.

I think obviously it's hampering him.

It is hampering his play, is affecting his ability to dominate the way he once did. Because of his ailing need, He's not able to dominate the game as he always has, you know when he is healthy. My suggestion to embiid, I'm thinking about players, whether it be NBA or back NBA or football that have gotten that have had knee troubles in him come back successful and been able to dominate at their respect of craft and respect to positions.

And the only thing I can think of, the only person I.

Can think of is a Adrian Peterson what he was able to do after having a tearing this acl A. I don't know what doctor, Lord have mercy. I don't know what doctor Adrian Peterson went to. But whatever he did, whatever procedures, whatever, whatever rehab he did, and B needs a follow suit.

I know there's a difference in height and weight and everything.

But if if Adrian Peterson come back and not skip a beat or not miss a beat and come back and do what he did and still play at an elite level after completely tearing his A, C L and B can come back to as well if he's serious about putting in the work to get back to his dominating ways.

Think about what AP was before he got injured? So huh, you don't think and B was his physical condition? Did we have ever have any doubts about a d AP Adrian Peterson conditioning?

I see, did we.

Have any did we have any doubt any questions about his desire and what football meant to him?

That's what you mean? Okay, I see where you're going.

So now he's going to a So everybody like man ad is not gonna be what he once was. His mindsets, I'm gonna be better than what I once was. And he attacked it right. You said there's a difference. There's a difference between being six foot six one and two twenty as opposed to being seven to one and three forty three twenty. You see the difference? Yeah, and it you Young people grow up to be injured. Old people.

Go ahead, I got a good question that Chad y'all could answer this too, ap.

Obviously he had the mindset. Everything is mindset when it comes.

To to getting injured regards to how much money if you made? You think Embed's mindset and change at this stage in his career, despite already being rich, despite already being paid, is it possible for that hunger to still be there? Is it possible that that hunger to want to dominate and get back to where he once was when he is healthy, when he was available on the court.

You think you think it's still there, because that's hard.

That's the hard thing for people, especially players, especially once you make a certain amout of money, you kind of get I don't want to say you got comfortable. I'm not saying he's comfortable. Yeah, that same urge and want to and desire. Oh you know what I got to I got miles of feed you know, I got bills to pay When you already got two you're sitting on fifty million dollars already. I mean, what's the desire to come back and want to play or at least get back healthy to your dominate ways.

So we have a conversation and we talk about this a lot.

Is that when someone has everything, when they have fame, they have adulation, to have praise, they've made money, and they still play and they still train as if they're broke. Yeah, you look at a Lebron, you look at a Brady, you look at a Kobe, you look at a Jordan, You look at some of these guys now that's.

Currently in the league that he's oyo. It's hard.

When you live in an ivory tower and you got mink pajamas, it's a different It's different. Oh yo, it's what kind of pajamas?

Mink? They got mink pajamas for real.

I'm just saying, when you got mink slippers and silk pajamas and you can live in an ivory tower and everything is marble and hardwood, and you got and you got. He just signed an extension three years, one hundred and ninety three million. Now he still got had two years left this year, another year and then the one ninety three kicks in and to adopt the mindset I'm flat ass broke.

That was the mindset I had.

I wasn't making a whole lot of money, but even when I made money, I wanted them to say, Man, we're underpaying them.

We got a bargain. Okay. Everybody doesn't think like that, oh Joe.

And so it takes a special type of.

Person to get money and still work as if they're broke destitute.

So they be.

Then you already you know it.

And it's a funny thing when you say that that's already in you. Uh yes, for the end. It doesn't just happen once you get it. You know what, I'm gonna pretend like I ain't got no money. I'm gonna continue to train and approach my craft and my game. And if I ain't got it, So it wasn't in you before you got the money, it definitely gonna he ain't gonna be no life switch to kick on.

Once you make it.

Nope.

And so that's why you look at the Floyd Mayweather after all those titles, that big money, he's still going after they get it. You look at some of the boxers, look at Buster Douglas, he knocked out Mike Tyson got in great shape to beat Mike Tyson, get twenty five thirty five million dollars to fight holy Field. Boom, So you you, you you can sing. That's why I have

He gets his shoot around the cob, he gets stretched, he.

Gets his left here.

He's still doing this twenty two years in the league. Remember I said greatness is monotonous, is boring? What's spread about that he owned the bus, he in the hotels. Boom boom boom, Mike Massius doing all this. That's what I tell people. People think I wish we could have a conversation, because I did have a conversation with Jeff Bezos.

I met him a couple of times.

And to hear hear him talk, not at one point in time did he mention any part. Now maybe now you work two hundred and thirty billion, But at no point in time when he was building this was it glamorous because it was a grind, because it was monotonous, because it was boring. Yeah, listen, listen to who is that Larry Ellison, Look at Bill Gates, Look at Barren Buffett, Look at these guys, Mark Zuckerberg, look at these.

Guys that have built things up a crew.

Now, look, guys, if y'all just want to note if I'm not I'm not talking about I'm not talking about you know, I'm just saying I'm looking at it from a standpoint of being great, and I think Joel and b wanted to be great, and he can have an opportunity.

I don't know if he'll ever. I don't want to say ever.

But it's so hard, Oh, Joe, He's getting older, his body is failing him more. Because once upon a time, you know, when you when we were first started, oh till you're never been injured. But I could bounce back, I get a knick, I could bounce back at the end of the week.

I'm ready to go.

Then all of a sudden, What an injury that would have me bounce back at the end of the week. Now, all of a sudden, I miss a game. And then all of a sudden, I miss four games. Next thing, you know, I missed the whole season as I got older. Oh my body couldn't recover. Hey we could play when you young, O Joe, your first two three years.

Hey, play Sunday, play Thursday. Good.

Hey you want to beat me to play another? Play another game on Monday night? Left rocking roll. Then all of a sudden, I gotta get in the cold tub before practice, Gotta get in the cold tub again after practice, come early in the morning and getting the cold tub. It's just, you know, he's played just thirty nine games. He played thirty nine games last season after tearing the maniscus in his he knee. This season, the lingering knee issues combined with a foot spring have caused them to

You hey, you start having knee issues.

Before long, you're gonna have hip problems, You're gonna have back problems, You're gonna have feet foot problems. That's just the way it is. And because you're dealing with a man his size with knee.

Problems, yeah, that's bad. So let's and what were the expectation for the Sixers coming into the season.

Boy, they're supposed to be they supposed to They're supposed to challenge the Celtics. You got Jorlen Bed, you got Tyree's Maxick, and you just gave Paul Georgia max contract.

So you got three guys.

Maxie was an all star, you we know what Joelen Beid, a former MVP finished runnerup to Nicoleon Jokics led the league, ins Corey White, Paul George we know a. He was supposed to be that third and missing peace. So the expectations were through the roof. It was supposed to be Boston, the Calves, the Knicks and the and the sixers. Those were supposed to be the team that duke it out for an opportunity?

Are they? Are they even in contention? Is it?

No? No?

Hey, they might go ahead and go ahead and tank for Cooper Flag or that kid from Auburn or something.

It's over for them.

But then at that point then I think it is okay for for in beat to shut it down. Yeah, I think it's I think it's okay, especially at this point if you're only hurting yourself of anything, you know, you just you just to your ministians, you're coming back. Now you have a foot spray. That's that's injury on top of injury. So all you're gonna do is make it worse. Yes, all you're gonna It's like it's like

At some point it's gonna go flat again.

Walk around with a rocky issue, put a little rocky, put a little rocky your shoe and walk around with it.

Now, that's all it's aggravating.

Guess one O, you ain't gonna put no pressure on that bad because you don't want to feel that bag not watching help on the other side, watching what they do, Watch what you need in your back do because you're over compensated, because the body is donna compensate. That's what the body does. And then gets and something like hey, at some point, tiedy like you know what, you won't stop and get this rock out, I'm gonna sit you down. Yeah, that's what's gonna happen. So you're looking at it right now.

Well, goddamn, he should have been set it down or shut it down. He should have shut it down at the All Star break.

So right now they should theoretically, but you know how the lottery is.

I mean, just because you got the sixth worst record, that don't mean you're gonna get the sixth pick in the draft. Right at the number one pick they could get, they could be at the bottom of a lot of richards like fourteen to fifteen. Don't know, but I just think the thing is, at this point in time, you're not going to win a tight even if Jordan Be comes back healthy, which he's not, just.

Go ahead and shut him down.

Just go ahead and shut it down and give him so now he has March April, May, June, July, August, September, have this procedure and try and get back healthy for next year. Says okay, But at the rate is going, I don't really see a scenario when you Joel and Be finish his career in seventy.

Six ers and you know what's gonna happen. It just works, just the way sports works. Sometimes. I think they're gonna make him. I'm not gonna call it a mistake.

They're going to remove himself from having to deal with and beat and the injuries and the injury history. And you know, he's gonna go somewhere else. Ain't gonna be gonna be all world, He's gonna be all where. He's gonna be healthy, He's gonna be fine. I got guarantee it. It happens all the time. I've seen it happen multiple times. You know, if a player was on a specific team, Uh, he was very good at what he does, but due to injuries, it didn't allow him to reach his full

I hope that's the case.

San Antonio head coach Hall of Famer Greg Popovitch is not expecting to return this season, and its future is uncertain as it recovers from a mild stroke something in November. Schams added during the appearance on the ESPN NBA count Down that pop is getting stronger and stronger in its rehalb. The news came two days after Spurs announced that Winby would be would be shut down for the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a dvt T deep vein thrombosis in.

Its right shoulder.

Everybody you notice on Joe, every when somebody else has a procedure, it's always mild, a mild stroke. You notice it's never mild, it's never minor surgery when it's on you, man, I'm about to have surgery. Oh you getting scold boy A it's minor. Everything is minor or mild as long as it's on somebody. Yeah, when it's on you, yeah, major major. Yeah. We know what Greg Papovich is.

We know who he is. We know what he is.

He's one of the greatest coaches in NBA history, some says, based on what he's been able to do in the time in which he was able to do it, he might be one or two.

Mm.

We know coach coach all back what he was able to do with the Celtics in the sixties.

Phil Jackson has eleven titles.

And pop same team, same system, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu basically and then at the tail end they got Kawhi.

But uh, it's said our speedy recovery coach.

Yeah, I need you back on the sideline mean UK and the reporters asking them why they asking you them questions?

You watching the game, right, oh man? But hopefully yah?

I said, I didn't expect him to return Ojo right, Milestroke doesn't matter Uh, that's something serious. My grandmother suffered from one of those, and uh, you know you gotta learn obviously to degree how bad how.

Severe it is.

But you know she had to learn how to you know, walk again and move up, you know, because normally one side of the brand and faces the opposite side of the body. So you have to relearn all that stuff again. And now I'm saying she's getting the coach pop. I can assure you it's getting the best pet possible.

Right.

Uh, he's probably getting pt multiple times a day. But uh, coach, you get well soon. Uh you and Winby y'all got something special growing down there with Stephan Castle. They got they got a nice little squad brewing down there. Oh Joe, they really do. I like Vassal Huh. Oh yeah, they got they got d Fox now Darren Fox. They got Castle, they got Vassal. Uh, they got Caldon Johnson coming off the bench. CPS is you know, gives them great leadership.

They you know, if they have draft parties or whatever the case may be.

So you know, damn well, it's not like the NBA, OJO, I mean the NFL, where you know you got good picks. You know, the second round, third round, some guys are all Americas.

And going into the second and third round.

So you kind of tuned in a little bit more than basketball once you get past that one through fifteen. Yeah, he was sixtieth, so he's in the second round. The hey did you go to show you? They was in commercial sixty is on Yes three time League MVP Finals MVP, one of the great players in the NBA history, was the second round pick.

And asked what was wrong with his footage? Was it that bad?

He was out of shape? He was? He like I said, if you look at him and hear the thing, you judge. They judged the book by his cover had had he had a three inch vertical?

You know what I'm saying.

He was a little out of shape.

Of fact, they took himself, Nurkic in the first round because he was drafted. He was drafted by the Nuggets. So was you self, Nurkic? Nirkic, you went in the first round if I was taken.

But I'm sure he can shoot the ball as efficient as he is right now, even with a three is vertical, I'm sure he can shoot the ball before he even got drafted.

Uh, because they had to seem the potential. If they didn't see the potential.

He's forty first pick. What was what was Drake what in that same draft? Right?

Right, and what was what was uh yo, forty first a sixtieth? He was the sixtieth pick. M hmm, Chad l O s O T. He was not forty first, They said forty first, thirty first. Ask Ash be giving me some wrong information. He was the forty forty first pick in the draft. I mean eleven picks after the first round, after the first round because there's thirty teams, so one through thirty is the first round. So he

Is that a bad thing. That's not a bad thing, especially once you once you blossom into what you should be.

Right.

But it just goes to show O Joe, some think you just can't see everything is measurable now. How can you jump? How fast can you run? How can you do this? There are certain things. He's never gonna win anything with his T shirt off and jumping and dunking and doing all that. He'ven do nothing right, right, he's hot, but put the ball in his hand.

Oh yeah, he come to play now.

There are certain guys in the NFL. We've all seen it.

We've seen guys go to the carbine, jump through the roof, touch the ceiling, the RC eight dome. We've seen guys run four to two, run four three, We've seen guys bitch French thirty five forty times.

You put him in that structured environment, it's there.

No show.

Couldn't play dead in a horror movie. Look like tars and play like Jane. You don't know no rhyme or reason o Joe. Because some thing you can measure, you can't measure everything. What's the side of it? What makes him tick?

Oh?

Yeah? What makes him? What makes a guy tick? Where did it come from? How did he grow up?

Isy?

Hungry?

Now?

Because there are a lot of guys hungry that just refuse to eat. But I need a guy hungry. I'm talking about starving. That's why want you, big cotege. If I don't get this, guess well ooe. If I don't get this, my mom ain't gonna eat. If I don't get this, my graanin ain't gonna eat. If I don't get this, my kids. I got a choice. Your grandma, my grandma, my grandma gonna eat your mom my mom, my mom gonna eat.

Your kids or my kids. My kids gonna my kids gonna eat. That's the way I look at it. Oho, that's the way I approach it.

See now you see now you're talking about my kind of mentality right there.

You hear me.

That's my kind of that's my mentality. Now you understand a lot of people call me crazy. Now now, so think about this right, chat y'all stay with me for a second.

Think about this right.

Think about your kids behind you, all your kids right behind you, right, your grandma right, and and you in front of your kids and your grandma and your mama. And let's say James Harrison is right there trying to get to your family.

What's gonna happen? Run y'all?

Run, see come on, See that's my mentality. You understand me. Huh My kids behind me, all fifty leven mother and I'm in front of them, and Jans trying to get to my kids. That means I got to protect my family. So it's that mindset. I'm going into fighting him with great understanding that the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Okay, And that's what's gonna happen. And I'm just wanting to use that analogy. I didn't need to go off topic, but I'm just giving me a loss.

Guys, y'all making my point. See, that's right, it's intangibles. Intangibles is what you can't measure. They're measuring his height, they're measuring his speed, they're measuring how high he can jump.

That's the point, thank you. What is it that you cannot see?

What is it that you cannot measure, which is what's inside of an individual?

Okay, that's the difference. Yes, we know.

But when you have a guy that have all those measurables and he has a burning desire that's inside of him, tada. You get Lebron James, you get a Michael Jordan, you get a Kobe, you get a Deon Sanders, you get a Lawrence Taylor. You get those guys, guys that are supremely gifted and have a burning desire to be great, an unquenchable desire.

And even when.

They climb to the top, they don't admire the view from the top. They find another thing. They find another summit to scare. See, it wasn't good enough for Michael Jordan Rick of the Year, I Gotta do more. It wasn't good enough for him to beat MVP I need to do more. I need to win finals, MVP. I need to win the title. Same thing Lebron. I need to be a defensive Player.

Of the Year.

I need to be a I need to be an All NBA player. I need to be universally regarded as the best. The de facto. That's what these guys got. You see, Tom Brady ain't got no got no vesgeables. Now you doing random worst? Forty had the worst look your body? But what was in here and what's up in there? It wasn't like he got a fifty Ryan Fitzpatrick, I think Pat McAnally might have got the high school. I think Pat McAnally got like a forty nine or fifty.

He got perfect U.

Yep, yeah, I think I was man.

I was so close.

Hey, speaking of Mike Mamoula Boston College.

Oo yo, got a forty nut on the wonder leg goes there like two sixty runs, four or five border vernical that's out of standing, long jump like eleven feet very thing.

Could he play?

Coacho saying about the recess about five times a day. Still couldn't play another guy. Vernon Goldston had all those measurables, Ohio State, go back and look it up. Look at it looked like a Greek god.

Couldn't play.

You don't get there is no rhyme or reason, O Joe, that you look at somebody like can't miss.

He's a can't miss.

Ain't no such thing as can't There's no such thing as all of every but you know you put this like, man, ain't no way, bro. I'm like, look like that, bro, you got to be able to do something. Ain't going by the eye tests, And it wasn't. Oh Joe, he was amazing in college yeah.

And college and the prose is completely different, whether with the people believe it or not, completely different ball game.

The Celtics had a little bit of a run, had a little fun with Jaylen Brown clising him on musicians new and old.

He did not pass with wine colors. Oh Joe, let's take a look at this.

Let me see that, let me see this.

I might just.

Chris those.

Yeah, damn, I don't know.

I like I like that. I like that.

That That's dope, That's dope. You think you'd be surprised how many how many professional athletes don't know? You know, artists, you know, whether they're famous or not, they're likewise, they're not really you're based on facial recognition. You know that they know unless.

You are one of the leads at what it is you do. I mean there is a few people on that I'm not gonna lie I didn't know who they were.

Yeah, I mean, okay, I was out there last night.

You saw people you ain't know.

Look, I know more people than Jordan's body.

Hey, he'll know nobody. Yeah, Hey, hey, hey, hey both that in that in that matter? VP, Yeah, George, you just saw October.

Hold on, I got a question.

You know, being in something like the n n w a CP Awards, was it anybody you were excited to see or might have been a little starstruck that you hadn't had a chance to meet before.

For the most part on show, I had pretty much met a lot of them.

I've met in Taraji before.

Uh I was in I've seen I met Gabrielle obviously, uh keiky and I, you know, uh not not really. Damon Williams, I hadn't met him. I hadn't met Marlon h That's that's about it. That's about it. That that I was like, okay, because it's always nice to be somewhere and finally put a name to a fact, like, Okay, that's okay.

Okay.

If you see them and they're like, they don't look like they look on television, I'm like, they either they smaller you would think, or they're a little larger, a little taller than what you would think. And so that's like and so it's always it's great to like to see people and then be in that environment.

That's dope. That's I'm going to the Oscars. Oh you know I was supposed yeah, man, because you ain't gonna believe me.

Yeah, I met a Dale. I've met and beyond met beyond sy and and and whole. But that's about it.

Trying anybody ask anybody asking by me, I didn't be awards.

No, yes, yes they do. They man, what you're at? Yeah, I say, don't tell you what you is crazy? I said, tell me something that I don't know. That's me, that's me, that's me. But it's oh, it must be your food. You order some food. Oh uh, but no, I wouldn't have a lot of those like like oh yo, I did. I hosted the the day the Emmy Awards, right man, even as much as I studied, right man, them people walking by, but then you know that being there, they're

That was it.

Now you got like twelve, like man, please and then trying to pronounce their name. I said, now, you're gonna hit that name. I'm good, I'm gonna do the talking, but you get that name. So uh yeah, it was fun. We had fun last night, Oh Joe, We had a great time.

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