MJGMB #104: The State of the 76ers with Blake Wexler

Oh you thought we weren't coming back. Wow, guess what, We're back again.

Much, Miles.

Why are they always saying we can't do it? How we never make it to episode one? It's not even that the listeners actually do love us. I think I don't know who I'm talking to.

Maybe one of my haters from high school and I used this show to stunt on them.

But that's besides the point where a guy at That's more from a different podcast. We're in the.

Home stress of the season and teams are trying to get healthy for the postseason push, and we're joined by one of our very favorite comedians, Blake Wexler. On today's episode, I am Miles Gray.

Man, I'm Jack O'Brien, and this.

Story, okay, we're gonna be driving Spinny with five.

Is gonna try another prize? Mister, look God, James, to be honest, you're.

The tech look shot time you go.

Yes, Oh man, we got Blake Wesler in the building. He's got a critically acclaimed our special on YouTube, Daddy Long Legs. You're Gowana's Brooklyn March fifteenth, will then pull up the Strong Rold Brewery. You're in Cincinnati Ohio April eighteenth to twenty one. Check him out. Look at his website. He's gonna be there. He'll be Tennessee, Pittsburgh, and May. It's this guy's all over the place. But right now he's on this basketball podcast, one of the most popular

Man.

Yep, you know, it's very nice to be here. I mean, that's his Mat Boosties. It is Matt Boost.

He's just remember when Nike Shocks first came out and the commercial was ba owing boom or was that only one who's completely poisoned by that kind of marketing Vince Harder signature?

Shoot, was it not? Yeah? He shots for a little while. Yeah, oh yeah.

Which can you find a better front man for that technology.

Then than the guy just shild We could have jumped out of an NBA arena.

I was just watching Carolina highlights. I think someone like those went viral recently, and like, I've never seen anyone do what he did in college, Like is just absolute NBA highlight reel, like dunk contest, dunks in NC double A, like his freshman year, just full grown.

Some of the best dunks i've ever seen.

Yeah, oh man, and he played until he was like forty for no reason. He didn't need to do that. He really did well. Then.

Also, yeah, everyone's talking about how his career went into four different decades, the nineties, the odds, the tens, and the twenties, crazed.

Four different dimensions, became like giga mm hmm.

But I feel like we're I mean, look, we're here to talk about the current state of the NBA and yeah, the current state of a team that the two of you both have actually kept the same energy for throughout the entire season when the times were going. When Times first started out, I said, oh, hey, guys, being this year, we'll see, We'll see.

You will do any nice try the ambushed Miles. I didn't know we were going to be talking about the seventy six ers.

I no, you did, because we had a whole debate before we started recording a back Like.

I feel ambushed anyways. Nonetheless, anytime this subject matter comes up, I.

Have a guy who just doesn't listen and then gets offended when people bring up things because he just wasn't paying at you. You can't treat me like this, not on my own guy, dare you did literally?

What did I say?

You literally signed off on the outline for this episode?

Nah, I don't remember that. I don't see my signature anywhere on this doc.

It is a real I think this is a win for us, Blake, because when you came on and the Sixers had just won like eleven in a row, or we're like eleven and one over the last. I don't I'm not a math genior. I don't know how many games that was. But we had the energy of a team of a five hundred team that was scraping by and like might make the playoffs because we knew what

We had also scored seventy nine.

Yeah, also earlier in this season. But yeah, it's not going great at the moment because I think, so, you know, I've got basketball my blood, I got some crazy ideas, and I've been in the lab, and I think the thing that's gone wrong is that it's that MB got hurt.

Okay, Okay, I.

Mean it's a it's a theory, like I noticed that.

So they're ten and twenty one without him this season, much better with him this season? And if you'll remember, he was the MVP last season, right, which stands for the most Valuable Player, So stands to reason he is good for the team. So that's just it's kind of a crackpot theory, but that's where I'm coming from.

Does that make him a favorite for MVP this season?

Because how vital?

He mathematically ineligible?

Oh? Right? Was he having a good year before he got hurt? Was it like? As? Was it anywhere?

For I don't remember.

I can't remember each I can't recall the collective?

Am how was he?

I think he just scored seventy is that right?

That seems like that.

Seems like it's impossible because the whole team just scored seventy nine, So it seems impossible that he on his own would have scored seventy just a handful of games before he got injured.

But those are Devin Booker numbers, you know, And there's no way that Joel Epide.

She was averaging thirty.

Five, eleven and six, it turns out, before he got injured, a lifetime ago.

You know.

Unbelievable. I'm back in. I'm back in on in the sixers. I think I think we're good now. And what it took was the Kyle Lowry signing for me to get back in, because the mount of Villanova players in the NBA currently is on the Knicks alone, where it's it's Brunson heart Evencenzo and they were playing Lowry the other night. Sadik Bay just got injured for the Holy Unfortunately Myles Bridges like, wait, is.

It Miles Bridge? Which one is that?

Michal Bridges, Yeah, but yeah, no, Villanova, I am shocked by as a team that generally has not been a they would put out role players into the NBA, which I guess is kind of what we have now. Brunson, who knew that he would become what he is, but I guess his father did. But yeah, it's it's very it's very exciting for me. So put a little Villanova blood into into the Sixers.

And.

I love the sound of Blake's voice saying, Villanova, Villanova, get some Haugis and hang out with my boy from Villanova. Yeah, it's it is truly And I was saying before, like the season the Sixers are having is a true testament to the fact that Joel Embiid was the MVP last season. And that's all we went into this season looking for, right is just to have validation on that argument from

It's true, you know, they're not working with a big margin.

Right, And then I think Brunson is actually the other Like I really think without and the Knicks kind of become pretty Uh, it gets real tough for them to score.

Well, we'll see what happens with the Nets and Ben Simmons because there's not enough data. There's not a data data or any we don't know. I'm saying, we don't know, and we.

Neither know how to pronounce that word data or data and we don't know.

Uh.

The the answer on who was the better player to go with in that situation? What should it have been? Mb Should it have been Ben Simmons? Sixers fans are still trying to figure it.

Out, and again yeah the answer Also Ben Simmons is nickname.

Uh so, yeah it is.

It's a very fascinating situation that we'll have warn later in this episode.

Is how I feel like so.

Many fans are angry at Tobias Harris too. Is that.

Is that fair? Is that fair to him?

Or is it just that he's become the lightning rod for the collective frustration, because like I see so many takes that are just like, is.

This guy point shaven or something?

You're like, relax, relax, I'm gonna know he scored two points in that last game. But it feels like, and this happens, I'm guilty of this too. As a Lakers fan. Sometimes it's easier to just rest everything on one person than to kind of take a step back and see everything.

Now.

Who would have known that when we signed Tobias Harris to a one hundred and eighty million dollar contract that he would just continue playing like Tobias Harris has always played like this is not this is not random. This is and he's having a rough stretch. So he is having he has been playing worse than he ever has. But it's this is the kind of player that he is. And he's a great guy. That's the worst part about it.

Yeah, all right.

The Sixers have seven games in April, including games against the thunder Heat, Spurs, and Magic. Uh So, I don't know they currently said at seventh.

It there.

They've got a ways to go.

They would need to like go ten games backward to fall out of the playing game, and Beids should be coming back in April.

There is if they should he that's the question right right.

Like, we're in this position right now because he came back too quickly from an injury and then he got injured worse. Nobody wants to see that. He also has a tendency to get hurt in the playoffs. I just I don't know a lot of freak injuries like around the end of the season, but I don't love the

It would be Doc Rivers essentially playing himself. Yeah, so what happens? Can it just not? Do they just not play the games?

Yeah?

You know, we're gonna skip it. And yeah, by the way, I would like you for the listeners who I would like to speak to directly right now.

Okay, I would like for you too.

Whenever you hear a Sixters fans speak about the Sixers, try to count if there's ever an instance where they don't trail off at the end of their sentence when they're talking about it does generally end in a trail off and lack of common.

Sorry, I just I found myself trailed like going towards being like, I think we might have more of a chance than people would think in that series against the Bucks. And then I really like my brain short circuit because that was like confidence and I feel good about that. Also,

But the Celtics are very great. Yeah, and it's really their title to lose.

I really think that now, Yeah, I do.

Well, yeah, looking at it, it does. It does feel like that despite that blip in the resurgence of the new d Wade of the.

Game, Like, are they even gonna Like the question I have for the NBA, do you even have the playoffs at this point?

You know?

Than like what, like why not just give it to the Celtics?

Yeah, just put number eighteen up, Yeah, go ahead, Like people could get.

Hurt, you know, playing against a team as good as the Celtics, people could get hurt. So like, why do you really want to risk that? Just let them have the Eastern Conference? Maybe we let the Western Conference kind of play it out and see who the best is over there, and then they get to play the Celtics, but maybe only for like a game or two, because otherwise, again, people could get hurt and it's a foregone conclusion.

So I know you you both exercise a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to the seventy six ers. But does Tyrese MAXI at least give you something to feel good about? Can you at least can can we feel good there about about.

Him just interfering.

Pure joy like somebody who is just like he is pure joy, like you can he experiences pure joy.

Is game is pure joy, like just pure energy. What what? Yeah, we're so lucky to have Maxi.

On Okay, Just you know, I just trying to make sure you guys saw everything. You know, I want you to look at the totality of it.

Just I'm only fatalistic when I'm talking about the fate of the season, but when it comes to the individual players, I'm very happy, proud of of of my guys, uh and Maxi in particular. You know, seeing him come up from just a young, young fella one of the most exciting players in the league, unbelievable.

I see him as something different. I don't see him as associated with the Sixers at all. Like I picture him having his own locker room. He practices in a different facility. You know, he wears a different and he wears like a Rising Stars jersey.

Or he's not even wearing colored.

Yeah, exactly, exactly right, just to show he's he's being employed, but he's not a part of the for his sake, Like if I saw him in public, I would just apologize to him. I'd say, I'm so sorry, thank you, and I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.

I yeah, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.

But yeah, it'll it'll be interesting. I would love to see their season go in the direction of seventh seeded going against the Bucks, just because I think they would well. First of all, because I don't want to see them go against the Knicks or the Calves or I think they or of course the Celtics.

I think the no, no, no, no no, the Bucks.

Would at least be interesting.

They would have like a puncher's chance if MBT is playing and playing well right. But yeah, they might get swept too, but at least it would be interesting.

I don't think anyone wants to see this next team in the first round, though they're they're looking they're doing something that. Okay, so that's seventy nine points that the seventy six ers scored. That was the first time the Knicks have held their opponent under eighty points in three consecutive games since the two thousand and two thousand and one season.

They're doing something.

Yeah, that's impossible, like that, the fact that they I didn't realize that that's unbelievable.

Well, it's funny because wasn't the even the second game was the you guys won, but it was seventy nine to seventy three, which is even interesting too. That's a loss and they held it to seven, because then what I wonder if that's.

A little year, if you're just like I could hold a team under eighty by just like not scoring at all, so they don't feel like they need to score, all right.

Come on to score another one?

Really yeah sorry, we're just really trying to do this under eighty thing.

Real, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, but.

Yeah, Josh Hart's looking good and ogn and Obi's looking really good. He's like plus two eighty two or something. It's like the highest for any player for like first ten games on a new team.

H So you know there's yeah, you know you do.

Don't get too hard, don't get too down yourselves, guys get.

One of the one of the great trades and reason history it feels like but.

Just perfectly where like everyone's like, oh, that would be a really nice trade, Like I don't I don't think the team's get along well enough for it to happen. And then it happened, and it was like all the things that people thought would be good.

About it came true.

Right right?

Should we take a break? Come to see a break, take a look around a leave?

Yeah, okay, around hey.

Blake, what do you what do you throw us to?

Aw?

Throw us to a break.

You're listening to Mad Boosties on the iHeart Radio Network and official NBA podcast. I'm Jack O'Brien or at my Miles Gray. We'll be right back and we are backed everybody. We're going to go around the league. Brought to you by Hershey's Chocolate. Hershey's Chocolate. Don't warm it up too much. It becomes a whole different thing. Miles, what do we got.

Mess chick in with my cross town rivals, my beloved Los Angeles Clippers, merely for the fact they blew a twenty twenty two point lead versus the Wolves following.

Why Thoracic spasms. Yeah, that's the one thing.

I mean, the jokes and rivalry aside, Like I don't want Kowida perpetually injured. Yeah, it is more exciting to see him healthy and to be able to him not to do it for him and his X Yeah, exactly exactly. Thoracic cretatious spasms that he's had.

He had some Jurassic difficulties.

You know, when you have to when you have to leave, like the arena out in discomfort.

Where are you going?

Like is that just straight to like some kind of medical facility.

Thoracic spasms just the hiccups? Probably not, but those are spasms that are happening in your what is the thor x uh fine that I could have looked up before anyway, the Clippers, Yeah, that's what I think of as a bug.

Well, what but your thoracic spine is the middle part of your spine, the middle part of your back.

Yeah, you don't want that.

Then it's like the fun consequential part of your of your spizin. So yeah, that's a bit of a bit of a bummer.

But the Clippers are hitting a little Bumpy Water. Yeah, this is the thing nobody's said before.

Bumpy Water as captain. Yeah, five and.

Five over the last ten, now three and three on the season without Kawhi, just seven and eight over the last fifteen after that two month hot streak. And yeah, this game happened. They had this collapse against the Wolves playing without cat I mean he's cats out for He's going to be reevaluated in four weeks.

Yeah.

The other thing I mean is Anthony Edwards is just I forget that he's twenty two years old.

That's crazy.

He's twenty two and he's doing some wild stuff. Also that yeah, well what even before that, like after our like when that Clippers game at the in the post game, they're like, wow, you know, amazing third quarter, Like what was going on? He said, yeah, just a couple of mismatches.

Yeah, what do you see out there? Like how I just saw a lot of mismatches?

This dude is.

Yeah, every every single player everyone.

And then of course I think top five moments of the year so far was him missing a free throw that would have put them up three, I think against the Pacers.

Pacers race the ball up the court.

And then he has one of the most absurd game winning blocks of all time, like hits his head on the backboard as he's just blocking a shot, falls dramatically but completely saves the game.

One of the coolest things.

Yeah, it was like one of those moments where like some like they're like, oh, you you can actually jump so high that you could hurt yourself from how high you jumped.

You know.

Now I might also do that, but that's because I lack the coordination to land even if I jump like three inches into the air.

You forget the landing part.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.

You know you like to get He likes to point his toes straight down perpendicular to the ground for the landing.

Like that's gonna mess up something.

Yeah, but here's the play. The free throw has just been missed and he's about to save the day.

Edwards can't hit the second pacers have a chance up ahead, Nieseman.

It truly flies through the air.

The ball is advanced up ahead, and he is like twelve feet behind the ball, like he's nowhere near where he needs to be to contest this, and then just closes on it in a split second and.

Just flies through the air because.

He could have hit his head on the rim, on the backboard, on his man who's also playing defense. And then to your point, now he.

Has to fall eight feet to the floor because the guy who puts up the free throw or the guy who puts up the layup falls directly under him, knocks his legs out from under him.

He falls and just.

Is able to do it horizontal because he's a football player.

And like on his like shoulder too.

Yeah, like a lot of other times, like oh boy, that could be a terrible, terrible shoulder injury.

Yeah, jump that high.

In any other situation, you would be like what was that? That person has superpowers? Or like if you saw that in a football game, if someone went up for a catch in an NFL football game and jump that high, you would be like, no, that can't that's impossible, Like that's the Yeah, is that dk metcalf the video where the guy like jumps into the airnete, Like that has to be like special effects. There's no way that's true.

Or even like picture at You're at a grocery store and something's up really high, like there no one, they didn't restock the shelf, so you have to go all the way up top to get right the extra stuff.

It's not even.

Yeah, it's not even a grocery store. It would be like Costco. Yeah, I mean correct, yeah, yeah exactly.

It would have to be a warehouse grocery store.

And it's like Okay, let me see if I can get Greg to bring the forklift around and he's like, nah, I got this.

No need except Greg alone.

That landing alone would be like I don't want my child playing basketball if that's if they're going to jump that high.

And maybe it's themselves.

I mean, the landing also suggests like he could do this whenever he wants, but he recognizes like the landing would be yeah right, like it's sh Yeah, there are leaps that like there are things that these guys can do that we're not aware of because they would be like ill advised.

Yeah, exactly, well this is my problem now.

So yeah, it also has that same energy of like, yeah, if you've ever done something embarrassing on the basketball court or mister free throw, and then you come down and in my case, embarrassingly foul the person who's like about to score because you feel bad about it, so you're like going way too hard. In his case, he just jumps too high for physics.

Yeah, it's like one of those things where like certain players like lay out for a ball for a catch, like in football or maybe like an outfield or something, and sometimes like I don't care what happens to me because I sent them focus.

On getting the ball.

Yeah, and yeah, that was a thing that singular focus put him into a placers like, well, i could have concussed myself on the backboard and then I could have dislocated my shoulder on the landing, but I'm built like a little.

That happens that makes it keeps him from smashing his head on the back board is that his shoulders are also above the backboard, so he actually hits his shoulders on the backboard, and like, yeah, it's not that his head is Like I've heard people say, oh, his head was at the rim there, and it's like his head's like you know, at the shot clock. Yeah, it's like

Crazy, there's been Yeah, there's there were a few moments of what we call high elevation.

I don't know.

I don't know if we call this bad business this I mean, yeah, this was a terrible business decision. I think in this next clip, Anthony Simon's of the Trailblazers gets not just posterized.

He was put on a missing poster.

Aalen Green with this dunk, which is also like another just wild feet of athleticism and elevation. But this dunk also feels like real life NBA J I don't know, it's just like it's the the kinetic energy of it is what I think. Just listen to the commentators because I think their screams sum it up perfectly.

They really can't. We've seen that a lot.

We have.

Work. We can wear him in any scenario. It's one thing I have learned in the last twenty four hour up.

I got picked up by James Rock anphony physicism.

Yeah, so our silence is just that we've just witnessed a crime against humanity. He So it's like kind of the perfect storm because Anthony Simon's has just turned the ball over.

It's his fault that there's a turnover.

So he's not going to let Jaysen Green just like get away with this because.

He already embarrassed this one.

Yeah, and it's violence.

It's a double booboo.

Double boo, I think, yeah, I think it's what the pros call a double.

Boo boo a d for sure.

It's just is it because it is it? Because of how far he's the ball is cocked back too, Like I'm trying to remember, like trying to figure out what it is.

I think it's.

Yeah, it's just that it's it's truly a slam as they call. As Onyx once said, let the boys.

These players are making me miss job.

By the way, Yeah, this is what jab would do like once a month.

It was also a cool timing for it, where the previous one, the ant one, was at the end of the game. You know, there was zero point eight seconds, like everybody was already really amped, and I think there were nine minutes left in the second quarter. The third announcers are just like gibbers, you know, there's like, yeah, like everyone's calm and then all help.

If you listen to the top, they're like, that's why I gotta wear comfortable shoes.

Oh yeah, those hokahs they look pretty neat. Yeah, oh you're wearing hokahs.

That's cool.

I know people make fun of birkenstocks, but I find it to be a perfect reason.

And that's the thing.

So I was dropping my kid. He only eats this kind of certain shell pocks.

Oh no, no, on the basketball floor. Sorry, I had that one locked and loaded. I was gonna try and sing it like murder on the dance floor, but uh, and then control of my bells and then Wemby.

You know, I think every time somebody puts one on Victor Wembin Yama, we're always like, oh boy, because we're used to seeing him absolutely just reject people like I was rejected to many universities my senior year of vice. But this one trace Jackson Davis just doing doing and things that I can't even do in my dreams when I play sports. I've just I think, I don't know if I'm the only person. Do you ever have like are you ever triumphant in your sports dreams?

Are you still.

Slippery in my dreams?

Oh my gosh, I can't dribble the ball. And when I'm playing basketball dreams like my dreams all yeah, You've like you're forced to go left all the time and both handed, Yeah, both my hands are Jalen Brown's left hands. But this one trace Jackson Davis. One more bucket or one more stop trace Jackson Davis. I mean, now not as dynamic, but it's merely for the fact that you jumped like you dunked on the twelve foot scarecrow from the home depot or whatever.

I wonder.

I wonder what NBA player enters their opponent's dreams the most, Like who who? I feel like it's got to be like Wemby has to have entered the conversation for that.

Yeah, he just.

Is always there, like when you don't expect him to be there. I'm not going to dignify this dunking on him with a comment whatever it's funny, it doesn't.

Yeah, it's more.

It's more because it's it's against the norm of what we've seen. It's usually like because now, well I think that's what it is is most people now are like, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not trying to dunk on Victor bro Yeah, no, like maybe maybe we'll see. But it was more it was the power of a dream, I think is what we saw there.

I think the most noteworthy thing is that he's still contesting it. After the guy is like blown by him by four feet, right, you know.

Yeah, I think it's also the way Wemby went down that has a lot of people.

Like, oh whoa, Yeah, he crumbles. It takes him a while for his whole body to fall to the ground, and like.

The momentum he does like a high kick in the air, you know, like I don't I get it.

There's some physicality. It's very flexible. It's the reason that word that he's able to stay playing.

I was gonna say, that's the yoga right there. Those are not tight ham strings. Those are not tight hamstrings. I will say that.

Yeah, I would have fallen.

I would have done a high kick and been out for three seasons because of what that did to my hamstring.

I'd been explaining to my grandchildren why I'm still walking with a limp.

All right, reevaluated in twenty forty six. This century is going to bed.

He's expected to be real shakeout twenty forty six. So don't ask some other things that we've noticed. We were noticing the lucastat that blew my mind. So he's in the in the midst of he's the first player with six straight thirty point triple doubles, only missed the seventh another triple double because the MAVs blew out the Bulls and he wound up with like twenty seven, fourteen and twelve.

Right, But the.

Stat about his like, I didn't, I don't think of him as the best finisher in the league. Yeah, you know, because he just you know, I mean, obviously he's big, he can push move people around, but he's I think of when I think of Luca, I'm thinking of like him hitting impossible shots from like all different angles and stuff like that. He's finishing at a higher rate than anyone since Shack.

He's finishing at a higher rate at the rim than prime Shaquille O'Neil two thousand and two thousand and one season.

Okay, his that.

Field goal percentage at the rim is eighty three percent shots for seventy nine point two.

Eighty three to seventy like that.

It's all layups, right, It's all smooth layups because he puts himself in great position, you know, like he'll shield the defender away. None of it's the backboard shattering dunks or any of the three dunks that we just watch. It's just he does the job ball must go into the basket. He just drops it in at an alarmingly high rate.

Yeah, it's I mean, like when you're just looking at it like they like, oh my gosh.

And then yeah, almost got to.

Getting to the seventh one with thirty, but I mean should have done with Shay Gills as Alexander does, just like you'll file to do it at the end of the game to make sure you can get get your thirty points, Like I don't care, bro, I'm getting these thirty points.

These are yeah. Yeah.

But to me, I guess it makes sense because the thing that we see from Lucas that like he has shot making ability from everywhere on the court. So the thing you have to be able to do at the rim is like finished from all different angles and in different ways and like float one sometimes or you know, like just make weird shots like depending on what you know, they're almost always going to be contested, right, And so it makes sense that he's like a magician at that

He's not like, you know, attacking the paint as much now and if you look at the attempts, there's there's definitely a disparity there between what, you know, how many attempts he did, how how many attempts he made versus Shack Right. I mean it still shows again like that, like where do you want it? Because because I'll give it to you there.

Yeah.

There's also an anecdote about Grant Williams, who's no longer with Mavericks, thought Luca was having a bad practice and started talking trash to him and.

Luca just ripped off.

Here.

I'm gonna get the direct quote. Yeah, yeah, did you see this quote?

I don't remember it exactly. You have to pull it, but you know, I do what you're talking about. It surprised me.

This is from Michael Finley. He said at MAVs practice, Grant Williams decided he wanted to get under Luca's skin. He felt that Luca didn't come that day ready to practice. So, to make a long story short, they had a scrimmage going and he's talking trash to Luca up and down the court. Finally Lucas says okay, and I tell you Luca went on a twenty six to six run by himself. You can ask anybody. I'm not exaggerating. It was a

Grant Williams like to see. Yeah, I see. That's why.

That's why I do what I do.

You know, I'm a motivator, you know what I mean. I'm like a Tony Robbins type guy. You know what I mean.

I like to bring the best out of people. That's what I like to do. I'm a bear poker, you know what. That's how I like. That's how I do. That's how I do. Yeah, twenty six to six run by myself.

Also real quick? How old would you say Nikola yokicches? Just like how old does he feel to you?

Jo Kicch feels about thirty seven years old, fifty two fifty two early yeah, early retirement.

It's very much coffee.

And that's a sight like on his ability or whatever. That's like vibrationally he's giving me. I've seen it all. I'm all right, you know what I mean. I don't need to I don't need to go too hard on anything. I'm about thirty seven, thirty eight.

Yeah, he's yeah, twenty nine years old.

Amazing. Just you just turned twenty nine, right.

Yeah, he's a child.

He's entering like this is the point at which players enter their prime and you have the best part of their career. He has two MVPs and a finals MVP as he's entering that part of his career.

Do players like would you say players in the NBA like get like their old man's strength at a certain point, Like sometimes they go because you know, like as an adult, you're like, bro, once you hit there, like you kind of you're able to tap into I'm not saying like athletically, but like psychologically, you can tap into something a little bit differently that I don't know colloquially is called like

It's just turned two nine.

The scariest old man's strength I've ever seen, because when you picture it, it's when a player is you know in their this is so still young but like mid thirties and they're losing their like muscle definition. But I remember when Alonzo Mourning got old man's strength on top of having like a bodybuilder's body, just would never lose like a helld ball ever would We wouldn't even get to that point.

Yeah, you know it's his ball. Oh man.

Yeah, scary things ahead for them, I mean again, yeah, I mean, are are we still feeling?

Uh?

It's probably it's probably the Nuggies coming up.

That's who I'm like truly at this point, because it's because it's all hands on deck, the NBA versus the Celtics. I'm kind of pulling for whoever I think has the best chance against Celtics.

I still think it's the Nuggies.

We'll see, yeah, yeah, yeah, I think the Celtics are going to come out of the West. They might as well because there's no chance of that losing the NBA title this year. It will be Celtics versus Celtics, and I'm taking the Celtics in at all.

Hey, I'm actually going to be going to Boston to raise the banner. Yeah, I know, you're Yeah, I'll be there. I'll be there because I just want to honor the feet. I just want to you know, as a Laker fan, I just want to say, you know what, real recognize real? Hey, no curses here though. Shall we take a quick break?

I think we shall.

I think we shall, And we'll come back with the fourth quarter round of right after this, and we're back and fourth quarter. It's the fourth quarter round, baby, it's the fourth quarter round of questioning. Baby, we're back quarter rapid fire round of questioning.

You know what I mean?

And we're back and those things are true. Blake, you already know. I don't have to explain it to you, don't. You don't mess this up for us. Just down to me with your answers. I'm talking up to you, man, because you're north of where I am, so I couldn't talk down to you baby like that. We asked the questions. You give us the answers as fast as you can. Do not humiliate us.

I never would thank you. Are you ready yes? Because we're doing this so quick? Again? You didn't you didn't respond quick enough. You're ready? Ready?

Wow?

Like we kind of have to just like go and pretend, like he said, really quick could we edit out the giant pause there.

Yeah, really, that's how that's the speaker looking for. That was too slow? Okay, okay, yeah, here we go home.

Shut. Yeah, are you ready let's do this?

Oh boy, he's dialed in that whole pause.

He was like flaring his nostrils.

I was, yeah, all right, well then, Brian, you know what to do.

Start the clock.

Are we ready, Jack, Yes, that's a real question.

Let's do this, all right? Team? Yeah? Sorry.

When I said let's do this, I was actually saying it from an earlier question and then oh yeah, get back to it.

Yeah, sorry, said let's do this. When I asked if we should go to a break, I.

Might get excited enough to say, let's do this. This is when we're talking about breaking a break. Let's do this. Let's take a break, all right?

I was going first.

Why don't you go first?

All right, Blake Wexler, I want you to look at these images.

Sorry, go ahead, just what I know. I know.

Look, I appreciate the eagerness, but we're looking at some iconic basketball jersey from the nineties. You picked three of them to take with you into the next world. Which are they? You're asking the right person. So I'm going to Seattle super Sonics first. It's probably not the coolest jersey aesthetically, but those teams with the Glove with Sean Kemp, god forbid, I say the name, I'll say it, that left Shine, those guys, Irvin Johnson, Nate McMillan's the other

And then the final jersey is in between the Raptors and the Hornets, because you have two beasts bouncing a ball, bouncing a ball, bouncing a basketball.

Okay.

And then I like the Charlotte Hornets one because pinstripes I find to be a criminally underutilized fashion thing in the NBA.

But you gotta go.

Basketball, Dribbling Dinosaurs, song and Purple and the Red, just seeing Tracy McGrady, who I believe was cousins with vince Vincent Carter, who we've mentioned a whole lot on this show. But yeah, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go Raptors as my as my third pick, very consistent picks we've seen.

I think last week Josh Gondlman almost picked Idea to same identical chure.

I think great minds.

Uh Blake, most underrated NBA social media follow boo.

I am gonna give that to the Marcus Cousins. I'm gonna give him the Bookie, but I don't know if he's currently employed anymore. But I will never forget when he just he was the first person a tweet out as far as I know, the snake in the grass emoji, and he would do it very frequently because he was playing for an incredibly dysfunctional franchise. And yeah, so I'm gonna go. Recently, I don't know who I would give it to, Scalabrini. What if I gave it to Scalabrini.

No, I don't think.

He's been out of leave for a while.

I think, uh, Blake Dana Barrows? Is he still Dan?

What? Uh?

He so?

Last so Boogie cousins last season with a team was the twenty twenty two Denver Nugget too long ago.

He left and they.

Probably won the NBA title.

He has since been with the Mets, day Gay Nabo and the Taiwan Beer Leopards.

Okay, yeah, ye Blake, Yes, you know comedy. So Blake's name an NBA player that is not Blake Griffin that you think could have a career in comedy.

I mean you have.

I think there is a rise. I think he needs to move to Austin to make this happen. But I do think Draymond Green could be the next you know, Edgy Edge for stand up comedian, and he does have chopped I think the thing I mean you saw during I don't know if it was All Star Weekend or afterwards when he was going back and forth with with Charles Barkley, who would be who actually is funnier than I would say ninety nine point nine percent of actual

Yeah, before he begets Yeah.

Maybe as like a Kennison vibe or like a Kennison gear that he could go into maybe.

Or be like a Bill Hicks smoking cigarettes on stage.

It strikes me more as like a Mitch Hedberg. Yeah you know what I mean, just super flat but just cutting or like Steven Wright kind of friends.

I think we'll just let them defeat us in the next game. Was Yeah, that was my favorite.

Pat BEV two was very funny.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, he feels like he could do like morning radio like that.

Yes, energy too. Yeah, yeah, Charmelaine the BEV Lane, Charmela trademark. All right, finally, you're on a life raft. You come upon Joel mb or Alan Iverson in the water, but you can only fit one more person in the raft, and we're going to pretend like Joel embiid does not equal three.

Allen Iverson's in this. Okay, who are you saving? So boy, that's a tough one. I'm going to go with Ai because I know that Joel. I know their weights are the same in this. But Joel likes to snack, and we are always a long term off with Joel. I believe from him to go back, he's gotten so much healthier in the past like two years. But I do believes as a snacker myself, if he's going to come into my boat and eat all eat all my candy,

Motor, Yeah, motor what your boat might need.

Yes, yes, he will motor boat me. And then also, I don't know, I'm not listening what you're saying, And it could be a situation where you know dash incredible. Uh his quick feet.

I feel like I could use his.

Quick feet, like hipping them in the water to motor to the like tower the boat where Joel uses arms as a as oars, which is insane what I said. And you hate splashing, I hate hate. It makes me have to pee.

Yeah, you do not splash me.

It's just wild because you could have saved them both and put yourself in the water.

But you're not that kind of.

Kind of selfish. Yeah.

I mean you're assuming I would get on the life, but I would still be playing the recorder on my ship as it's sunk to the bottom of the oce.

Going down with this thing.

Buns buns, I'm going to This ship's not going down for days. It's very slowly. We have boats, we have some I know I'm going down with it. It's like, oh, this guy's in a bad place.

Well, Blake, we told you to keep the answers quick, and you did and I did, but they were entertaining, so we can forgive you, and I have to say all of your answers were correct. Thank you so much for joining us on Mad Boosties. Where did the people find you and support you? And where do they find out how to see you in person?

Thank you for asking.

So I'm at Blake Wexler on all social media. As you mentioned as the show started, I have a one hour stand up special on YouTube called Daddy Long Legs.

That's for free.

You don't have to pay a dime to watch that, just your time, which is also about Yeah, so I appreciate it. And then this Friday, I am at a Strong Rope Brewery in go On. It's amazing show that I'm hosting there every month. And then in April I will be in Cincinnati, Ohio, which is where I film my special, so I'll be back there. And then yeah, Blake Buckster dot com slash live dash dates to see.

Me live perfect all there and like a true pro, thank you.

Also make sure you follow hashtag mad Boosti's bast i e s. That's where you get show links, That's where you get updates.

That's where you might see my Twitter handle where you can find me. That's at Miles of Gray.

I'm at Jack Underscore ol Brian. Shout out to our guy Paul Garaventa for uh showing us the Cornett contests still alive.

He did very recently yeah, so shout out to him.

One of the great moves, one of the great moves.

We love it, all right, love you. Well, that's gonna do it for us.

And hey, guess what we're going to be back next.

Week the books.

Sorry, it's an unstoppable force. And guess what you're tapped in, you're locked in. Thank you for putting us in your ears. We will be back again, all right, talk soon by from way down on town.

That's what.

Yeah, that's how my shot went off the rim.

It didn't go right. We know, we got that. That's not not the sound of a that's not a string. Music than any string.

Is that better