Well, well, well, listen to my voice.
It's been a lot of screaming for NBA reasons we can only find out.
But the playing is upon us as the regular season.
Oh you know, I always use well used maxims and colloquialisms on this podcast. But anyway, the regular seasons wrapped up over the weekend. Jack Sixers ended the year on eight no run. Meanwhile, the Knicks and Thunder each end of their respective seasons on a five game role. And we're gonna get into the playing and potential playoff matchups and more with longtime NBA writer and editor Harrison Fagan
on today's episode. I'm Miles Gray and I'm Jack O'Brien, and this is dot chich Sorry, got it looka dot chic hitch tes.
Okay, there's your go be driving spinning. Got it with five? Is gonna try another?
Three?
Mister? Look God, James Ynest, look, tell no show time what you got?
Yes, And it's the most wonderful time of the year. Yeah, I mean spring eternal for approximately sixty more minutes. I know for the seventy six ers. We're gonna do it this year again to break Jack breaks in eight games. Yeah, so we're recording this. This is a Schrodegger's cat of an episode. We're recording this before the first playing game. Y'all know better than we do what happened, what's going to happen?
Yeah, yes, but no, you don't know what if our what if our predictions are really correct? Yeah, I mean we might know better than them.
Three And who better knows than our guest, Harrison Fagan, sc Nation, NBA editor, co host of Lakers Lounge, and co host of Rewinder Reconsider Harrison Fagan, thank you for joining us today. What an appropriate time for you to join us, because you know, people saw what you your words about the Lakers their postseason. You know what their
options might be, what things may look like. There's a bit of pain, you know, around here in the Mad Boosti's office, And by that I mean me looking at my phone being.
Like, he's right, but don't say this. Don't say it, you just lose.
So, yeah, Harrison, you wrote an article saying what I thought, and I think said to Miles and Jabbari that yeah, no, you guys should duck the Nuggets, like, get out.
Right, throw the game, don't don't win, don't don't beat the Pellant. Don't don't make that your problem.
Don't win. Granted, I do have a loser mentality. I am a Philadelphia seventy six Ers fan, so I'm just like winning. What are y'all doing?
Trust me, Lea's nowhere. Yeah, But at the.
Same time, it just does seem to be the wise charsh is.
To not go up against the team that has all of our numbers constantly.
Yeah.
Look, I only disagree because, like I said, I live in a different kind of reality, one that is not tethered to the reality in which the Lakers will actually be playing basketball. So that's why I choose to say, you know what, no, bring them, bring them to me now.
Yeah. But as I crashed back down to Earth, I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no no, no, no, no, no, no, I don't know, I don't know.
There's also the point that you guys might not be the Kings because the Kings also had your number, and you might just be out of the playoffs, and that will be a very embarrassing way to go.
Demontis the Bonus has has just learned all of AD's moves, and he's like, you present no challenge to me, And yeah, that's also fright, So all bad options, I would say.
For the Lakers. So we don't know what has happened.
Harrison, I have to ask you, like, if let's let's game this out. Okay, let's say we we duck the Nuggets.
Do you think someone is going to make it easy?
Like you said this, This is also the tweet that a lot of people didn't read the article that you treated quote. If the Lakers truly feel that any outcome besides a championship is a failure, they should do their best to give themselves the clearest possible path by throwing Tuesday's playing game. Is there any in this version right
where there somehow is a path? And like we I feel like it's an inevitability that if there's any way to any kind of championship, you're gonna have to face the Nuggets.
I mean that is probably true, but the odds of facing them are lower the longer you go without facing them. You know, like mathematically, you know, if you win this game against the Pelicans and you're playing the Nuggets, then you're guaranteed to play the Nuggets, Whereas if you get to the other side of the bracket of them, you have two rounds where you're not playing the Nuggets, and theoretically some other team could beat the Nuggets, where the
Nuggets could suffer you know, like an unfortunate injury. Again, like no one's rooting for injuries, But this kind of stuff happens throughout the playoffs. We've seen it, you know, like every every year some can hope fork tender gets banged up or takes like an ill timed ankle turn, or you know, has something happen or whatever. And so the longer you can go without playing the team that you have the least chance to beat, the further you know you're, the better your odds are. And you know,
maybe the Timberwolves knock off the Nuggets. I wouldn't pick them in that series necessarily, but if someone is going to do it, then you know, maybe it's them in the second rolf and yeah, and then you know, against the Timberwolves, you you have a better chance. I mean, the Timberwolves haven't beaten you eight times in a row at the very least. And so you know, again we're dealing with like like it's a matter of percentages. I'm not saying, you know, the Lakers, the Lakers roll down
and die because you're scared, right, No, I get yeah, exactly. Well. I mean a lot of people ask me all the time. They're like, Harrison, why are you not a professional athlete? And I'm like, I mean, really, the only reason is that I'm a coward, you know. And that's the only difference between me and Lebron is that I would duck the smoke and I would just be like, Hey, let's rest Ad. His back's hurting. Yeah, you know, we'll rest him.
Get ready for Thursday's playing game. Let the Warriors and Kings beat each other up and then either beat what remains of the Kings, who have lost like two of their best guards already, or a Warriors team that you've shown you can beat in a postseason environment. You have not shown that with the Nuggets, who it's like the
same movie every single time you play. I know, It's like in this tight game right down the stretch and the Nuggets, you know, go on like a twelve zero run to finish it out because they just know what buttons to push against this Lakers team, and the Lakers just don't seem to have a lot of options on this roster to you know, deal with them, like they've thrown most of the adjustments that I feel like they could throw at them. Now. Again, Darvin Ham makes a
lot more money than me. Those coaches probably make a lot more money than me. Maybe they have some ideas, but for me, it's all about you know, how far can you go without taking them on, and you know, maybe there's a chance somebody else takes them out and then you have a better chance against that team, because you probably have a better chance against any team that is not them. But yeah, I'm not saying like, hey, they lose this game, they play the Thunder, that's gonna
be easy. They're gonna sweep them or something.
No, No, but we have shown we can compete against the Thunder.
They've shown that it is possible for them to be the Thunder. They've shown they could beat you know, the Clippers or the MAVs or whoever. And you know you at least have like a chance against them and against the healthy Nuggets squad, Like, I just don't see it for these Lakers.
Yeah, the two worst matchups for the Lakers are the Nuggets and the King the Kings, and you kind of have both of them waiting for you.
It's like urger and bunker out. They're a different team than the one that beat the Lakers all those times. So theoretically, you know, you could talk yourself into that. That's but like with the Nuggets, they have all their guys, they're ready to go. Like, I just not seeing it in that matchup the Kings, I can at least talk myself into it.
I think it would be really embarrassing to lose on purpose and then knocked up.
Exactly among the reasons that they will not do it that is exactably. Chief among them is that, you know, every NBA team I think mainly makes decisions on what will get us roasted the most online, and you know they're like, yeah, but like, you know, no, we got to at least try because if we just sit the starters in this playing game, then yeah, everybody's gonna be really mean on Twitter. Yeah.
So, uh, you know, it didn't stop the Cavs, didn't stop the Calves from you know, ducking whoever they were scared of, you know, the heat to heat the Sixers.
Nobody knows the Sixers.
That's wild that they're scared of the Sixers, but nobody.
Give you a little confidence you're like, oh wow, like, oh well, well, you know, the Calves of all teams would feel like they have a shot against the Sixers because of like the two big thing, like that's you know, theoretically you would think that's one of the teams they have, like I mean, maybe not a better shot.
Maybe you'd rather I guess play the Magic who's less proven. But right, yeah, but they're obviously they're the least online NBA team. We just figured that out. The cat the Calves there, like you know, all the BA players, all coaches, they're like, we don't care what the media, you idiots in the media have to say. The Calves truly do not care. They prove they're like have you seen how.
Yeah you know anything about the narratives or like, uh like the metrics.
They're just like if.
You see how big and beat is that guy one MVP last year, I don't want that got get away from that guy.
So, you know, so and so was saying on the so and so podcast that you guys are clown fraud cowards for ducking the Sixers and or Heat, and they're like, what do you mean, what's.
A podcast yet that is the radio Cleveland.
Yeah, oh man.
But like I think, for me, it all goes it boils down to the fact, I think because the Lakers, this was all self created. We we did this to ourselves to be in the position we're in, you know what I mean. Like and when you when you see how the insistence of playing players like Cam Reddish or Torrian Prints have put us over RUI and I get
it ruly was hurt, you know, here and there. But when you look at what that record looks like and say, oh, yeah, that was our starting five from Jump Street, maybe we would be you know, organically ducking the Nuggets already because we could have been maybe the fourth seats for the fourth seat.
So I will just say generally, now this is not always the case, but generally, benching like three of your top five highest players is not like a great allocation of resources. Yeah, you know, I will say, And so, hey, what do we know we're not Darvinham? You know, yeah exactly. But you know that part seems like even as a coach, I'm like, Okay, who who we pay them?
Yeah?
Yeah, maybe we should play them? No, No, And you know, they've been like what like twenty and eight since they went to the New starting lineup or whatever it is, like they're actually you know, yeah, so I mean you're exactly right. Is that the Lakers. That's the crazy thing about this whole debate and whatever it created. Yah, Lakers didn't have to be here. They didn't have to be in this situation.
So it'll be poetic. I think the version that will cause me the most distressed is something like we end up having to face the Nuggets and just through note something happens to the Nuggets and like they'll defeat us in the series, but they're somehow diminished a bit from the series against us, and we're.
Like, we just helped the league. The rest of the league right now because one of their starters is out, maybe'd.
Bump on the road to history. Yeah, Los Angeles Lakers, We're proud.
Yes forever. Yeah.
Those were because we're a banana skin, that's all. We got, those yellow jerseys, Odoyle.
Rules, sick reference.
Let's should we take a quick break and come back and just talk take a step back. Obviously, the only thing that really matters is what the Lakers do. But uh, we're going to take a step back and just look at the league in general. What narratives do we think are being underrated heading in to the most wonderful time of the year.
If you're singing that too closely, we will get a content strike you know. Wait, wait, that's YouTube a little more off key.
Yeah, it's the most full time of the year.
No, now the Simpsons can come that teenager character.
Well, you're right back, and we're back.
So the other matchups, yes, besides the one that we don't even know if it's going to happen that we.
Spend a stress in my neighborhood.
Yeah, Wolves Sons. Sons went three and I against the Wolves this season. The Suns started rounding into shape looking pretty good heading into the end of the season. Wolves ended up as the three seed, Sons is six. I truly don't know what's going to happen because the Sons have been so kind of unpredictable. I'm unsure. I think this could go in either direction. Would love to see
Anthony Edwards have a great series. Would also like to see the Suns pull it out so that we continue to get to see KD in the playoffs, like kind of towards the end of the run. I'm a sucker for a super team man, even if super team is in quote, I'd like to see the Sons win this. I don't know who's going to win it, do you do? You have an instinct, Harrison.
You know it is. It's gonna be a fascinating stylistic clash up, you know, between sort of you have like Hooper Oasis in the desert. You know, it's just like a bunch of guys that just kind of like they all get buckets versus you know, the sort of analytics
Darling's Rudy Gobert, you know, like Nerd team. And you know, I'm I actually do think that the Suns have a chance because they are, you know, theoretically the type of team that could you know, like Minnesota's defense is really sort of predicated on giving up the types of mid range shots that you know, like KD and all those guys have made basically their whole careers on taking and making and so theoretically, you know, like they should have some advantages. And you know, but I mean, it's hard
to pick a six seed to win. But you know, I don't know, given what you just said about the season record, and you know, I think I don't know, like the Suns have been so underwhelming in so many moments, but this year. But I do think that, you know, if they're all healthy, I like their chances at the very least. Yeah, for sure. It's just hard for me to pick Rudy Gobert in a playoff series. I'm sorry. Like, I just saw stat today that he has more Defensive
Player of the Year awards than playoff series wins. It's wow, or he will whin he wins this year, maybe right right, right, Yeah, that's not a great stat to have that.
Someone on Reddit was posting something about how like with Anthony Edwards, you know, he said KD is his goat, and he said Beale is the hardest to cover, so he's like might have his work cut out for him.
A quote about like, yeah they got KD, but we got Jaden McDaniels exactly. That is he doing bits, No, I think he I think his point was that like Jayden McDaniels would guard KD. I don't think that he meant like he is as good as him. But out of all I saw was the out of context version, and that was hilarious, And I hope that he was arguing that those were equal players in NBA history, not even just like he was.
Just looking around the locker room and named the first leave Jaden Jaden McDaniels, Jaden turn around, buddy, Yeah McDaniels. That's what it says on the back of his jersey.
All right.
This next series, I'm very fascinated by Clippers MAVs. Clippers went to them one in the series the season. They haven't played since December, though, so Dallas got a lot better at the deadline and went eighteen and seven over the last twenty five games. They see every A lot of people are on Dallas right now. They're like, these guys look great, They're playing well together. They seem to
be having fun out there. One thing, I bring it up all the time, but I just don't want to forget, and I feel like people are forgetting this is one of the players I think people are sleeping on heading into the playoffs when when healthy, Kawhi Leonard does tend to lock in in the playoffs. And last year, in the first game and a half of the playoffs was the that was the story that at least that I was paying attention to, was like, oh, Kawhi Leonard is the best player in the league.
Again, we just like lost track of that.
And he's actually the best player in the league. He was so good in that first game and a half before he got hurt.
If he's able to stay healthy, incredible seventy two minutes that will live forever in NBA history, you know, memorable. Memorable, Well it's He's also been good in past year's playoffs also, So no, I don't a playoff riser, for sure. He is the guy that definitely has You know, the real stars are the guys who can kind of it's a cliche, but the guys who can raise their game up a level.
And you know, there have been those guys throughout NBA history, like you could see Lebron sort of, you know, take that extra step every postseason, no matter how old he gets. Like Kawhi is clearly one of those guys that has that extra gear that he can activate when the games really really matter. So I would still pick the MAVs if I had to pick in this series, just because it was funny. You mentioned the Clippers. You said they hadn't played since December, and you meant against the MAVs.
But for a second, I was like, oh, it's keep doing a joke. About like they have not they have not played real basketball right in December. I'm like a good one, you know, and they just look discombobulated. James Harden doesn't really look like himself. I you know, also riser why it.
Might be back if memory serves James Harden also a playoff riser, so legend.
Yeah, don't don't google it. He always takes up a next step Google's line. Whatever you see, that's a lie.
And now we're I just read Tyler was saying Kawhi is doing about a quarter of practice and then ramping it.
Up to hopefully does not even mean I don't know, like I guess after I didn't even realize it was hurt.
All right, never mind, Uh, Brian the editor cut my whole thing about how good Kawhi is.
Uh, well, he might be back. They don't, you know.
They think they're just saying they a full medalsa And they've been saying like, we think he's gonna miss like two or three games for like basically like two or three weeks now, and he's missed eight games.
Uh, and so you know he did in an optimistic sign, he did just commit to play for the Olympic team. So you would think it's not like a major injury that he thinks is going to sideline him months, and it really is this sort of more day to day thing. But the Clippers certainly have not like earned the benefit of the doubt with that, after they said Kuhi was day to day last year and then after the series they're like, oh, yeah, he tore his I mean it's
something in his knee. I don't know it was in this guss or a cl it was one of them.
And flammation you do have to use an abbreviation when it's an injury that is so common with this player that where they're calling it knee inflammation.
All right, So.
Forget my whole thing about how good the Clippers are going to be.
Let's I mean that too is like you know, the Russell Westbrook of it all, Like yeah, depending on how they match up, I'm like, what, which which one are we going to get? Because that's somebody who really has to come to play man being on Kyrie.
Yeah, the qui if Kauai is healthy or if Kui like plays, I think that is an advantage his ability to ride. I also think they have the coaching advantage by a significant margin. And I do think the rust thing matters like that, if like Russ really is like an off speed pitch, he's just he's the he's the pulp fishing shot of adrenaline in the heart. That.
Yeah. So I don't know.
I think I'm both pulling for and kind kind of have a feeling about the Clippers, And I could be exactly wrong.
We'll see, should we should we go for the record?
Yeah, Miles, Jack, do you have a pick?
Oh? Pray for the downfall of my enemies on a nightly basis? Okay, all right? Yeah, yeah, No? Why did I have to ask?
Doesn't off my Mike Finley Mavericks jersey that I got into sophomore year high school to throw that thing on? Yeah?
All right? Uh. In the Eastern Conference, the Knicks messed around, climbed into the two seed in the East with a little hell from the Cavs. Jalen Bronson just all season has been unbelievable, probably going to be in the.
Do we think he's going to be top five MVP voting? Like it seems like it based on sort of the public ballots that have come out so far and sort of the top like he's probably. It seems like he's gonna be fifth on a lot of ballots, but I think he is going to be the fifth guy. Yeah, Og returning at the right time.
They're like, I don't think they're undefeated with Og, but their record is like wild.
It's insanely good.
I don't Yeah, unbelievable. Uh and yeah, he like with him, they're really hard to beat. That does you know if the if the Sixers are able to get a win tonight, that does appear to be who they're playing. If the Sixers are not able to get a win.
They're twenty and three with Og. Twenty and three. And I heard a stat the other day that Og has not had a negative plus minus game the entire season, which is sort of a you know, because that is like a team based a lot of the time. Yeah, you know, like you're just going to be on the floor when like somebody else on your team misses a bunch of shots and you just are negative. But I mean that's crazy.
You know, by this point, we know what happened between the Sixers and the Heat. I just want to say, like I've read a lot of playoff content, I've listened to some playoff preview podcasts. It feels like people are doing like the Heat last year. I just want to like reiterate, at this time last year, the Heat were in the same position, yeah, or very similar position.
They didn't.
People are like, yeah, but this year, like they're not even putting it together.
They're not.
Last year, they were not good until the second half of the second play in game. They lost the first playing game. They they were losing by a point to the Bulls heading into the fourth quarter of the set playing game. They didn't decide to take it up three levels until like the playoffs starts. It doesn't make sense that they would decide to do that again. I just want to remember, like again, like people are like, yeah, but Butler this year is different. It's like he was
different last year in the regular season too. Everybody was saying the exact same thing. I don't expect it to happen because when it happened last year was like that, well, this is a literal miracle. Like I I've never seen anything anyone just decide to be way better. But he was able to do it last year. If they're able to get the seventh seed, I could see them doing it again this year. I don't know, it's I also feel like Nick runs heat.
Those two specific teams would set basketball back, like at least scoring, it would set it for decades. We'd be getting like like final scores of like fifty nine to fifty seven in a playoff game. You know.
Yeah, and when in doubt, I always like Brunson is always good for a rounder too, better than I'm expecting, like back to when he was with the MAVs, and you know last year with the Knicks, Like he's really great.
In the play He's a playoff riser as well.
And so I I don't know, I think the Knicks are probably gonna win no matter who they're facing. But it's I just it's like listening to like the Bills on Bill Simmons podcast, He's just like not scared of the heat at all. He's like, I'd love to play the heat. That's fine, please, who cares? Just like that because Jimmy Butler has been bad all season. I'm just like, yeah, man, like what we did this last year, Like it's in.
The Simpsons scene of like how many times the Celtics fans have to step on the rake, you know, exactly like we did.
It Bucks Pacers is also going to be interesting. Yeah, Jianness Listen is doubtful heading into Game one due to a cast strain. Cast strains are very tricky injuries. We saw that be the injury leading into KD having an achilles like a few years back, right, like it's you just incredibly Yeah, did you feel.
The whole thing go up your the back of your leg Like a lot of people say that happens, And I was like, yeah, it's scary.
It's just like it really couldn't have gone Like the last month of the season couldn't have gone worse for the Bucks.
Like it's really not good. Really, the second half of the season couldn't have gone worse for the Bucks. You got that Doc Rivers was going to finish the year. He took over the team when they were like thirty and like twelve or something, and he finished the year with a with a below five hundred record. Yeah, he didn't ask to come in. He didn't ask to come in. He would not have wished that situation on his worst enemy, you know, right exactly. And yeah, and the bus driver too,
the bull, little class, the equipment manager. It's crazy, he just leaves the laundry out all over the floor, like it's not even It's just I feel like I'm at home with my teenage kids. I did start to wonder after the second stray that the equipment manager took this year. I'm like, Okay, is this guy actually just like doing a fat job like that? One needs to look into this, Like, yeah, Doc and Joannis both bringing up specifically the equipment manager.
I have some questions now, right, Yeah, there's an agenda. There's an agenda.
I mean, yeah, cause I saw it on the more cynical end, it's that Giannis might not be ready till Game two or three.
And then Woach said today that they're preparing to start the series without him at least. Yeah, yeah, no, he's not going to be there for Game one. Yeah, get them. At least one of the betting sites had to like change the odds for the series because so many people were coming in on the Pacers after that, so yeah, wow, yeah.
And there there's also people like speculating about Dame's future in Milwaukee if they lose early.
It's just a bat.
It's like it really could have gone much worse this season. Unfortunately.
I'm excited for the generational blame deflection that we're going to get whenever this Bucks run ends, because you got Dame, you got Doc Jannis, Like an underrated sort of blame deflector like all these guys seeing who's going to point the finger at? Who is going to be incredible? Wait to watch it? Yeah, it's going to be three Spider Man meme. Yeah, just like pointing to just everyone, like what do you mean we failed? We reached the Elite eight of the NBA in college, Like this is help.
I don't understand how you're emotion failure. Yeah, we did better than last year. It's about steps the success. We got out of the first round in a seven game series against the Pacers and then we lost in the second round. That's that's progress exactly exactly what.
What storyline do you think is being underrated on either side of the east to the west. Where what do you think is we're going to see heading in If you had to guess last year, obviously it was the heat, you know, Yeah, I don't know how many people were predicting that, But what you had to guess a like underrated storyline we're going to be talking about heading into let's say the Conference Finals.
What do you think it is? I mean, I think, to be honest, and this hurts me in my heart to say, but I think that people maybe are not giving like the Celtics enough do just because they don't have that kind of one exemplary player who's going to be an MVP. They may not get a first team
All NBA guy. They might, but like they have probably the Again as a Lakers fan, this is causing me physical paint, but they have the best starting five in basketball right now, and they've been really good all year and they're probably not going to get like a great
opponent coming out of the play in. I mean, you know, again it's possible it's the heat and the heat like you know, pull off sort of their like dark magic again and just like sort of Jimmy Butler, he's like, oh, it's spring time for me to become Michael Jordan again
and just like knocks them out of the playoffs. But like, I think that the Celtics may be sort of getting a lot of rest between these series in some cases, and you know, I'm not sure that you know, just because of how bad the bottom of the East is, Like it seems like they are gonna sort of sweep through all the way to the finals, you know. To be honest, I would be sort of surprised if they lost more than like two or three games right now.
So the Sixers did go eight note to end the season, do you want to take that over again talking about how bad the bottom of the East is.
And also I cannot confirm or deny if I'm trying to reverse jinks to the Celtics right now, so I will say, think they're unbeatable, no one can take them out. Prove me wrong that you want to if you're then let the Heat beat the Celtics. I don't know. I'm the only thing right.
Now openly, I openly admit to be rooting and heading into these playoffs, I'm rooting for the field. It's like Celtics versus the field. I'm just rooting for the field. The only thing that's giving me hope is all those like advanced stats that are like they're the best team ever.
The thing they all point out though, is that they are the best team ever, but they don't have a player, like a single player that is like good enough to be like up held up with like those Jordan teams with like any any of those teams, and that is usually a problem at some point in the NBA playoffs because you need to have someone who is a walking, talking bucket, and that's been a problem for them in the regular season, like Tatum in crunch time has not
been able to just like take the team on his back. So I'm hoping that that is what we see derail them, And yes, that would be you know, yeah.
Like, I mean, that's just been an issue.
They can't they can't just be like all right, man, like we're all tired and a little bit scared. It's the end of the game and now it's Jason time. It just it doesn't work with the mask point. Yeah, yeah, I mean Grant Williams tried to put the mask on and he was like, well, what what are you doing? You know, So like that's how averse he is to the superhero mask.
It's like, it's my team, let's go. You know, I'm gonna I'm gonna trash talk Jimmy Butler O.
Wait then, oh man, what a run. That was so fun when he Yeah, last year.
It is sort of incredible how many guys the Grant Williams has made mad. It's like every single NBA player interview. You know that. I thought, like another I saw like the MAVs were coming out and blasting him, and like, you know, it's just yeah, it's it's amazing. He really has gotten under the entire league skin. Yeah, not easy to do. Impressive.
All right, let's uh, let's take a quick break and when we come back. Oh man, you're in trouble. I got I gotta say, Harrison, you are wandering into a shootout. Uh, it's the rapid fire around a question.
We'll be right back, and we're back, We're back. You're saying, I'm walking into a disadvantageous situation. Can I just can I theoretically tank it and then get a better match up down the line, like technically you you know, technically coward?
Or ready said you were right, Yeah.
Okay, yeah diagnosed, Yeah yeah yeah you can't totally yeah, totally can you totally can't, but don't we don't like to acknowledge that up top, but between.
As the doctor is handing you to your mother after your your birth, they were like, uh, sorry, it's a coward.
I've never been a baby this much, ma'am.
Wow, he looks so scared Oh my god, this.
One.
Yeah, he's anyway, well, hey, your problem not well, but Harrison faking.
He's right. It's time for a rapid fire round of questioning.
Okay, this is the fastest question answer segment in sports podcasting history.
We're gonna ask you a question. Don't take too much time. Let's keep the pace up, and if you do take too.
Much time, we will be so rude to you that you will have no choice but to not be confrontational about it.
Okay, here we go. You know, I don't think you could be ruder to me than the Internet has been in the last forty eight hours. That's true, that's true.
Yeah. Yeah, you're a journalist who said something real to the to Laker fans and trust.
Magic critics rights are saying that they should throw this game.
Yeah, I like feel good so being critics. Yeah yeah, yeah, I mean people got mad at Jesus too.
You know, it's just like there, it is, there it is, and maybe they will heed your advice.
Have you seen the reviews for this year's Lakers. They're like at a seventy three on rutten tomatoes.
Seventy three is not bad.
Actually, yeah, I'll take that I'll take that because most of them they're so cynical on there, you know, yeah, exactly exactly.
Well here Wayne Gerard Butler's plane.
You want to go first? Or should I go first? Why don't you go first?
Jack?
You want me to go first? Yeah, Harrison, we see that.
There's a BB one figuring behind you. My eight year old, my soon to be eight year old, is a.
Star Wars obsessive.
I'm taking him to the Skywalker Saga marathon only Star Wars film. He hasn't seen his episode three because it's a little a little heavy, you know, children being swater. But he knows about order sixty six. He's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I got like he he knows all the lower he knows like the stats. But as as a Star Wars film, so many how many young links. I'm a little worried about your He's all about putting up. He's all about stats and like, how how many gunners? You think this has wrong?
That?
Dad?
Wow? Do you like?
He really is like that doesn't understand how I'm not more obsessed with stars, but I'm just curious, what's your favorite Star Wars film?
Uh? I mean this is cliche, but Empire Strikes Back. I do think it's the best movie of all of.
Them, most underrated Star Wars film.
I don't know if it's even episode three anymore, because I feel like that used to be the answer, but now I guess I'll say I guess I'll say the Last Jedi, just because it's like so critically panned and so many people get so mad about it, and I actually think that there's like a good movie in there if you sort of cut down the length of it and like the b plot where like Finn is basically doing nothing for like an hour of the movie and Casino good interesting ideas in that movie. And you know,
I think it could have been better. Yeah right, I agree. Okkay, next question.
Thank you for answering that on our NBA podcast.
Yeah, next question, and sorry, I gotta have to take it back to the NBA. Jack Harrison h what color kyber crystal would you use to color your lightsaber blade?
Well, I you know I can actually answer that because I have on well you can't see it on this but I have them displayed in my office, the one that I made at Disneyland, and it's okay, I got another I mean true Laker fan more so. But yeah, I mean, you know, I mean, he was the one that made purple a thing. You know, yeah, I thought you were trying to support, you know, the one black Jedi. But that's okay, that's okay.
You know what I mean for the Lakers is for the Lakers, we all have our faults. How about this actual NBA question more likely to happen? And why the Lakers get in and win a series versus the Nuggets or Thunder or Sixers get.
In and win a series versus Celtics or Knicks. Uh, I'm gonna say Sixers just because they have the one they need to win one game and then they get in against the Knicks, and I do think that they beat the Knicks if Embid stays healthy and so, you know, like anytime you need less sort of things to break right for you, I'm going to go with them. But you know, I mean, I think the Lakers have a shot if they lose this first playing game and win the second one.
Okay, all right, I'm going to read a quote to you from Jamal Murray and then I want you to react by telling me point made a good point. They should be scared of no, he said quoth, and I want I want you to react. I also want you to spot the lie in here. There is a there is an error. I think we're the best duo. I think we're They're in a bigger market and people have more interest in Lebron and a d in La or what Damon Giannis could do, or what Luca and Kyrie
could do. Talking about the best duos and getting the job done and how they play for each other and with each other, I think me and Jokic are undoubtedly number one.
Uh weird that he called him Joki? First of all? Just it it's like, are you a fan? Just coworking me and Gray?
I mean, when you're talking about NBA podcast hosts, me and Gray Gray, we're up there.
Obrien's got the touch man, all right? First of all, do you agree? No? You know, I I think, I mean, I don't know who I would pick as the best duo, but it's just I mean, they're up there, certainly. And this is gonna sound disrespectful considering they just won the title and everything, but it's like, you know, I'm okay. If yok says that, I feel like it's a little weird.
If Jamal Murray is the one saying it would be you know, again, this is extreme and this is too mean to Jamal Murray, but I'm gonna make the analogy anyway, and that that's like, you know, like Luke Walton being like Kobe and I scored you know, like eighty four points combined that day, you know, right right right, It's like, yeah, I mean that, like, you know, you guys do have two of the most points together as teammates in NBA history, but like one guy did the like the majority of
contributing to that, And so I just like, I think that's got to be yokic given that quote, Like I don't know, Murray, like, yeah, team before before saying this.
What is the uh what's the factual error that he included in there?
There's an error in there. I don't know.
I think Ever is a larger market than Milwaukee.
Yeah, by quite a bit.
Actually Milwaukee is below Salt Lake City, below San Jose, California.
Uh, market by us, you know exactly.
It's like wait what but yeah, Denver is like kind of right in the middle of the pack. So, by the way, I would have had more interesting questions to ask you. But then I found this list of the US markets by size and have just been looking at it for the past.
Like there's so many ones in there that you're like, wait, that city is bigger than that now, Yeah, yeah, exactly. It's been a couple of times I've fallen down that rabbit hole.
So I Campa needs an NBA team, Seattle desperately needs an NBA team, the fourteenth biggest, Puerto Rico needs an NBA team.
Probably Durham at this point would too. Yeah, I've never done this before. During this segment, but Jack, we have to keep this moving.
Okay, Okay, smaller than Hartford, Connecticut, miles on.
The whale questions, Harrison, guess which city is bigger.
Big based on based on lightsabers owned per capita.
Okay, you're taking a time machine.
You can go back in time to personally be an eyewitness at any of the following moments in NBA history.
You take your pick.
Eighty seven Finals, Game four, Magic's baby skyhook winner in the Boston Garden, twenty ten Finals, Game seven, Blakers over Celtics, two thousand Western Conference Finals, Game.
Seven, the Great lob Kobe Tshek Where are my feets? Wow? Where do you need them to be? Like, how good of feats are you giving me? I got it. I mean it affects the question. I don't know.
I guess if we're talking Staples Center, they're like premier level seats like sort of in that level.
It's like, oh, you know, like he like we can get your time machine, but not court side tickets. You're crazy? Okay, lower lower bowl, lower bull lower bowl, say lower ball. I'm I I am gonna say Game seven twenty ten, just because that is probably my favorite NBA game of all time and like my favorite Lakers win. Yeah, just you know, uh, like one of the Yeah, it's just that's a game that means a lot to me, and so I think it would be that one.
Shout out to my therapist for sure.
Said that game. It was just Game seven. I don't need therapy man. Game seven the Lakers one. I don't you got that? Fifth ring? I'm good? Uh.
And finally, someone's coming to the great City of Los Angeles for one weekend. Give us three spots they need to hit up. Let's go attraction not not restaurants, not bars, just places places to hit.
I'm a terrible person to ask this question too, because I don't really like go outside all that much. But you know, I would say the Santa mon cup here is pretty great. Uh you know, beautiful like ocean waves. You know that kind of thing, ocean waves. I've heard of these. Yeah, yeah, I can you tell them a writer. I've never been there. I got to sire it out. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I like it can be personally, you know what I mean. And I'm not asking for
the object We're not the objective. Top three on the spot. Yeah, yeah, my apartment, it's great. You should come by hang out. I got I got some vegetarian snacks for you, you know. Uh so yeah, my apartment number two, and then you know, I'll give a shout out. My wife and I went to a place called the Love Museum in downtown LA. It was pretty cool. It was, you know, like a good I would say, a good date spot like there, you know, if you have a significant other in your life.
It was cool. Wave I paid they basically they like it's a museum built by this psychologist that was like famous for studying love and like how it works chemically in your brain or whatever, and it has all these exhibits where you sort of like interact and think about things and talk to each other and whatever. It could be either the greatest or worst first date spot of
all time, but you know it was. We had a lot of fun and I feel like, genuinely like I've learned things about my wife and how she sees the world that I did not know. They give you, they ask, Yeah, yeah, exactly, I thought different colors, you know.
It's right, Yeah, yeah, it's taking very deep, labored breaths every three minutes, is yeah. Well, Fagan, thank you so much for joining us. All males and Jack got mad boosties. I mean, I think everything we said today was correct, no matter, even though we didn't know the results of certain games. But look, I'm pretty sure we nailed it. Where do people find you, follow you, read you, listen to you all? How do they experience the Harrison Fagan Enterprise.
Yeah you can. You can read me and a bunch of others at sp nation dot com during the during the playoffs, and then we have a bunch of team
sites as well. Like Maps Moneyball had a really good story up today on why the Maps should be taken seriously as real contenders and like they have a real shot to win the whole thing, and uh yeah, I mean you can yell at me on Twitter at h M F A I G E N. If you think that the Lakers should not sort of tank tonight's playing game, feel free just jump in a lot of people have been doing it and uh yeah, you know, check out like the silver screen and role playback screen, which I
will be jumping on sometimes during the playoffs. Beautiful.
You can follow the show by following the hashtag Mad Bootys BW s t I show links and updates.
You can find me at Miles of Gray on Twitter.
I'm at Jack Underscore Obrian and that's gonna do it. Another one in the books in the bottom of the net Swish.
Boom Street Music.
Call me go Hie bastian Bach because we'll be back next week with a whole another episode.
Miles and Jego on Mad Boosties sick Wow, we pitched a perfect game, ain't that last closing?
Look?
I gotta I gotta get a back. It's sort of like Seinfelip. There's this Superman reference somewhere in every episode. There is a Johann Sebastian Bach reference. In every single episode of Mad Boosti's real fans, no, okay of check the tapes, all right, we'll see some twish dunk Swish dunk dunk dunk shoot, as they say in Japan.
Mm hmmm hmmm