MJGMB #51: State of the Sixers and more with Blake Wexler

and this is Miles and Jack. Jack sometimes got mad boost sometimes well you know, Davis indeed driving spinning Curry a three potter, stop Curry from the toil again, be honest the time. Wow, wow, Wow, listen to that new intro. We're almost a year in and we finally sound like a real NBA podcast. We are prosed. I mean I feel like that kind of sets too high a bar. Actually, if I had one note, that's like, Man, this is gonna be an exciting podcast. Nobody who's stupid is going

to talk at all. Hello, don't you are incorrect? Right off the bat? Hello, I'm Jack, I'm an idiot, and uh, Blake Waxler, what's happening? What's up? Guys? Thanks for having me? I too, am a moron who knows nothing at all, So yeah, it psych I fit in perfectly. And this was not a coincidental booking. This was because of my lack of intellect and inability to be articulate about the NBA that I was booked on the show. So thank

you for having me making me look better. And we did say that specifically, we need somebody to make me look articulate. By comparison, Blake is one of our favorite guests on The Daily Zeitgeist, one of our favorite comedians, and he has this quote that I'd like to read. I have been following the Sixers season closely this year, and I'm sure it's going too soon burst into flames in a freshly devastating way, and that is very close to my heart. That is how I feel as a

Sixers fan at all times. So I as a fan, I want to preface this episode where I think this is going to be a great episode. And I also want to preface this by saying as a sports fan, I am a diehard sports fan to the point where sports did in some way figure back into the fact of me moving to my hometown to Philadelphia after living

in Los Angeles for ten years. Yeah, when it comes to the Philadelphia Eagles, when it comes to the Phillies, when it comes to even the Philadelphia Flyers at the Philadelphia Union, I would say that I am an anxious but generally extremely positive fan. When it comes to the Sixers, it's interesting. I want them to win, but they do make me sick, both morally and physically, and I think they're as an overall thing bad for the world, for society.

They hurt my friends, they hurt my family, they hurt me. I don't see a reason why they I remember when there was these rumors that Josh Harris might move the team to New Jersey or something, because he also homes the New Jersey Devils. I think he's also putting in a bid for the Washington Commanders. I almost felt relief where I was like, just get this specter this way, this awful, awful force in my life away from me and my family. That being, and they do horrible things

over and over and over again. I am going to stop talking in a few seconds, just as a matter of mental health. But they are universally, I would say, without any merit, and there's no reason to cheer for them. Thank you so much for having me, and that's that's that's all I really need or can say at the moment. I gotta be honest with you guys. Having to Philly fans to have the conversation with this is beautiful because nook La fans have been accused of being toxic at times,

and we certainly are. I'll cop to that personally as well as for other teams. There you go not to ourselves. So while we expect and you know, hope or you're at least, you know, somewhat costly optimistic about winning every year. I love Philly fans because, y'all, it doesn't matter like this. It can be a great stretch, it can it can look incredible. And you know Joel Embide, who will talk about here shortly, can you know, can be playing some of the best basketball of his career. You know, Harden

looks the most comfortable he's looked in uniform. And you guys will sit here and say, yeah, but no, yeah, but no, I think this is I think Blake and I are like specifically neurotic people and neurotic about the Sixers, and like mine is built on like I've been a living and dying with basketball teams since I was a child because my dad coached basketball, and so my relationship to the basketball teams that I love the most was formed at a time when my brain like did not

have object permanence, you know, And so it's just very dumb. It believes my basketball brain believes in magical spirits and magical forces, and there's not much I can do about it. And then, yeah, I have always just felt a certain darkness around the Sixers, in particular because it's been a steady rhythm of getting very excited having a player that I would have like when I was playing on my little hoop in the driveway when I was a kid.

I invented a seven foot three person with like amazing touch who like played like a guard and just you know, could do anything on the bat. And he has arrived, and like they're there. The highs are so high, but then there has been this steady rhythm of them not being able to get it out of the second round. So I think it is I think it's hard for the for the pessimistic Sixer fan out there, and I

think Blake and I are both both that for sure. Yeah, I really like the fact that you use the word beautiful Jabari to describe our Sixers fandom, and I would imagine you're using that phrase in the same way people use the word beautiful to describe Guernica, the painting by where there is just a just just dead everywhere, there's this funnier body. We've gotten to Guernica and the Sixers have won five in a row, and exactly right here

is why it's beautiful. There was a little bit of bless your heart in there in that beautiful, but minute we felt it and like a Lakers fan cannot talk about another team without being insufferable. It's just kind of important, impossible, and I don't I don't blame you at all. It's it is the most into a Lakers fan describe the Clippers is unbelievable. It's just a master class and passive aggression and backhanded compliments that are just devastating and cut

right to the heart. So Um, but we're not here to talk about the Lakers. We're here to just worry about the Sixers for people puke about the Sixers. Um, we won't be talking about the Sixers the whole time, though, thank you who you read my request? Can we stop this right now? Um? Yeah, I mean, so these are some things Jubari wrote down. He wrote, hottest team in the league, winners of five straight, third, best point differential in the league, fifteen games left, five home, ten away.

Not great. Team is currently nineteen and twelve on the road, which doesn't seem that great until you realize that, like nobody has a winning record on the road this season for something good for some reason. So I don't know, I don't think they're going to catch either the Celtics

or Milwaukee. They're doing much better than I was expecting them to be doing it at this point because they've had a lot of really difficult games over the past couple of weeks, and they're hanging tough and winning close games. And the thing Blake that I was saying last week, I think was that this team, the thing that they've done this year to trick me into believing that they're different from teams in the past, is that they come back.

Like remember for the past five years, how even when they had a lead going into the fourth quarter, you were like they going into the last five minutes, it was always like they're they're going to find a way to lose the And it feels reversed like it does feel like they're closing this season pretty well in a way that they haven't before. So that's the thing that I'm going to be holding on to until they exit the second round. What about you? Yes, I agree with you.

Where that is probably the most alarming thing that's going on with them right now is that they for the first time have a semblance of a soul. And for so long this team was just a machine of finding new ways to shred you and to torture you. And okay, that this number one pick didn't work out because he didn't he forgot how to shoot. This one before that didn't work out because he never knew how to shoot.

This guy had. There's so many things where that should be the most devastating thing about this team that isn't even in the top fifteen. Of like the fact that they drafted Mikail Bridges, who was from Philadelphia, his mother worked for the team, and then they immediately just traded him right after that, right after they drafted him, and he had to put on the little hat and everything, and he thought he was going to play for his

hometown team. That is won a championship with Villanova. I believe. Yeah, yeah, yeah, great Valley High School. Yeah, and which which which I had to bring up. I didn't go there, but you know which high school he went to. And then he was traded for a guy who we draft in said of him, who was nearly killed by sesame seeds because the team cook didn't know that he had teleg h Yeah, and that's number nineteen and twenty of the most horrible things.

So you now have a You got rid of Ben Simmons and that was also all sorts of sad where you want things to work out, and you now have this team where James Harden who I thought best case scenario Andre Miller at the beginning of the year, and he is all Andre Miller and much much more so.

He has been great. They're coming back from twenty point like I think twice in the past week or two they came back from twenty point deficits, and Joel Embiid, who is the only person on this team that you could possibly have any love in your heart for, was leading those those comebacks. And I am going to try

to stop being so negative. I am going to try to put it so now you have this team that you do feel oh, Wow, like there is some magic to them where I think before it was a lot of this, it was why you can't pair the two stars together, and you were so preoccupied with that, And now you actually have a team where oh I actually you have a player who's capable of putting a smile

on your face in Tyrese Maxie. And it is a very it's and this is why it's gonna be so much worse when I'm falling into it myself, just like you said, Jack, where it's yeah, I'm pulling for them and they have a heartbeat now and that should be very exciting in a vacuum, in a vacuum. The MBIAD game winner against Portland was it this past week? It was very fun. Paps he gets not to the floor, now whistle and it comes to Joel five seconds to

go driving spinning. Absolutely yeah again, comebacks are really fun to watch. Um there's I don't know. The MVP conversation is so weird at this point, but Jabari did put together a compilation of people just scoring on Yokich Lady's not there. That really warmed my heart, warmed my cold

broken heart. Like the one thing I will say is one of my favorite moments of the season was when you know, the Sixers played in Milwaukee, sixteen game winning streak on the line, and Jannis kept going at mbid and every time he would run into Embiad's body, he would lose the ball because he just like didn't. He was like, what wall did I just run into? Embat is a fourth like that? Like, I think he has a gravitate like they talk about, well, this guy's a

good shooter. He has his own gravity on the on the court. I think Embiad has gravitational pool from physics because he's that much bigger than everybody, So that that was exciting. He's immovable, like even for Jannis, who's the best at scoring, when he gets to the rim and like gets his body into somebody and Yokich is not. No, And I didn't expect to use this sentence today, but

Jannie does. You're talking about someone who has the best body in the world, Like Yannis has the best body out of any human being in the entire world, and his best body ran into Joel's body and bounced off

of it, which is saying a lot. And I wonder with the MVP thing, just another just just another issue in the scheme of the Sixers, But what do you guys think about the fact where a lot of people, whether you're on it or I'm sorry, whether Jokich deserves it or not, people have compared it to the Steve Nash MVPs often where if you're a voter, I don't know if you guys are or not. Yeah, but if

you are a voter, they give us votes. They're smart, they've heard, they heard, they're fans of the show, and that's why they will not give you a vote, absolutely not. How much should that figure in two? As a voter, It's like, can we give this guy three MVPs or should that not figure in at all? I'll be honest with you. That's the part that bothers me the most. And the reason is is you know, what has happened in the past or what has not happened in the

past shouldn't impact this. It's kind of the same conversation that we were having, was it six It's crazy to think seven years ago now when Steph was just about to win his unanimous MVP and people were like, well, Jordan never won a unitimous MVP and Kim never and it's like, yeah, well all those things may be true, but that has nothing to do with how Steph played

in that individual year. I get it, you know, on the yokis naing if people want to say, well, last year, you know, or whenever it was when they were like a five seed or whatever, you know, he shouldn't have gotten at the end. And you know, if you want to have that debate, that's fine, but I don't think it's fair to Yok if that is the reason why you're not going to give it to him. I'm not saying, you know that he's the you know, he's a clear

cut guy and you have to vote for him. But if that is your reasoning that that just seems unfair to I think it's fine to not give it to him for any number of reasons. Yeah, I agree, Yeah, I think you make a lot of sense. All right, Yeah Jove already just gave a long thought out answer, But you're just saying that. I seem to connect with what you're saying. Or for some reason, I think his

performance against MBIAD when MBA dominated him. I think this compilation of people scoring like he's not there and in fact seeming to design their offense to attack him. Um that I have sent to the league office every day for the past three days. Um, I don't know. I think it's all fine. I think the MVP Award is

like a sports right is like narrative award. And everyone's like when we're talking about this with our grandkids from like years from now, and I'm like, I won't I won't be that's with my grand grandly you're showing your grandkids your old timeline, like your archived timeline. Like look, he I was on the right side of history with this. Yeah. I have a tweet subwhere after we drafted jalil Oka four or I was like, we're so big. It was factual jelil Ok, we're so big. Yeah. And then and

Bead was a draft pick around there. They were just we had all three. We were big. Yeah. We anticipated the really anticipate in the future of the league. There light years light years a hit. What we need is a center who can score with his back to the basket. We need Neurland's Noel at the three, we need jalil Oka four at the four, Dwell at the five, and we'll have Dario Sarich at the two. Ten Croatian you can't move, and then whoever and Michael Carter Williams at

the one you know yeah, also can't move. Yeah. I think if we had kept that team together, we would have won two three titles all right. In terms of playoff matchups, Jabar was asking me, do I have a preferred matchup? My only like, I feel good about anyone except the Celtics. Like even like if we could get the Bucks in the second round, I would feel better about that than I would getting the Celtics in the

second round. I just don't they the Sixers don't match up well with the Celtics, but it's they will lose a seven game series. Everyone else, I feel like the Sixers have a chance. Personally, I completely agree with you and the Celtics not even matchup wise, which is also why we would lose with points how they count points? Right, just mentally, any nationally televised game that the Sixers are the Celtics, I will not go near because there's just

no right, there's no parts. Yeah, I know, I'm on no parts of it, so yeah, hopefully, I mean, I don't think the seeding is going to work out this way, Like there's no way they'll get knocked out. We because right now we would face the Bucks right in the second round. Is that we place the face the Celtics in the second round Jesus yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you would have to drop to the four seed. Be careful

trying to get cute exactly. I don't like And probably the Bucks would also beat the Sixers, but I just the Celtics. I have no hope personally out West. The matchups are interesting currently. It would be the Kings hosting the Clippers and the three six give which, um, give that to me hungry and a little bit a little bit of both. Remember I'm horngry for that matchup, okay, and then Sons of Warriors in the first round. Is that one too bonkers? Yeah? I feel like Kings Clippers.

A lot of the talking heads, not the most important talking heads like us on this show, the ones, you know, we're the ones that everybody pays attention to them, will sway the Vegas line once they hear our take on this. But uh like, I feel like a lot of the ESPN talking heads will have the Clippers in that series, just because you know, the playoffs typically go half court and determined by defense, and the Kings are one of the worst defenses in the league. But jabbar, you're you're

saying you'd go Kings on that. Yeah, I would go Kings there. And you know this isn't I promise you this is not in you know, Lakers Clipper stuff. This is this is actual analysis, not fans crisis. For this one moment, you were saying you would go Kings because they're a real franchise because I think that helps stadium clearly, yea, their own city, their own stadium. But no, look, I I recognize, you know, you're kind of to the point that you're making a lot of people are gonna say, well,

the Kings haven't been there before, right, you know. And and while yeah, you know, experience does factor in, you know, of course I look at the Clippers and say, well, neither have they you know, like yes they yes they have Kauhi. But I mean like as a group, as a group, it's not like they've done you know, like

all of this winning together. And from the King's side of things, I hear you in terms of whomever they match up against, that team's gonna score a lot of points because teams play with pace, they get up down

the court. Uh, they like to push the ball. But I look at this King's team as I honestly think they're gonna hurt somebody's feelings in that first round, specifically because they can attack you from all over the court, whether it's you know, you know, anchoring Domas in the block and letting him go to work, having him up at the high post, and you know kind of operating and and moving, you know, moving the ball around that way. Obviously, you know, Darren Fox has taken his game to another

level this year. They've got all types of other pieces. It's you know, the thing that makes them so dangerous is basically they can get you in the fasken you're like, you're like in the uptempo game, but they can also like attack you in the half court set. Like you know, for example, Darren Fox is mister fourth quarter this year.

There have been other guys that have done well, but when you know, when the games get down to it and it gets close, he's already worn you down to the point where more often than that the Kings have pulled it out. So I say all of that to say, if they lose, we're gonna scratch this from the record and this never you know, this never happened, this conversation

never existed. But if they win, I will absolutely be the guy that says, hey, look pat myself on the back, because I told you that's interesting that they also are calling him mister fourth quarter, because I'm more familiar with that nickname for myself, but I've heard that with you predominantly. So yeah, yeah, I think it's one of those Superman situations where like Shack was Superman and then Dwight Howard was Superman, where you're the shock in this case obviously.

So of course, of course I hear what you're saying. All right, it's all right, all right, I just on that, all right, that's funny. Yeah, I really really really like this King's team. I've always loved Daron Fox. I think he had a year or two down and I remember they were on the radar for possible Ben Simmons landing spots.

I was Haliburton with them at I Forget and it was either Fox or Haliburton, and I even I mean, I don't know how well this is going to age, but I just really have loved Darren Fox so much, and Sabonus is of who knew that he would be able to put up numbers kind of similar to his dad's. Like his game. Obviously it's not as behind the iron curtains rest, but it is like an americanized Arvidus Sabonis's game. And I was just looking at the team in my mind.

Malik Monk is thirty eight years old, he's twenty five, and he's another guy who I got. I thought it was gonna be so good. Kentucky connection and yeah, yeah, the Kentucky connection exactly. And he's he's kind of had a rebound year also, but not because of Malik Monk. Do I think this team can go a little bit in the playoffs, But I do think that they're that they're a little bit flying under the radar for how

good they are. Blake did tell me that he was going to use rebound figuratively at some point, because this is a basketball podcast, so swish on that one could work. Yes, thank you for the assist. Let's take a quick break, And that wasn't assist. I did help that by pointing it out after the fact. That's right, let's take a

quick break. We'll be right back to talk about some great performances from the week and we're back, and I didn't want to only talk about the nickname controversy having to do with mister fourth quarter changing hands a little too soon maybe for some people's tastes, but um so, Jabar, you pointed out that Donovan Mitchell has scored forty or more five times over the last month. Last week joined Lebron James is the only player in franchise history score forty or more in a game nine times in the

same season. But you called him Spider, and I just this is a nickname that I've been having problems with since I started hearing it. You looked up Jabari how he got it, and it was because he had during college, you know, incredibly long arms and was able to steal

the ball from all these different positions. And I think every time you go to a new level in your game, at least this was true for me, you know, like, because everybody in the NBA has such long arms, he doesn't stand out as having long arms, and so it's just it's not working. I think we need to come up with a better nickname for Donnie, which also not

a great nickname. Let me ask this had KD accepted Durantula, would you would you have Okay, that's what I'm saying, So I bet you wouldn't have as much of a problem with it because the real Durantula or you know, spider like individuals, it's still it's still Katie. But also Slim Reaper also was a fantastic one that he said no to. He said he wanted the servant and that's neither here nor there. M M night. They've not show that Durantula is an incredible nickname, bit Slim Reaper is

somehow an even better nickname. It's just an embarrassment of Ridges and too. I was trying to think of a team with more than one Rich on it and to say they were also an embarrassed Ridges, but I couldn't couldn't cut Rich. Buker was the only and I think his name's Rick, So yeah, David work. But I was thinking about how in terms of oh, this guy was obviously a spider in college, like you just said, Jack,

that worked there. But now when you get to the NBA, it's kind of standard across you know, like massive wingspans where it would be like if when I was a kid, we would haul my best friend Jeff's dad pool Shack when we would play pool basketball with him. But then it would be like if we brought him to an actual basketball court, not playing with children and called him Pulshack. Also, yeah, we're very, very strange. Yeah, shout out, shout out to pull Shack of us to ever do it. Thank you.

Like I love a dad who like just uses his physical size to dominate the pool basketball game and agree that just like, just pull up, take the shot. I don't care. I gotta get away from it, all right. Some highlights from this week. Clay Thompson, We love a

good Clay game. Clay locked in Clay eighteen in the first quarter, just that quick trigger release, thirty three at the half, wound up with thirty eight because Jabari texted us all almost like Clay's gotta going, and so we all come on TV and immediately he was like, oh we do. We don't need to do this tonight. It's

not game six yet. Um. Warriors rounding into shape. Like I think a lot of people suspected they might heading towards the postseason, but they seem to be the team that is getting the hottest at the right time, right now they're so scary, like they're always just so scary. It's a team that you can't ever that's they're the one team where their seed doesn't matter and the playoffs

as long as they're you know, they get passed. I don't think they'd be in the play in game right or are they in the play in tournament right now? Where are they thirty six and thirty three? But um, yeah, right now they are in Okay? Cool that. Yeah, it's just a team you have to be afraid of, no

matter what. The Suns you know, obviously wouldn't want to see Golden State in the playoffs also, so yeah, Also shout out to Dante di Vincenzo, the Big Ragou, one of the one of the finest players to ever come out of Delaware. For my money, yeah, I love it, and you do have a lot of money on that. I have so much money related to that statement because it's tax free. Gee. Uh so just really quickly on

the Warriors. Look, I've been I try it all year to can you convince myself no, No, someone else is coming out someone else Denver or we at one point we were hiding the Pelicans. At one point we were hid in the Grizzlies, the Warriors, or the team out of the West where you know, even though my heart might not be in it, I don't have to squint, you know, you know, very hard for them to make it, you know what I mean, Like departure there, they've been

there before, they've done it. If Andrew Wiggins is there, and you know, they can apply some pressure on something on some of the scores that they would conceivably match up against, I have no reason to count them out. So shout out to last week's guests that claimed that they were absolutely going to come out of the West or no, we're going to represent the West at the Western Conference Finals. Yeah, Western Conference Finals. Because the longer

we go, the more that feels probably accurate. I still think it's gonna be the Nuggets coming out of the West. Take the team that's first, but they have been struggling. Um. It does feel like for the past couple of weeks, every time I say I like a team or I'm impressed by how well a team is doing, they then proceed to lose multiple games before the episode comes out that did happen? And Nuggets, Yeah, yeah, so glad that

we're doing a six or episode this time. Yeah, Sabonis first Jannis was super fun matchup Bucks and Kings, and it feels like this is one of those games where the Bucks are just like, yeah, but we're still the best team in the league, right, like everybody knows that, right, Oh you don't, Okay, I'm going to prove it to you. And Jannie looked unstoppable, as he does every time he's playing someone who's not Joel EMBIID forty six and twelve.

He still has that gear where like, you know, like I said, when he puts his head down and just goes, there is nothing that you can do if your name isn't Joel Embead. Yes, and he definitely shielled that in that game. That matchup was a lot of fun all throughout. You know, Sa Bonus almost had a triple double at half time and then Yannie just came out and saying, no, that'll be enough. Yeah, it is different in the playoffs as great as Joe because and be looked amazing in

the fourth quarter against Yannis. You can't and not that you were saying that you could, but to have himbied on him the entire game because obviously, yeah, you can't do it either. That's why you pay PJ. Tucker all that money. That's good to have, because it is good. He's spent five of his paychecks on the greatest sneaker collection of all time. I do have to give that up for him. I do wonder when at his because

I remember even wearing Jordan ones. Now, if I'm walking around my feet without an insert in them, beat are killing me. And he wears these shoes that don't have He plays basketball at the highest level in non tea doctor. Yeah, antiques are right, there's the lost flying off his feet. No, he is Uh, He's been a treat to have on the team. Doesn't score, but I think in the playoffs will be a valuable valuable asset for the Sixers. And the Knicks got right against your Lakers, Jabariat, you watched

the game, What was it like rooting against them? Would you notice about the Knicks? And the Knicks are tough man like. I know that there's always going to be people that doubt Julius Randall, and Julius will give you reasons too at times. But he you know, this is one of those bounced back years. I think we discussed it last week on the show. Uh, he was great in that first half. The Lakers were slow to adjust and you know then when they decided, oh, you know,

we do have an Anthony Davis. You know, he was able to slow him down in the second half. But by that point R. J. Barrett got to go in and they just they just outlasted the Lakers in a game we're quite frankly the Lakers absolutely needed. So it's a little bit embarrassing. But you know, good on them, Good on the Knicks. Yeah, and where where are we at and the standings Lakers are in the play? Okay, back in the nine. Back in the nine, baby, that's

where you want to be. Every loss is going to be like, okay, they're out, and then if you know, when they win, okay, you know they're in. It truly is and you know what our listener of the week, you know, he kind of alluded to this. It truly is going to be a matter of who's healthy at the end, like who has who has enough of their guys left at the end for the you know, bottom half of the West bracket. What am I watching the

hokey pokey here? Yeah, you put your whole team in, ye put your whole team out out, put your whole team and shake the trade deadline. They did shake things all all, chook things up. All right, let's do our broadcast call of the week from Mike Breen. We've got a little bit of a streak of a Mike Breen appreciation Society happening with Mike Breen banging his way across

the league with this shot from Steph Perry. To tie things up with a backscreen by Thompson on Green Curry a three quinter Steph Curry from Downtown Again, We're tied with fifteen seconds from me and then Billy Mack on the Lakers broadcast on a D doing it on both ends. This is an awesome highlight and got me excited banging on both ends on that one as well. Be on the yard Stock fuck By gave us good play by a D Now he's one of the floor Diaglo Russell now finds a D there he is TI fuck your

one end, throw it down at the other. All right, let's take a quick break when we come back. Blake, you know you have a show called Blake's Takes for god sakes, and we're about to get your takes fast and furious in the fastest segment and podcasting the rapid Fire segment of Miles and Jacot Matt Boosts. So we're gonna give you fifteen minutes to stretch out, get a nice like pre work out in, and then we'll be back to make you work sir. We'll be right back,

and we're back. Jabari told me during the break that he's disappointed at me for not making a fast and furious family reference at the end there, because I did say that the segment is fast and furious. Anyways, that digression right there is exactly as fast and quick paste as this segment is. It's the rapid fire segment of Miles and jack I'm mad Boosties. It's good that we have like such a just concise way of introducing it

that it conveys how fast it's going to be. I still don't understand the whole speed situation that's going on here. I relate to the fury, yeah, but I'm going to go more into the fastness and the quickness. If you had a hat on your your head, it would be spinning around right now in the air. Does that put

things in perspective for you? Well, thanks for telegraphing my closer when I do stand up, well you can you can always switch to the arrow through the head, you know, yeah, I guess yeah, but you know how lititious Steve and his team is. Yeah, that has turning all about. What is this the hooky pokey? That's another one for you, free one if you want to, if you want to use that in your stand up set. A lot of

hoky pokey references. Somebody told me they didn't even know what like, I guess not everybody grew up with a hookie pokey. Um. Yeah, the younger, younger audience is gonna say, I don't know what they're I don't know what you're talking about, sarah. Um. Anyways, well we should tell them to get up off their butts and get jobs. Right, you go, buy, yes, invest All right? Should we start the clock? Alright? Alright? Catch phrase? There there it is.

There's the catch phrase. It is all ours and nobody original? Jabar, Do you want to start? You want me to start? Why don't you start this time? Okay? Sounds good. Blake. You can take any former six or impair him with Joel embiid. Which former six or would you like to see play with Joel Embiid. Todd mccolla, Next question, Todd McCullough, next question. That is fantastic, And we're not going Barkley, We're not going doctor Jay. I might go with Jimmy Butler,

actually if only that was wow him. If I think that might be the best answer, I know, the most confident of the people that we could put with him heading into the playoffs, it might. I think it might have to because here's the thing. As cool as it would be to see Allen iverson with Joel, that's obviously not an option, right, Yeah, not enough shots to go around mo cheeks problems. To be completely honest, if I'm if I'm talking about that for a long time, Yeah,

I can't. It's destroyed relationships from and romantic Um. Yeah, no, I think it might be all I did say Butler to be a little a little shyster there, but I think it is. It might actually be Jimmy Butler. I kind of like that answer. Yeah, Now, Blake, we didn't fully explain what the situation is here. It's it's really incumbent upon you to keep us on pace. We are going to keep us going, all right, I'll name more Eric snow. I think he could really blossom with Joel embiid.

I think Matt to whole vibe. What did I did I tell you this is a bad idea? Thomas? Yeah, Tim Thomas wouldn't honestly, probably wouldn't be that bad of a one because he's you know, dangerous from three Who else would I? Oh, doctor, I told you it would be very cool jumping a little bit clogging in the way. Oh yeah, if you don't mind. Okay. So, if you were watching poetic about Jaylen earlier in the show and we're going to continue our blood feud with him, is

Jalen Rose his hair too good to be true? And I asked that as a follically challenged man, I'm losing my hair at a rapid rate. A lot of it it comes from watching this team over years. I believe Jalen Rose had a quote that if you're not spending one hundred dollars on your haircut or it wasn't a hundred was the number at least undred, excuse me. His hair is a distraction and it really is too good.

I agree, and I do believe what they're trying to do at ESPN with Get Up trying to modernize and you know, really bring the Disney Walt Disney Company into the twenty century. I think that his hair, none of these things can happen while he's giving that level of detail and attention to his hair. So yeah, I think that you're going to see Bob Iger step aside again because of the until this hair situation rectifies itself. So yeah,

it's it's too good to be true, for sure. I am truly distracted every time he's on camera how great his hair is. You were saying, you you read Jalen Rosa's biography, autobiography, I told you that inconfidence. I told you that in confidence. If he released um, all right, Blake, try and try and say on track. I know that's an impossibility, but let's just yeah, let's just pretend we're trying.

Could we pretend we're trying. That would be great. You can pick any player from throughout history two star opposite you in a buddy cop movie. Which player or we'll even throw coach in? Which of them are you picking? I The first player who came to mind, and this is actually going to be my answer is Rick Smits because he looks the most like a cop it's the It's mostly a casting decision more than onstream chemistry between

the two of us. I think another option could be, you know what, whatever joke I was going to make there would not have been approate appropriate. So yeah, I was going through like the bat. Actually, oh, you know who it would be would be like Bill lamb Beer because I would be the good cop obviously in that situation, and he would be the horrific cop and everyone would hate him. And I think I could rise up the ranks quicker that way, just by the juxtaposition of how

much easier I am to get along with. So I'll go with I know I said Rick Smiths at first, but I'm gonna go with the only other white player I could. They are afficial and you guys are aficial the bad boys, So I'm not mad at that. All who we are who we are very bad. Keep it going. If you could bet on any fan base to make the inn Arena challenge shots, you know, the lay up, the free throw, the three point or half court which fan base coort fan bases? Are you betting on it?

I'm so there's different ways to think of this. Here where you could go, where are the basketball hot, and where where are the players from? I would this is interesting. I actually think before they move, I might go with the New Jersey Nets, because you just have guys from Newark, you know, just in the stadium. And it's not the Nets in their current state. Yea, just bloggers, A sunch

guy's named Zander. Yeah, yeah, there are little wrists. So I might actually have to go with what is the fittest city in the NBA, and that would be Denver. I would actually go with because I believe you think of what people look like in Denver, most of them are probably working on jump shots. So I would go with the good folks in Denver for that one. Put yeah I can't yeah, like it, love it. So I have this persistent nightmare. This has nothing to do with

the show. I just want to tell you about my dream that's basically a reverse like Mike, where I suddenly switched bodies with an NBA player and but I have my skills still. Um. Yes, what would you do in that situation if you suddenly switched and you were in hardened body in the fourth quarter with your skills, I would carry myself in a way that would that would be more confident than anyone in the entire world. And also defensively, there would be no difference between it by

so I do want to say that. I would also I would insist upond inbounding the basketball, so say so the other team scores, because it really to answer this truthfully, you want to hide who you are. So yes, I would insist on inbounding the basketball. And then right after I do that, I would start tying my shoe and I'd be like, you take it, and then exasperated, keep it just I can't believe it. So and and here's

the thing too. One benefit about Harden is that the guy sometimes has not maybe hustled as much as people. So I think I could pass the barrier of reasonable doubt that oh James is just loaf in it the script where I think I would just go from top of the key to maybe top of the key, like that's going to be the entire and if I passed, it would just immediately pass it away. I think that's what I would do, all right. I like that, But I've always said that I would take an injury. Um,

but that's there's you're braver. Yeah, that's a good one. I had a dream I always have laughed at the scenario where when you have such bad self esteem as a person that in a video game, when you create yourself, you give all yourself all really really bad by ratings. You know which is gonna be. It's the whole purpose of doing it. And then I would make the popular kid that I grew up with in the game, and then she'd have amazing ratings and just beat down on that.

Anything else is just unrealistic. You know, I agree, I agree one hundred percent. Yeah, And I was like, oh, you gotta go to therapy. I was gonna say, I feel like we could spend the next thirty minutes unpacking that. But what I will say, what I will say in response is, guys, we have solved the mystery. We now know why traditionally Jim Harden has turned into a pumpkin. You know. Yeah, has been because people have been switching. It's guys like me going, yeah, that's good enough, that's

good enough. Have you had that thought while watching him? That is there a body switching? Is there a body switchero comedy happening right now? Yeah, that's why I feel good heading into the playoffs. That's all right. Last last one here for you, and this is the most important one, just so you know, uh, you know, some people get this wrong, some people get it right. Let's let's hope that you're on the right side of things. To Jack that or Jabari, Damn, Jabari gets like close to the

camera after he asks it makes a cute face. When he was coming out of Duke and was drafted so highly that Jabari I thought he was going to have his career takeoff again when he went to his hometown of Chicago. Yeah, oh, it's between you two. I'm gonna go with sometimes Jack. When I do the Daily Zeitgeist is not there and I don't know what other commitments you could have In those situations, I sometimes get paired with a guest host, which I think is disrespectful. So

I would never do that to you. Record No, and I every time by the time you've ever been on this And guess who was one for one with Jabaria is better? Yeah? Yeah, cool? So I'm going Jabari and Jack. That's that's not a knock on you, definitely not. It's a one one a situation. Yeah yeah, yeah, Well, I can't wait to have you back on Daily's like Geist. Man. Well, you know, I'm definitely going to happen. Jack, someone's gonna be pipping. Okay, you know he's got he's got six

of them things too. Yeah, any easy and easy. That's where that phrase came from. Actually it is all right, Jabari, Why don't you close the episode? Okay? Yeah, man, why don't you do it? Since you're a you know, clearly the most important part of the show. See see what you've done, See what you've done? All right, I will

be sorry. I don't know that's my crying noise. Um. We went polling this week on Twitter, and I'm going to be honest with you, some of these results don't really make sense, but you know what, they were a heck of a lot of fun. Like Brion went polling this week. There you go. Sorry. Fifty two listeners responded to the polls. Think that the Lakers are going to make a conference finals run if they into the playoffs.

All right, So this is where I'm This is where I'm not laughing at like that that being impossible, but the fact that and this is where I am with this. I love you guys, I appreciate you guys. We'll come on, man, hey, look it might be, It might be, it could happen. We'll just say that. I just we might have a sampled sampling bias because we have a podcast that is basically a Laker sixers podcast. But this is true. Six percent of you guys think the Kings win around then

lose in the second round. That is definitive. Wow, it's seriously. Seventy three percent of you guys think the Suns will make a conference finals run. Okay, this is gonna this is starting to be uh mathematically impossible. Oh no, it will. It will officially be mathematically impossible when I get to the end of this. U. Seventy percent think the Clippers went around then bow out in the second We don't really need comment there because it's probably gonna be true.

Eighty two of you guys think the MAVs barely sneak in but lose either in the plan or the first round. Okay, and here's the part where that math ain't math thin because thirty eight percent of you guys think the Nuggets will rep the Western Conference from the finals. I think all of those things are true. Yeah, yeah, true, church church, church, um, yeah, fair enough, all right, our Boosti's listener of the week was at NBA Loverboy because he said, and you know,

we kind of alluded to this earlier Mike Breen. Here we are h You know that is Mike Breen's alter ego. So yeah, shout out to you, Mike Breen. Think you were making your second appearance on the same episode. But NBA Loverboy says, there's so little separation between the Western Conference teams that is really going to come down to whoever is healthiest, And to be honest, that's probably the case.

You know, we can talk back and forth over these next couple of weeks, but that's in all likelihood that's how it's gonna shape up. Yeah, I was gonna say something mean, but I won't. I'll go for it because I was just thinking about how much I hate the take of like, well, I think if healthy the and like if it all comes down to health, because it's like, yeah,

that's obviously true. That's a piece of randomness that we bake into the conversation and don't necessarily get anything out of being Like I think, if Jannis gets hurt, the Bucks are in trouble. But yes, this is not that NBA Loverboy, I don't know why MBA mean to you. I think I just we don't put a microphone in front of Kyrie Irving's face until the end of the year. I think they might be able to pick up a

win in the plane for it. Fair enough, But for the listeners out there, make sure you give us a follow on Twitter at mad Boostise Blake, thank you so much for joining us today aside from catching you in stand up where can the folks followe course, thank you for having me. This was so much fun. And then false pleasure is all mine and give me that pleasure. Sorry, that was just took. I took my microphone. But yeah, no at Blake Wexler on all social media, Blake sakes.

For God's sakes, I've recently come into possession of a Twitter account. No, I'm in a think dot account, which also is not true. But yeah, I'm on TikTok as well, and uh that's very anyway before the government takes it away from me. You can check me out on there and yeah, and if you just look up Blake Wexler wherever you listen to music, all my stand up albums that aren't in the middle of a lawsuit will come up. So you can listen to those and yeah, but serious,

I could not have enjoyed this more. Jabara, You're awesome. Jack. I've always adored you, so thank you so much for having me. Thank you you guys. You guys heard it. He'd say that was awesome. Man, I'm just gonna take that. I'm gonna take that and run with it. Jabbar, you are awesome. I'm standing here in front of God and everyone telling you you're awesome. And on that note, it has been another fantastic episode of Miles and Jack got mad.

I'm in a weird place. So while we unpacked all of this, your teeth are bleeding, not your gums, your actual teeth, out of your teeth. It's been a lot of clenching happening, you know, the six or seasons really and then you picking me at the end that that was just the straw, that was it, and I'd just fall apart. It's over now. One of my eyebrows just fell off my face. He's got clump head right now, all right back next week. Bye bye. The murtherer is the murcher, the courser