MJGMB # 80: Boldest Predictions with Matt Lieb

Well, everybody, the NBA season is officially bad.

Media days and some camp starting.

And we're talking bold listener predictions plus a CBS Hot County under twenty five list that we're gonna maybe just make our own picks from there, The latest rumors heading into camp and more with comedian and legendary hid pastor Matt Leaves on today's episode.

Oh, Miles, Greg, and I'm Jack O'Brien and this is ept to Tom Waits was armstrong And this is.

Davis driving Spinty.

Curry a three pointer stop Curry from the town again.

Honest, okay shot, Uh well it come, well, it come, well, it come and well it chi well at chi well.

Achie if but is it Matt Leeb, comedian writer now that the strike is over, hopefully writing again.

Podcaster, Well, yes, yes, go about him later, Jack, Do you do you.

Want to ask him the question we used to start off the podcast.

Uh, Matt Leeb, comedian writer, podcaster not bigger, We have to ask do you like the NBA?

No?

I love it?

What's some music.

Over that or something?

Man Or said joke, Yeah, has killed my five and seven year old for like a year straight. Now they still they still love the I don't like it.

I love it. I still remember when I first saw Ralph Macchio use that and waday kid.

But yes, to answer your question, I I do love the NBA.

If I'm being completely honest with you, From about nineteen ninety six to I would say around twenty twelve was me at the height of my NBA love. And then over the course of the last like however many years, eleven years, I've started watching it less and less. But I have for the last you know, a few years, been tuning in again to my Lakers once I once I got over the whole you know, Lebron James joining the Los Angeles Lakers.

You know, are you Lebron hater? Big time original Hayter Wow, hated him from the beginning.

Wow, since the Saint Vincent Saint Mary days.

I remember that, that's right. Yeah.

I used to just planted outside the high school saying.

Oooo, they're like, this guy's younger.

He wasn't even playing basketball, he was just in math class.

Yeah, I see you.

Yeah, Well you're a you're you're a Lakers fan.

Lakers fan, that's right.

From ninety six to twenty twelve, you were Lakers and then you kind of were like, okay, yeah.

Well so I think what had happened. So first nineteen ninety six, why was I Lakers fan? Simply because Jack showed up? And it was like at the time where there were two players that everyone was like, these are the best players. It was Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neil. Everyone was like, these are the two guys. It's you know, it's Rebok first is you know ninety At least as a kid, that's what I thought.

I thought.

It was like, there's two people who are great.

There's two people who have silhouette logos of them doing something cool with a basketball.

And one of them raps, yeah, are you gonna and.

One of them is a gene.

So as soon as we got Shaquille O'Neal, I decided to stop, you know, being because as a kid, you're a Bulls fan in the nineties. If you were a kid in the nineties, you were a Bulls fan unless your parents like really instilled like home team love for you for whatever, and my parents were not huge sports people. But yeah, as soon as we got Check, I was like, okay,

I think it was.

It went to overtime and run our test hit that you know, that shot, and it was just beautiful and there was something about it where I felt like this journey, you know, I'd gone through this journey with the Lakers, and I felt like such a beautiful bookend and like here I go. Yeah, and I kept watching, but just I got less and less inter rested, and uh and yeah. So so I'm really glad to be on this basketball podcast. We are going to be talking about like two thousand and three Lakers.

Yes, yeah, yeah.

Only I got some thoughts about Chris Webber. First of all, let's all like him, all right, John Weather. I don't think Sacramento Kings are any good.

I think a j and Benga needed more love. Yeah, the thing about.

Him and you know on that page of Soyakovich, he's all right, he can stay.

I mean so yeah, right now, it's still it's very light. You know, we're waiting for news to emerge. I think all we're right right now. The biggest thing that everyone's holding their breath over is like, where does Damian Lillard end up?

Right right now?

The most alarming rumor is that the Celtics might be putting together a package that's good enough for him to go that way to break my little Laker heart. Yeah, but yeah, I mean there's there's so many things flying around. It's like one minute's like, yeah, he's going, He's not, He's not.

Who knows? It's this team.

It's Charlotte, Raptors, Heat and Celtics seem to be the three leading candidates.

Yeah, and there are two of those that I'd be okay with. Yeah, wasn't There also.

Like some some rumor that Phoenix might get involved and try and pull him in in exchange for Eton.

Is that am I making that?

Well?

Yeah?

Well, if you look at like Portland would get Ayton, this is like if Phoenix got involved they would get Nurkic, Robert Williams, Peyton Pritchard and Luke Cornett.

It would be that's what that's what that would be like wild if they just went all offense.

The Suns were just like, yeah, you've got Dame Beale book and Katie like, and that's just where we're just going to try and outscore you straight up.

Yeah.

Yeah, the sense of my youth where they were all just running and gunning, that's all they did. It will put up you know, one hundred and twenty points, but they would lose.

Yeah, right, yeah, ultimately they would. It's wonderful to what good to a point? Good to a point? Yeah? I mean what else?

Speaking of kind of Laker adjacent things, Dwight Howard apparently was working out with the Warriors, but they decided to pass on that one.

They're passing on Twine. Yeah, I don't know, just give it a few more years. I think he's the next check.

He might have something. He might have that.

And then he had this like very interesting tweet where he just said, only as a warrior can one withstand the path of knowledge.

A warrior cannot change or.

Cannot complain or regret anything his life is an endless challenge, and challenges cannot possibly be good or bad.

Challenges are simply challenges. And the Warriors were like, actually, you know what.

Really cool that Carlos castan YadA quote We're back.

Yeah, We're back, sir. We didn't realize you were so well read. Yeah, it's a great quote. It's a great I.

Mean, it's it's you.

What if he had, like really just wanted to be on the jazz and wrote the exact same thing.

A jazz, But it's a jazz only as a jazz can one wistand the path of nuts, a jazz cannot complain regret.

I have the jazz spirit in my heart.

Yeah, he loves Oh my gosh, he was was he on? Oh Yeah?

Did you see him on Never Have I Ever?

On Netflix?

He actually had a pretty decent comedic performance in that.

I love when basketball players can be funny.

Yeah, Like he has a cameo in the in a gym scene and like the guy's a Clippers fan that he's talking to and he kind of like gives him a little ribbing, but it's I was he got chopped.

He has some chops.

Not gonna lie.

That's the thing though, I always like, you know, I always hope that that is going to translate into like actual basketball greatness, but it doesn't always. Like for me, I was always like Blake Griffin guy, and because I would watch him and stuff, and I'd be like, he's funny, He's so funny. I would be I feel like I would be friends with Blake Griffin, right yeah, and then h but then, you know, nothing really.

Doesn't translate apparently. No, that was like, yeah, like Anthony Edwards, I'm like, this guy is great.

This guys guys acting's fantastic.

Yeah, yeah, it does that turn the rings? I don't know.

I can see like I was just watching Moneyball fairly recently and like the scenes with like the old school scouts being like, he's a five tool athlete, he's got he's got the look, he looks great.

You know.

I could see like school NBA scouts being like he's funny, but is he too funny?

You know? To the funniness doesn't always work out? You know what happens these guys.

Yeah, if they're performing too much, they're not focused on the game.

Yeah, that's real.

Another thing another thing that was a fun update.

We you know in the early during the season.

We like to bring up poor business decisions, as we call it when someone tries to contest to dunk and realizes, sir, you've just won the contest to end up on a post.

Yeah.

Last year we gave one of the one of our favorite poor business decisions to Landry Shammitt, as Aaron Gordon quite literally now immortalized him in the form of a like a necklace pendant.

Yes, it's criminals, criminal this was a Christmas game.

Yeah maybe, yeah, that's crazy. It's well, I guess you got that goal and it's.

Not on Christmas, man, That's what he said to him.

It is.

It is one of the bravest charges I've ever seen somebody take. He totally gives up his body to the dunk and then it is what one of the most gruesome things I've ever seen.

But it is funny because like it's it's no one remembers that it was a charge. No, They're just like, no, that's the thing, that is the charge that time, oh right right, right, right right right. Oh oh, so it was actually called a charge of them and.

Then they look back and they were like, sorry, man, that was too sick. You we got to give it to him. We need this highlight for like posterity for our grandchild.

Yeah, it's really it's the risk that you take every time you're just like, you know, defensively, my team needs this, but also I could be immortalized, as you know, just get completely posterized.

It's a really nice piece. So he made so Aaron Gordon made a chain out of like there's like tone.

Jewels on it, like it's it's like a drawing of it and then just like diamonds. It's it's like a Jesus piece. But of the moment with Landry Shammitt, Uh just falling backwards as Baron Gordon rises over him, but he is holding the championship trophy in his hand what looks like a microphone.

Yeah, it does look like a big microphone.

Like he's trying to let God have the last word on Yeah, care to comment.

Man sending him on up.

It's it's a strong it's a strong decision. It would be it would also be a nice piece of jewelry without Landry Shammit underneath. But the Landry Shammitt is absolutely necessary for it's.

The whole point. Yeah, it's wild.

Yeah, when You're like, actually, bro, I'm taking your You're part of this, just so you know you are inextricably tied to this part of history.

Yeah.

Yeah, you know, like the two guys next to Jesus on the cross were also being crusal.

Yeah.

You never see a Jesus piece with Ponchos pilot on right, Yeah why not? Why not the main antagonal? But yeah, and then uh, just some just in some fun news about wild growth spurts. Apparently our forward the Lakers Vanderbilt, Jared Vanderbilt. Uh, he basically was seemed to confirm that he grew about two inches.

This, I don't know that he confirmed it, he said it. And then the street last thing.

He said that he plays at the people streets. This rumor is being spread.

Yeah, it's it's definitely interesting, Like he started his high school career very short, like in the low fives, and then had like two massive growth spurts.

This is all courtesy.

There was like a Reddit thread that then got turned into a YouTube video that is basically him working out with Rui, And it's like Ruey's supposed to be six ' ten and Jared Vanderbilt appears to have an inch on him all of of a sudden. Jared Vanderbilt has been listed at six ' nine or six eight.

Up to this point. Yeah, and I don't know I could see it. He he says it jokingly.

Maybe Rui's been, you know, overshooting his height a little bit, but it didn't.

Yeah, it has been done before, it has.

Like I was trying to remember if there had been I know that there have been rumors that like, yeah, I grew three inches over the summer about NBA players, but I couldn't find. Like, all I could find is like, you know, this article craziest gross Spurts in NBA History, and it's all gross spurts that happened like in high school or college. Right, nobody grows during their NBA career.

It would appear, yeah, at twenty four years old or whatever. Yeah, it's like getting an extra two inches. Although I have seen there's like this surgery now that people are getting two inches long game. Yeah, the elongating their you know, their shins.

Yeah, yeah, so it looks very painful.

Yeah, it's that's painful and probably not good for you know, if you're in a job that makes you run and jump.

No, no, yeah, I don't know if that's testing the structural integrity of the sure. Sure, But at the same time, you know, exactly now you can wear sandals and feel secure about your height exactly.

Timberland's to the beach all the time, Like.

Right, That's why I always wear shoes because I say I'm six ft six, but really I'm like six foot five and a quarter and a quarter of a quarter, yeah, and which is basically six foot five and a half, which rounded up is six foot six. But if I wear shoes, then I'm six ft six just so yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, So I just don't take.

My shoes off, and then the lie isn't a lie anymore.

And your secret's safe here.

Yeah, no, listen to this one right.

There. So there's there is.

One of the of the wildest like mid career growth spurts.

Yeah.

I think the one that Jack you pulled up was CJ McCullum.

Yeah, there is a picture in this article of c J. McCollum.

I think mainly it's just a wild visual because it is him. Yeah, we will wake off to the image in the in the show notes that's it appears.

To be real.

It is him as a high school freshman before he grew fourteen inches.

He is five foot two.

It's like at least like a baby.

He truly.

Looks eight years old. And he's on the court with because he's so good at basketball. He is on the court with a bunch of white guys who just shaped their like mustaches and uh look yeah, look like they could be in their mid twenties.

You know.

Yeah, right, that is wild. That's a real picture.

That is a real, real pair of CJ.

McColl That is one of them photoshops. You put your baby's face on that.

I mean all right, dude, that was like one of the that's like the kind of gross spurt you you like prayed for, yeah as a teenager because you heard tell of these kinds that they was like, you know, someone so up the street he were six inches this summer.

And you're like, what's going on? Yeah? Man, to go from five to two to what is that? Like? Let me do some quick SMATs six four? Yeah, he he went from five to two to six four. Yeah.

Between his freshman year high school. I went from five to two to six four.

Yeah, did you?

I mean sure over time at some point, Yeah, that happened. I was definitely five to two, probably my freshman year. I don't know how tall I was freshman year, were you?

Uh yeah, I mean I wasn't that late of a bloomer. It wasn't like it wasn't that you.

Know, right, You weren't known as like the shortest guy in town.

No.

No, I was.

The size of a baby and then grew up to the size of a giant. But uh no, Yeah, I remember it was like, uh, summer between tenth and eleventh grade, that's when I had my big one.

Yeah.

I came back school the next here, and I was just like I was still a nerd, but I was like a really tall man.

Yeah.

So people didn't know what to make of that.

Yeah, they're like, do I tease? Yeah, he's way taller, hard to give.

Him a swirl. The lockers aren't big enough to stuff.

He's going to have to cooperate with this one.

Yeah, let's just let's just leave him alone.

Yeah.

I think the remarkable thing about this is that he is on the court is really like at five foot two with zero muscle on his body. He's on the court with full grown men and they in a packed arena, so they're clearly like doing well enough that they're like, you know, a.

Watch, yeah, and everybody except.

Him looks completely exhausted, just like running circles around them. And then he grew to be six foot four. So this is what makes you a very good player in the NBA, is you know, being awesome at five foot too.

You were talking earlier about you know, growth spurts that you wished you had. I did the same thing as I prayed, you know, and I would at night. I would just stretch my legs to try to get taller.

Oh, just like extend them as far as you could I could, and just.

Like point my toe and then try to use my heel to like, you know, just stretch to come on, come on, long story short, it.

Worked, So that's what you should have done.

That does seem like a thing like I didn't. I never prayed or like asked for it officially.

I was just like, man, it would be nice if I was six foot six, I'd be better at basketball.

But I never asked for it.

And it feels like all you have to do is ask, Like you imagine how much CJ. McCollum was asking to be fourteen inches taller.

Oh yeaheah. And now look at you.

I heard he went to a like a fortune telling machine and Coney Island.

And he came sick.

He said, I want to be a six foot four shoe. Didn't guard in the NBA, He just said I want to be big. And then the next morning turns into Tom Hanks and is wanted for kidnapping himself.

He's like, why is my Why is everyone calling me?

Josh?

Now?

Why did my mom arrest me? It's me. I'm just Tom Hanks. Now that's right. All right, let's take a quick break and we'll come back, and we're back. We're back. We did we did skip.

David Robinson is Yeah, he went from five foot nine between his his junior year of high school, he is five foot nine. His senior year of high school he enters at six foot seven.

Oh my god, at seven.

One right, yeah, so senior year too, what like when did he finish growing in the navy?

Yeah?

Okay, so he was six more inches Navy so much that at one point probably someone saw it happen. You know, I was just standing there, he's talking. You know, it's just like, oh man, you know the food here in this boat is.

You're doing your like Navy.

It's okay, David just grew another.

Two and he's like military physical.

The doctors like stand here, all right, let me put the little thing on your head.

Stand still. It's like, hold on, hey, don't get on your toes. Wait, what the heck?

Who has a slide with you?

Yeah?

In the picture where he's five foot two, his legs look really long, and we were saying that we think this picture was taken like as like as a gross burt was happening. His legs grew first, and like like this is two seconds after his legs grew two inches and one second before his torso grew two inches.

Minu Ginobli also grew thirteen Yeah.

Some wild stuff.

Dennis Rodman is the one that a lot of people talk about because he grew super late in life and like wasn't really like on a basketball court.

He just like came back.

He was five foot nine and then went to six foot seven and like everyone almost like, who's this six foot seven person We've literally never seen on a basketball court before.

Yeah, and became he's like I haven't seen a year and one of the greats. Yeah.

Shall we take a look at this list of the top twenty players under twenty five?

Yeah, I do. Any thoughts on this, Jack, I want, I want to talk about it.

I do, just want to get it out of the way up top, because Celtics fans are going to have where's the disrespect of leaving Jason Tatum off this list?

Yep?

Oh, I thought it would be just besides Jason Tates right.

Well, actually, Jason Tatum's over twenty five, but we we always joked on here that he's prepared actually nineteen years old.

Every time people are like Jason, how old is he? I think, wait, nineteen, I think he's nineteen nineteen.

Yeah, yeah, you look like a baby.

Yeah.

I'm not going to look it up and I'm not going to do the math. That's right, But he's nineteen.

He's a nineteen year old boy.

I mean they say he's twenty a man, he's twenty five.

He is twenty five. So he only doesn't because it's under twenty five instead of.

Made twenty players under, put under in there.

Yeah, that's crazy.

I was like doing it as a joke because it does seem like he's been in the league for like he was going against Lebron when he was with the Calves in the Eastern Conference finals, like multiple times. It seems seems like decades ago, but it's still twenty five, still barely doesn't qualify for this list.

But yeah, like yeah, Jasmine Wimbish just decided to pick the top twenty under twenty five. I'll just go out real quick. It's Luca Jah, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Halliburton, Zion, Jared Jackson, Junior, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Kate Cunningham, Franz Paolo from Tog, Maxie, Josh Gibby, Scottie Barnes, Jaylen Williams, not that Jaylen Williams, the other Williams, chet Holmgren, Tyler Harro and Nick Claxton. Yeah, Lucas number one, Oh you did?

Okay?

Yeah?

Sorry, Luker Luker Don Luker the joke.

What about the other guy, the joker he's over.

Twenty Yeah, yeah, yeah she is. He's so he looks so young. Any top five jack for you?

I think we were kind of we're all kind of looking at the same.

Five here, are we?

I mean, I don't know, it depends like I would put twenty players under twenty five, So we're talking about them being there already, So yeah, I guess I guess that that's a pretty good top five. Paolo, Yeah, feels like stas right.

Well, you know, look, I guess said the expectations are high, heavy lies the crown.

Right, that's wild.

The thing that I most noticed from this is that Jason Tatum is one year away from being on this list. Like, he seems to be in such a different category than everybody on this list, doesn't he Like, yeah, he seems.

Like a veteran.

These people are all like, man, the promise of these guys' career, and he's one year removed.

That is wild.

Yeah, I feel like, yeah, Luker is kind of close in terms of perception, Yeah, Luker, but it's not quite there yet since uh Man's been to the finals.

So Anthony Edwards, yeah, I can see him at three. That feels That feels about right. Luca is perennially MVP candidate, joh one of the most exciting players.

It feels like a real fall off off after those three.

Like then it gets into a category of like, yeah, you could you could make an argument for a.

Lot of guys in the four or five position.

Yeah.

For me, it's like, you you know, you list the top five, and I'm like, I've heard of them and I know and I know them. And then after a while you're just naming people are like, yeah, this could be guys. They could not be guys. Oh yeah, how could I know?

Well, we're not lying, so I mean, trust us, Just trust us, just trust us, all.

Right, I believe you.

You like Moby h you mean like the house guy? He says house music. Yeah, yeah, you can get stopped by Obi.

Yeah that's my only reference.

That is an eminem lyric.

Yeah, but yeah, I mean I guess, like, who would you because I know you were talking maybe Scoots should be on here?

Jack, who would you? I mean, if you're.

Gonna put Chet on, I would put Scoot on, Like, yeah, both their their claims to being on the list is they've looked cool in uh summer League games. So I feel like it is going to be kind of immediately good. Right, But yeah, I don't know, man, It's like you either put I feel like Wemby Yama, you either put them like all the way near the top.

Five or not on here at all?

Right right right, Well, yeah, I guess it's just that's just the expectation. I mean, I think both Paolo and Wemby kind of right there in the same same area.

Is time, Maxie, are we doing? Is that the thing that's happened is that we're calling him tie instead of Tyrese.

I mean I've seen that on the streets, on the on on the posts, but I don't know. We'll call them mad MAXI MAXI Okay, yeah, yeah, I'm good with that.

I'm good with that. Okay. Well, Also we also got to get to this.

We were asking listeners for boldest predictions, you know, in terms of talking about like what's your bold this prediction, who thinks is gonna be MVP this year, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, six man most improved, who were the surprise teams?

It was wild.

At least fifty percent of y'all said that chet was going to be the Rookie of the year, which is I mean, okay, I don't don't. I don't think that's impossible, but I was surprised how like it really got a majority of votes or you know, submissions.

For sure.

That's our demographic Boosty's listeners. You know, they're they're attracted to like people who are just like incredible athletes who can really sky, and so obviously we're gonna have some big chet fans.

Yeah, there for sure. And also knowing that, like, you know, you did you have money on the thunder?

I got money on the thunder. That's right, thunder in the Suns. Right thunder in the Suns. I did. I did? Okay, split my roulette winnings on the thunder in the Suns.

Do you want some money in roulette?

I did?

Accidentally, Oh, like, how much money did you make?

Two hundred something dollars? I think? And then you made more than two hundred I thought it was two hundred something. It was two hundred change.

And then and you put it directly on the thunder. Yeah, take it all, Take it all? Because I had just all the way.

The last highlight I had seen was chedd Holmgren looking good in a summer League game. I was like, well, these guys are going to take it all the way. I was just looking for one team that was like long odds and one team that was a favorite who might be interested.

Who's whose odds? I like, let me let me see if I can find my tickets here? See you like you lost them?

You're like, oh no, no, I thought they were I thought they were parking receipts.

Yeah, so two hundred something. I put one hundred on okay See to win it, and one hundred on these Suns to win it during summer league. A right, so all right, we shall see it. They're looking good and you get back in the streets, people are are there.

You say, to win it? Do you mean the NBA Championship? I yeah, have the best record in the.

Summer seems like it's money that I stand to win. To be honest with you, like, if I like, I think I should get all the money. If if I meant that okay See wins in the off season and then that somehow happens, I should get all the money.

Yeah, and a job in Washington.

Absolutely.

The government should be like, all right, well we have a psychic.

Yeah, weird.

He watches one Summer League highlight of Chet Holmgren and he gets the whole Dang.

He knows people put him in charge of Health and Human Services exactly.

So we should I think we should go through some of these boldest predictions, and then Matt, you should make your boldest prediction. Miles and I can chime in with a couple of ours.

Yep, So, so who do we got first?

Dad Sham Dad shamm dad on Blue Sky Blue Ski boldest prediction. Miami gets dam and wins it all. I mean that feels bold at the Yeah, it feels bold at the moment.

I just don't as as as this saga drags on the less, I'm like, oh, yeah, he's gonna be in Miami, but who knows, who knows what happens? And then to cut to he's in the Celtics uniform.

Is his MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, having mobiley, Rookie of the Year, Wemby six Man of the Year, Chris Paul most Improved, McHale Bridges surprise teams Okay see Brooklyn, Okay, yeah, some.

Nick Claxton, Ben Simmons duo right there it is.

Yeah, nobody's ever gotten poor, underestimating Ben Simmons.

No, no, no, no. Paul Garaventa, m V p PG.

Deepoy A d interesting, Rookie of the Year, Scoot six Man of the Year, Brogdam brogday coming back.

When when do we make this.

They've been just trying to trade him repeatedly. They're like, get him right, off our team out, what are you doing here? Most improved players shouldn't charp prize teams, Bulls make the playan, MAVs missed the playan.

So some of this feel like Paul was making this prediction a year ago.

Sorry, Paul, I'm just saying those are the MAVs that that surprise thing is what happened last year.

Man, Come on, yeah, yeah, we'll jump shot Bacula. I knew you were going to go for this one.

First boldest prediction Lakers missed playoffs, straight to my locker room.

That's locker room material right there from Miles and Jackie.

Don't say that out loud, super rude MVP Zion, that's bold. Yeah, come on, man, that's also a bold one. Defensive player Evan Mobley, Rookie of the Year, Chetty Chetty bang bang uh huh, six man cares and then most improved Player Nikhil uh So. I don't know, I mean, yeah, this is the Eastern surprise. Calves make the Eastern Conference finals. Western surprise. MAVs finished top four in the West regular season.

The MAVs are really a lot of variability, and truly they're divisive. I cannot blame anybody for that. I have no idea what they're going to be like this year.

Right like, because you can see it happening either way. Yeah, Like you could be like, oh, okay, they've figured it out, or oh okay, Lucas Luker's leaving, and then Cole san Dick said right now, as of right now, boldest prediction, the MAVs will not merely miss the playoffs, but absolutely sting MVP, Nicola Jokic, defensive player Jaron Jackson, Junior Rookie of the Year, Victor Wemby, I'm six Man, Benedict Mathern,

Am I had to understand that is it is a bold prediction to think that Jokic will be the MVP.

Well, I think people were just saying that they had their one boldest prediction and then the old.

Prediction and then they're allowed to get their boring predictions for everything else. Okay, yeah, but they're close to each other, so I kept having the same thing. Yeah, I was like, they we give their bold and then we go right to MVP, and I'm like, well, that's not bold cold, Yeah, you loan it bold.

Yeah, I don't know.

Those aren't the rules that we made up. Matt. What's your boldest prediction? What's the wildest thing? You know, just just put it on.

Uh?

Uh san Antonio Spurs win it all? Whoa, I love it, you know, because uh, I don't know. They still got Greg Popovich, right, yeah, Okay, so I don't know who's on the team necessarily, but I do feel like as long as you got Greg Papovich, chances are always good. And then the rest of the predictions. Okay, so MVP, uh Anthony Davis.

Wow, that's right. Most of improved, Lebron James.

Okay, most improved? Yeah, interesting, Yeah, I did not see that one.

Well, he's been really bad for a lot of years.

Yeah, this could be the season where he finally, you know, decides to play basketball.

Good, you know what I mean? Most improved in your heart.

Yeah, sixth Man of the Year Lebron James. I think that, you know, he will be on the bench, being that this is a d's team. Now, okay, let's see what else. Defensive Player of the Year Christian would Okay.

Now that one I didn't see of all the I could have seen Vanderbilt, I could have seen an argument for him, but no, Christian would going to win Defensive Player of the Year without being the most improved player, even though he's traditionally been a bad defensive player.

Is shot in the world?

No, listen, I mean bad to you. These are subjective of like your opinion, man, sports. Uh, let's see what are what are the other categories?

We got six?

Man?

You said, Rookie of the Year, Rookie the Year, Rookie of the Year.

Uh you know, chat hold Grin because he's uh, he's a guy, just I know.

Now check him out. You're gonna love this stuff.

Yeah, let's see who else is?

Uh?

Is Devin George still in the league?

Yep, yep, yep, Devin George. You could have picked Sean Elliott too.

Who's on the Spurs? Yeah? Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.

Those are all on the table.

And then who who will make the playoffs prediction?

Yeah?

Okay, the Sons won't.

The Sons won't make the playoff.

The Thunder won't. Okay, the Celtics won't. I mean he won't. Wow, wow, the Nets won't.

Uh huh.

Basically, They're all just gonna give up because like eighties, Spurs are dominant. No, that's right, Yeah, wells are going to wait. The Spurs will move to the Eastern Conference so that the finals will be Lakers versus Spurs.

I could see it all. I think I like this. I don't think we can I thought.

It was supposed to just be everything bold, So I went everything bold.

I love that. Amazing. What about you, Jack, can't? I mean, how much? What do you do after that? Am I going to go after? He just gave all of my picks? Yeah, I'm picking.

I'm picking Ruey for everything, including Rookie of the Year.

All right, wow, our boy rookie player of the Year. Yeah, I think my bold prediction is Wemby Defensive Player of the Year.

Still still feel good about that prize team being the Oklahoma City Thunder. Okay, and those the only ones I've made up my mind about, Those only ones I've made bets on.

So wait, you didn't actually you didn't pick Wemby. You you thought Wenby, right.

And that's how I know that's the one that's actually going to happen. And tried.

I literally went on the apps to try and make that a reality and couldn't figure out how to do it and then I fell asleep.

So yeah, I honestly I think the boldest prediction I think I don't I don't know why, but there's something about Damian Lillard playing on the Celtics.

I would do my head in.

Yeah, and I think I want to do my head in, but yeah, I want that. I just you know how sometimes when you're just so cynical, you're.

Like, of course, it's couldn't happen.

I kind of it's like simmering under the surface. But that would be wild, and I would just start throwing my arms, I know, because God hates me.

They always they always get they always get those players.

Yeah.

Yeah, we never get anything in LA.

Like the name Portland. He will be traded between New England and Oregon. Ah ye, little historical facts for people.

Aha, this isn't just a show full of bold most annoying person at the sports bar.

One prediction, mm hm, the Seattle SuperSonics will come back.

Yeah, wow, we need that. Yeah, is it possible. Probably by the end of this season. Yeah, by the end of the season.

By the end of the season, you should actual say the Spurs will become the Sonics.

Yeah, the Spurs are going to move to Seattle and become the Seattle Spurs.

The Sonics love that, love that, and to make room for them, they will switch the Eastern Conference for some reason.

Exactly, Well, there's a far west, it might as well there it is. All right, Well, you heard it here first, and I mean that.

We say we're not a gambling podcast, but I mean you you heard the confidence with which we made those predictions.

We're pretending to not know.

But we know, we know that, we know it's happened. Christian what don't let me down. Don't let me down.

And we're going to be right back after this quick break to put Matt Leeb through the rapid fire round of questioning right after this, and we're back.

Matt Leeb. You have entered the fourth quarter. Enter the rapid fire round of questioning, and one Matt will leave. That's right, you knew, you knew.

I'm read with that. It's very exciting for me.

That was a sick jack.

Now, first question I have before you ask the questions, are these going to be about the NBA circa two thousand and two.

Don't worry about it, don't worry about it, all right, you're just going to react, because that's the whole point of this. This is the fastest question to answer segment in podcasting history. We're going to ask you a question. Just give your answer, don't think about it, don't ruminate, just chest pass it right back, and we're gonna keep keep it moving.

If you start.

Lagging and drawing out the answers, we're gonna get upset.

I'm gonna tell you.

So.

It's actually on you to keep these answers short. Okay, okay, all right?

You ready's really mad?

An?

I get it? Yeah, you should be scary. You should be.

I've been through five computer monitors this summer, mostly because I spit all over them and they shot out. But anyway, that's neither here nor there. We're asking you the questions.

Jackie.

Ready, you want to go, Let's just let's get let's just get this thing going.

Keeps telling me it makes them so sad when we go. Who's going first? You're going first? I'll go first, all right, Matt, Matt, what's up?

If you could have any players skill set for a day, what player you take and what skill set.

Is it that you take from them?

Mark mad saying free throws.

You know, man, I didn't think there was a perfect answer, but there it was.

Okay, Okay, Well, I mean I saw him airball too in a row one time. I was like, I want to have the confidence of this guy.

Yep, you gotta go to Stanford. You got to go to Stanford for that kind of confidence.

Man.

Okay, how about this one.

You can take three former players and put them on rosters for next season. So let's say you could take three former Laker players. Okay, who are you, like, like like from yesterdyear, who are you choosing to put on this team this year?

Eldon Campbell, Nick van Axel and Eldon Campbell's brother, who was my middle.

School summer school teacher.

Wow, are you for real?

Yeah?

Yeah, he was a weirdo. Man, My brother was in the NBA. He talked exactly like that.

It was very strange, like he was like like Grey Gardens, like.

Like like he was doing more Oregon Freeman in ye, like weirder. Like people would like clown on him all the time and he would go teacha abuse, teacher abuse. It was guy, it was wild. I didn't know why he talked like that.

Uh, but I thought, oh, you know, this guy is he was like six eight, and I was like, this guy's probably really good at basketball too.

So yeah, yeah, So those are just three shout out at.

Him, shout out to all substitute teachers.

Yeah, absolutely, all right, Jalen Roses hair.

Uh Anti anti anti Yeah, take it, take it, take it off.

Oh, don't need it.

How about this, If you had to give a letter grade that would represent your excitement for the upcoming season of NBA basketball, be honest, now, what would.

You give it?

Solid?

B plus? Okay?

Yeah, I like I am.

I'm very excited to see who is playing basketball these days. Like I've heard a lot of great things about this, uh this Chet Holmgren Fellah, you heard there's a new guy named Scoot out there. Oh yeah, yeah, I'm hearing that h JaVale McGhee's still in the league.

Yeah. I mean I can neither confirm nor deny that, Okay.

I mean it's just like it's I'm very excited, but not so excited that I you know, it's a big a you know, it's like it's a B plus. I mean, you know, I'm excited enough to uh, you know, watch it at some point after the All Star break.

Okay, okay, yeah, mistakes get high.

And finally the most important question, Matt Lee, Jack or Miles, Oh, Mac.

The Giles.

That's if you guys got stuck in a sort of a rat king situation where tails got knotted together and you were stuck together.

Giles does kind of seem like a pretty interesting basketball player.

Yeah, right with Mac Giles, if there was Giles Giles. Sorry, but yeah, you know that's uh.

So you're not gonna You're really not to pick man, You're not gonna really pick.

It's a coward's answer. But I'm gonna have to go with producer Jabarie Davis because you know, he's, uh he's a good dude and honestly, I think he's one of.

The better producers out there.

Wow, a couple of things about him after the show. But cool about Matt Lee. You have survived the rapid fire round question? Yeah, Miles of Jack.

Whole Mister Campbell wasn't listening. He was We're writing abuse in the reddit.

Where can people find you? Follow you? All that good stuff?

I do a basketball podcast about the Lakers circuits two thousand and one.

I'm just kidding.

I do a The wire Rewatch podcast called pod Yourself the Wire.

It is, well, it's called pod Yourself a Gun.

It is both a.

Sopranos uh rewatch podcast and a the wire Rewatch podcast.

And we've had both Jack and Miles on.

It's a lot of fun.

So Church out Last True Joy.

Yeah.

And you know what I make this promise to you guys, I because I used to listen. I was a league pass guy, you know, to watch every Laker game art humble brag, humble brag. I don't want to brag, but I had our league past.

Yeah.

The truth.

I will watch eighty two games this season. Wow wow Okay, and they it probably won't all be from the same team. Sure, because at some point I'm gonna I want to watch a different thing, not watch the Lakers. But and once I've watched all eighty two games, then you guys have me back.

I think we're gonna I think what we're gonna do is we're gonna do like a mid term exam.

Oh do that, cat, Cat, We'll just yeah, show up at your house, Just show up at my house and just start.

Yeah, you in there time for the mid term.

Have to watch eighty two games real fast.

Give me like, give me eighty two games. I'll be there in a second.

Room just trying to watch it on three x speed.

Well, anyway, make sure you follow us on Twitter.

I'm at Miles of Gray, I'm at Jack Underscore O'Brien.

Yeah, and follow a hashtag mad Boosties for show links and updates.

That is going to do it for us this week.

We'll be back next week as we inch closer to the start of the season.

Uh and we can't wait to see you. Then, okay, take care, bye bye,