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Welcome back in or Welcome in to What's Right, Episode one fifty three. If I you know, I don't think I've ever messed up the intro of this podcast, you.
Gus I need to do it now.
Well, little frazzled, Little rattled, fifty to one bet down the tubes again once again. Get to the final four with a fifty to one wager. Can't make it across the finish line. I watched Lebron have arguably one of the three greatest playoff halves of his career, only to have it squandered in minutes to start the second half, and then the game end and a loss, the season end in a sweep, and if that's not enough, I didn't go to sleep. I turn everything off, don't read anything on social.
Media, and cry yourself to sleep.
Did not There was no there were no tears, but I was like, I gotta it's gonna be a long day for me tomorrow, meaning today I got this show, I have the Herd, I have my own TV show. All of that on a day after my pick to win the time Idol gets swept in the conference finals against a team and a player that I have been Let's call it a somewhat vocal skeptic of like, I'm not gonna consume any of the postgame stuffle. Deal with
it in the morning. Wake up this morning, walk your little sister to the bus stop, open up the old phone, say okay, gotta start preparing for the show. And people are talking about Lebron James retiring, retiring.
That's when the tears came. There were no tears, but you are loud.
There is a sense of mortality, a sense of wistfulness. Lebron James famously has been in the league. It's played in the NBA for over half its life, but he's the exact same age as me, which means same for me. Over half my life, I've watched this guy play basketball. He's never once talked about retirement. And now the door has been cracked open, So we will get to that momentarily. I'm gonna be lashing out today one person in particular, I don't know exactly.
He called me hysterical this morning.
Guys, I did not call you hysterical this morning.
Do you guess what happened happened?
Well, that's because I can't trust your professionalism to even know what happened in the NBA life.
Don't say that because you.
I would like to say, is he a prom No?
I would like to say my entire prom weekend, I was checking scores and everything, something I never think i'd be doing.
And that's exactly the entire prom weekend, which involved multiple post prom parties. Well, you were multiple houses in the Hamptons with your bougie friends and their bougie be towels. But I'm not listening there. You think I'm coming for you or for Victor who can't handle the microphone levels, Wait till I get to producer Daniel and his future with this with this show. Wow, we'll get to that later. Welcome in for the pod listeners. Episode one Free the
Lakers lost, Lebron's contemplating retiring. Here's what missed the cut for today's show. Tom Brady comes Raiders Minority owner don't care brooks Koepka win says it validates live golfers. I would care about that, and my little gambling consortium that I'm just wait a moment, please, young lady in the little gambling consortium that I'm in. I tried to bet brooks Koepka on Saturday morning to win the tournament, and no one would take my bet, and then I had
to watch him run away with the tournament. That was frustrating. And Demon's evidently feuding with his new snake. I told him to wait to get a snake. I told him to wait. He didn't listen, and now evidently he's got a problem with it. But none of that is where we're starting. DOORA, go right ahead. Where are we starting?
So? Oh yeah, so we're starting with, of course, your boyfriend, Uh huh, Lebron. Despite Lebron dropping forty ten and nine, the Nuggets were just too much for the Lakers, as they completed the sweep. However, the story is actually about what happened after the game, not during, as Lebron, for the first time ever, seems to be contemplating retirement.
So we can read you the quote that Lebron said at the podium, go ahead.
So he had he said just for me personally, going forward with the game of basketball. I got a lot to think about it.
And then Dave mcminnimmon and fellow Syracuse grad great journalists for ESPN followed up with him. He was like, are you actually talking about your futureies? And he confirmed yes, he's contemplating retirement. Go ahead.
So I have three questions for you. Yeah, are you okay?
Yeah, I'm fine?
And are you actually okay? Is my second question?
Yeah, I'm fo okay.
And are you buying that Lebron could actually retired? And if so, are you retiring?
No? I won't be retiring. Am I buying that Lebron could actually retire? Yeah? I think I think it's on the board. I don't. I said on TV yesterday that just like it was on the board that the Lakers could be the first team ever to come back from three to zero down, it was on the board. That last night would be Lebron's final playoff game of his career. It's on the board, and I will tell you Lebron played as if he thought it might be his final time playing. He played the entire game except for the
final four seconds of the first half. He came out guns blazing, trying to give the Lakers a big enough cushion that potent I would imagine. The plan was, shoot all your bullets in the first half, build a big lead.
See if the Nuggets with a three to zero lead on the road, fold up shop, and then you can get some actual rest in the second half, and then put some pressure on them in Game five thirty one, in the first half, eleven of thirteen shooting his first half alone was the greatest old guy playoff game ever, and far and away the greatest year eighteen, nineteen or twenty playoff game ever. Just the first half. And then
the Lakers immediately blew the lead. And we'll get to the end of the game and the Nuggets side of it in a bit. And then after the game, Lebron's questioning his basketball mortality. Now I know everyone's saying something of a similar thing. So Lebron's gonna talk about and talk about and talk about how he wants to play with Bronni, and then when he's potentially just two seasons away from being able to do that, that's when he's
gonna walk away. Well, Lebron softened that play with Bronni's stance a few months ago when he said, just because that's my dream or my ambition doesn't mean it's his. And if Bronni doesn't think he's one and done, that then extends the timeline. If Bronni doesn't necessarily want to
play with his dad, that extends the timeline. There are a lot of There are factors where maybe Bronni does think he's one and done but has made it clear he doesn't want to be on a team with his dad, and Lebron might feel uncomfortable competing against him they're on different teams. What do you do.
Like, that's a thing, though, that you have to kind of deal with.
Well, no one's the history of basketball's ever had to deal with it.
Well, not with your child, but right other family members.
Yeah, it's stall too, and but we've never seen it. We we we saw King Griffy Junior and King Griffy's senior play together. And baseball is also different because unless one was a pitcher and one was a hitter, which they weren't, you're not in direct conflict. We've never seen a father and son competing against each other at that level, and so there is so I don't know. I do know that through the first fifteen years of his career, Lebron was the most durable athlete in NBA history, he
and Karl Malone. And then in year sixteen he tores groin. In year eighteen he suffered he ripped up a ten in his ankle. In year nineteen, I forget even what the injury was last year, and this year he ripped up at tend in his foot. So the injuries are starting to pile up, which is what happens with older ambulance. Well okay, well that's just what happens with older athletes. And so is it on the board that he says, yeah, you know, I broke Kareem's record. I've done everything I
came here to do. I'm done. That's on the board. Is it on the board. This is a leverage play, sure, and we'll get to what I would do if I were the Lakers later that this is a leverage play to get them to go all in, to go for Kyrie to do all those things. Yes, that is on the board. Is it on the board that Lebron takes a year off to rest and recuperate and then tries to come back to play with Bronni Yeah, I think that's possible. On the board that he has off season surgery,
does not retire and misses the beginning of next season. Yeah, I mean, I think that one might be the most likely of the outcomes. But it was jarring to hear a player who has never talked about retiring all of a sudden volunteer it. And while I understand at the end of the game he got his shot blocked, he was spectacular yesterday and this is not the biggest story
of the day. But I'm going to use this time for a moment before we talk about what's next for the Lakers, to talk about guys that I like, but that I thought did the audience a total disservice calling this game yesterday. In Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. I've had Van when I did radio in Houston. Jeff Van Gundy would come in studio and talk hoops with us. I love the guy Mark Jackson. I don't know personally, but my TV co host Chris Brussard does says nothing
but great things about him. I think Van Gundy, Breen and Jackson are a great booth, the best NBA booth aside from Hubie and Doris when they're together in a three person booth. But their commentary in the second half of yesterday's game was as fascile and to me misleading to the audience as anything I can remember. They're in
a ninety second stretch. Van Gundy demanded of Lebron, who had played the entire game sixty five thousand minutes into his career at age thirty eight in year twenty, to drive to the basket every play, to do work in the low post, to run the pick and roll through him, and then threw in there at the end gard Nikolajokic and they were commentating just clueless while Lebron was taking some possessions off offensively floating around at the three point line,
and Mark Jackson had the audacity to say, I know you're tired, but the great ones find a way. Pardon me here, give me a goddamn break, Give me a break. Anthony Davis, ten years younger than Lebron, in the prime of his career, sat for eight minutes last night, played forty and wasn't guarding Yo Kich every play, wasn't banging
on the low post every play. The idea that you would call this game and act confused, Why isn't Lebron driving to the basket with the same regularity that he was in the first half of the second half, because it's not NBA two K with the fatigue sliders turned off, because it's exhausting, because these are professional athletes, not robots, who have a set amount of energy. Could prime Lebron have done it? Yeah, that's what made him the best
player ever. The fact that year twenty Lebron can somehow find a way to give you forty ten to nine in a closeout game against the one seed playing forty seven minutes and fifty six seconds is of forty eight minutes is incomprehensible. The fact that Lebron I thought people always kill him for taking threes at the end of games.
I thought the final possession he should have pulled up from three, because had the layup been successful, all that would have done was guarantee another five minutes of overtime, and they were clearly gas. But it was to not acknowledge that he was the only guy on either team to play the entire game was crazy to me, absolutely crazy to me. All right, what's next.
To your Okay? If you were running the Lakers, what would you do this offseason?
Run it back? I know there's a ton of conversation about Kyrie. Kyrie the juice has not been worth the squeeze with Kyrie in seven years, and you would have to give up all of your flexibility. You would have to give up all of your potential depth in order to get Kyrie irving. I would not do that. There's no chance I would do that. One of the benefits to having young players is you can expect them to improve. Austin Reeves has been a revelation. He should get better.
Whatever contract he gets offered, you have the rights to match match it. Ruy Hachimura is a young player coming off the best stretch of basketball in his career, A former lottery pick, match whatever contract offer he gets. He's also restricted free agent, and expect him to get better. De'angelo Russell was unplayable in the Conference finals. If you want to re sign him for a reasonable number and see if he takes the defensive ends seriously for the
first time in his career. Great. If not, you move him at the deadline, and you challenge Anthony Davis to night in, night out be the guy we saw at different moments this postseason to take that next step to be an actual MVP candidate. But the idea of trading away and moving on from all your depth so you can sign an unreliable, injury prone Kyrie Irving is totally insane to me. The Lakers post deadline had the second
best record in all of basketball. They got beat by a better team, and we'll get to the Nuggets in a moment. But I wouldn't make drastic changes assuming Lebron is back. Now, what I would do is tell Lebron and get on the same page with Lebron that it's gotta be Duncan in year seventeen and eighteen Lebron in year twenty one, meaning thirty minutes a night and a lot of nights off.
You should tell your buddy Maverick that it would really hurt your feelings if Lebron retired.
Well, that's the see so the I mean, I appreciate the attempted humor while I'm trying to give cogent analysis to the listeners. I was being serious, but I mean, I I do wonder MAV tweeted, and MAV doesn't tweet much. A couple months ago from a game, saying like watching watching you play will never get old. I hope you never retire. I wonder if for Maverick's business purposes, if it's if it's better if Lebron retires and they can go full fledged into that phase of their career. My
my guess is Lebron's playing two more years. That would be my to kind of finish that part of the conversation. But I was saying about the minutes is the other thing, and I said this on TV, but it warrants mentioning again. Here one of the great things about sports is more
often than not, every bill becomes due. So the Boston Celtics make the NBA Finals, they look like they're right on the cusp, and then right before the season, their head coach is involved in an infidelity scandal and he's dismissed from the team essentially, and they have to promote an assistant who's not ready named Joe Missoula, and all year long, they're fine, they're fine, they're fine, And then the playoffs come around and he goes up against the
best coach in basketball, Eric Spolstra, and he's getting undressed. We'll talk series later, but that emo Udoka bill finally became due these conference finals. Draymond Green punches Jordan Poole in the face before the season starts, and the team just kind of scuffed pretty aggressive. Yeah, it's terrible on the road. No one can quite put their finger on why,
even though it was obvious why. And then they lose at the end of the year, losing three straight road games, and Kerr and Raymond said, yeah, the punch ruined our team chemistry. That bill became due. Why am I bring that up here? In this context? The Los Angeles Lakers decided to start this year with a roster they knew was broken, with Russell Westbrook as the point guard and no shooting, and they started the year two and ten. Now they eventually traded him fixed the right sure to
do would agree, went on a playoff run. So how did that bill become due? Because it's quite clear watching this series that the Lakers, most notably, Lebron ran out of gas at the very end. Why because they had to start playing playoff basketball with a month left in the year. Because of that two and ten start, that bill became due. That bill came due. Pardon me, they did have two months of playoff basketball in them. Unfortunately for them, their playoffs started a month before everyone else.
Is then a play in game, overtime in the playing game, and they ran out of gas three weeks before the finish line. Everything matters. There are no free passes in this stuff, and I hope the Lakers know that. Moving forward, you have a follow up question. Go ahead.
If the Lebron era is over, was it a successful tenure in La?
So full disclosure. I put this question in here something of a I guess it would be a rhetorical question. I wanted you to ask because this has become a line of questioning, and I think it's the most ridiculous line of questioning there is. Lebron has been with the Lakers from twenty nineteen to now five years. At worst, at worst, they've been the third most successful franchise in
the league, likely been the second most. Let's just the idea that the Lakers under with Lebron have not been a success, then no one's been a success in this timeframe. So five years, right, let's go through the champions and what they've done. The Warriors in these five years have won one title, made one other finals, two years they missed the playoffs. One year they made the playoffs and lost. That was this year, by the way. One of the years they missed the playoffs in the play in and
this year they were knocked out by the Lakers. But they are the benchmark. They have been the most successful. The next most successful is the Lakers. They won a championship and made a conference finals. That is more successful than the Raptors who won a championship in this timeline and did nothing else in the playoffs, or the Bucks who won a championship in this timeline and did not
make another conference finals. Now there's the Heat. If the Heat win the title this year, then they leap frog the Lakers because they would have made two finals, an additional conference championship year or appearance, and won a title. If the Nuggets win the championship this year, they will have the exact same resume as the Lakers, both winning one title. Both being knocked out by the other one
in the conference finals. So if this tenure wasn't successful for the Lakers, then it wasn't successful for any team over the last five years. It is an absurd question. Not that you're asking it. I asked to be asked it. But of course it's been successful. A championship and a conference finals appearance is more deep playoff runs and more success than any team has had in these five years other than Golden State, and Golden State twice had their
season ended by the Lakers. Uh. All right, let's move on to the Nuggets.
Okay, here's a question that you didn't ask to be asked. Producer Dan warned you about the number one seed Nuggets, but you didn't listen.
All right, Before we get to the actual question, let's talk about this for a moment. So I know some people on this show. I don't know others because the show's by coastal where in New York, show's in LA.
You're about to say something.
I obviously know Demanse's my son, works on the show. I know Diora, she's my daughter, works on the show. I know Gabe because Gabe worked at FS one. Right when I was hired, and Gabe and I developed a real friendship. I know Matt Ford from the show. I've actually hung out with Matt briefly in Vegas. I know Victor, who, even though he seemed to have some technical difficulties today Victor, I met him in person in New York. I see
him on Cameron Studio. I felt I got to know Karra a bit because I misidentified her job title and felt terribly about it. I don't know Daniel that well. However, I did find I did, despite not knowing him that well, develop a deep seated boiling anger towards him throughout these playoffs because on our let me count ten person group chat, Daniel found it.
Oh.
I also know Nick Wider. I think he plays basketball at the Monse. Daniel found it appropriate after each game to send either videos from the game saying love butterfingers, trolling UH texts saying keep hating Denver, will still welcome everyone with open arm UH sending UH eyeball emojis after other games, sending video of him pretty videoing well. I didn't see any of that until this morning, and I missed important texts because after about the third unprompted, unrequested
text from Daniel. I just muted the thread.
Now you muted the thread? Yeah, after we were talking during the game and you just decided you didn't want to hear us anymore.
Yeah. Yeah, guys, if I want to be trolled by people, I'll check my Twitter mentions, not my work text thread that there's ways if you would like to send me your trolley Nuggets thoughts at get Nick right, not the What's right show text thread? So I mute to the whole thing. And I know there's probably a question of like, is Nick serious or joking right now? I'm serious, so serious and so angry about it that I was like, who is this guy?
That I googled him and found Daniel graduated from USC a year ago, found his Twitter, found this website that I sent to game of Daniel from college doing his sports show.
Just trolling me the whole time because he's a Nuggets fan. I don't need that shit in my life. I'm gambling on these games. I'm emotionally invested in these games. And Daniel, who's younger than Demon's, is in my mentions sending me, not even in my mentions in my actual phone sending me texts that say love but her fingers like like the worst of Twitter trolls. And now I got to see him in the control room holding a broom sweeping back and forth. It's unbelievable.
We're in the same sweatshirt from the video to exactly.
Coach lebron at usc all right, I gotta tell you, I gotta tell you something. Everybody smiling and seems to be having a good time. I really really hope because Gabe the Big Boss is there today. I really really hope. Daniel's awesome at his job, irreplaceable level awesome.
Why are you trying to get him fired?
I'm saying, I'm sure there's other Blue Duck projects that would love his contributions. Wow, I don't know. I don't know if Beatles Show needs a Nuggets troll on there. I'm not sure. I listen, let this be a lesson. Victor now gets it. Victor has looked down and has put his hand through his there. He's like, oh, I'm not sure how if Nick's doing if this is a bit or not, I'll just let it just sit in the room. Is this a bit or not?
Everyone looks a little scary.
Yeah, I mean, what the I'm trying to watch basketball, give analysis, put myself out there and gamble on these games, and I gotta get a video of Lebron turning the ball over.
You can't take the heat.
I can take the heat.
You obviously cannot take this.
I can take the heat from people that I signed up to receive the heat from.
Well, you know, your friends are your biggest you know.
Yeah, agreed, my friend agreed. Wow, now finish the question. It's not insane. That's insane. It's it's I'm telling you diora if. Remember when I did that talk for your uh friends at school?
Your friends?
Okay, you're sorry, Sorry everyone, fellow students remember that. Yeah, I I tried to be nice and like, you know, give folks, this actually wasn't even your school. It's a different talk I gave. I don't want to put this on your friends, but sometimes trying to give talks to these kids like hey, can we keep in touch? Blah
blah blah. I give my number. One person that I've done that with has decided that's just a direct line to troll me for my takes, like to just be like, oh, I have Nick's phone number now, I can just troll him for his takes inappropriate? Now, am I saying producers? Am I saying Daniel and putting them in the same bucket as them? Bucket adjacent? All right, go ahead, what's what's the nuggets? What's the nuggets? Question? Here?
Okay? So, as you said today, every bill becomes due. So do you owe the Nuggets? Jokic and most of all recently promoted Koe p Daniel and the apologies. Okay, no, it's no, no, and no.
So here's the thing. I only demanded of Nikola Jokic what we have always demanded of players that turn into great players, which is, earn it before you are anointed. Annointed, and if we go through the timeline, which we can of my Jokic opinions in twenty twenty, when he started to get the superstar buzz I said he was not
ready for the challenge at hand. In the conference finals, I was one of the only people in the world that picked the Nuggets to beat the Clippers that year, picked them suck with him down three to one, and I said, yeah, but Anthony Davis, Lebron's gonna be too much. And I was correct. The next year when he was
the runaway MVP. I raised the question, guys, are we getting are we making the Russell Westbrook mistake of a few years prior of giving the MVP to a guy because he has gaudy awe offensive numbers when we know that they are not yet a winning team. I made the case that Chris Paul, despite worse numbers, deserved league MVP than they did. Happen to meet in the playoffs, and Chris Paul, I think beat him in five or swept him. I don't even remember. It's pretty damn great.
Felt a little vindicated. The next year, no one denied that Jokic was excellent. I said, at the time he was one of the six or seven best players in the league, But now they were talking about giving him his second MVP while everyone acknowledged the team could win nothing. Now that was because of injuries. But I said, hey, guys, are we going to care about precedent and standard of
what the NBA MVP had? My history has been and if we are just going to give it to the guy who is carrying an inferior supporting cast, why not give it to Luka? And then Luca made the Conference finals, which up to that point was the high water mark of Jokic's career, and Jokic got swept in Round one This year, I said repeatedly, had the previous MVPs not
been misallocated? In my opinion, this was the year that Jokic deserved it, But because he had just won two straight and we'd had one three straight MVP in the last sixty five years of the NBA, I didn't want to break that for a guy who had yet to break through. That's it. Did Jokic impress me this postseason? Of course? Is he this close to having a legitimate claim that he is the best player in the world. Yes, but it is not unfair or unreasonable to say you
have to show it. You have to prove it, and in the NBA that is done in the postseason. It has never been done in the regular season ever. And while yo Gets prior to this year had been statistically a very good postseason performer, prior to this year, the worst postseason series of his career by a mile was his one conference finals. That does this change things? Of
course it does. He was just in a conference finals again Lebron against Anthony Davis and was dominant, but this idea that, and this is where and now it'll get a little Harry Kendrick Perkins brought up the race factor of this and did it kind of haphazardly and awkwardly,
and everyone just killed him for it. But this is where there is an interesting uh comp The one other guy that I can remember that we placed these type of regular season accolades at his feet without him ever show going on this type of playoff run was Steve Nash and that was a mistake. So it was odd and a little uncomfortable that we were doing it. Never
goes in this order ever. But now Jokic has a dominant start to finish well, not quite finished, but as far as he could have gone up to this point, playoff run under his belt, the unbelievable regular seasons, and his biggest liability defense, which is defense he more than held up in this series post game one. Those are the benchmarks to being one of the greatest players ever and he's checking them all off. But will I apologize for not wanting to let him skip steps? I will not.
Does he now have an unimpeachable claim that he's one of the top three players in the world? Yes? Is he one series away from having an incredibly strong claim that he's the best player in the world. Yes, does he maybe already have a decent claim that he's the best player in the world. Yes, But I'm not going to I am not going to rewrite history on how we have always treated anyone that is trying to become the guy in the NBA. I'm just not going to do it. Uh, the followup for him, So.
You have to root for the Nuggets to win at all? Now right?
Why would I have to root for the Nuggets to win at all? Who? Well? I mean, I mean, I will talk about the heat in the moment the playoff. Jimmy's pretty impressive take quick break talk Heat Celtics. Next we'll trade.
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Welcome Back. In episode one fifty three, What's Right with Nick Wright? We'd spent the first forty minutes of the show on everything Lebron, Lakers, retirement, Nuggets, Lakers, all of it. We now have got to do. These are armored finals, which by the time we talk on Thursday, could be over pinning the result of tonight's game. So do you go right ahead?
Okay? So the Celtics have imploded and even the coach is saying that the team is disconnected. Celtics expert Demonse Bird also had something to say.
Yeah, and his tweet that he had here, Yeah, bro, go ahead read it.
Yeah, Bro, I honestly got nothing to say about this. The Celtics are lacking a certain household pets.
Do you know what he means by that, a certain household pet? Like when you read it, do you know what he's talking about? No, saying they don't have that dog in them. He's such a dopest. I mean, it's just such a dope. But I told him the Celtics were didn't have it for this series. But go ahead now, uh, you can ask me.
The question, what's wrong with the Celtics? All right?
Well, if there was ever a question about does coaching matter in the NBA, here's your case study. Best coach in the league, worst coach in the league, and it's playing it all like that. Jimmy Butler is awesome. I think Butler's better than Tatum. I think he's more reliable than Tatum in the playoffs. But Jimmy hasn't been the different. It is the fact that the Heat are totally connected. Everyone knows their job, playing with massive confidence, and the
Celtics are not the Celtics. Also, the Jalen Brown stuff has been simmering all year long and it's now coming to a head with him having the two worst playoff games of his adult NBA career in Games two and three of this series. Now, I picked the Heat to win this series. Did I think they were gonna sweep them? No? But does it look like they're gonna get swept now? Yes? And we'll do more of a Celtics post mortem. What do they do from here once their season is officially over?
But we went so long in that first segment, Let's just keep it moving here and we can talk a little bit about the Heat.
So the eight seed Heat are on a legendary run playoff. Jimmy has stolen the show. Let's not forget about the seven undrafted players on this roster or that coach Spoe is running circles around the Celtics. What is the most impressive part about this team, all right?
It is that the undrafted guys are playing with this level of confidence. Duncan Robinson, now that he's Duncan Robinson's undrafted got eighty million bucks, then was getting DNP coaches decisions for months on end, stepped into his role and didn't miss a beat. Struce and Vincent and Caleb Martin have been integral pieces of what the Heat have done and their undrafted players. That is Heat culture, that is
pat Riley. There's just no way around it. There's no denying it, there's no trying to obfuscate what they are anymore. They are a special organization with a great head coach, a great team president, and a great superstar that just imbues confidence in everyone else and Bam when Bam is right and rolling and awesome. Number two. Even though He's not great offensively, and so I don't know what more the he'd have to do. They rolled the Bucks, they
rolled the Knicks. They are rolling the Celtics. They are eleven and three in this series. The only other thing I want to say about this series is I want to talk about ESPN's BPI, the Basketball Power Index. I've talked about this before in regards to five thirty eight's Basketball Playoff calculator. I do not understand how a massive sports media operation can trot something out there that is
so flagrantly and clearly incorrect and couch it in. This is what our analytics, this is what our numbers tell us. So ESPN's BPI said this was a ninety seven percent chance for the Celtics to win this series. As of this moment, they give the Celtics a thirty two percent chance to win. So think about that for a moment. ESPN's proprietary Basketball Power Index believes that right now the Celtics are ten times more likely to win a series they are down three to zero in which has obviously
never been done. Then that same algorithm BPI thought the Heat were to win the series when it started. That is proof of concept that your algo is not any good, not because an outlier event happens. Outlier events happen, but because any NBA series that your algorithm says is ninety seven to three, any singular series you that you can put in that says a team has a one in thirty three chance of winning means your formula is bunk.
And why you would not, as a multi billion dollar operation say guys, we just got to pull it off the market until we can figure out what's wrong with it. It's similar to and it is not a shot at nikolajokicch I promise, but the Advanced Analytic Defensive box Score plus minus says that Nikolajokic is one of the four greatest defensive players defensive players in the history of the NBA. The moment your formula spits out that result, it is
proof that your formula is broken. And I don't know how people didn't continue to trot it out there embarrasing. I don't want to say it's irresponsible, because it's not important enough to be irresponsible, but it is embarrassing. Uh, And so I just I the Heat had the best coach in basketball and the best player in the series. I understand why they were underdogs. I understand why you'd
be surprised that it's three to zero. No one should be shocked that this is happening all right, time for our game, which is right in the game of right ends, all right, go right ahead, scoot So first.
One, Carmelo Anthony finally announced his retirement yesterday. Yep, you will remember mellow as Oh that's easy.
I will remember Carmelo as a Syracuse Orangeman or an Orange as they are called. Now. Uh, the best one and done in the history of the NCAA and under career. I'm gonna give you what did you write?
Nothing?
Okay? Uh, I'm gonna give you a short list tried to off top my head. Lebron Kareem Mailman, Kobe, Michael, Dirk, wilt Shack. Those eight names, that's the entire list of people who scored more points in the NBA than Carmelo Anthony. He's the ninth all time leading scorer. I understand his postseason resume is quite threadbare. Only three postseason series victories.
There are only a handful of times, though he lost as the favorite six first round against the Clippers bad one twenty thirteen second round with the Knicks against the Pacers. Not a great one, but he rarely was on the better team. He had a great chance two thousand and nine to make the finals. Lakers Nuggets Game five, Western Conference Finals, tie game going into the fourth quarter. Carmelo scores eleven, Kobe goes zero for five, but the Lakers win anyway, and they win Game six, win the title.
Carmelo was better than Kobe that night to go up three to two in the series. His teammates weren't there for him, and they that was his best chance. His big mistake was instead of just signing with the Knicks, demanding to be traded to the Knicks so they didn't have the resources to put a championship team around him. But still a deserving member of the All seventy five team, the greatest men's basketball Olympian ever, NCAA champion. Great score. I love mellow.
Okay, So next is Lamar. After an endless contract negotiation, the Ravens extended Lamar. So all is good, right?
Well, of course, sto, you gotta move the board a little bit. There you go, no problem, go ahead.
So so all is good right? Well, reports out of Baltimore is that the QB didn't show up for the first day of OTAs. Lamar not showing up to OTAs is.
So I'm gonna write and say not great. But so here's the thing I actually support. I would support the entire league taking off OTAs. We've talked about this four I'll do it briefly again. Here. The players in the last CBA wanted more money. The owners didn't want to give them more money. Instead, they give them less days at work, less mandatory offseason days, and then the so that players take that instead of getting more money, and then the owner use the media to pressure the players
to turn the optionals off season stuff into mandatory. I don't like that. It strikes me as unfair. So I would understand if nobody showed up, and I support almost any player that doesn't want to show up. You negotiated have this be optional, with the exception of the super high paid quarterbacks. I do think, even though I'm a union guy and a worker not a management guy, if you are the face of an organization and paid as such,
there are other things that go along with it. There are certain things that are expected of me at FS one that are not expected of Demanse who works for FS one. I'm one of the forward facing people. They pay me a lot of money. Sometimes you got to go above and beyond. So I'm not going to kill Lamar for this, but it's not great. And even though while I would support almost anyone skipping these things, the super high paid quarterbacks probably should be there.
Next okay, next one, big Ben Ben Rothlessberger, good job. Oh my god, I did it? Said he hoped Kenny Pickett didn't succeed as a rookie. I hope he doesn't come ball out, because then it's like Ben who. Ben big Ben's comments are.
I wrote, they are kind of honest, not entirely honest, but kind of honest. They are honest in that I do believe that there was an I appreciate the honesty of him saying that he didn't want Kenny Pickett to come out instantly be awesome. When I'm saying kind of honest, it's because he knew no one would ever say Ben who, And that's a false humility to it. But I do believe that he didn't want Big Ben to instantly I'm sorry, can you pick it to instantly come out and kick ass all right.
Next okay, next one is yeah, the NFL agreed that they screwed you out of your fifty to one Super Bowl bet. Teams will now be allowed to designate an emergency QB on game days. After we saw CMC and a one armed rock party in the NFC Title Game. If this rule was already in place, your fifty to one Super Bowl ticket would have been.
Worth zero dollars. Zero dollars what I wrote, Because they weren't gonna win with a fifth string or fourth string quarterback. Can I say something about this? This is the most overwrought, ridiculous story I can remember the NFL. Let me just tell people how it used to be. You have a fifty three man roster, Forty five guys were active on game day, with a forty sixth guy who was your emergency third string quarterback who was also semi active on
game day. You could dress a forty sixth guy if he was your third string quarterback, but if he played, your other two quarterbacks couldn't go back in. The NFL did not get rid of that. They simply said, your forty sixth guy can be any position, and you can dress forty six guys. On game day. Teams then decided they didn't want to waste one of those forty six
game day active spots on a third quarterback. And then when this thing happened, the entire football media started saying, oh my god, why doesn't the NFL let you dress a third quarterback. You could dress ten quarterbacks if you wanted to. They never changed that.
Try not to blow out your mic again.
So now all they've done is say, now you can have a forty seventh guy dress, and he's gotta be a third string quarterback, so be it. But everyone's saying, oh, the NFL screwed everyone here. No they didn't. They gave teams more choices on what they want to do with that forty sixth roster spot, and teams decided we would rather have a backup linebacker offensive lineman than a third
string quarterback. That's their prerogative. But I and by the way, I think most teams are not going to dress a third quarterback for forty seventh game day roster spot because that guy's got to be on your active roster and most teams are not gonna have three of their fifty three spots on their active roster be quarterbacks. Most teams are gonna have their starter, a backup, and a practice squad quarterback. Read your fan questions. Next quick break, what's right?
Welcome back, episode one fifty. Now we're going to answer your listener questions. Sure, go right ahead, Jack Fischker Fisher fish, Okay, whatever, Fisher go ahead?
Uh huh, go ahead?
Said you should people be able to talk about how many undrafted players the Heat have as if it's a bad thing if they win at all. The Nuggets aren't untalented just because their best player is a second round.
Yeah, listen, I think the undrafted thing with the Heat is actually at this point a compliment. I think the undrafted like whether people view it as that or not, they should. It is a testament to their ability to develop talent, identify their guys, identify market inefficiencies, and find more than competent NBA role players that forget being second rounders, that are just undrafted players. All right?
Next, okay? LJG asked, how is Luca a top twenty player in the last fifty years, but Jokic couldn't make the list with just as much playoff success up to that point.
All right, Well, to be clear, when we did the list, Jokic had one MVP, not two. The two MVPs would have got him on there. He obviously at this point is a top fifty player of the last fifty years. The two MVPs plus this regular season plus this playoff run makes it undeniable. As far as Luca goes. Watch the Luca video, I explain that he was the one
guy on there that we were projecting forward. It was an homage to Shack being on the NBA's fifty best of the first fifty years, even though he'd only played in the league for four years. That was the precedent for it that we did with Luca.
Next, Okay, next question, Peter Alton's asked, what do you think of the rumors of the Lakers pursuing Trey Young and what could that potential trade package look like.
There is no potential trade package where the Lakers could acquire Troy Young. It does not exist. They don't have the picks. That is a nonsense story. In my opinion. I saw that this morning. It is a nonsense story.
Next, Jacob Connell asked who has been the player that has individually overachieved the most in the ns in this NBA.
Season, individually, overachieved the most gotta be Austin Reeves. And I think Austin Reeves has been outstanding and he's another undrafted guy, but he's got himself probably a seventy million dollar contract. I don't know if overachieved almost sounds like an insult. It's not meant to be. But it's got to be Austin Reeves. All right, what's the last one?
Producer? Dan asked when he comes out to New York next month, do you do you want him to bring a Jokich jersey or do you want another Pap Bab jersey.
I didn't know Dan was coming out to New York next month.
Yeah, now you got to watch her back job interview.
Wow. I mean, I'm sure it's not to come to this show. I don't know what it would be. I'm not I'm not sure what the what the plan is there? Uh, he says he'll stop by if I'll have him. Yeah, here's the thing, this isn't really my nature and I don't like to be this guy. If I'm being honest. The only thing that's probably going to solve this fissure in me and Dan's relationship.
Is if he becomes no, I don't care.
About that is, if the Heat end up beating the Nuggets, and if I get my get back via text at his lowest moment, because.
He says that's gonna happen.
Here's the thing for the Nuggets right now. The Nuggets and their fans. I don't know if they'll admit this, but they feel like they won the championship, not because all beating the Lakers is more than a but because they, like everyone else, are going to underestimate the Heat. The Nuggets and their fans. I'm certain we're rooting against Boston, rooting against Milwaukee, thrilled to see all these big dogs fall off, saying, oh my god, how lucky we earned
the one seed. We had a smooth path to the Western Conference Finals. We then rolled the Lakers, and now we're gonna roll Miami. They are counting their championship. Let's see what playoff Jimmy does. If play off Jimmy rips the Nuggets heart out and I am able to exact revenge on producer Dan, then he can come by this show. If not, then I just assume never actually meet him. So I mean, listen, that's just that is who I am. I have no regrets about that, and we'll see how
it goes. I think the Heat win tonight. I think we have nine days between the end of the conference finals in the NBA Finals, and I think even though it's not the Marquis Lakers Celtics Finals, a lot of us thought we were getting. I think it'll be a great series. Talk to you guys on Thursday.
What's right, he's still sweeping.
Yeah,