After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 3

Planning a wedding is intimidating, but finding the perfect suit shouldn't be. Design your dream suit at Indochino.com and use Code Podcast for 10% off any purchase of $3.99 or more. That's I-N-D-O-C-H-I-N-O dot com Code Podcast. Oh! Wait, what just happened? The bed ran out. I was getting ready to start talking and all of a sudden the music just abruptly ended.

I was thinking about how I was going to jump in on Bad Boys and then wow. So that was not a piece of production that producer Jay came up with on his own because his music beds go on and on forever just in case we have some kind of issue. Like, I don't know, for instance, potentially the host doesn't realize that it's time to go back on the air and she is somewhere else in the building and then producer Jay is freaking out wondering where the heck is my host. And when he texts me, he will a lot of times text me a 60 second warning, then there'll be a 30 second warning, then he'll come chasing after me yelling, We're back! And so for that reason and many others, he often needs to have a very long music bed because I get involved doing other work.

And it's one of the challenges of having just two of us is that I'm also doing production myself, editing different pieces of audio or doing prep work in another studio and then realize I lose track of time. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. I am pleasantly surprised. Okay. All right. This is not happening the rest of the way.

We're only halfway through the show. I'm not going to start talking so fast that my words come out sounding like I can't speak. Deep cleansing breath. Deep cleansing breath. Everybody with me.

Fox breathing. Thank you, Aaron. So I feel like I'm not alone. See, Aaron's good for stuff every now and then.

I can't be the only one who needs a deep breath out there. Here's what I was going to say on piggybacking with the bad boys music. So a couple of things that that makes me think of. I have a friend who actually worked on the show Cops as a photographer, as a videographer. Badass. He's badass because he would run. Well, he'd be in the cars. He'd be out on night watch with the police officers and then he would be in some cases in the homes as these calls are playing out. And it was dangerous. There were a few times when shots were were firing or they got fired upon, not just the police officers who had weapons.

And so there there were times when it was pretty dangerous. But yeah, that that music always makes me think of cops. But then in addition to that, I am so thrilled that we have many members of law enforcement who work the hours that we are on the air, who listen to our show. And you know who you are. Some of you called. Some of you reach out to me on social media. I I really consider it a privilege that you allow us to keep you company and that we can provide some birth and really some. Comic relief at times, unintentionally at times, but just a break and a distraction from some of the intense situations or intense.

Actions that you have to take and just the challenges of being a member of law enforcement. I also and this is going to take a bit of a serious turn here, but I think it's important and I want to mention it. I did share the video and many of you have probably seen it on your own.

But I did share the video on my Twitter Wednesday morning. The compilation of some of the body cam footage from the Nashville police officers who responded to the shooting at the Christian School Covenant Christian School, I believe it was called. And for a couple of reasons, this hits home with me. First of all, I went to a Christian school, not that different from Covenant. My mother teaches at a private Christian school. I'm forever asking her, Mom, what do you do if there's a shooter situation? Mom, what's your first plan of attack?

My mom's 76 and a half. She's not running, right? She's not scampering down the stairs. Her classroom's on the second floor.

She's not scampering down the stairs and running out of the building. That's not what would happen with my mom. So, Mom, what do you do? She would never leave her students either.

What do you do? Are you prepared? In her case and in her school's case, they've got separate buildings and they're all locked. But I am forever getting on her butt. Did you lock your classroom door today? And sometimes that can be the deterrent, an unlocked door versus a locked door. And she admits that sometimes she forgets or thinks it's a pain because the student's running late. And so then she has to stop what she's doing at the front of the classroom, walk to the back, let the student in. Mom, it can be the difference between life or death.

Please lock your door. And so this particular situation in Nashville hit home with me. I mean, all the school shootings do. They crush you.

They break your heart. Watching the body cam footage of the Nashville police officers listening to it. Two things really struck me. Number one, the gunfire is so loud and is frightening even on a video.

I'm not there. The millions of people who've seen the body cam footage were not there. And yet the gunfire is so loud that I couldn't help but think about the children who must have been petrified. Terrified.

Scared to death hearing that noise. Maybe it's the first time they'd ever heard it. Some of these kids were really young.

Other than, say, TV or a video game. And maybe they'd never heard it before. The body cam footage that I saw, so there may be other compilations out there, but the footage that I saw was two different perspectives, three minutes with each police officer. The first three minutes was the officer who showed up on the scene at the front door. And I was so impressed with his efficiency, with his calm, with his poise. How often do we talk about athletes who remain calm under fire? And that's one of their best qualities is that regardless of what, hell is breaking loose around them.

And in this case in Nashville, it literally was evil and hell. This police officer stayed calm. He starts calling for three men to come with him. He listens to the, I believe it was the principal, listens to a woman who's standing outside instructing him, telling him where the kids are, who they have unaccounted for, where the shooting is.

And he takes it all in. He's calling for three guys. They breach. They get inside. They didn't have to breach.

They get inside. And then as they are going through the first floor, the communication is incredible. Now, as someone who works in communication, it's not life or death what we do here.

It's not even important what we do here. But I love communication. It's an art form. In this case, it's life or death. And these four officers are constantly communicating. They're talking the whole time. First of all, because they're carrying loaded weapons. And you've got to be careful where you're pointing those things and who's crossing in front of you and who's going which way.

But the efficiency with which they apply their training. And then the nonverbal communication. So the first officer who's wearing the body cam, they're on the first floor. And then toward the end of the three minute montage, you can hear the gunfire upstairs. So this group, I think it's a group of four, they go rushing upstairs because you don't know who's firing or what's being fired. And so they go rushing upstairs to the source of the gunfire and from away. So they're not in the same room and they come on the scene, they go into the room. They're not in the same room where the another group of officers has encountered the shooter and has taken down the shooter. Then you get the three minutes of body cam footage from the other group of officers who were upstairs, which is where they encountered the shooter. And again, just the loud gunfire.

If you're stuck in the building and you can't get out because of wherever your classroom is or wherever you happen to be. I mean, the fear, as I say, just hearing it over a video. It causes my heart to race. The other group, same thing, efficient, methodical, fast, but not rushing. Attention to detail.

Communicating the whole time. And within a few minutes, the shooter is taken down. And I know this is just one police department that exhibited these exceptional qualities and executed their training the way that they needed to to save lives. They saved lives. And so I shared that video.

It comes from another Twitter account, but I shared that video on my Twitter. Just in awe. And I know we don't live in a perfect world. Not all police officers are perfect. Not all of them execute their training the way that they should. They make mistakes, they make poor choices. Yes, there are police officers who are not. The gold standard, there are some who obviously in every walk of life, there are some who screw up, there are some who are bad apples.

That's every industry and every walk of life. But the majority of them are trained like this to run into danger. And I, I just am so grateful for them because they saved lives and they do. And so my thank you to those of you who are listening. I do it all the time whenever I can.

I thank you for your service, for the fact that you put your lives on the line. To see it like this. To see it firsthand.

Well, to see it through their eyes, their firsthand perspective. Wow. Just wow. And of course, the situation in Nashville is the latest, right? It happens all too soon.

I don't have any answers, but what I know is that law enforcement prevents it from getting a hell of a lot worse. In most cases, just gosh, it crushes me to to think about you, Baldy, and how it could have been so much different. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio producer Jay tells me that he's got a cut from the Georgia Tech football head coach Brent Key, who also has a mom who is a schoolteacher.

Sit here and make any political statements or any religious statements or anything about that and I will not do that. But you know this, I mean, something's got to change. And my mom was a third grade schoolteacher her whole career.

I got a five year old daughter, four years old, about to be five. Doing a school play when that happened. I can't even like, I mean, the whole rest of the day I messed up.

My wife cried four or five times in the day. I mean, that's magnified by millions across the country in the world. But again, there's nothing political and there's nothing religious made about this, but something has to change. And I had a chance to stand up here and be in front of a camera. If one person hears me say that and agrees and does something to help force a change and something to happen, and a thousand other people say something negative about it, I don't care because it worked.

And if this one thing I say could help somebody else say something and have the guts to stand up and say something, and maybe somebody the guts to stand up and do something, then maybe something will happen. It certainly hits home when, as he talks about his mom as a teacher, mine too. You got young kids. It becomes even more poignant and scary.

Sometimes I do this, I had it to this point and I wasn't planning on it, but I think it's appropriate. In the cases of other shootings, mass shootings, school shootings, to be sure, where there's kiddos involved, I often share the names of the victims so you can hear them. And we now know that there were three nine-year-olds, little Evelyn, Hallie, and William, Bill.

And to see their photos, gosh, it's crushing. There was a custodian who was also killed, 61 years old. And because of my history with Christian schools and because of my mom's history with, she hasn't always taught at private Christian schools, but she is right now. I know that very often these are their servants.

They have a servant's heart. My mom makes very little money. As a Christian school teacher, it's more of a ministry than it is at a job that she could support herself. And so I can imagine this custodian, Mike, didn't make a ton of money. Probably did it. He may have even been a member of the church there. Maybe had a connection to the school. So Mike Hill, 61, the head of the school, Catherine, 60 years old, and then another 61-year-old who was substitute teaching that day.

Oh, gosh. Can you imagine how her family feels thinking, why today of all days? All three adults certainly committed their lives to these kiddos and to this ministry, as teachers do and as administrators do.

And then three nine-year-olds. So again, I just am so amazed by what the Nashville police officers did who responded to the scene. I'm so glad they did because they saved lives.

They took down a shooter who was still armed and dangerous. But the whole thing sucks. It definitely sucks. I try as much as I can to find a little bit of hope in it.

More lives were saved, but we mourned the ones that were lost, to be sure. I did not intend to spend a segment talking about that, but thank you for listening. As always, it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

You are listening to the After Hours podcast. Levine stripped by Troy Brown. Ahead to Schroeder. Schroeder down the middle. Schroeder behind his back to LeBron.

Can't finish, but AD cleaned it up. Timeout, Chicago. 18-point Laker lead, 102-84. Russell, left side AD.

AD driving, 8-foot fall away, good. Boy, Anthony Davis is on tonight. 32 points. Ball to AD. AD turnaround, 10-footer in the lane, good. Anthony Davis just too good tonight.

34 points and 10 rebounds, another double-double. Honestly, we just came out hungry. We know we needed to win.

Honestly, this team just beat us a couple nights ago. We wanted to get some get back. And this whole trip, we called it the get back trip. Every team on this trip had beat us the last time we played them.

So we want to start off the trip right for the WN. We took care of business tonight. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The voice of Anthony Davis following a victory in Chicago for the Lakers. Could this be the run they desperately need on Spectrum Sports Net?

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Davis with 38 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocked shots, and a partridge in a pear tree. He filled up the stat sheet. Of course, LeBron still working his way back, though he did play. 31 minutes tonight and actually shot very well from the field. So it looks like he has his rhythm. 10 for 19, 25 points for him to go along with as well. 7 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, and yeah, every game. See, when Drew Holliday tells you it's a must-win at the Pacers, he's being facetious.

He's using hyperbole. When LeBron tells you it's a must-win, well, the Lakers are absolutely in that mode. We understood the assignment. We understand every road trip is huge, but because of our season and the way things have gone, it's the biggest road trip for us at this moment. They came into our building on Sunday and took advantage of us. And we wanted to try to get some give back, and we were able to do that.

We're always going the opposite direction as everyone else, right? Not only is there a huge game on TNT in the case of Buck Celtics, playoff preview. We'll see if everybody is actually out there on the court. But it's baseball opening day. Jay and I are going to a different type of playoff preview, hockey. But hey, Jay, this is true, though. It could be, it likely is.

We don't know for sure. But it likely is a preview of a first-round series, which will have a little electricity to it, a little bit of rivalry taste to it. Although it's not been a rivalry for quite a while, but the Devils are hosting the Rangers on Thursday night. So at the Prudential Center in Newark, Jay and I are going on press passes to kind of get a taste of this first-round series that we'll likely see. And it's good prep for the Stanley Cup postseason.

It's on the horizon. It's going to be buzzy. It's going to be buzzy. Buzzy? Did you say buzzy? Are you making fun of me? No, I looked it up and it actually is a word, so I wanted to use it.

It's buzzy and fizzy? Found a way to incorporate it. Now, here's the thing. This is what I'm trying to tell Jay. Although I will give him credit, he realizes he cannot wear his Rangers hat to the Prudential Center into the press box. That's not happening. Unfortunately.

But I have tried to coach him. The last time we went to a hockey game, Jay burst into tears in the press box. Oh, don't even try to lie. He burst into tears. It was like spontaneous combustion. Okay, remind people, and remind me, I don't remember who had a hat trick in the first period for the Rangers when we went to see them play the Islanders last year. That was Andrew Kopp. Okay, so he has a first period hat trick and Jay is like, and we're sitting right in front of, were we not right in front of the Rangers radio booth or TV booth? Wasn't Kenny Albert directly above us? He could have spit on me. He probably did spit on you, but you just don't realize it. Yeah, I mean, he was maybe five feet above us because we were literally right in front of him.

And so here's Jay. I take him to his first hockey game on a press pass and he's yelling in the press box. Now, the thing is the press box is open air, so it's hard because you're not in a closed space. You forget you're not a fan. You're sitting in, you are sitting at a desk, but you're, you know, you're, you're there in the midst of the fans.

The fans are kind of all around you. I tried to remind him over and over, you cannot cheer in the press box because if I get kicked out of a game because of you, that's it. This partnership is over. There was no cheering.

No bursting. You are being a big liar right now. There may be or may not have been a slight little fist, not even, not even fist bump, not even a fist punch, just like a little, like a, like a grip just for like a nice. I mean, I know that, I know that you think people love you more and that they're on your side so you can get away with lying, but I, I can see right through you.

I hit you because you cheered, you made noise. I did not make an audible gasp. Oh my gosh, you are a liar right now. You are such, don't believe a word he says. He is totally fibbing.

He's fibbing. The first time, the first time that the Rangers scored in the game between New York and it was a really stressful drive out there. Also would like to point out that I told Jay we should go so we could go earlier. We should go earlier.

He's like, I'll be fine. I was like, I think we should go earlier. Anyway, we get out there.

It's a really stressful ride. We barely get in the building for the national anthem. It was actually late, which I was hyperventilating because we had to walk. We had press parking, but we had to walk all the way around the building to get. Oh, it was insane. But they for some reason started late. So we get in, we get the initial light show, we get the national anthem, which if I miss the national anthem, I have heart palpitations. And then the first period starts and right away the Rangers jump on the islanders.

And Jay's first one is, ah! Not accurate. Everything's accurate up until. Oh, everything's accurate until then.

Including the part where I said we should leave earlier and you're like, yeah, we'll be fine. No, that was false. That was false. Funny how every single thing I say about you that is potentially not complimentary, it's somehow false. Don't remember it that way. You're such a dork.

So not true. Anyway, we're not traveling together this time, so I don't care what time you get there. If I get there and you're not there, I'm going in without you.

I've never been there before, so I need you. Oh, now! Now we're together. Oh, I see how you are. Okay, so anyway, we've decided that baseball opening day is the perfect time to go see a hockey playoff for you.

Sounds good to me. Why is our timing so ridiculous? It's a great game. It is a great game. And there are only so many.

This is the issue. The Devils Arena in Newark is the closest to me. It's an easy train ride. Not so for Jay.

He actually has to come across two rivers, so I give him credit for that. It's going to be a long couple train rides for you. It's not so bad. Just have some headphones and something to listen to. I'll listen to the game. Opening day.

There you go. So right, we're going to listen to baseball while we're en route and in transit, but this is a playoff preview. We think it is deserving.

And with the Devils schedule, it seemed like all their recent home games were at times where I couldn't go because of other commitments, other sports commitments, yada yada. So we're looking forward to that. We'll have a full report. I'm sure there will be photos. I always take National Anthem photos, but I just want you to know, this is my promise to you. No matter what, I will do my job.

If Jay gets kicked out for cheering in the press box, I'm sorry, Jay. There's the door. I got work to do. No. Heck no. Can you just leave me stranded outside in Newark?

Yes. You could get on the train and go back home. What if it's not running yet? It's running. No, I'm not going down with your sinking ship. That is not happening.

You get yourself kicked out of a press box. I've got work to do. And these are my people here. The New Jersey Devils know me. That's true.

In fact, one guy with the PR department, Kyle, calls me their good luck charm because every time I'm there, they win by a mile. Oh, I don't like that. Oh, yeah. So you might want to sit somewhere else. Maybe that's a good idea. You sit at one end of the press box. I'll sit at the other end of the press box. Except for Kyle always gives me cushy seats, so I literally sit mid-ice every time. I want that, though.

Yeah, I know you do. Then you better not cheer in the press box and leave that Rangers hat at home. I'll leave it in the car.

It's got to be in the area. So you're going to go in with hat head, then? No, I won't wear it.

It'll just be like... Oh, it's for moral support? Right, right. Okay, so the second you get back to your car, you can put your hat on?

Of course. Okay, what if the Islanders win? The Islanders?

Oh, sorry. What if the Devils win? So much for that. It's a hatless night. Ooh, let's make that wager. If the Devils win, it's a hatless night. No, no, no, no. Look at you.

You can't even do it. All right, let's do one more quick in the NBA while we're talking about the Western Conference. Russell Westbrook seemingly has found his groove with the clips. Westbrook working against Moran again.

They want the clear out. Cross over, drive to his right. Westbrook gets to the rim, fakes it in with a right hand. Thirty-one for Russell Westbrook. Westbrook gets a screen from Hyland to his left. Westbrook driving middle into the paint to the rim. Inside hand finish goes down.

Russell Westbrook with 34, and it's 131-122 LA. Mann gets rid of it. Hyland near side corner. Drives middle. Kick at Covington.

Loads up on a left wing three. Oh, Robert Covington, seven for seven from downtown. 141-130. LA leads with a minute to play. Russell Westbrook finding his zone. Thirty-six points, ten assists. That's the Russell Westbrook that we know and love.

Just had four rebounds, but also had two blocked shots, so no triple-double for Russell. But on Bally Sports West, yeah, it's kind of nice to be the focal point, to be involved. I'm super blessed and grateful, like I always, first and foremost, think to the man above for allowing me to go out without him. I wouldn't be here, and my mindset never changes, man.

My role may change, but my mind don't. We have an unbelievable team with Y and TGR, and I know my job changed a little bit, but tonight we did it together, which is great. So, Russell Westbrook clearly losing his voice.

I can identify and relate to that, because it's scary when that happens. Maybe, maybe, I think it's worth noting, that he goes five for five from beyond the arc. So that's important, is Russ can fill up a stat sheet sometimes just by being aggressive and getting to the hoop, because he still is a fairly explosive player. But the fact that he goes five for five from beyond the arc, but get this, he wasn't the only one. The Clippers were shooting the lights out in Memphis. Robert Covington goes seven for seven from beyond the arc. Wowsers, the team as a whole, shot 60% from downtown, 22 of 37. The Clippers are going to shoot like that, they're going to win a bunch of playoff games.

So yeah, really impressive. The Clips did not have either Kawhi Leonard or PG-13, so no Paul George for this game. So even more impressive that Ty Lue's group was able to get it done by relying on the rest of the guys. We just love our guys, we continue to keep competing. We understood how important this game was to us, and we just stuck with it and was able to come out with a big win. I thought Bones and Russ tonight were unbelievable.

And that's what we need. You know, when guys are out, we need guys to step up. And Rocco Bones, and Russ definitely did that for us.

Rocco Bones is Robert Covington, who I was just referring to. Just because Russ was losing his voice, can we hear him one more? So how did you get your groove back, Russ? I'm super blessed and grateful, like I always, first and foremost, to the men of Buffalo allowing me to go out.

41, I wanted to see what he sounded like at the podium. It's that time of the year, Jimmy. It's that time of the year. I ain't went nowhere, I'm still here. My job just changed a little bit. My job is to keep competing, keep my burst there.

You know, year 15, I'm still jumping, I'm still going. He's a hoot. There's no one like Russell Westbrook. I really am hoping that this, after what he's been through the last few years, the number of franchises he's played for, and I get it, some of it's on him, I certainly understand it, but it didn't fit. It didn't work with the Lakers.

And that was his dream, right? Because he had, he's an LA guy, and he went to UCLA, and the Lakers are the pie in the sky. Clippers are not generally the first choice of people who want to play in LA. And so he ends up, he gets to stay home when he's traded, but he ends up with the Clippers, and they seem to have absorbed him into their locker room, and they seem to be okay with him. Kawhi is a lot more laid back, and so there's opportunity there.

Ty Lue certainly appreciates what Westbrook, I mean, we could just shorten the name, what Russ Westbrook can do. As for the Grizzlies, Ja Morant back with another huge game, at least in the free throw line, 12 for 12, but has 36 points, nine assists in there. And so the Grizzlies are, they are a playoff team, we know that.

For them, it's just, I think about smoothing out the edges and just kind of finding their rhythm again, too, after being without Ja for as long as they were. They have won eight of their last ten, though. So here's where we sit in the Western Conference. Suns have won their third in a row, their 4-0 with Durant, so he returned last night. They're in the fourth place spot, half game ahead of the Clippers, okay, so just a half game ahead of the Clippers, and the Warriors are another half game behind the Clippers. So you're talking about, oh, a full game behind the Clippers.

The Warriors were idle on Wednesday. You're talking about the three teams that are just ahead of that 7-10 tournament that are winning a game and a half of each other. The Timberwolves saw their winning streak snapped last night, so they end up losing to the Suns. They are in the 7 spot. The Lakers have climbed up to the 8 spot now, but they have the exact same record as the Pelicans.

How about that? Lakers and Pelicans have the exact same record in the 8-9 spot, and then the Thunder, who are in the 10 spot. You also have the Mavericks, who are on the outside looking in.

They've lost 7 of the last 10. Honestly, they're worse with Kyrie. And I'm not saying it's all Kyrie, I'm just saying the fit has not been there. It's not been as seamless as what we've seen with KD when he's been on the court. Now, the trade office, he's not been on the court as much as Kyrie since the trade, but it's, right now, it's Luka and it's Kyrie, and they've got almost nothing else, it feels like.

No other support. But yeah, the Mavericks are still in it. So, from the 4 spot down to the 11 spot. Actually, we'll include the Jazz in there as well. From the 4 spot down to the 12 spot, you're talking about 9 teams separated by a mere 5 games. 9 teams, 5 games.

So, you win 2 in a row, you lose 2 in a row, and you either climb or drop a few rungs on the ladder. You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio. I'm going to get to some of your responses. What's your advice for Lamar Jackson? All right, so if you have the opportunity to offer him some advice, I hope you would do it with more appropriate words, and some of you are passing along on our social media. What would you say to him? Like, what would you tell him to do?

What do you think is the right thing, looking at it from the outside? 855-212-4227. It's After Hours, CBS Sports Radio. To the corner, Melton, 3-point shot, got it. The Anthony Melton, 5 threes in the game.

He is a streaky 3-point shooter, and here's something, he's on a hot streak. James turns, kick out Maxie, 3 on the clock. Maxie on a drive, into the lane, skips it off the window, and in, what a drive by Maxie. A little separation on Hardaway and Bullock, and Maxie scores it on a left to right reverse. Man, that is tremendous athleticism and balance. Maxie with 22.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The Philadelphia 76ers look like they could be a tough out in the playoffs. Dare I say it, maybe I shouldn't say it, don't speak it into existence. Or if you're a jinx person, don't jinx it. Now this is the Mavericks, okay, so let's not get too excited. The Mavericks are going the wrong way, as I mentioned just before the break. They're on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture. Having dropped 7 of their last 10, I would say there's about a.0000002% chance that Kyrie Irving remains in Dallas. I can't imagine, maybe they don't even want him considering what happened, or what's happened since he got there. But it's just been a mess. On and off the court, him and Luca, I know injuries are a part of the game.

They don't really have a whole lot of support around that. Tom McGinnis with the call on the Philadelphia 76ers radio network. This was a game actually that was on national TV. I don't want to ignore Tim Hardaway because he did have 21 points in this game. But in terms of their ability to battle, I'm not calling them soft. But the Sixers are obviously a more battle-tested team. And they have guys that are more willing to do whatever it takes. To me it seems like they're a team with a lot more veteran leadership and experience as well. And so they've got 4 of their 5 guys who start in double figures. Joel Embiid, 25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and a blocked shot. And the conversation continues even as the Mavericks gear up for the playoffs with their 50th win.

The conversation continues around the MVP race and whether or not it's Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic again. I don't know what people use as a criteria. It seems like it changes weekly what the real criteria is.

Before it was a bunch of numbers. Now it's wins. And I'm like, well it wasn't wins last year. You know what I'm saying?

So it just feels like every year it just keeps changing. Joel Embiid, at least according to the people we've talked to, is kind of taking a step back in this case where he's no longer promoting himself. He wants his play to do the talking.

But yes, there is a lively debate. And this is his last couple weeks, same with Jokic, to be able to prove himself as a worthy candidate or as the guy who could take that trophy away from Jokic. I have nothing to prove. The last matchup we won and I had whatever I had to go out there and say that I'm scared.

After what I did the last time is kind of stupid. I don't care if I win it or not. I'm just focused on trying to win the championship and whatever happens happens. If we win, great. If we don't or if I don't win anything, I don't care.

Joel Embiid, I don't care. It's all about the playoffs. That is the right mentality to lead your team into what is the battle of the postseason, especially when you're talking about these top three teams in the East. Right now people look at the Bucks, the Celtics and the Sixers as the top three teams in the NBA.

And they're all right there. And likely we could end up, now I'm not saying it will happen because upsets are possible, but it could end up that the Sixers and the Celtics have to play each other in a second round series. Right. And so they need to be playing their best basketball so they don't have another second round exit. That has been their nemesis for years. Wasn't it the knock on the Clippers that they couldn't get to the Western Conference Finals?

That was their thing. They couldn't get to the Western Conference Finals. Well, for the Sixers, now obviously they've had success in their past, but they've been running into the glass ceiling that is the second round now for a couple of years, even with Joel Embiid, even with these guys they put together. And I know Ben Simmons is not part of the equation anymore. James Harden is. Jay was just making the point that the Nets, who are, they're a playoff team, but they're not a contender. I just, I think they're game, but they're just not that, they're not good enough.

That the James Harden 76ers could end up eliminating the no longer James Harden Brooklyn Nets. Is that going to sting, Jay? A little bit. Not great. Not great. Not great.

Oh my gosh. What a difference a few years makes when it comes to the Brooklyn Nets. I don't feel bad for them though.

They did this to themselves. Now, Joel Embiid took off last game with a calf injury. That's the report. And he's saying, I don't, I don't care. You can say what you want. I don't care if that takes away from my MVP credentials.

I don't care. And what you see against the Mavericks on Wednesday night, this is who Joel Embiid is. He's not afraid to take the big shot.

He very often can score when it's absolutely required. He had a massive three to tie the game in the fourth quarter and then next trip down the floor was able to hit another jump shot. Turned out to be the last bucket the Sixers would need.

Mavericks get this. This is what I'm talking about with being battle tested and tough or lack thereof. The Sixers just have a different grit to them.

They have a different maturity, a different toughness to them mentally and physically. They held the Mavericks scoreless for the final three plus minutes of the game. Scoreless. As in no points. In case you were wondering if I was being literal there.

No points. So the Mavericks are in danger of missing the playoffs in the West, as we know. Six games, five, six games to go for teams. It's coming down to the nitty gritty.

Same thing in the NHL. And actually I'm doing a new philosophy this year. And I've mentioned this before. I'll talk more about it next week or when we get into April, which is next week. But the standard spring tradition for me has been to take a week off in May.

Right. So work pretty much all the way through from NFL play, end of the NFL regular season through the playoffs. Maybe take a couple of days off to go visit mom, which I did. And then to work straight through until about the second round of the postseason in hockey and hoops. And then take off a week and go to the beach.

That's not happening this year. Instead, around my birthday and around my Grammy's birthday, I'm taking a four day, four and a half day swing to Arizona. It just happens to be sandwiched in between my first two Syracuse classes.

Am I crazy or what? I'm going to go and this is after my family's up for Easter weekend to celebrate birthdays. I'm going to go Jersey, Syracuse, back to Jersey, to Arizona, come back from Arizona. Twelve hours later, be in Syracuse again. And that's fine. It really is. It's totally fine.

I'm a strange girl. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Planning a wedding is intimidating, but finding the perfect suit shouldn't be. Design your dream suit at Indochino.com and use code podcast for 10 percent off any purchase of $3.99 or more. That's Indochino.com code podcast.