Hey, what's up everybody? Welcome back. It's Rich Eisen Show Basketball Podcast.
Brockman here as always joined by Adam. TJ, what's up guys? What's going on? Just cracking.
What's cracking? Wearing purple today for the celebration. No, I'm just kidding. It's over guys. The NBA season is officially concluded. The Denver Nuggets are your NBA champions in five games. Just like taking out the Miami Heat.
Is that what you said? Denver in five? Oh, at the beginning of the season.
The very, very beginning for the first game. How are you guys going to remember this NBA season? Is it for the greatness that we saw from Jokic in Denver all year?
Or is it something else, Adam? It has to be the coronation of Jokic becoming arguably the number one player in the league. I think most people think he's that guy right now and cementing his legacy. You know, when players don't win championships, there's always that doubt.
There's always that. Oh, well, this guy didn't get it done. You know, he was a great player, but he never won a ring. And now Nicola Jokic has a ring. If he doesn't win one more ring the rest of his career, it doesn't matter. He still won a ring and he's an all-time great and he's cemented that status by winning this championship this year. That's a good take. TJ, what do you think about that?
Well, you know, neither of my teams won so this year sucked. The thing with Joker is this, right? It's like a lot of people just discovered that guy. It's seemingly in the last three months. The thing is, the man had two previous MVP seasons, arguably one or two, the first or the second best player during the regular season this year. As the season concluded it was obvious he was number one. So, if there's someone who paid attention and knew that this guy had been good for a very long time, but what he did in these playoffs was pretty outstanding.
But I brought this point up on the big show earlier today. You know, I look back to last year's Nuggets team and you know, they lost to the Warriors who went on to win the championship, obviously. But Joker last year averaged 31, 13, and 6. Somewhat similar numbers to what he put up this year. In the playoffs or in the regular season? In that in that playoff series against the Warriors.
Okay. So, he put up similar numbers, but I think the key was the resurgence in the return of Jamal Murray. Because, as we know, Bubble Murray looked like he was on his way to becoming an all-time great. Blew out his knee, which was just, you hate to see, especially when the players that great get hurt.
It took him two years. I'm sure Rich at some point was complaining that he was load managing, but no, he was just trying to get his body back, his knee back. And then you see what Jamal Murray did. He was definitely a piece that was necessary because last year, I think their second top score was Will Barton. You know, so having Murray in there, in addition to what Joker was already giving you, that was a hell of a one-two punch, man. And they definitely, they were, they were head and shoulders above everyone.
They ate their thing. Yeah. He thought Aaron, Aaron Gordon deal was awesome for him. Awesome for the Nuggets. Big guy, able to rebound, athletic. He's able to run the floor. He saw what he was able to do. He had a couple of games where he took over the first quarter and another game, took over the first half of another game.
MPJ, it didn't play great this series, but played really well in the playoffs and this regular season. And in game five, he had a really good game yesterday. And he had a really good game. Everyone's going to remember Chris 16 and 13.
You're right. He didn't remember that picture you showed me of him taking a jumper wide open. Remember that it was like the close out game. He was three of 22 or something from three in the first four games. And then throws in a 16, 13 to help him when, uh, his kind of emergence, his health being fully healthy. We saw what he was capable of, uh, on the, I mean, he's a legit six, 10 capable of on the glass and defensively.
Yeah. I'm really happy for Denver. I'm happy for Jokic and Murray and their fans. I'm happy for Michael Malone. Like this, he's a really, really good head coach. It's all some of the, uh, freezing cold takes going around today of man. It's going to be a shame when Denver misses its championship window.
Cause their coach isn't good enough. Well, those are all over now. Like Michael Malone is an NBA champion, a head coach. And I think this Denver team is going to be remembered pretty fondly. And I think it's something TJ we brought up, uh, on the big show earlier this week.
And I think we should have it right now. Uh, is Denver going to be one of those championship teams that's one and done or is, do they have that potential Adam to kind of maybe run off two or three of these things, get back to the finals a couple of more times. Uh, what are your thoughts on a possible Denver dynasty? Well, the key to the Denver dynasty will be injuries and to win an NBA championship, everything really needs to go, right? You can't have major injuries. You have to have team chemistry. You have to have guys playing hot at the right time. And with Denver, two of their key players are Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. And if you look at the past couple of years, those guys have been injury played Porter Jr. With his back. And then obviously Jamal Murray with his ACL.
So to me, that's the key. If those guys can stay healthy and not have any major injuries, I think Denver is set up to be a perennial contender for the next five to six years, considering how young those guys are, they're all under 30 still. And you have Jokic still right in the peak of his prime. You have Murray who still might even get better after this year, he's only 26 years old, still Porter Jr. Is only 24.
So the injuries will be key, but if you can keep that whore together, I can see potentially multiple championships with this team. Yeah. And you look how awesome Bruce Brown was TJ in the playoffs, hitting big shots, Christian Braun. I, you said that he went back to back and I was like, Oh, was he on the warriors last year?
No, I'm an idiot. He was on Kansas last year, you know, Chris won the national championship. When you have that question, what can Brown do for you? Well, for the nuggets of the Browns, the two rounds delivered man, one looks at Braun, but it is Brown, Bruce Brown and Christian Brown, like Christian Brown won three high school state championships. He then went to Kansas, won in Natty and now back to back champion as he, as I said, Bruce Brown, like KCP, the KCP kind of, he was the only guy on that team. I believe that had a ring prior to, and he was the only guy over 30.
He is, he is exactly 30. He's the only one 30 and up to get any minutes on the nuggets. So we know how the stars play. We know how their two alpha dogs played. And then we saw Aaron Gordon, the MPJ, you know, but you got to give KCP props. You got to give the Browns props, you know, and that's the type of structure and kind of team chemistry that wins you championships because obviously, you know, your big dogs got to eat, but it's about the, I don't want to call them bench players because Jimmy Butler hates that the teammates, the other guys who aren't number one on the call sheet, they're not the stars, man, but they play their roles to perfection.
And that's what the nuggets did, man. They were, they were a well oiled unit. Like they form like Voltron, obviously, and the quote Wu Tang and Joker was the head, but man, this team, I was impressed. I was impressed. They were so well coached.
They were so well disciplined. I said that yesterday. Could they be a dynasty? I don't know because like I said, right now, I'm not sure what the contracts look like. I don't know if maybe someone could opt out or whatever, but you would have to think now that Denver might be a destination, right? For some of these vets, where do I want to go? I want to go ring hunting.
Maybe I want to go there. I want to play with the Joker, man. You know, Tom Pellicero brought up a good point on the big show yesterday where he said like football teams don't necessarily have these old vets that they keep on the rosters, right? But you look at a guy like Uncle Jeff Green, right? There are videos of him pulling Aaron Gordon to the side and kind of coaching him on the floor as only like a vet that plays the same position could do. And he would tell him, you know, when you got your guy up high, like push him down. And there were just like things that he was telling Aaron Gordon who was soaking it all up and then going out there and kind of doing what Jeff had kind of put into his head.
So that's why you have these vets that kind of hang around. That's why you have the UD's and guys like that because they see things and they can relate to these players. And like I said, big props to the Nuggets, man. It was it was kind of like a Spurs title where it yeah, it's not always the most exciting, you know, was not going to be a whole lot of sports center highlights. But if you love basketball and you just love great teamwork and basketball played at the truly the highest level, that's what the yeah, that's what I was thinking, too, Adam. Is it now going to be like, man, I just want to play with Joker like this guy's so awesome and he makes everybody around him better. I mean, he was there.
I don't. Joel Murray wed the finals and assists, but he was there leading us this guy all year. Yeah. Did Joker average triple double this year, right?
For the regular season. I think he was close. He was very close. He was very I mean, look, I like to round up personally.
So to me, you like to round up. But what I'm saying is, is that is it now going to be to T.J.'s point? Is Denver now a destination?
It has to be free agents. It actually has to be dimes. So to me, that's 10. So, yeah. And I was looking at the stats. Jokic for the playoffs averaged 30 points a game, 13.5 rebounds and 9.5 assists.
So you almost average a triple double for a 30 point triple. That's absurd. It absolutely is a free agent destination who would not want to play with this team.
They're so unselfish. Jokic will get you the ball. You'll get more money from playing with this team because you will get open shots and you'll become the best player possible that you can be. And say you go there for like one or two years, you up your stock and then you get your real money somewhere else after you've potentially won a ring and gotten to play with the most unselfish superstar in the league. I think it's a no brainer. Just look at the style of play.
Not in this series, which I want to talk about in a minute. They're up and down, they run, they shoot a ton of threes, and it's just fun. It's fun basketball. I got to say also mad props to Denver for adjusting the way they play. The Heat really uglied up this NBA finals.
All of these games were physical. They were low scoring. The pace was exactly how Miami wanted to play. I think they just ran out of gas, TJ. I think they were just tired. They really had, they really exhausted themselves and fought and scrapped every single round to win these series. Yes, they got lucky that Giannis got hurt. Yes, they got lucky that Julius Randle twisted ankle. They got lucky that Tatum twisted his ankle in game seven, but so what? They got lucky that Deor DeRozan didn't travel. Exactly, exactly. But they still had to beat all those teams.
Yeah. You know, they went toe to toe. They beat three of the top four teams in the east to get to the NBA finals.
And I think they were just out of gas. Jimmy Butler, I bet we're going to find out something was wrong with him physically. He just wasn't himmy in the finals the way he was in the previous three rounds. But they were able to really ugly up these games and Denver withstood it, made enough shots, made enough plays, enough adjustments, adjustments, coaching, the power of Murray and Jokic, their ability. They were able to will them through all these games and win a championship.
And I think that, you know, needs to be said. And Chris, you know, I think a few podcasts ago you said something to the effect of like, they're going to have to score, you know, Denver's going to score 120 a game like they're going to have to score a lot, right? Most points scored in this NBA finals were 111 points. And that was by the heat.
Wow. And that was not the way Denver had been playing. So they adjust Denver 109 in their in their win. That was the highest they had.
Yeah, 104. I would never have thought that was going to happen. Yeah, 108 twice. Once in a loss and once in a win.
I never thought that would have happened. I thought Denver would have been in the one teens, 120 this whole finals. Miami did a great job. They're just they were just inconsistent shooting. Yeah. Like they weren't against Boston and weren't against the Knicks. And they were under man, too. Yeah. And you can see the the role players that played so outstanding against your Celtics kind of came back to Earth.
I mean, where was Kayla Martin? He averaged only seven point four points a game. Was he 17 plus against Boston?
Something like that. And then and then obviously you have Gabe Vinson, who had a good first two games of the finals and then did not play well the final three at all. And then I said before the series started that for the heat to have a chance, Jimmy Butler needed to score 27 to 30 points a game and he averaged 21 plus. So Jimmy had a decent series. But like you said, he wasn't the guy that we all saw. He did nothing last night until the last two minutes, essentially.
And he was he had a really bad shooting percentage last night. Yeah. But I thought Bam played really well in the series. I think so, too.
Yeah, I think Bam definitely up to start. Yeah, he played really well. But overall, yeah, the guys who were just playing out of their minds for the heat in the first few rounds just couldn't really get it done against Denver.
And I think that was just the main difference. Yeah. Good run by Miami, obviously. You know, can't take anything away from them. It's just curious where they kind of go from here. Dame Lillard, the Miami Heat needs to do whatever it takes to trade for him.
They need to think about that. You could trade Tyler Hero. One or two first round draft picks and somebody like Martin, one of those guys. If you're the Miami Heat, he is the perfect piece to the championship puzzle. You have him is the number one guy. Jimmy Butler is the number two, which is perfect for him. I don't think Jimmy Butler is a number one guy in a championship team. He is a great number two, like a Jamal Murray. And if you are able to get Dame Lillard to the heat, I think you're favored to come out of the east again next year, simply because Dame has gone on record and said that Bam's his boy and then he wants to play in Miami or he wants to live in Miami and go there had they won the championship.
So, you know, that was something that he said, too. So they didn't win the championship. It's all going to come down this day. What Dame wants his leg and I want to get too far up the nuggets or the heat, but it's going to come down to what he wants his legacy to be. Does he want to be that guy who sticks with one team his whole career, which is very admirable, or does he want to go out and kind of solidify his place in history and get himself a seat at the table that only a championship ring can can get you into that restaurant. So this yeah, we've never seen Dame Lillard in a NBA finals type of situation and we all believe at least I believe that he can be like a Steph Curry type of incredible like 30 point a game when the NBA finals type player and this is his real opportunity to do that.
I just don't see that happening of Portland. And like you said, TJ, it's good to be loyal. It's good to be on the same team at the same time. If you know your team has no chance to really get there. Why not go to another team before you're out of your prime and you don't have that chance anymore? Yeah, Dame's 32 birthday coming up in July. So be 33 for next NBA season.
Yeah, it's kind of in an hour and effort situation, but also let's just say that he wouldn't get Dame. You look at this team for the very top players are all signed through 2026. So this heat team is going to beat again.
I guess my point bringing this up is that do you break them up? Are you going to do it? No, no, no. I'm just saying as they are right now, are they good enough to win a title? It seems like they're missing one piece, right?
Well, you got to ask yourself, right? If Tyler had played, if Ola Depot had played, how much of a difference would that have made? Could that have stretched this out? I'm not saying they could have one could definitely would have made it a more competitive series. So heroes in there. We don't get the cable Martin series against Boston. We don't get Gabe Vincent probably getting a number of shots that he got right here. Heroes kind of eating up those looks. I believe same thing with all Depot, even though he's more of a defender and he didn't he didn't play a tremendous a lot of basketball this year.
I remember he had a lot of dnps, but I don't know, man. I think that this heat team, like I said, they're a good team. They're very good team. They have their core signed for another three years. So I mean, you know, it's all about what Pat Riley Alonzo morning that front office wants to do. They want to stick with this team.
Obviously, there are improvements that can be made and probably do need to be made if they do want to take that next step. I just want it on the record that my fears before the playoffs of Miami were vindicated. Didn't want to play them. Didn't want Boston to play them.
And yeah, you sound from from the game. I'm like, No, I want no part of this heat team. And it's because of kind of what we saw in the playoffs.
They're super scrappy. I mean, I don't love the idea or the notion of heat culture, but it seems like it's a real thing. Why don't you like the idea of that? I think I just don't like their fans, but truly, how many Miami Heat fans do you know that you like talk to on a regular? I don't know what it is. I know a few heat fans. I know a few are all super cool.
And so I don't have you know what it is? I think it's because I listen to Leboutin sometimes. OK. And there they've got a few few guys who are so obnoxiously pro heat, obviously, because they're a Miami based show. OK. And it's just kind of it's like, oh, my like Jimmy Butler's on any other team. I'd love him.
He'd be one of my favorite players just because the way he plays and the style and the grit and the heart. You know, I think that that stuff matters. And whether, you know, take away strip away the name and the identity of heat culture, but it's the way they play, the way they're constructed starts from the top down. Pat Riley wants a morning and it goes all the way to the last guy on the bench.
You know, the teammate, as Jimmy Butler would say, doesn't want to call them bench players. It's really admirable. They what they did this year, I don't think should be forgotten. It's been it was really impressive. And it's going to the NBA finals and really, really a seven.
See, there was a seven. OK. And you look at they were, what, three games away from a championship if you want to put it to it. So, yeah, what they did this year was so impressive. And I just think they ran out of gas.
I just I think it's a real thing. You just you're just exhausted, kind of like Boston last year. They that crew had played so many play out games, basketball games in the year. Plus, they're just they're just exhausted.
Yeah, you do run out of experience and you're just tired. And they're one guy who a lot of people will say is a superstar, Jimmy Butler. He played like it in the first three rounds. But in the finals, he just wasn't the number one superstar that you expect.
So that was just, you know, the main difference. And you need a full team. Look at what Denver just pulled off. You need a full team. You need eight guys.
You really need it. You can't win with seven. You're not going to win with six.
Obviously, you need a full eight plus maybe nine to win an NBA championship. And. And Denver did it.
Congratulations to them. This now changes every conversation about them forever. Now, Yochich and Jamal Murray and Michael Malone as a head coach and MPJ and KCP and Aaron Gordon as, you know, contributing superstar, you know, stars. This changes everything now.
And now the conversation is going to turn to the Yochich. And I've been saying it for weeks now is where he where you put him on the all time list. And he is rapidly climbing the all time list. And if he can put together two, three more of these type seasons, gets back to another finals, maybe they win another ring. Suddenly we're talking about him, T.J., as blasphemous as it is going to be to you about Hakeem Olajuwon, about the number one, one of the one of the top centers of all time. Yeah. He gets that second ring. Get ready, buddy. I understand. As you know, as you said before, talk is talk. But to me, like I just he would have to win.
I don't know. Three, four titles for me to put him in the top five centers of all time, because you look at the top five. I mean, just me personally, which is a good group you have. You have to say Bill Russell, even though I didn't see him play. You have to say Wilt Chamberlain. Then you have to go Kareem.
You have to go dream. You have to go Shaq. I it would take a lot for me to knock one of those guys out of my only one title for Wilt.
Yeah. But I mean, it's Wilt Chamberlain, bro. Literally every other record. I understand, you know, probably second. I'd have to say Shaq was probably the most dominant player.
Different game when different game when Wilt played. But again, you know, I'm not big on these lists, guys, because to me, it's just like there's no way to to quantify or validate these lists, because as I'm very fond of saying, until Doc Brown finishes that DeLorean and we can hit 88 and go back in time and pull some guys and bring them back to the future here. These lists are just like I said, you're going to have a list of personal list.
I understand. We did this the other day. Preshow Adam, TJ and I were coming up with the top was a 15 top 15. We were coming up with top 15 and we essentially had the exact same list minus two rise to. So let's make it a top 17 at the end of Joker's career. Is he in the top 17?
Who on who on your list in my list? Does he jump? Let's project it out. Let's say he gets one more title. OK, another MVP and makes it back to another NBA finals top 17. Does he crack your top 17? Does he take out? I think he takes out Dirk. Well, Dirk was in your Dirk was on mine.
Elvin Hayes. I'll give him this. If he gets multiple championships based upon his skill set and his MVPs, I'll to make it not an argument. I'll say, yeah, top 25, top 25 all time. We could put him in there without much of an argument that is providing.
He gets one or two more rings. Adam, top 25 for Joker. And then I have another question for you after.
What do you think? Yeah, I mean, I don't know what your guys list are, but it's probably the same. It's probably the same as yours. Take a second to write down your top. Yeah, just write down your top 15.
It's probably going to be very similar. We have MJ, LeBron, Kareem, Magic Bird, Russell, Wilt, Shaq, Kobe, Tim Duncan, Elgin, Baylor, Hakeem, Oscar Robertson, Elvin Hayes, Steph, Dirk, Dr. J, Dr. J, this Malone, Moses Malone. So, you know, that's pretty much a top 20.
Yeah. I mean, I think he can definitely crack the the like maybe like the teens for sure. If he wins another championship, the guy's still only 28 years old. He and the thing of Jokic also is that his game will not decline that much as he gets older because he doesn't jump, you know, jump over a book. So I've never seen him dunk.
Have you? Yeah. So but that's a lot. So you see so many players, you know, like the James Harden's of the world, not to get you salty, T.J., but you see that guys like that where it's, you know, that that decline because they rely on their athletic ability and Jokic isn't that guy that relies on that. So I could see him going for another. He's 28 now. I could see him playing like this for at least another six, seven years if he keeps himself in shape. So you have another six, seven years of this prime joke, Jokic.
I don't see another reason why they can't win at least another ring. And then if he wins two rings, you have to put him in the discussion of being better than Hakeem Elijah. You have to put him in the discussion of being better than Elvin Hayes and whoever else you mentioned towards the end of that list. And Moses, Dr. Moses.
Yeah. Dr. J. Dr. J is great as he was as he was. And he only played in the NBA for, you know, a few years. He didn't play his entire career there, but he only had one ring. And so if you have more rings than him, you have more rings than Elvin Hayes. You have as many rings as a king.
He has to be part of that in terms of that discussion being at that level. How about this for what for you guys? These guys are both the same age, 28 years old. They each have won titles in the last three years.
The rest of their careers, who do you got winning more championships, Yanis or Yoker? That's a great question. The Joker or the last in the next, I don't know, eight years. I mean, it's such an impossible question to answer because two years ago you ask us that and it's going to be honest, right? For sure. For sure. Now you ask is that and recency bias is going to say maybe Joker. But the fact of the matter is there's a chance that neither one of those guys win a championship again, right? You know, so you really it's so hard.
The league's so competitive. And also, Adam, you said something about eight more years. Obviously, he was excited, even though outwardly he didn't show it. Do you really believe this man's going to stay around for another eight years? Because something tells me after yesterday, I feel like maybe like five years and he's going to be like peace. That is a good point.
That is a good point. Is he going to have this? Is he going to have the desire to stay around and play till he's, you know, 38 39 40? I don't know the man. I've never seen him in person. I've never spoken to him, but just based upon my eyes, what I see and the way he seems to have this affinity for like, he treated this like a nine to five line.
It's like a job. And I know Chris, you know, you and I talked earlier before the show about like people celebrate differently and I completely get that. But we all know what we all know. No, we've never done it, but we understand how hard it is to win a championship in any sport.
My man got done. You wouldn't have known. Had you just turned the TV on while he was getting interviewed, you wouldn't have known if he won four games, oh, or loss. Oh, zero games before.
Like you wouldn't have known he just won an NBA title. So I understand like that's his makeup and that's how he is and he wants to get home. But I just don't know. I don't know if he's going to be a guy who's playing till he's 38 39 years old.
I'm not sure. I guess that's what makes him so good, right? You know, you're, you're this the whole time. You're even not too high.
You're not too low. Like I know personally, like obviously my favorite player of all time, Michael Jordan, he cried his first time winning it. And then he cried hysterically on the fourth championship. And then you see Jokic after the game, just literally just shaking all of the heat players hands first, which is a very classy gesture. But usually what happens when somebody wins a ring is they celebrate and then they give the handshakes maybe after this guy goes right to the heat players, he shakes all of their hands and you don't see any emotion.
He just says, we get to go home now. Like he started to get a little more celebratory in the locker room. I'm sure some champagne was in him. He started when his, you know, it's his daughter, right? When his daughter came out, like that was really cool. Did you see him dunk Murray in the pool? Yeah, that was hilarious fun. But like on the court though, this guy just like you said, TJ, it looks like it was just another day at the office.
He seemed like he worked at 12 hours shift and then got told you got to put two extra hours in of overtime and he's just like now you have to go home like and I understand, you know, you're probably tired you put in the work and that's just probably his personality. But even so when the team was celebrating, they kind of did like an overhead shot. He literally was behind he like did his thing and then he took his daughter and he was behind the entire mob of people that was on that stage when you see it. He was just like standing there talking to somebody but he wasn't in the mix. He wasn't in the celebration when they took the picture and all the stars were sitting on the sitting on the stage and all the like the teammates are the bench guys. He was at the very end holding his daughter like I don't even know if he made the team picture to be honest with you.
I did see some photos but he was way off to the side and the TV side. He was way to the left, you know, and I like I said that it's admirable. I personally I enjoy a little bit of you know, get it off your chest and say it with your chest. But hey, man, no disrespect. That's how you celebrate. That's how you feel. I like to see the emotion come out. That's beautiful to see because you saw it with Murray me personally.
I'm very sensitive. I know I would cry if I was the NBA and so I always kind of maybe not necessarily respect but I'm I'm kind of I admire somebody who's so even keel all the way. It's almost like a Buddhist way of living life versus not too high not too low. And I think that's a great way to live especially with with playing sports how emotions can actually hurt you as much as they can help you. Yeah, it's just wild. It's wild.
I love everything about this. I mean, he definitely he definitely didn't party like Aaron Gordon last night. It's not like it's not like Aaron Gordon, you know, but you saw him you look at some of the videos from the locker room. It was like the man didn't even know what to do with a bottle of champagne. It was just like it was just kind of like and there's something I want to say here and I wanted to make an analogy but I don't think I can say it into the microphone. So I'm going to tell you guys after we're done, but it was kind of like he takes the champagne balls like okay, you guys know you guys he was having fun with his teammates pouring beer on their head throwing each other in the pool and like so he definitely I think he maybe just reserved his emotions for when he got in the back with that core group because let's be honest.
Those are the guys who went to battle with every day for five months. Yeah, and then the parade in Denver is going to be on Thursday. So I'm kind of hoping we see a little bit more personality out of joke. Everyone says he's a really funny guy and he does have a great personality just doesn't show it, you know to the press and stuff. So I am hoping at the parade. We're going to see it's like not not full-on Kelsey Gronk performance at the parade or or PJ Tucker a few years ago with the box.
Yeah, remember PJ Tucker had the full big gold bottle ace of spades, but it's also like just something in the middle. I want to just see fun joke. People would come out and be like no Tim Duncan's really funny and everyone's like wait, what did they build Belichick super funny? Okay, people say Kawhi really funny. Hopefully one day we'll get to see as a I mean Kawhi's already got two of them things. It gives me hope that maybe one day maybe, you know, but I don't know but man Congrats, you know celebrate the way you want to celebrate. Of course bottom line is no one can ever take this away from what what those guys did. It was phenomenal and you know, I give a shout out to some guys some long-term vets, you know, like DeAndre Jordan former Clipper got a ring Reggie Jackson and is Smith right is Smith has played for 13 teams at his NFL NBA.
Sorry. It's Smith is played for 13 teams in his NBA career and the man finally got himself a piece of jewelry. So that says a lot about persistence. The man got cut or traded so many times and he just kept hanging on and you know, he finally reached the summit man. So props to him to even though he didn't obviously play a huge part on the court, but we don't know what these guys do in practice. We don't know what you know, the these vets like I said, they see things maybe that Malone doesn't see they kind of put their wisdom to the younger guys.
So I'm sure each one of them probably gotten to someone's ear who was playing a lot and help them out help make them better. So hey, I wanted to mention this in terms of we're just talking about Jokic and in terms of how he might who knows he might retire early. It made me think I was thinking about that last night where you see this guy. He plays so hard. He plays such a beautiful game, but I do also wonder like if he genuinely loves the game, you know what I mean? Like because you think like you need to have a love of the game to win to be an MVP best player in the league, but maybe you don't though so it had me thinking like this. Does he genuinely have the passion of like a Kobe or you know, even a little Braun or these guys, you know that really love the game and I don't know but he played like it.
So I guess that's all that matters. Adam. I saw this me and this thing of today and I don't know if he said this or it could have been something that someone just made up on Instagram, but there was a shot of him and there was a quote underneath it. Like I said, I don't know if he really said it but it and now I can't remember exactly but it essentially said it's a job who really likes their job, you know, so kind of given kind of greens to what you said. No, I don't know if that's something he said or if that's just something that somebody tried to be funny to make up. But yeah, he definitely did treat it like like a job. Well, it's like I bring it up to you all the time. Adam that that Neil Brennan tweet about Kawhi where Kawhi seems like the guy who works a nine-to-five and goes home to his family in Riverside and they have no idea what he does. She's doing that with the work for dad went to work for a few hours and now he's home for dinner. Yeah, you know what I mean? Joke.
It seems like the same thing. Like I can't wait for the videos that we're going to probably come out next week of him with his horses back at Serbia just walking down the street and everyone's like, hey, if his daughter wasn't there, she probably wouldn't know what her dad did for work. You know, I'm obviously so little I mean his maniac brothers and like, you know, I've I don't know he had but he doesn't seem like he's a killer like Kobe and MJ and LeBron doesn't seem to seem like him like he's obsessed with basketball. Okay, we say that but then you see those shots of him where he's going and not a lot but he's just losing his crap on on the bench and something's going on. I did love that clip.
That was awesome. Even he had a quote where he said he saw Bruce Brown taking a step back three and he goes at first I wanted to punch him but didn't hit it so it's like great and it was like so I mean, I mean he did he did he did you know kind of cheap shot the one of the one of the Morris Twins and remember the year before two years before that and now that massive swipe and got ejected from a playoff game for that. I mean, like obviously there's something inside of it. He's got the dog in them when necessary. Yeah, he's definitely definitely has a dog the competitive spirit for sure.
Yeah, but is he a killer like Kobe and and Mike? Probably be seen probably surrounded by killers, you know, and wink wink Denver repeat next year. You know what? I think it's too early. Let's let them just bask in their glory before we mad dog had an insane list today of like teams to watch out for or like title favorites for next year Golden State one or Boston wasn't even on it.
What are we doing? I saw Trey Young tweeted like we're next or something you and you and Murray are going to get back like what are you guys? What team are you going to be on Trey Young first title in 47 years? Like yeah, if you've never won you got to sit there and think yeah, why not? Why couldn't we because three years ago if I just said well three years ago was the bubble and they did go to the final conference final so yeah, maybe but no one like I said nobody beginning season was picking the Nuggets to you know, have the Larry OB trophy in their possession.
So you really just don't know you never know because the game of basketball is you kind of ride a wave you get hot you stay healthy and you have to have all the stars aligned for you and who knows maybe one day you too can do the job and then go home just like Joker and I like I like in terms of the Nuggets that they were a homegrown team that they drafted Jokic in the second round who's has to be at this point besides Dennis Rodman. He arguably now is the greatest second round pick in NBA history by far and then it was during a Taco Bell commercial. Yeah literally it was in a commercial he got drafted on the bottom line. Yeah, you didn't see this still the screen grab yesterday.
I don't think I saw that it was during like showing that screen grab for years though. Yeah, it was during a Taco Bell commercial he got drafted. Oh, he's got a they've got to do a commercial. Well, they said they were saying like just bring back that whatever meal it was a Taco Bell because I don't think it got I think it's discontinued but I guarantee Jokic has never had one Taco from Taco Bell on his inside.
He's not exactly honest. He probably has had his fair share of tacos. I love that picture of an Arby's guy. I love that picture of him as a kid where he's like super fat. He's like 12 or something.
I love that photo going around. There was also another one when he was five five with the nugget sweatshirt. See I'm like hesitant because I don't know what to believe anymore that could have been easily photoshop. So I'm like did he really have this on and it's only just I don't know. Let's just give you know the benefit of the doubt and say yeah there was a picture of him five years old wearing a Denver nugget sweatshirt. I didn't realize this I was looking this up one of his brothers played basketball in Europe and the other played at a d1 college here.
I don't remember which one the smaller one played in the less frightening one played at the d1 college here. Those guys are frightening and you have to believe that no no Adam one of them is one of them is like head to toe tatted up. It's like he could be the 12th man on the team like Willie Hernan Gomez or something but his older brother man like let me tell you you don't that man came down body slammed with jokes or after the game his seven foot 280 pound baby brother up like he was five.
It was just like shaking him and it was just like yo, no, I definitely don't want no smoke with that guy. I've never seen a scarier pair of siblings that that yoga has in the NBA ever and by the way, the Morris twins are from Philly. And one thing I've always said coming from Pennsylvania guys know nobody from Philly that can't fight. Okay. No, no, I mean boys girls kids everybody I know from Philly can squabble a little bit.
So I mean, I don't that would be interesting if they had to go head up, but let's hope it never gets you have to give them credit. Also. I'm sure they had a massive impact on his development as a basketball player.
Yeah, because made them tougher. Yeah, they're older than him and so they're teaching him everything at a younger age and he's able to develop at a quicker pace than if you didn't have those guys so shout out to the Jokic brothers just because I don't want them to beat me up at some time. All right, let's gonna do it. It's been an awesome NBA season.
So here's a deal NBA draft in a couple of weeks. We'll come back and do a pod then and then winning winning time season to August baby, August 6th. So we're going to be back. We're going to be back. You're going to love this because it's all Lakers and Celtics. So we're probably going to be we're going to review winning time each week, right? Let's do it.
Why not? Oh, it's going to be awesome. Looks like they're doing the 8182 season or something like that based on the preview yesterday. I saw was bird and magic. It looks like Pat Riley's the head coach and bird is bad. This guy who plays Larry Bird is awesome. Anyway, we're going to be back for the NBA draft in a couple of weeks and then we'll be back in August to recap winning time each episode.
That's going to be great. Thank you guys for listening watching throughout the year. Awesome NBA season. Congrats to the Denver Nuggets. Congrats Adam. Congrats TJ. You guys are the best as well. And we will see you guys next week.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-06-13 20:44:12 / 2023-06-13 21:02:11 / 18
