Hey, pardon my take, listeners. You can find every episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Prime. Members can listen ad free on Amazon Music.

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For us, golf is simple. It's a chance to get out and have some fun with our friends. But inevitably, little things have a way of ruining it. The group ahead is taking forever. You can't find the fairway with a map, and the Bev cart is nowhere to be found. And the best way to make a bad day better is fireball whiskey. You get their nips, the little shooters. They are great. Makes bad day way, way, way better. Make sure to grab the new fireball birdie shot club. It's literally a golf club filled with fireball nip. Put it in your bag. It'll fit right in that side pocket. Drink fireball nips and have a great time on the golf course. On today's part of my take, we have a two for for the people, a great NBA preview for the playoffs. We have head coach of the Denver Nuggets, Mike Malone, who we had on last year, great guy, great interview.

And Michael Malone.

Michael Malone. Whoa, I already fucked it up. Michael Malone. We said we would protect him. And then we also have head coach of the Boston Celtics, Joe Missoula, who I'll just say must listen interview because he won us all over.

He's the man.

Yeah, we're going to talk play ins. We're going to get Hanks draft big board. He actually Cubi through with it. Cubies QB big board. I want. I thought it was top ten. No, it was.

I was replacing Billy's QB bracket.

Okay.

All right.

So we're going to get his QB big board. He's watched the film. We got Fyre fest. And we're going to do a redemption pick with Mister Pear, the worst gambler of all time. It's all brought to you by our friends at draftkings. NBA fans, listen up. You've got to try pick six, the newest real money fantasy app from DraftKings and official partner the NBA. Getting started is simple. Select if a player will have more or less of a stat. For example, will player have more than one rebound? Will player have less than three and a half assists? You can do it all. We got playing games. We got the Pelicans versus the kings, we got the Bulls versus the heat on Friday night. So pick your favorite players, compete for huge cash prizes. Download the new DraftKings pick six app now and get started with code take. New customers can get up to $200 back in pick six credits. If you first pick set loses only on pick six from DraftKings with code take, the crown is yours.

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Promos okay, let's go.

All on the sun oh no, we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue and then we'll take it higher oh we gonna rock down.

To electric it's pardon my take presented by Marshall Sports.

Welcome to part of my take presented by DraftKings. Download the new DraftKings Pick six app now and get started with code take. New customers can get up to $200 back in pick six credits if your first pick set loses only on pick six from draftkings with code take. The crown is yours. Today is Friday, April 19, and Pft. You like that? The heart? You like that?

I do like it.

Because if you like that, there's gonna be more of that coming.

I love you.

Yeah, I love that.

That's how Greg Doyle wishes that interaction had gone. She's like, I'm in love with you, sir.

Yeah, we're gonna talk about the plans, but we have to talk about Greg Doyle in the most cringe worthy press conference I've ever seen, which if you didn't hear, can we actually put in the audio?

I don't know. I don't think we should do that to the people.

Yeah, we're gonna put in the audio? No, this Greg Doyle talking to Caitlin Clarker introductory press conference. I don't even know. Like, I've watched it so many times, I've cringed every single time he went. He did the heart emoji to Caitlin Clark, asked if Caitlin liked it, and then followed up with one of the weirdest things ever when he said, okay, we'll start doing that to me and we'll get along just fine.

And then, and then he, then, then he wrote a column on it.

Yeah.

And then he apologized in his column with maybe a weirder column. No, it wasn't as weird as the hard thing, but it was almost as weird in the column. He was. It was just all about him and how weird he is.

Yeah.

So I'm gonna read just part of it for you here.

Okay.

He said what happened was the most me thing ever in one way. But by the way, right off the bat, like him saying, well, that's just. That's just kind of who I am.

Greg, with three G's.

I'm just Greg being Greg. That's all he says. I'm sort of known locally, comma, psy, comma, write it. Writing out the word sigh. I'm sort of known locally, sigh, for having awkward conversations with people before asking brashly conversational questions. That's his problem. The conversation was too brashly controversial.

No.

Conversational conversational questions. He's brashly conversational.

Yeah.

Brashly conversational. Good character trait to have for a reporter.

Yeah.

By the way, I've done this for years with colts coaches Chuck Pagano, Frank Reich and Shane Steichen. I've done it with Purdue players Carson Edwards and Zack Edie. I did it with IU's Romeo Langford talking them as people, not as athletes. Notice something about all those names?

Um. They all.

Hmm. People.

They're all people.

They're all men.

Oh, shit.

So he doesn't know how to talk to a woman. I think that that part was clear.

Oh, we didn't need. Yeah, we didn't need you to write a column that you don't know how to talk to a woman.

And then he said that he went through all the stages of grief. Excuse me, the first two stages of grief after this happened.

Okay.

Mourning his own passing on as an interviewer, I guess.

Brashly conversational.

He said, denial. I didn't do anything wrong. I gave Caitlyn her signature heart shaped hand gesture as a way of introducing myself and welcoming mur to town. I did this during a nationally televised press conference. What kind of idiot acts creepy on national television? Me. And then he was in anger and he said, this is how I talk to everyone. This is how I, the male equivalent, would be talking to Anthony Richardson. I've shown him the heart gesture and reiterated, I like that you're here.

Oh.

And then he, don't worry. He had a conversation with a woman.

Oh, thank God. So he talked a woman, Greg Doyle.

He talked to a woman, someone that he trusts that's close to him. And they told him that you can't talk that way to a young woman. There's a line. And he crossed it. And I now realize what I said and how I said it was wrong, wrong, wrong. I mean, it was just wrong. Caitlin Clark, I'm so sorry.

Oh, you know what the craziest part is? He had another part in that press conference that was almost equally as cringe worthy, where he asked the Indiana fever head coach, he said, so you get the keys to that. What are you going to do with it?

You'll be able to drive that.

I mean, it was, that was like, that would have led every story, but then he obviously did the heart thing.

Do.

That was it. Wait, okay, we'll start doing that to me and we'll get along just fine.

He asked the coach, like, that might be too much woman for you.

Had the other keys to that.

Damn.

What?

I would take that thing out for a spin. It was, it was very strange. Although it did make me think that when the Bears draft Caleb Williams, you should go to his press conference and show your fingernails.

Yeah, be like you like that.

Be like, if you come, if you come cry in my arms after a loss, we'll be just fine.

If you paint my fingernails, Caleb will, will get along just fine. The, so it's obviously not the worst thing that's been done. It's probably the most cringe worthy thing that's been done. But the problem with Greg Doyle is he is one of the captains of the scold Kings online. So when you're a scold king and you mess up, we get to dunk on you, buddy. We get to dunk on you over and over and over and over again. And it. It was great because you're a fucking idiot. And that was so cringe worthy. You like that? Do more of that.

What he should have done, he should just disassociate himself from that conversation and then wrote a column pretending it was somebody that he doesn't like. That said that. Yeah, you should have pretended Dan Dakot did that to Caitlin Clark. And then write the column about Dan Dakich and then do find and replace and substitute Greg Doyle in for everything.

Dan Dock is just getting to do a well deserved victory tour because he's had a long, long history with Greg Doyle.

My ass.

My ass. Also, Greg Doyle, he had, I think his old tweets started to resurface. And here's one from 7820 ten, which I listen, I don't love the old tweets thing, but again, he is the scold king. He is the person who would do this to other people.

Yes.

He would be like, cancel this person for saying this.

2010 was.

Was truly the.

Agree, everyone, a way long ago. Again, I'm not. I'm not judging on the tweet. I'm judging on the cringe worthy press conference. But I just wanted to share it with you. Just realize my LeBron column references masturbation, gang bangs, and oral sex. Damn, I'm twisted.

That was the decision.

That was a decision. That was a decision.

Yeah.

Calling yourself twisted is. Calling yourself twisted is actually the worst part of this.

I've got a twisted sense of humor.

I'm so twisted, I'm kind of edgy.

Sometimes when I talk about LeBron.

Yeah.

Warning bangs.

He's the kind of guy that put a warning at the start of his. Called warning. This column contains some serious hot takes.

Yeah.

That offends you. Click the backwards button.

Warning. This author has been accused of being twisted by himself.

And then he does the. The emoji, the old school emoji where it's the. I guess that would be the greater than sign, and then the colon and then the smiley face so it looks like a guy that's smiling, but he's. He knows that he's just said something that's a little bit out of bounds.

Damn. You like that? Do more of that, and we'll get along just fine. Fucking weird.

All right.

We had to lead the show with that because I've just been laughing again. It comes down to the fact that he. Remember we talked about him a couple of weeks ago because he had the column after Purdue lost the national championship game that essentially, Danny Hurley is an asshole, and Purdue has all the class.

Yeah, that's.

That's where we're. That's where we're coming from. With this twisted mind of Greg Doyle.

Yeah.

Greg Doyle. And then Caitlin Clark got a shoe deal announced right after that for eight figures, which is, I think now she's going to be paid more than she was at Iowa. Yes.

Right.

So she's making upwards of. What do you think eight figures is?

Ten?

Somewhere between. Somewhere between ten and 99.

Yeah.

I am enjoying the burning brush fire tire fire online right now of just a bunch of people getting in debates about the economics of a league and no one actually having any expertise on it. Yeah, it's very fun.

Yeah, it is.

Showing that they don't understand how. How the economy works.

Yeah.

Because some people are saying that the WNBA players are paid too low, and then they're comparing them to NBA players and showing what percentage of revenue the players get in the NBA or how much money they get. It's way less and so. But NBA players obviously make way more money than WNBA players, but the league revenue is much higher. So at the same time, they're making the argument that NBA players should actually be paid more for what they're bringing, but their salaries are artificially deflated by the collective bargaining agreement that they have.

So it's just.

NBA players are fine.

No, no, I'm saying, like, they. They make good money, but if you were to see, like, the percentage in league revenue compared to salaries, it's just fun. The NBA also brings in a fuckload of money.

Everyone's going after everyone. I've just been, like, diving fell.

Yeah.

Revelle is just sticking with his. That Caitlin Clark would have had a shoe deal at Iowa and all this stuff. We also had.

I saw real quick with Revelle, his new company, when I first saw his company.

Yeah, I thought it was called click.

Yeah, I thought the name of his company was clit.

You're twisted.

I'm a little bit twisted, but I. You see, I know it's got an extra c in there.

Yeah.

But every time I see it, I'm just like, Darren Revelle owns the clit.

Yeah, it's.

Yeah, he does. He owns the clit. We. But it's just been every. It's basically the Avengers of the Internet just going at each other. Like, Jamel Hill was going at Gottlieb, which. That's a fun fight. Then someone was calling him got dweeb, which I loved. Like, this is just the kind of stuff that's going on right now. All because of Caitlin Clark, when we really should be focusing on Greg Doyle doing the heart.

Jamil Hill has the race card, and then Doug Gottlieb stole it.

Yeah, exactly. But he wrote an apology.

Yes.

So.

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It's fine. All right. Playing games. The Chicago Bulls have advanced to the Friday night game, and the Philadelphia 76 ers are officially inside the playoffs.

Congratulations, Max.

Congratulations, Max.

You made it.

We'll get to mister pair later. But, Max, thoughts on the game? You guys, that was a very classic heat. Muck it up, make everyone look bad, almost steal one. But jomb just starts hitting some threes. And the Sixers are going to the playoffs against the Knicks.

Yeah.

No, that's a game that the Sixers lose ten times out of ten with Doc Rivers and last year's team, Nick Nurse, actually can make an adjustment. Halftime adjustments were very good. And Nick. But Nick Batoom, absolute beast. Like, what? What a performance from Nico Patum. He was a legend. And shout out the chicken.

Yeah, the free chicken.

Shout out the free chicken.

Turned it all around. Oh, yes.

Oh, yeah. The stadium was absolutely dead. They looked like shit. I think Caleb Martin missed two free throws. Free chicken for the crowd. Immediate run. Sixers never looked back after the chicken. Shout out the chicken.

Yeah, that made all the. We should do something on this show where free chicken. Like, free, free part of my cheesesteak. Buffalo chicken. Cheesesteak.

Yeah.

Hank falls asleep on the podcast.

Yeah, I like that. Or he doesn't wake up.

Yeah.

Batum was awesome. I saw a great analogy for, for Nick Batoom. This is from squeaky shooter. He said, nick Batum is the LeBron James of Tobias Harris's.

Yeah. Okay.

Pretty much perfect.

Yeah, no, I like that. I mean, Tobias Harris still was absolutely terrible.

Yeah, I know. Well, that's the thing. It's like, you expect one thing from Tobias Harris and you get little Bron James of Tobias Harris is coming up.

Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, he was awesome. Both sides of the court absolutely kept us in it and then embed at the end of the game. Finally, he has, like, a good moment in a must win game that. Those last three possessions where he went three and one.

Yeah.

And then, and then the pass to. To Bray to get another and one.

Now, I have to ask this question, Max. So the Sixers are favored in the series against the Knicks. Yanis, we don't know when he's going to come back and play. That might be a problem for the Bucks against the Pacers in their first round matchup. Is the east opening up for the Sixers?

No, I mean, the Knicks are a really good team. The Nova Knicks. It hurts that I'm going to have to go against my boys like this.

But it's kind of opening up for the Sixer.

Yeah, it's all about Embiid's health. Like, you can even see last night that he wasn't at 100%. He gutted it out towards the end. But that's. It's a long playoffs. It's a long play.

Sixers and five, right?

I no longer think Sixers and five. I do think the Sixers and the Sixers will win.

You forgot about the Nova Cats.

No, cats are good.

The.

The Nova, Nova Knicks also, Max, you.

Brought up a good point. Embiid finally has a big moment in a playoff game. Unfortunately, the playing games do not count.

And I didn't say playoff game. I said must win, but it doesn't.

Count, so it actually doesn't. He didn't have that.

No, he did.

No, none of these stats for three years.

I watched it.

Had his, his career high in 42 points does not count.

I watched it, so.

But the stats don't exist. Playing game legend play.

Yeah, I guess.

I don't think. I think once a playing game happens, you can't even. You have to pretend it never happens.

Also, by definition, not a must win. If they had lost this game, they would have gotten to play another game.

Good point.

But that was such a game that everyone was like, so dialed in to.

Be like, uh oh, playoff.

Embiid's back. Yeah.

Still doesn't understand.

No, but you guys, I mean, that would be.

The narrative right now is not a must win.

Ft still doesn't, still doesn't get it.

But Max, I'm with you that I've been, I've been buying in on the Sixers. I cuz, like, if you look at the bracket and look how it shakes out, form for the reasons we just went through, Hank, because Giannis is going to be limited. Plus they have doc Rivers and then the Knicks. The Knicks don't, they don't have Randall, and they're a 500 team without Randall. So it feels like the Sixers get in bead back. I was very high on the Sixers that first half, especially though last night did not make me confident in them.

Yeah, no, but that, I mean, that's the coming in, coming in with a good game plan, making things sloppy. You're going to have bad halves of basketball like that. But it's good to see, like, them bounce back for once. That, like, against. We've had halves like that against the Celtics, and then they just win by 50.

Like.

Like, bad first half say, look sloppy, and then they just give up. And it was nice to see that they didn't give up. They made an adjustment. Look good in the second half, switched some things up. Put Tobias Harris on the bench. Put Nick Batum in this, in the rotation.

It was.

It was good to see.

It was good to see it. And B, can get a little bit more healthy. Max, he didn't have his a game.

Only.

Things are looking up. Things are looking up.

Okay, Hank, from your perspective, I'm curious to know, as a Boston fan, who would you rather play in the first round?

The Bulls.

Why the Bulls?

No, I mean, the heat, obviously, you know, have had success against us.

No.

Jimmy Butler.

No, I know, but still, it's like you just don't. Just don't mad about the heat yet. Don't mess with it. You play the Bulls, it's much better. I can go to a couple games. Dickens. Eddie is gonna come with me. Yeah, I'd much rather say that.

Yeah, I said.

I did actually say I would go to one game.

The.

You just want the free win, which. It would be a free win. But that's okay.

Yeah.

It's like, just don't.

Don't tempt fate. Like, you just want the free win.

I just want the free one.

And I'm.

And I want to go to a game.

I'm stuck in a spot where the Bulls were awesome against Hawks, who are an unserious organization.

That's.

Don't. They don't believe in defense.

You not believe in defense? Also, Trey Young is their quote, unquote, best player. The only time I was nervous during that game was when Trey Young was on the bench. Cause that's when they kind of came back in the game a little bit, and it's. I'm stuck because I love Kobe white. He was awesome.

IO.

Come back. He was awesome. Jamar Rosen, like, is one of the most likable guys out there and play.

The most minutes in the league.

Yeah.

I mean, he's the best. And they try so hard, and they don't have a ton of talent. And so I. When they get on the court, I'm like, I want these guys to win. But then I remembered that Jerry Reinsdorf likes nothing more than getting a couple extra playoff game ticket gates for a team that has no chance of winning.

But at least he's going to contribute that money towards his other organization, the White Sox.

Well, actually, unfortunately for the future of the Bulls and the White Sox, Jerry Reinsdorf probably spent all the money last night because he got c red towels for everyone on their seats and red panda.

Oh, red pandas coming.

That budget is probably blown. Yeah, probably.

But it's.

He knows what the fans want.

Yeah.

It is a very, like, shitty situation where it's like, I know they're not good enough. They could maybe win a game against the Celtics. And I also know that Jerry Reinzor, if nothing would make him happier than being like, see, we made the playoffs, and we got two extra games at home to make money. But then they get on the court, and I. Those guys, like, it's hard not to root for those guys who are trying really hard.

Yeah.

Kobe white seems like a good dude to root for.

Oh, he was awesome. Awesome.

And.

And, yeah. And Demar Derozan is the best. Like, he's just. He's the best. So we'll see what happens on Friday night. We'll see what happened. No Jimmy Butler, probably no Alex Caruso. I'm. I honestly, just. If my. If I had to give you my take on the game, it's going to be a one possession game with three minutes left, and then who the fuck knows?

How about Jimmy Butler playing, though?

Yeah.

Like, playing on a sprained MCL. Pretty impressive. But then it swells up. It gets worse. So he's probably out for the playoffs.

Yeah, they said two to three weeks, so. Oh, it's just all breaking for Hank. He's just got that Hank smile on his face. All right, you know what? Let me get this Hank smile off your face.

No, no, no.

Your football owners a fucking dickhead.

Yeah.

So the report comes out after the dynasty documentary where Robert Kraft does an entire ten part documentary, essentially tearing down Bill Belichick. We're like, all right, enough, enough. The report comes out that Bill Belichick, part of the reason why he didn't get a job this year was Robert Kraft called Arthur Blank and essentially was like, he's really difficult to deal with. Don't hire him.

So in the response to it, I think the crafts said that they did not say anything negative about Belichick during that interview process, but owners might talk behind the scenes over the course of a frustrating season.

It would have been funny if he just came out and he's like, I did not say anything to Arthur Blank. All communication with Arthur Blank was done through Kraft LLC.

Yeah, not my words.

Not my words. So where are you? This is tough because it does feel like Robert Kraft is, like, kicking a dead body at this point. Like, why, why would you go that extra mile? Like, the breakup happens. Why go the extra mile and make sure that he doesn't get another job? That's crazy to me.

Yeah.

I feel like he there. Like, it's kind of the same thing with Brady where they, in the documentary, they made it seem like, you know, Brady just wanted, like some atta boys and some, some thank yous. Like, it was probably the same with Kraft where he felt slighted for whatever reason, just ego.

But what.

And Belichick's not the type of guy to be like, thank you so much, Robert. Like, and kind of kiss the ring because he was giving him the rings. Yeah, but he's, he sounds like a scorned ex.

Yeah, he's had a bad offseason. I would say. It hasn't gone exactly how he thought it would go.

And he's entering territory where it's like he's going to start getting, like, booze, which is insane, but like, he is, he has set himself up for that. Where they're gonna do an event maybe, like, it's like Tom Brady. Like the Tom Brady. They're doing Tom Brady day 612. And I think they're giving him a statue or whatever at Gillette. And I could see there being like, booze or something where, like, that's gonna, that's gonna rattle it. He's done it to himself.

And it happens in sports from time to time where the owner deludes themselves and thinks that they actually are what fans are rooting for. It's like, that's just never the case.

It was always Brady and Belichick.

It's never the case.

And, yeah, I don't, it sucks because now, I mean, he's, he set himself up for, for disaster because it's like they have a four and a half, you know, win total over under this year. They're not going to be good, and everyone's just going to come at his neck.

Oh, that, that statue unveiling is going to be a big day for you, though. You have to nail that one.

Yeah, they got to give him a bigger statue than AI. I mean, they'll, they'll do them.

Yeah, the AI stat.

No, that was bullshit.

Tiny little statue.

Every single little statue.

If I, as a fan of the commanders, if there's one thing that we can do well, that's honor our former players with stat. And that AI statue was garbage.

That's every statue that goes into the garbage.

So they're all outside.

But why does Rocky get such a big.

And why.

Oh, good practice facility.

Rocky's not even real.

Yeah, it's not in front of the practice facility. This was like a bad take that the Internet didn't know that all the other statues in front of that facility existed. And then they were like, fuck.

Are you saying we don't know?

I'm sticking with the take.

Why don't they just get bigger statues for everyone? They just don't value it.

Also, why do they unveil it that way?

It's an esthetic.

Yeah, but don't, you guys don't know.

You guys don't know architecture?

Don't, don't know architecture. Don't unveil it that way. Then don't do the fucking reveal like that. When it's like, oh, why did AI seem so surprised? Yeah, he was shocked.

AI is always surprised.

No, it's not architecture. It's a statue. It's not a building we're talking about.

It's. It's a.

It's an esthetic.

You don't appreciate the greatness that Allen Iverson brought to the city of Philadelphia?

Landscaping architecture. Of course I.

Come on.

I grew up on AI. That was like the first fan I ever was of anyone.

Landscaping and architecture.

Yeah, landscaping, architecture. I think that's a thing.

You weren't your dad. 1st.

1St jersey I ever bought was a. I don't know.

That was the first jersey I had, too.

Fan of their dad.

I also had a Brett Favre jersey. Wayne Corbett, do you ever take a.

Picture in that Brett Favre jersey with your cock out?

I was like four, so probably. Yeah, probably the same size, too.

I was a naked boy, too.

Big.

Meaty clankers.

Quick break. I'm only going to take 20 seconds, so you should buy.

Bye. Bye.

Bye. Rough and rowdy tonight in West Virginia, 20 new fights. 20 new fights. I'm telling you, this is going to be incredible. This is how new legends are made. Rough and rowdy, West Virginia, 20 new fights. We have 40 new people, so it's going to be chaos. They're going to be knockouts. I'll be on the call. I got a brand new suit for the people. I'm doing the anthem by, by R and R.com right now. Buy R and R.com. It's going to be awesome. We've had a bunch of old fighters in the past shout out all those guys. But tonight we're going new blood. We're going to get new storylines. We're going to get new chaos. We're going to get new weirdos. It's going to be incredible. If you got nothing to do tonight, buy r and R.com. Even if you have something to do, buy r and R.com. Support us. It's going to be awesome. Back to the show. All right, so, Hank, you have your draft prep because we have draft week coming up. We have Todd McShay coming on the show on Monday, and then we have Daniel Jeremiah on Wednesday. Do you have your draft prep ready or internally?

Yes.

Okay.

This is a big occasion for you.

How do you want me to speaker.

Two actually, or do you actually one of these guys is going to be your quarterback?

Yeah.

So I broke down the film for everyone. I didn't. I mean, I can rank them right now. I have just kind of notes on everyone and I do have my consensus of who I would prefer the patriots to take.

Your own consensus, your personal consensus.

Okay.

Well, yeah, you can trust the analysts out there, but like, until you make your own decision.

Do you know what a consensus is, though?

Yeah, it's me, myself and I made a, came to a consensus.

All right, so do it in order then, right? Yeah, do it in reverse order so we can get the unveil of number one. So start at the, start at the bottom and then go. Go to one.

Okay. Jj McCarthy.

That's.

He's the bottom.

He's the bottom.

He's the, he's the, he's the bottom of this entire exercise. So Michael Pratt is ahead of him. Spencer rattlers ahead of them.

Oh, I just did that. I did that. I thought I was going for the people the patriots are going after. Oh, top five.

Oh, okay, so top five. I'm not, I'm not worried.

Like, it's, it's number five.

I thought we were getting all the court.

The Patriots aren't drafting Spencer rattler.

Okay, well, yeah, why not? Cuz that's just not what you wouldn't know. You didn't watch the tape.

Is he. I think he's dating Caitlin Clark. Saw an Instagram comment.

Definitely not.

Okay, maybe not.

Greg Doyle is dating McCaffrey's son in his head.

All right, so wait, Hank, you have, you have your top five, which means that you must have watched the film on the other quarterbacks if you knew that these were the top five.

Good point.

Pft.

How many. What's the other quarterbacks I'm supposed to watch?

Michael Pennix wash them.

Bo Nicks didn't watch Bo Nicks, who is. Boy, he's.

Where's Bo?

Nick's projected to go.

Probably, like, could be a first rounder, probably a second rounder.

Okay.

Probably should have watched him.

Okay.

I got Bo Nicks. I mean, I got Michael Pennix, junior. JJ McCarthy, Drake May. Jayden Daniels.

Okay. Sorry.

So JJ is your fifth?

JJ is my fifth.

And what are your notes?

Short throws.

Okay.

Everything across the middle, but throws it well across the middle.

Okay.

Better zip than Drake May. That's a. That was. That was a big contributing factor.

Really.

I really care about the zip and how quickly the ball comes out.

Okay.

Gutsy runs. Big ball sack.

Okay.

Okay. All right.

Number four.

Wait, wait.

But those are all. Those are all positive traits. Why is he ranked number five? What's his downside?

These other guys must be incredible.

He doesn't throw it. Didn't see any long balls or all the long balls wide open. Rose, he was.

It's a.

Which, again, you know, you kind of watch. It gets like he's seen the. He was a game manager system core.

How long was the YouTube video that you watched?

13 minutes.

Okay.

All right.

That's a good amount of film.

Mm hmm.

Number four. It's Drake May.

Oh, he slid.

He's deceptively fast.

Okay.

Quicker than I expected. Great at selling pump fakes. That's good sliding. He's smart. Jane Daniels. There was a lot of runs. He's taking a lot of hits. Drake May. A lot of slides, like, gets out of the pocket and moves around well, but slides, knows when to slide. That's good. You know, franchise quarterback. You want him there for a long time, can't be taking big hits.

Yup.

This does.

He try to kick his opponents in the balls when he slides.

I didn't see any of that.

Okay.

Because that would be a good system.

Fit for you guys. Well, no, we, you know, we got. We got rid of him, and that was. That was Robert Kraft. Belichick wanted a. Wanted him out.

Quick feet.

Okay.

But this. This was the biggest, the biggest deterrent. And the thing that I see happening the most, the ball seems very heavy in his hands.

Oh, so he's got weak wrists maybe.

It just seems like it takes him a long time to get the ball up and out, and it seems like he's putting a lot of effort into throwing it. It seemed, you know, he's playing in the acc. The film that I was watching, if you're, you know, simulating NFL guys coming at him, it seems like he's going to take a lot of hits. Guys are coming at him. He's not going to get the ball out fast enough because it's heavy in his hand.

All heavy in his.

How do you like his frame?

A little short, but good frame. No, no issues with this frame.

Remember that picture he took with Sam Howe?

Actually, six four looks short in the.

Film that I was. Okay.

All right.

But yeah, that was, that was ball. Seems I like, I want to, I want it. I want to see a QB.

No world short.

I want.

It's like the.

That's the perfect size for a quarter.

Yeah, no, I guess if, you know what if he was doing which quarterback could play in the NBA, six four would be short.

But if he was that big, you'd think that he would be able to just zip the ball out.

It's heavy.

Okay, got it.

Memes had this exact same take maybe in his hands. No, he was like, he was like Drake Mays too short to be a good quarterback.

And I looked it up.

I was like, he's six four and he's like, well, he looks short.

Okay.

Like we had this exact conversation.

Short energy.

He plays shorter than his body.

Okay.

All right, next, Michael Pennix, junior. I think he. The only reason he's this far up is just because he's a lefty. I'll just say that. Bias. Lefty bias. I would just love to have a lefty quarterback, you know, leading my franchise as a lefty myself. So beautiful throwing motion. Accurate. Does a little bit of a heavier ball as well. A little slower coming out. Seems a little bit interception prone. A lot of, lot of throws off his back foot, which again, you're trying to simulate how this would look in the NFL, guys coming at him. If he has time to set his feet, he's accurate, but it seems like he will kind of, you know, get a little wild, throw off his back foot. Throw, duck.

He does the fadeaways. But the thing about his fadeaways are they're insanely accurate. Like, he will put the ball on a dime on an out route even though he's fallen away from the ball.

But that's one of those things when you're, you know, playing in college and you're the guy that works when you're playing that foul and everyone's fast, that's not going to work. Yeah, but he's a lefty, so he got bumped up above Drake May.

Yeah.

I think lefties look good in college, but they look like witches in the NFL.

Yeah, two of them.

Two.

Good or bad?

It's good. Okay.

Injury yeah. Jane Daniels is number two, or, no.

That will kill Williams.

Number one.

Oh, nice. Okay.

Jayden Daniels. I didn't even watch. I just.

We're not.

You told me a million times, we're not taking Caleb Williams. I was thinking of. This is just like Patriot Patriots.

Yeah.

Jane Daniels throwing on the move. Great, great on the move. Quick feet, gets out of the pocket. Maneuvers. Maneuvers. Saxon and stuff. Well, does take a lot of hits. Little Josh Allen. Smaller, though, than Josh Allen. That's definitely a concern. Again, franchise quarterback. You want this guy as your. As your QB for 1015 years. He scrambles a lot, takes a lot of hits. That's. That's a concern. But great. Fantastic. The best QB I've seen at hitting the sideline. In the corner. In the end zone.

Oh, okay.

Like, JJ McCarthy just throws everything over the middle. Jayden Daniels, deadly accurate to the corner of the end zone. Deadly accurate to the sideline. That's huge in the NFL. That's. That's the thing I like the most.

What about his elbow?

Elbows? Weird, but I definitely dig him for the elbow. And. And again, it's like if you get hit, you get hit in the elbow.

Then what?

Explicit.

Yeah, this is.

You could see his bone coming out of his arm.

This has been a great exercise for one reason. Hank has just, without realizing, admitted that he really wishes he could have both of our quarterbacks and also said that the quarterback that he's most likely going to get is ranked either fourth or fifth. So I love this exercise. This won't hurt.

Is Ryan Thomas junior in the draft? Was another question I had. Because he's stud.

What are we, Google?

No, I just.

Now I was.

I have to. I guess I didn't do my follow up. These are notes I was writing as I was watching this.

I don't believe so. But that you want him?

Yeah, I mean, his receivers, like, I think all his deep balls were just wide open. I think that a receiver. A receiver talent thing.

If it were up to me. No, he's not.

We.

I think we talked about him with McShe.

Ryan Thomas. Brian. Brian Thomas.

Yeah, maybe it's Brian. I was just.

I was.

He said Ryan.

I was listening. I was listening.

I was listening to the video. Oh, so it probably was Brian.

It is Brian.

Okay, wait a minute.

He is in the draft.

You didn't watch?

You just listen.

They didn't have fucking subtitles. I was like, Brian, like, touchdown, Ryan Thomas. Brian Thomas. I heard. I heard Ryan, but clearly it's Brian. That guy's a stud.

This is the best draft preview ever.

If it were up to me, Marvin Harrison junior, trade up Michael Pennix.

That's.

That's my best case scenario draft.

Okay, so you draft. You draft Marvin Harrison third overall.

Yep.

And then you trade up to what?

I don't know. To get Ryan Thomas to get Pennix junior.

Got it.

Pennix junior probably top ten.

She's projected to go top ten.

Maybe not.

Maybe it depends on if there's first round. But this, it happens from time to time when there's a bunch of first round graded quarterbacks. Once a few of them get drafted, then teams start to freak out. And that's how we ended up with, like, who is it Brandon Whedon getting drafted in the first round?

Yeah, but it's. Teams might have gotten smarter because, like, will Levis fell because it was like, all right, everyone could just wait and get him in the second round. But there is that phenomenon of wanting to get that extra year of control, too.

Yeah.

Like the Lamar Jackson trading back up into 32 and getting him.

So that's. That's my. That's my. Now I'll watch some more. Some more film. Maybe there's other guys that they could trade up for. The Spencer Rattlers.

Yeah.

Yeah, he just. He just. We just did an entire exercise where he's like, I really want PFT and big cats quarterback.

So you have. You have caleb number one, Jaden Daniels number two.

Yeah.

And then a long.

Sounds like there's a big gap.

Big gap. Big gap. Yeah, Drake made JJ McCarthy. Probably undraft, but. But strength.

No.

Jade Drake. Drake may can be good. He's just got a.

Got the head grow.

Yeah, he can get some strength there.

Yeah, he could do some bicep curls.

He just looks like. Yeah, he looks like he's throwing a medicine ball.

Yeah, he would look short in that patriots uniform, too.

Did you watch any of the games that he played in the rain? Is that maybe part of this?

I didn't see many of those on the.

I was watching literal heavy ball. All right, this was great. Do we have anything else before we get to our interviews? This is great.

Yeah.

Oh, John Tay Porter. That. He's gone.

Yeah, he was gambling. He's betting against the Raptors in some games.

Yeah.

Like betting on them to lose.

Ban.

What was this about?

What if this was Jokic? I don't think he'd be banned for life, but I also don't think Yoko should ever do it because he's making enough money that that would be the dumbest thing ever. That that's why it happened is he's a fringe guy.

NBA money is so ridiculous.

I don't think he was getting that much.

Crazy thing is, he was betting parlays against himself, so he was betting the unders and, like, rebounds. I forget what else. Maybe assists, points. And he put down 80 grand to win, I think, $1.1 million on a Jonte Porter under parlay. And it hit, obviously, because he was controlling it. And then the sports book was like, well, we're just definitely not going to pay this out. One of the dumbest things ever. One of the dumbest ways to go about it. How much action do you think that that sportsbook see on any given night on John Tay Porter prop bets in general?

Right.

It's probably nowhere close to $80,000 ever.

Yeah.

He was on a two way, Hank, so he was getting nothing. I mean, they had to do it. I think that's the right move. Like, you can't have someone betting on you against yourself.

Yeah.

So if it had been different, if he had bet his overs in a parlay and if he had bet on his team to win and that had that had actually happened, what do you think the punishment would have been?

Probably similar, because he's a fringe guy. It's also he was telling other people, too. Like, he was using proxies to bet him, which that is very, very bad, because then it's just the integrity of the game. So I. Yeah, the NBA probably had to do it. And it also. I know people will then make an argument about gambling and, like, the legalization. Gambling. Without the legalization of gambling, this probably never gets caught.

Yeah. Yeah.

Now you could.

Every sportsbook has things in place where they see these, like, giant anomalies.

Yeah.

And then they flag them to the league.

I wouldn't be shocked if there is maybe a little bit of a correction where some of the fringe players don't have props on a night to night basis. That would make sense just because those are the guys. Like, Jokic would never do this because he's making hundreds of millions of dollars. But a guy who's the 10th man on a bench, who knows that if he bets something, checks into a game for a minute, and then comes out, he can win. That is, I can understand where people are. Like, this is kind of a weird area where it can be manipulated.

Yeah.

I like his excuse to. He was saying that he had, like, a headache or his eye hurt.

Yeah. To come out of the game hitting.

The shoulder, and then he's like, my eye.

Yeah, my eye hurts. My eye hurts so bad. I can't play any more.

Coach can't play. Okay, let's get to our interviews. Incredible interviews. We got Joe Missoula, Boston Celtics head coach, wins us over big time. And then we have Michael Malone, Denver Nuggets head coach. We had him on last year. Great interview, great guy. And then we'll do fyre fest and we'll have Mister Pear come back out here before we get to coach Missoula. Coors light. There are plenty of chances in life to make things better by choosing chill. Grab every opportunity to choose chill, then reach for a refreshing course. Light. When you embrace a chill mindset, it's a good time to choose chill and crack open a Coors light.

Choose.

Coors light is mountain cold. Refreshment. Crisp and refreshing is the Colorado Rockies. We love Coors light. There's nothing better than going to a bar, maybe on your couch, maybe in a backyard, cracking open an ice cold Coors light. Ah, the best. So make the most out of the times. You choose to chill. Choose Coors light. Get Coors light. Deliver straight to your door with inscarp by going to Coors light.com take. Celebrate responsibly. Coors Brewing Company, golden, Colorado. Coors light.com take. Okay, here he is, Boston Celtics head coach Joe Missoula. Okay, we now welcome on a very special guest. It is Boston Celtics head coach Joe Missoula getting ready for the playoffs. The number one seed, the best team in the NBA in the regular season this year. Coach, let's start there. How are we feeling? Just vibes going into the playoffs because you've been coaching a team that knew they were the number one seed for a long time, knew that you were in the playoffs for a very long time. How we feel in knowing that this is the start of the new season.

Yeah, I mean, I think you hit on a great point there. The balance of, you know, you have to understand that you're a really good team, but you got to understand that, like, none of that really matters as much anymore because everyone's got the same record. You know, we're all zero and zero, and every series takes on a life of its own. So we've had a really good week of practice. I think it was good for us, you know, a couple of those games that we had at the end of the season that didn't necessarily go our way, but I thought we handled the regular season about as well as you can from a mental standpoint. And, you know, we got to go into the playoffs with that same balance. We are a really good team, but we can lose any time if we don't do the little things, and so it's important to have that mindset.

Yeah.

Do people think that this season's been easy for you guys just because you've had so much success? Is that something that kind of gets lost in it, that it has been a grind?

Yeah.

I mean, I think, obviously, on the outside, it probably looks as like, you know, we didn't hit a ton of adversity or, you know, we've only had two game losing streaks. It could look that way. But, you know, I kind of said this a few times.

It.

It could be just as hard handling winning as anything else because you can get complacent. You know, you could get prideful. You could take the details for granted. And I thought, like, the coolest part about our guys this year is they never took winning for granted. I thought they handled it really well. Like, every film session, every walkthrough, every practice we had, there was a high level of attention to detail and execuTion. And, like, even though we were winning, the guys wanted to grow and get better. I think that says a lot about just who they are as players.

Yeah.

All right, so enough of the cliche basketball talk. Let's get to the real interview. When was the last time you were choked out?

The day after we lost to AtlAnta. I punished myself there. I took it really hard on myself.

So, can you explain the jiu jitsu? Because, like, it was. That story came out last year. It seemed really cool because it's like just learning about other guys in the height of their profession. They have these hobbies. You have a jujitsu instructor who for a while, you didn't know, lived in COLORADo and would come at the drop of a hat and do jiu jitsu sessions with YoU. And also, he talked about feeling the pressure of playoff basketball, and it's similar to being in a chokehold. So you're just. You're just getting choked out by this guy who's flying in. You have a guy flying in to choke you out.

So we'll start there. So when I. The coolest part about, you know, becoming the head coach of the Celtics and, like, you know, achieving your dream at a relatively young age, you kind of look back and you look at all the stuff that you regret. And so, like, two of my biggest, not biggest, regrets, but, like, two things I wish I stuck with were chess and martial arts. So I did those as a kid growing up and you know, once my dad passed and my kids started to get older, I started to, like, rekindle the passions of the arts, like chess, piano, martial arts, and I started to rekindle those with my kids. And then I get the job, and I'm like, all right. Like, you know, coaching the Celtics, you're in a fucking fight every day. Like, so let's just simulate that. And I was like, let's rekindle my love of the arts. And so, you know, my assistant and I, we find a jujitsu instructor, and I fell in love with this guy, like, right away. So apparently he was in Denver when we called. His office was in Boston, but he was living in Denver because of COVID And we were like, can you come by the house tomorrow for, like, an initial training session?

And he just was like, this is a. You know, apparently this is the head coach for the Celtics. It's like a once in a lifetime opportunity. I'll be there tomorrow. So this guy gets on a red eye and shows up to my house full. Gee, black belt. Like, standing in the drive, in the driveway. Like, we have our first lesson in the guest house, in the guest room of our apartment. And from then on in, he's the guy that I go to to help simulate the stress, the pressure, the anxiety, like, all the shit that you gotta be able to overcome. Like, if you're not doing that as a person, then you can't do it as a coach. And, like. And I. Like, I give my players, our players, so much credit. Like, being in the arena all the time. Like, I feel like one of the ways I can connect with them is by feeling like them. So, like, on a day where if it's a back to back, hey, I just trained, too, so, like, I'm tired, too. So it gives me a way to connect with the guys, but it gives me a way of being empathetic.

Like, I know what they're going through. No coach understands what their players go through, what they sacrifice physically and mentally. So if I can get the shit kicked out of me from time to time, that's only gonna help me get better.

I like that strategy a lot. And for listeners out there, don't. Do not look up online guys to fly in to come choke me out. That's a bad google search to have on your.

We lose the Atlanta game, right? We blow the 30 part. I'm just pissed, right? So I go to the. I go to the gym. We find a gym in most cities, and for, like, 2 hours, we're just like, I still got. Still got a little piece of, like, the black eye from it.

Yeah.

So do you do that? I mean, I appreciate what you said about how you want to put yourself through strenuous situations so you can empathize with your players and be tired just like they are. Do you find that the more you get put in those situations where you're either getting the crap kicked out of you or you're getting choked out, you're able to stay calm in those moments, and that translates to being in a game in high pressure situations.

Yeah.

So, like, one of the things are Alex does. He's tremendous, is he finds these concepts and themes that correlate to competition in general.

Right.

And so one of the themes is, like, most people tap before it actually. Like, before the submission actually hurts.

Right.

It's like the fear of being in the submission is when you tap. And so, like, that can be applicable to handling championship expectations or success or being in a tough spot and, like, you know, thinking that you can't get yourself out of it. So, you know, it's a little dark. But, like, one of the things in most submissions is you do want to find a comfort level because there usually is a way out. You just can't see the way out because of the stress that you're under or because of the panic that you're under. So, like, your breathing skyrockets and you don't even notice the exit strategy because you're in a disadvantaged situation. So that's kind of one of the concepts that we work on is, like, okay, you know, you're in this disadvantage. Can you recognize the exits? Can you recognize the contingency plan using your. The details and the skill?

That's badass. I would have tapped out the minute he showed up in my driveway. I've been like, all right, never mind. I'm tapping out. Like, if a man with a black.

Belt and a key is knocking on my door, I would just move.

Yeah, just start tapping immediately.

Two of the other cool. Two of the other cool themes are, like, the closer you are to winning, the closer you are to losing, right? So, like, you saw it at UFC 300 where Jalen Turner knocks the guy down, walks away, and then loses next round. And then you see when Weil Zhang, like, pretty much chokes her out, and then most people can't handle the fact that you think you beat your opponent, but now you still have to fight them. Oh, like, that's a major mindset shift in a game of, like, okay, they look like they're dead. But they come back to life. How do you shift your mentality to, like, keep winning? Or, like, in Jalen Turner's case, like, you knocked a guy down, but he gets back up. Now your expectations, like, haven't been met.

Yeah.

So, like. So we work a ton of those, like, situations. Like, okay, you know, 1 minute left in the round, you're in a disadvantaged situation. You got to get yourself out of it. Or, like, 1 minute left in the round, you got to go for the kill. Like, you got to find the submission, because if you don't, if you give your opponent life, then, you know, he could come back and kill you.

That's.

I mean, it's genius. You can see how applicable that is to basketball, especially a seven game series where there are those ebbs and flows, where it's like a team goes up 20, and you're like, all right, they won. And that's just not how it works. It just always. There's always a wrinkle, and a team can get momentum back.

Yeah.

Wow.

All right. That was a. I mean, it does answer.

It sounds like Sun Tzu you mentioned before we start taping, you read art of war, or do you take, like.

We listen to art of war when we train?

Oh, what's an art of war lesson that you can apply to basketball?

So, one we use with our offense, like, with the guys, is now, this is.

I don't.

You know, this is obviously different from when he wrote it, but, like, there's only five musical notes, there's only five primary colors, and mixing all those together, you know, having the simplicity of only five, but when you add them all together, you get this beautiful. You know, this. This array of colors of the beautiful music using simplicity to, you know, get complexity out of it. And really just, like, how you view your opponents. Like, you have to have the ultimate respect. The most respectful thing you can do for your opponent is understand that they can beat you at any time.

Yeah.

But you can't have too much respect.

Right.

I think it's a balance, and it kind of talks about our team. So when we were fighting the first couple months, once we started fighting, he stopped around, and he was like, you have too much respect for me. You're better than you think you are. But because I'm a black belt, you're treating me as if you suck. He's like, if you believed in yourself and if you knew that you were better than you were, you would actually. You could have tapped me. You could have beat me a couple times. And so it was really cool. Like, balance of, like, what humility really is. Like, humility isn't like, oh, I suck, and this guy's a black belt. It's like, you got to find the right balance of knowing. Like, I'm pretty good, but this guy's better. I can still. I can win, but he could also beat me.

And I.

That was a major shift in our. In our training, was when, like, I didn't have too much respect for him, but I had, like, enough, like, appropriate fear. You hear a lot of people, like, talk about that. Like, that's a real thing.

You can. You can.

By the way, in this room right now, Hank, our producer, is a diehard Celtics fan. He's smiling ear to ear because you can feel. You can feel it's shifting in the room that PFt and I are becoming huge. Joe, Missoula guys.

Yeah.

Into this interview. Like, he can.

He's.

He's looking, smiling. Told you.

Yeah, I told you.

This is my guy. All right, so.

So there's very few of those around, so, yeah.

Pft. Do you want to ask a question about the town, or do you want me to. Well, I. I had.

I had a question for. I was just going to ask you how much a dollar bill weighs.

Ooh.

I mean, that's great, huh? I gotta think about that scene.

Right?

So they're in the bar.

Yeah. Okay.

Not even worth its own weight.

Do you have it playing behind you right now on a big tv?

So let's clarify that. Okay. So as an assistant, I watched it two, three times a week, easy.

That's too many. Just so you know.

Well, you gotta think, like, we do most of our work after the games, and so, like, you got to stay up late at night. Like, I never liked waking up with work to do from the day before. So, like, when I was an assistant and I would have to turn in my postgame edits, I would go home and walk in, like, just work from, like, eleven to 01:00 a.m. And so I needed something to, like, kind of keep me up or keep me going. So there was, like, a three movie shuffle that I would turn on in order to get me through the game so that I could get to bed, and the town ended up being one of them. So, like, I'm not. It's not something that I'm, like, you know, I obsess with to the point where I'm still watching it. But that was. That was a part of my post game process that kind of helped me.

Okay.

What were the other two movies, Whiplash.

And the Dark Knight.

Oh, okay. Those are good.

Those are good ones.

Those are ones where if they're on tv, I will, I will always watch.

It all the way through.

Yes.

Stumble upon it.

Yeah.

But you, did you have to watch those three movies.

Yeah.

I think you're downplaying your, your obsession with the town just a little bit because you did make t shirts from the town.

Well, I mean, like, there's so many great, like, lines from that. Like the one, the one where he fight, where he finds out that Dougie McCray's sleeping with the, with the, with the bank manager. Jeremy Rennick's like, smart. I'm blowing the assistant manager. Am I being smart? Like.

He just flips out.

Like, like I'll, like randomly throughout the day. Like, some of the assistants will just like throw phrases out there from the movie. Like, I mean, anytime I walk down north end, I'm like, say your prayers.

Yeah.

I love that.

I would imagine the time with Boston probably has a lot to do with, with your, your love of that movie too, where it's just like, okay, this makes me feel like a Boston guy watching this.

I went to Fenway the other day and I was literally looking at like, exit strategies. Like Rob Fenway. I was like, we could probably really get away with this.

Yeah.

Yeah. Are you, how could you not go.

To Fenway and think that you could, you couldn't rob it?

Yeah, the blueprint is right there.

I was thinking about that this morning, actually.

I was just driving.

I was like, fuck, I really want to rob Fenway park. It'd be awesome.

Yeah.

You can't look at our armored truck the same.

No, definitely not. Definitely not.

Are you in there with where he ties his pants into his bootstraps?

Yeah.

That guy is a boy scout.

Yeah. Are you, are you officially retired from trying to block shots?

I got forced into that.

Okay, so for people who don't know, there was the Suns game this year. The cells were playing the Suns and Jalen Brown stole the ball in the backcourt, dunked. The suns called the timeout, but they'd already advanced the ball and I can't remember who it was. Was trying to heave one from about 40ft. And Joe Missoula got onto the court and tried to block it after the whistle. But you, were you reprimanded for that?

I was slightly. A little slap on the wrist.

Okay. So, I mean, I like the energy though. Like, the guys probably liked it.

I mean, that's art of war at its finest. Like, I don't understand. I don't understand how you could give your opponent any opportunity to feel good about themselves on your half of the turf. So we've been doing that for two years, like we do. It started last year where at Cleveland. Donovan Mitchell took a free throw, and one of my assistants just watched them, and I berated him, and I was like, bro, what are you doing? Like, you can't allow the best player on the other team to just take a shot in front of. I don't think there's anything more insulting than allowing your opponent to do that. I mean, and so we just put a stop to it from then on out. And so we've had about four or five, you know, really, really good closeouts by. By the staff, and, you know, unfortunately, that one was on, you know, live tv, and people saw it, and, you know, so we can't do it anymore. But it's. It's one of those little. It's a. It's a gamesmanship thing, like a. You know, the NBA basketball is competitive, and, you know, I just think you got to be able to find any little advantage that you can.

And so I'm not going to let a guy. And he hadn't been shooting the ball well the entire game. So, like, what if that one kind of gets the. Gets him the rhythm that he needs to make one?

Yeah.

What about if a fan takes a shot? So, hypothetically, if the ball goes into the crowd, the guy in the first row gets it, and then they want to put up a shot from the sideline, if they're. If they're on your team, if they're, hypothetically, again, a Celtics fan, would you want them to shoot it and let it go in?

Absolutely.

Okay.

Cause we have actually a guy that's here that lived out that hypothetical situation. Hank got the ball. What game was that, Hank?

How's.

Warriors finals, game three, I think.

Yeah. Yeah.

But he didn't have the courage to put up a shot. He did the pump fake on it instead of actually taking a shot.

Do you wish he had shot that?

Yes.

I got Jordan Pool to bite, though. He.

So he, like, jumped at the pump?

Yeah, he was ready to. He was ready to block me, but.

Yeah, maybe you gotta shoot that.

Let it be known. So Hank is a massive fan of yours, is a big Celtics fan, and he's agreed. He's agreed to shave his head and his beard if the Celtics win the NBA championship this year. So there's a. There's a lot at stake here. Hank, do you have any questions for coach?

Yeah, I got a couple. I saw JJ Reddick and LeBron were talking about how, like, every player in the league will kind of, when they're down, they'll look up their highlights. You know, they'll go on YouTube. How often do you look up? 2010, West Virginia versus Kentucky, sweet 16?

Never.

Never.

Oh, that was such a lucky game from, like, from my standpoint, you know, the one thing I always try to prevent is, like, the older you get, the better you were. And I was. I was not good.

17 points, first start.

John, Walt, Marcus, cousins.

I don't want that to ever become a thing where it's like, the older he gets, man, he was such a good player. It's like, no, I wasn't. I was, like, the worst player on the court at all times in the Big east.

What about, how many times did you have to hit huggy bear's treadmill?

A decent amount.

Yeah, we've. We've had huggy on a bunch of times, and that treadmill, he doesn't sound like it was fun.

It depends on what your definition of fun is.

My fun is not running.

Yeah.

My fun is, you know, being as combative as possible in a high stress situation. So there was a few times where we would exchange words while I was on it, and he wasn't, and I let him know that he couldn't. He would have been able to run on that treadmill.

Yeah.

I think you just like depriving your brain of oxygen in any form, whether you're getting choked out or running long distances, you just let you. You like getting that. That runner's high going.

It's better than an armbar.

Yeah.

True.

True.

Don't want to get armbar or leg lock. You don't want to get leg locked.

Hanky.

Anything else?

Yeah.

Who, you know, vibes are good. It's after practice, maybe after a win, who's. Who's the guy on the team that will kind of chirp you the most? Or, like, is. Is the most outgoing to try and get a rise out of the other guys in the team? Like, who's the guy that will kind of come at you a little bit to get the other guys going?

Who are players that come at me?

Yeah.

Like, chirp. Like, you know, it's.

It's.

It's like after a good practice, after a win, like, they're just kind of, you know, they'll. They'll chirp you, though, to kind of get a laugh out of the other guys.

They probably do that more when I'm not around. I think that's probably, like, the nature of coaching is, like, if your team's not making fun of you, then you're not a coach. Probably, like, you know, I'm sure they also probably spend zero time thinking of me outside of basketball, which I'd be perfectly fine with also. But after practice, you know, it's a really cool environment. I really enjoyed being around these guys. You know, what you learn is, like, you can go to each guy and kind of. Each guy has their own thing that you can bust balls with. You know what I mean? Like, so I try to do that after every practice or shoot around is like, just get a quick touch point with the guy, and, like, if it needs to be a serious conversation, but I don't really enjoy being serious ever. If not, it's like, you know, what could we bust balls about? And so I really enjoy that.

So you're like, Derek, like, thank God you shaved your head.

No, Derek's more like, he loves sarcasm. So, like, we'll pick something and just, like, just stop mocking it with, like, severe sarcasm.

I like that. I like that.

Like, we lose one game, and it's like, oh, my God, how could we ever lose? Like. Or, like, he'll. He, like, Will. He'll have, like, a turnover in a game, and I'll be like, bro, what were you thinking?

Does Paul Pierce just live at the practice facility?

No, but I enjoy having him around. He comes around a decent amount.

He's good.

We did a little research on you, maybe some questions that you didn't think that we would ask you.

Those are the ones I love the most.

Okay. The first one is that your dad and you went to a baseball field together when you were a kid, and something unusual happened. Would you care to elaborate on that?

That is one of the reasons why I am today, and I think it's an important thing in society, is the alpha male challenge. It's kind of what me and my brother call it. Okay.

Yeah, yeah.

I was myself that day, and he put his money where, you know, he tried to have me put my money where my mouth is. So it's a little rainy baseball field on the side of the road. Head out there, and he closes the gate, kind of like where the guys do batting practice. And he just said, the winner walks out of here alive.

And did he win, or did you win?

I mean, so I remember vividly, like, it was a little bit of rain. I saw some mud, and I really didn't have a plan. So, like, my goal was to like, get mud, throw it in his face, and kick him in the nuts, and, like, you know, at least, like, try to, you know, get him a little bit. But he had mud. Wasn't great. Catches my heel, and then it's just a pulverizing beat down. Get back in the car. And he gave me, like, the will. The will Ferrell old school. If you tell anybody about this, I'll kill you.

Alpha male challenge. I love it.

So we end up going to. We always ate dinner most of the time at my grandmother's house, like, typical italian family. So I'm just sitting there, like, in mud, like, sniffing, crying, like, just eating my food, like, the loser that I was at the time, and, like, just. No one's talking to me, and I'm just licking my wounds.

The alpha meal challenge is just locking yourself in a fence and fighting your dad.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's good.

I like that.

Yeah.

What about.

From that on in, it was like, you know, you better if you. If you're going to run your mouth like, yeah.

What about the fact that you're a head coach in the NBA? You know, obviously nice contract, very successful. Still driving a minivan that 90,000 miles.

I got to get it to 100 G's.

What? What.

What's up with that?

What.

What kind of minivan?

I mean, if it's a 2017 Chrysler pacifica.

Okay. Oh, you're putting some miles on that thing.

Damn. Oh, yeah.

It's nicknamed Free Willy.

Okay.

Shaped like an orca. My favorite animal.

Okay.

Oh, that's good.

Yeah.

At the time, it made a lot of sense. I understand why it doesn't now, but, you know, I got to finish it out.

Okay.

I like that.

See it through.

So, once it gets to 100,000, are you getting a new minivan, or are you moving up in the world?

It depends. I haven't really seen something that I like, so, it started because we were living in West Virginia, and we were always driving, like, either to Ohio or to a, like, you know, beaches around the area, like an ocean city or, you know, down south. So it made a lot of sense. Our kids were a little bit young, and so I was like. And, you know, my kids had a bunch of friends living in the area, and so we always had, like, five, six people around, so it made sense. Living in West Virginia didn't see all this happening. Doesn't make as much sense living in the city of Boston, being the head coach.

Yeah. Yeah.

I like it, though. That's a commitment to the minivan. Going to 100 if you were to.

Describe it from the outside. Black leather interior, automatic doors, tvs in the back. You wouldn't know that. It's a minivan town.

Always on for your kids.

Yeah.

I like that. I like that a lot.

It's a good car.

Yeah.

Hank, you have any more questions for coach?

I got a tip for coach. While you think about it, Hank, I'll take that.

All right.

Okay, so here's the tip. So we are taping this right now. On Thursday, Bulls heat. On Friday, decide who the Celtics play. If it is the Bulls, could you please let the Bulls win one game? That's just my only request, but I got. So I've done a little scouting for you. Whether it's the Bulls or the heat, I got one player I picked out on each team. So I'll start with the heat. Tyler hero. Here's my scouting report. Scores in transition, especially after makes have to connect and direct to take away. Pull up threes. Prefers left hand drives. Likes to drive the slot. And then for Kobe White, he runs in transition. Half his shots are threes. No open looks. Can't let him split pick and rolls. So just a little tip for you that. Actually, speaker one.

You got that from my.

Yeah, that's from Joe Missoula. So Joe Missoula's quizlet, where he scouted every player in the NBA, leaked online, and everyone has his scouting report for every player. It's a little dated now, what happened there? I mean, it's such a funny story. It also shows how. How, like, attention to detail. Cause it's just a huge PDF of every single player.

Yeah.

So I. One, I didn't see any of this coming. So I have Ohio. I just thought I was gonna be like, the. Behind the bench, you know, slap dick, you know, for most of my career. And so I, you know, that was kind of my introductory to, like, people actually give a shit about me thing. And I was kind of pissed about it. But, I mean, when I made my quizlet, I was like, I didn't know how to make it private.

Yeah.

I also didn't think people were going to hack into it. So I always work with rookies so that I would. I would give the rookies well detailed. And Quizlet gives you different types of quiz that you can, you know, decide to get through information on. So we would. I would the rookies and I would always take those before the game.

Oh, okay.

That was like. That was my way of learning the league because I came from d two to the NBA, and then it was my way of, like, building a relationship with the rookies that I worked with. Like, how detailed can we be? And, like, what are all the different ways we can retrieve the information, whether it's like. And some of them. Some players learn differently, so some, like, matching, some liked fill in the blank. Some liked, you know, multiple choice. So, like, it gave. It helped me learn, but it also helped me learn how the rookies learn.

Yeah. Yeah.

It's very cool. I mean, again, it's attention to detail. Have you. Have you had a conversation with Derek White, though, about him? You had on his. Wants to throw his body into you and draw fouls. Have you talked to him about it?

Yeah, that was one of the things I was really excited about when we got him is we'll get to the free throw line more.

Yeah, it's smart.

Yeah.

It is interesting, though, that any, any coach can get instant access to your mind, though.

Yeah.

When they look that up, you should have put some, like, frustrated fake stuff that's.

That's just scratch the surface about what's going on up here.

Yeah, it's a quizlet. It's just a quick, like, hey, let's. Let's look.

You don't want to know what's really going on in my mind.

What's really going on in your mind?

He's trying to rob Fenway park.

Yeah.

I mean, literally, how can I win every single situation or environment? Like, how can I. How can I win the environment, no matter where I am at any particular time? What are the threats, the strengths and the opportunities? And, like, can you look at every single situation as a life or death situation from the standpoint of, like, this person's a threat, this situation, like, I won't walk through revolving doors.

Okay.

Because, like, one of them gets stuck, then you're just a sitting duck.

Yeah, that's true. I haven't.

I haven't thought about that. But now every time I go through a revolving door, I'm gonna think about it.

Screwed.

So what about, okay, you go to get your coffee in the morning, stop and Dunkin donuts. And what. What goes through your mind? How do you win that situation?

Just figure out where the exits are. Look at the line on the way in. Study all the people.

Yeah. Keep.

Don't have your back to the door. Like you in a restaurant. I never sit with my back to the door.

Yeah. Yeah.

You always got to sit to where you can have a vantage point of, like, everything that's going on around you.

Yeah.

Okay.

That's fascinating.

That is.

And you never turn that off.

No. That's an unfortunate thing for my family.

So, like, you're at home, you're. You're sitting on the couch, you're watching cartoons with the kids. What's your mindset, then?

What can I take from this to, like, teach my kid a lesson? Like, you can't just watch this just to watch it. Like, there's got to be something here that's gonna. That you got to learn from it.

Yeah.

I'm falling in love with the coach. Missoula.

Yeah.

But it's not all positive, right? Like, it's not. I'm not saying I'm a good person for it. There are a ton of negative ramifications to that type of mindset.

Yeah.

Like, wife or kids come to you with, like, a very empathetic situation, and it's just like.

Yeah.

You're just telling yourself that.

Yeah, yeah, right.

You're breaking it down. Like, it's.

Yeah.

Like, it's trying to. Trying to bust up someone's pick and roll strategy, and it's like, no, I think.

Okay, well, you know. How'd you get to this point?

Yeah, no, dad, I just said I have a. I had a bad day.

Yeah. Sometimes.

Sometimes your wife just wants you to be like, yeah. That person was very unfair to you.

Yeah.

Like.

No, like, you can't let that person be unfair to you.

Yeah. Yeah.

Hank, what was your. You thought of one?

Yeah.

You roll.

You roll a jujitsu's mat on the. On the floor after practice. Whole team tournament, who's walking out there? No injuries. Injuries are impossible. Whole team tournament, who's. Who's walking out on top?

Man. So that's kind of the beauty of jujitsu, is, like, you don't. EverYone's a weapon, and everyone has a different weapon, and you don't know that weapon until you get into the fight. Like, if you ever gone to a jujitsu class, one of the most debilitating things to your own ego is, like, the three guys next to you that are, like, overweight just came from, like, work. They can barely do, like, the push ups and the sit ups, like, in the warm up, but they're like brown belts. And you get into a fight, and you last, like, 10 seconds, and it's like, how did I lose to this Guy? Yeah, but, like, it actually teaches you to respect everybody around you, but study each guy, and, like, you study each guy's body type, and it's like, okay, like, if I get into a fight with that guy, like, he seems more of, like, a leg dominant guy. He'll probably have some, like, leg triangles or, you know, that guy's a little speed athlete, so it. You can't take anyone for granted, and you have to have the ultimate respect for everyone because everyone's a weapon in their own way.

Like, that's the beauty of it. So I. I don't know. Because you don't know what any one person's capable of.

Yeah, I bet it's Brad Stevens. I bet Brad has a plan, too, to kill everybody in the room.

Yeah.

He seems like the kind of guy that would have that speak.

Speaking of Brad, has he ever told you you're coaching for your job?

Doesn't everybody tell me that?

Well, yeah.

I mean, your job is to coach.

Yeah.

Yeah, good point.

I kind of tell myself that, yeah, we have an.

We have an old friend, Internet friend, who would always tweet Brad Stevens coaching for his job, and people would get so upset. He's like, well, his job is to coach.

I tell myself that, though.

Yeah.

It's a good mentality to have. How much do you guys miss having Blake Griffin on the team?

This.

Oh, yeah, man, he's awesome, isn't he?

Yeah, he was on the show on Wednesday. He just. He was. He's one of our good friends.

I told this story yesterday, like, I have the utmost respect for him. So when I get the job and we sign Blake Griffin, and I'm like, shit. Like, this guy was the number one pick. Like, I don't know anything about this guy. I knew everyone else on the team for the most part, and I'm like, how am I going to coach this guy? You know? Like, it. Sometimes the hardest people to coach are, like, the guys that are a little bit aging. Like, they may still have it, they may not. You know what I mean? And so I make a. We make a decision to kind of be like, we go away from them for a couple games or whatever the case may be, and he comes up to me and he's like, what do I have to do to get better? And I was like, damn. That said everything I need to know about the type of person that he is, of his stature and experience, to have the respect for a first time head coach who didn't know what the hell he was doing to ask that question and to take it serious to where he was out there every single day.

I had the utmost respect for him.

Did you tell him, learn how to dunk again?

I told him we need to get a car out there so we could jump over yeah, yeah, yeah.

Blake is the best, and he has. He had nothing but high praise for you guys, and he said that he was, like, very close to wanting to come back, but he didn't want to. He didn't want to cheapen it and, like, come back at the end of the year and not be with the guys all year, which I respect the hell out of.

I refrained from begging him to come back because he. He told me he wanted to be with his kids. And so, like, you know, I know how hard that could be, but I would have done a lot to get him back in our locker room.

Yeah.

So, on that note, we always said we'd say that, like, a. Blake's the most important player on any team that he's on, regardless of how much he was playing, just.

Cause he's.

He's a good guy to have around. He's kind of like this. The straw that stirs the drink sometimes outside of, like, the superstars on the Celtics right now.

Yeah.

Who would you say would be the most important guy?

I would tell you, like, that range from, like, like, eight and a half to, like, 14. Like, those guys don't get enough credit because they. They really hold the locker room together because they could easily shut it down halfway through the year or have, like, a negative mentality. You know what I mean?

Yeah.

You know, so, like. Like, you know, like. Like, Peyton and Sam, they have their minutes, and they've gone through that grind of, like, the inconsistencies, and they've played their butts off this year, and they have been great. But, like, the O'Shea, the Luke, the tillman, this fee, I don't want to forget anybody here, so help me with that. But, like, those group of guys that, like, don't get it every single day, and then you have a guy that gets an injury, and now they're starting, or, like, it's a second night of a back to back, and one of them's playing 20 minutes, and, like, you're being hard on them because, you know, you need them to help you win. Like that. Those group of guys, really grateful, because, like you said, I don't think they get enough credit for how they helped the culture of the locker room.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, bringer.

Yeah.

Well, coach has been awesome. We really appreciate it. I got one last question for you. It's Roback Robeck question. Rhoback.com promo code take. Cusips, polos, hoodies, joggers, shorts, even bathing suits.

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Roback.com promo code take. So, we did have an inside source for this interview. Your brother, he brought up something about an italian bakery. There's two of them, maybe in your. Your hometown, and there's a big debate about it, so can we settle the debate? Can you tell us the debate and settle it?

I mean, the bait, I guess, is which one's better.

Yeah.

So which one is.

I mean, I can't. I don't want to do that to either company.

Okay.

I do want to talk about the italian discrimination to the Big east conference.

Okay. All right.

Speak on it.

Yes. Yes.

I couldn't.

I can't. I.

When I heard that, I was like, yes. Like, you gotta think, like, Massimino Carnesecca gave it. Like, of course there's an italian discrimination to the.

Yeah. You think that's why they didn't get.

Enough, enough bids in the tournament this year?

Yeah.

Everyone's just tired of the tallies.

Max is pumping that rock.

That rock.

This is bullshit. Because I was six years fan.

I'm not supposed to like you, but.

That rock, that was awesome.

Yeah.

You've even won over the Sixers fan here. It's hard to do.

I mean, I don't. When you said that, I was like, there had, like, there's been so much mafia run through the big east over the years, people are probably tired of it.

Yeah.

Okay, so who's on your Mount Rushmore of Italians?

Oh, good question.

That's a great question.

Thank you.

Great question.

Putting you on the spot here.

Yeah.

Oh, I know. I mean, Mario Balotelli is going to be up there.

Okay.

Yeah.

Play for the national team. They're goalie. Also. He's been around.

Really?

Buffon.

Buffon. Yeah.

He's played for, like, 30 years.

Yeah.

There's a whole bunch of, like, naturalized citizens that have been, you know, up there along the way.

Yeah.

You can go with. You can go old school, like a little Leonardo, you know, da Vinci. You can go with some. Some of that stuff.

Yeah.

Donatello, all the Ninja Turtles.

All the Ninja Turtles.

I think I appreciate Donatello and Leonardo.

Okay. Yeah.

It should just be the ninja Turtles.

Yeah.

And Mike Florio, who's an Italian from West Virginia, so you gotta mention him. Mike Florio.

But I think. I think the Ninja Turtles are probably up there.

Yeah.

All four of them. The best Italians.

You should have your jujitsu guy come over dressed as Michelangelo and choke you out.

Or use it.

One of the. Who's the guy, who's the one with the num chucks?

Num Chucks is Michael Angelange, the party, dude.

Yeah.

Cowabunga.

Yeah. Yeah.

That's my favorite.

Okay. Yeah.

He's the best.

Yeah.

I would take. He was more of a Raphael guy, but that's more calculating. But Michelangelo.

Rafael is more my personality.

Yeah.

Is my son's favorite, so I flocked to him.

Okay. That makes sense.

Yeah.

It's good to have. It's good to have italian representation in media, like the Ninja Turtles.

Yes.

Well, coach.

And bakeries.

Yeah.

Bakeries. Coach has been awesome. We are. You've won us over. Good luck in the rest of the. In the playoffs. If it's the Bulls, I hope you can at least give us one game. If it's the Bulls, you got to come by the office and maybe put us through a drill, maybe choke us out.

Oh, no, no, not if it's Chicago. We go through a jujitsu session at the facility.

Done.

I'm in.

Done.

And we work on, like, contingency plans, exit strategies.

Uh huh. Yes, yes, yes.

I feel like you would hate going to an escape room.

Ooh.

No, we went to one this year.

Were you panicked in there?

Were you? Like, I don't know how to get out.

I think I wanted to make a room in my house and escape room, because, like, you get.

So we move into.

So we get the job, right? And we buy a house, and, you know, my wife's, like, super excited. Like, it's one of the goals of her life. Like, to have the house. Like, and she picked a really nice one. And so what we have, we have jujitsu mats at the house. So Alex comes over, and he's like, you know, this might not be a good thing. Like, you know, the guy that lives in the townhome isn't the guy that lives in this nice house. You know, the guy that drives a car to work is not the same guy that used to walk to work. Like, you can't let this. You can't let this change you. So, like, all. So then, like, the classes for that week were, like, all demoralizing to make sure that I didn't, like, enjoy the fact that we moved into this house. So I'm sitting in bed with my wife, and I'm like, yeah, I mean, it's a nice house, but we just can't let this get the best of us. Like, we got a big.

We got.

We got, you know, stuff coming up. We got to stay locked in. Like, we can't let this change us. And she, like, almost started crying, like, it's my dream. You are an idiot.

You develop a rivalry against the house every day. You're trying to beat the house.

Yes, absolutely.

Alpha male challenge with the house.

Walk into the house and, like, kick the door on purpose. This house is shitty.

All right, coach. There's been so, so much fun. And, yeah, you have won us all over. And best of luck in the playoffs, and we'll talk soon.

I appreciate it. And last thing I want you guys to know, I came into coaching because I think NBA players get a bad rep. And there's a. But you always hear about college coaches or people say they can't coach. I got the best group of guys. I think NBA players in general are misunderstood with what they deal with on and off the floor, like, what they put their bodies through. And, like, just because they make a lot of money doesn't mean that it's easy. And so I got the best job in the world coaching the Celtics, and I got the best job in the world because I got great players. And they allow me to be myself and allow me to coach them. And, you know, I can't take that for granted. So I want you guys to know that. And I'll come out anytime and bus balls with you.

Okay?

And just so you know what you just said, that doesn't mean we can't say, like, oh, I would have made that free throw. Cause I will say that from my couch. Okay.

Absolutely. Okay.

Good, good, good.

Later.

All right.

Thanks, Coach.

Joe Mazzillo is brought to you by our great friends over at proper number twelve, irish whiskey. I love proper twelve. I had some proper twelve last weekend. And I want to remind you guys to pour the roar with proper number twelve irish whiskey. And they also have proper irish apple. It's from the heart of Dublin.

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Okay, we now welcome on a very special guest. It is coach Michael Malone, Denver Nuggets NBA champs. We haven't seen you since you won the NBA championship. So let us be the last people to wish you congratulations on winning the NBA title. We had John last year around this time, and I want to.

I want.

We want to talk about playoffs, the season, everything. But the first question, very important question. How are we doing with the Mike versus Michael thing? Are people following the rules? Are they actually following the rules?

You know, I think. I think I scared most people away.

When I.

When I was very rude to a Cassidy Hubbard on the sidelines of a play of a playoff game. But, no, most people are following the rules. I think the streets are talking. They know that if they don't call me Michael, my mother's gonna come looking for him.

No, I appreciate it. You gotta put your flag in the ground. Let people know. We were actually the Michael police last year. When we saw people referring to using the wrong word, we would jump down their throat and say, no, you get it, right? That's a future NBA championship coach right there. And put some respect on his name. But, yeah, it was great. We were rooting for you last year. Obviously, we believed in the Nuggets. From, I think, like, two years ago, we started to say, get ready for the Nuggets. Cause they're coming. They're a great team. So thank you for making us look like we know ball. It's a very rare occurrence where we look smart on the show. So we want to make sure to give you your credit for that. And I just want to say that I'm looking forward to another potential Michael Malone championship parade. Because you had. You had the best time ever at that parade. And I think everybody watching was like, yeah, if I ever won a championship, that's exactly what I would do.

So how long.

How long did it take you to feel normal after the parade?

Oh, I tell you, a while. And the worst part about that parade was that night we went to Las Vegas. And, you know, I started early that day. So I didn't last late into the night, unfortunately. But the parade was awesome. My wife was next to me on the fire truck. She kept on telling me to slow down, slow down. And I really didn't know what that meant. We just won a championship. And I definitely went all out. And hopefully we can find a way to celebrate another parade. Because this city turned out. And that was one of the coolest moments. My life was not only winning a championship, but celebrating with a city that had waited for 47 years. To win their first NBA championship.

Yeah, even Jokic had fun at the parade. That's how you know that it was a good parade. So. All right, so last question about last year, and then let's turn the page all focus on this year. How many times have you looked down on your arm and been like, I really did get that tattoo.

Sometimes I forget I have it, and then obviously I get out of the shower, I look in the mirror, and I. I remind myself, I got Maxie the miner, and he's going to be with me every step of the way moving forward.

Yeah.

And I did save some room, though, for some more trophies and more tattoos, so we'll see what happens.

I like that.

So you said almost immediately after you won, you might have even said it before you won your first title, that the goal was to establish something long term, to establish a dynasty in Denver. When did you start thinking that it would be possible to even compete for multiple championships?

You know, I go back to the bubble, and I know we lost to the Lakers in the Western Conference finals, but that's when I felt, you know what? We have a special player in Nikola Jokic. We have a special player in Jamal Murray, and now we have to make sure we bring the right pieces in to help those guys. And we had injuries after the bubble where we weren't whole in the playoffs, but finally being whole and healthy and adding guys like Aaron Gordon, adding guys like, obviously, contavious Caldwell Pope, we have Michael Porter, who's just continued to get better and better. And last year, having veterans like Jeff Green and Bruce Brown and a young player and Christian Brown who showed out and helped us want to play a finals game on the road in Miami, and it was. We knew if we were healthy, we had a chance to beat anybody. And last year was the first time in a while where we were completely healthy. And it all, it all came together at the right time.

So, talking about this year, you've been coaching for a very long time. This was the first time that you're coaching and you have a championship team that just won a title. What were the challenges like day in and day out, coaching a team, knowing, like, you know, we talk about all the time with sports, there's a switch that you can flip. Was there moments where you're like, you could feel that maybe the focus wasn't there because everyone's been there, done that, and they're just waiting for the playoffs? Was it a different set of challenges as a coach to get that motivation day in and day out because you already hit the top of the mountain, and you got to climb back up.

Yeah, it definitely was. I mean, and that was our whole mindset going into this year. Starting a training camp in San Diego. And, you know, I told our players, listen, we've gone from being one of the 29 teams that's hunting a championship, and now we're going to be the team that's being hunted by everybody else. And with that success comes responsibility. To understand that and to own that. And now that means you have to work harder every day. You have to be more prepared and understand, 82 games this year, you're getting everybody's best. And I tell you what, we tied a franchise record for 57 wins this year. We went 21 and six out of the all star break tied for the best record in the NBA. I give our players a ton of credit for handling that responsibility in a very mature manner. Were there times this year where I feel like I had to jumpstart the guys and remind them of that? Of course, eight games is a long season, but here we are, number two seed, getting ready for the first round. And again, I think our players have done an outstanding job of handling that success while also not being satisfied and staying hungry because we want more.

Yeah, you mentioned responsibility. Do you feel a sense of responsibility knowing that you have maybe, you know, certainly a transcendent player in Jokic, a guy whose skill set we've never seen before in the NFL or, excuse me, the NBA, and a guy who, moving forward, could be an all time great? Do you feel responsible that you have to make sure that he's able to tap into all this enormous potential and tap into his ability to, like, the highest extent? Is that something that you think about? Like, I don't want to let this.

Guy down, of course, and for Nikola, but for the other players, too, you know, we won a championship last year, and I think we did something that I don't think any other championship team has done. We went younger in hopes of trying to repeat. So now developing Christian Brown, Peyton Watts, and Julian Strother, while having our five man starting lineup, who we know what we're going to get from them every single night. But I always feel a responsibility to not only help Nikola, but to prepare our team, to put them in the best position to have success. And if we don't win a game, the first person I look at is me. What could I have done better? What could I have done differently to help my team? And, you know, we always bounce back. We always stay together, very connected group. And that's why I love coming to work every day because I feel our locker room of players, my coaching staff, our front office, our ownership group, I think we have something special that I don't think you find in all pro sports very often.

Yeah.

All right, so bad memory question, but I'm very interested in your response. So you guys were fighting for the one seed. Friday night you lose, the spurs get the two seeds. Still an incredible season. Like you said, franchise recording wins. But what Wemby did on Friday night, can you tell us standing there and watching him like, is there's never been anything like that in the NBA in terms of just his ability. Like, he's so much bigger than everyone. He's shooting threes. Did you ever catch yourself while playing him at any point this year being like, what am I even watching right now? This is insane.

Oh, definitely. And obviously, we played them four times. And what was really impressive about watching Wembley this year, from early in the year to we played him in Game 81, is the improvement within one season and early in the year you could tell, wow, this guy is really tall. He can block shots, he's pretty skilled by the end of the season, and I think Pop did a great job. That's why he's a great coach. You saw Wemby handling the ball in the open court. You saw him shooting pull up threes. But the one thing that really jumped off the page for me that I saw a huge improvement was Wemby's ability to be a playmaker, his passing ability, he was making all his teammates better. And for me, that's always a mark of greatness. Yeah, you can be a really good player, but can you make those around you better? And obviously it was a tough loss for us, but yes, you're watching Wemby and you're saying, wow, this guy is a future of the NBA. He impacts the game offensively, defensively, play making, and he's a competitor. I mean, he's only going to get better, he's going to get stronger, but I don't see any weaknesses in his game.

Yeah, I mean, it was the game that he scored, I think, 17 points in three minutes and it was just crazy. What is going on right now? It's, it's, it's crazy.

He was shooting pull up threes from 35ft. You know, you're not used to seeing that from a player at seven four, whatever he is. You see that from Steph Curry, but now you have a seven footer doing all those things and it's kind of like, wow, this guy is going to be unguardable at some point.

Yeah, with the longest arms ever. So it's almost like he's got the arms of a seven foot six guy and he's seven foot four. It's like, impossible to stop something like that. How do you, how do you go about game planning for a great individual player like that? Because we saw it just a couple weeks ago in, in March madness in the NCAA tournament, where Hurley's strategy against Edie was basically, you know, he's going to get his points and we can let him get his points, but we're not going to let everybody else on the court beat us. When you're going up against a superstar player, and obviously in the NBA, everybody's good, right? Everyone can shoot the ball. But is that more often than not your strategy of just accept the fact that the superstar is going to do some damage and try to limit everybody else?

Well, I think it depends on the player, the matchup, who's around that player. There are definitely games, and opponents will all say, listen, we know he's going to get his, but they're at their best when everybody else gets going. So you let that certain player maybe get his 25 to 30 points, but you take with a three point line for their other players. Then there are certain nights where you say, listen, we can't let this guy get off. He's scoring way too easy. We have to send a double team. And that's not just in the post. That may be a player on the perimeter, like an Anthony Edwards, like a Jalen Brown, who are just really tough covers on the perimeter where you may have to send a secondary defender and then look to fly around behind that. And obviously, you know, Danny Hurley, a tremendous job at UConn winning another title, and his game plan against Zack Edie in the post was terrific. They took away all of Purdue shooting and made Ed be the one guy that was scoring. And then there were times where they decided to double team, but their multiple effort and fly around mentality was outstanding.

That was what impressed me about UConn, was just their defense on the ball, off the ball for 40 minutes was just incredible.

So I had a question about that. So it's, you know, New Jersey high school players are having a moment right now with Danny Hurley winning his back to back. You're, you know, you went to Seton hall prep for a couple of years in New Jersey trying to go back to back. Did you play against, it would be Bobby, right, like he was at the time. Did you have games against him?

Oh, yeah.

No, I played against Bobby and, you know, the other St. Anthony's players, Jerry Walker, all the guys, Jasper Walker, different players. But yeah, Danny was younger, but Bobby was more my age. And obviously Bobby was an incredible player at St. Anthony's, at Duke. And unfortunately, his career in the NBA was cut short. But yeah, I mean, that era of, you know, that tri state, New York City, New Jersey basketball was, was incredible.

Yeah.

Talentine high school who had, you know, Malik Steely, Brian Reese, Adrian Autry. You had Kenny Anderson at Malloy. There were a lot of great players in that area at that time. And I always look forward to playing against a guy like Bobby because he was considered one of the best point guards in the country.

Yeah, tough, tough. New Jersey high school players into coaches are having a big moment right now. The other, the other one I had for you was your start in coaching. Greg Campy, who just won his first NCAA tournament game with our guy, Jack goalkee. Did you talk to him after it all? Because that was, that was a very cool moment. And for people who don't know you, you basically got your start, like doing anything for him way back in the day at Oakland University. He's been there for 40 years and he finally gets that one big moment, beating Kentucky.

Well, you know what the great thing is? So I got that job at Oakland because my father was an assistant coach in Detroit with Chuck Daley and they used to practice at Oakland University. So my father had a relationship with Campy, and when I was getting out of college, I wanted to get into coaching. And my father put in a good word with Greg Campy, who hired me. Now, Oakland was division two at the time, but I was a volunteer assistant coach. And the coolest part about that job was Barry Sanders used to come over and play open gym, and here he is, the greatest, arguably the greatest running back in NFL history who loved hoops. And having a chance to play with him was, was a memory I'll never forget. But Coach Campy and I have stayed in touch. My father passed away this past October. Coach Campy was one of the first guys to reach out to me. And when they beat Kentucky that night, I hit him up right away. I'm sure I was one of a thousand messages, but for him to be there for 40 years and him to have that kind of a win behind the unbelievable shooting of Jack Golker was incredible.

And I was so happy for coach Campy, the Oakland program and obviously coach campy's entire family.

Yeah, we, we got a.

We.

You just glossed over something Barry Sanders playing pickup basketball. What was his game like?

Well, I tell you what, I couldn't get over the size of his legs and the size of his neck. He was incredible athlete, and it's funny, man. He was just. He was for the. The player he was and all the success he had and all the records that he had. Very, very humble, very quiet, but loved basketball, wanted to come in. My sister Kelly actually worked for the Lions that time, at that time. So I got to know him a little bit. Unbelievable person. Just humble, selfless love to hoop. And you wouldn't if you didn't know who he was. You think he was just a regular guy in there playing hoops, and that's what I loved about him. Yes, he was a great running back who carried those Lions teams for years, but I was just impressed with how he carried himself as a man.

What was his comp, though? Player comp.

Player comp. Oh, I'm trying to think. I don't know. Nate Robinson.

Okay.

Yeah, that's good.

Yeah, that's a very good one. Did he travel a lot?

He just stopped dribbling.

Strong, explosive. Yes. I don't know. Nate Robinson popped into my head.

I like that.

Yeah.

I mean, it would be. It'd be amazing. Just to go try to guard Barry Sanders in any sport would be incredible. Dude, do you know Jack?

Make sure he was on my team.

Yeah.

Smart.

That's a smart move.

You should bring goalkee in for a tryout. Yeah, he needs a look. The kid can shoot well.

I tell you what, you be brown, who I got to know, my father was on his staff back in the day, one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game of basketball. And Hubie Brown had a saying, shooting makes up for a multitude of cents. If you can shoot the ball in today's game, there's a place for you. And what Jack golke did on the biggest stage in the country was really, really impressive. And I think there are a lot of Jack goalkee fans. I think campy even talked about it that night after they won that game. People from Louisville were buying Oakland gear.

Yeah.

They wanted to wear it and rub it in the Kentucky fans faces.

Yeah.

So let's give them a try because we're big Jack goalkee fans. We actually had him in our office, and we have a full court basketball court. So we, we. He got to do a workout. We got to do some drills with him. He can shoot. We'll tell you right now. We'll be your advanced scouts. As I don't know, I don't know if you knew this guy can shoot.

Here's my question at a big cat. PfT, who is the better shooter? Who's got the. Who's got the shot?

That would be big cat.

Yeah.

I'm more of a facilitator.

Yeah, you should listen, next, next season, when you're in Chicago, you should come by because we do run fives on Friday, and it's probably the worst basketball you could ever watch. It's like those when, when you run pickup basketball and maybe the first game is like 15 minutes, and then the second game, everyone gets tired and it's like 35 minutes to get to eleven and you're like, this is just atrocious to watch.

I look forward, I will stop by, schedule, permits. I'd love to stop by and see you guys.

Yeah, yeah.

Coach us up. I actually have a pointer for you. I know that, you know, you've accomplished a lot as a coach. You can always get better, though, right? We're always looking to improve around the margins. You're great at getting in the refs face, at giving them a piece of your mind. When you feel like your players been fouled, they don't call it. I saw it a couple times. Aaron Gordon this year, you're not afraid to let the ref have it, but there's one player that you don't do it enough for, and that's jokic when he's trying his like three quarter length three pointer, when he's getting fouled, and. And they never call the foul on him. And it's a foul. They get him on the arm. I know that the reps are like, oh, this is weird. Why is he shooting it from the opposing foul line? I think you need to get in the refs face when they don't call that and let them know that's a foul.

Well, I tell you what. So to clarify, they are calling the foul, but what they're not giving them is a free throws. They're saying it's a non shooting foul. And the funny thing is, I've had a lot of conversations with the refs as well as the league about it, because I don't think people understand how smart Nikola is.

He sees that.

He sees it before it happens. And so he knows the player is about to come up and he'll stop around 70ft from the basket, raise up and let it go. And I asked a ref one time, I said, be honest. The reason you're not giving him free throws is because of where it happened, because you know, well, what right minded player is going to shoot a shot 70ft away? And I go, but you shouldn't be worried about the location. It's more about is he in his upward shooting motion? And it's an ongoing debate and hopefully at one point we'll be able to get that. But hey, if I have to get thrown out one time, obviously I have no problem doing that.

Yeah.

With the day that he gets that call is going to be incredible.

It's going to be amazing.

He's been trying for it for so long.

Speaker two.

It also might ruin the NBA forever the second that he gets that call because then everyone's going to be doing that. But I want to see it happen the first time.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, I want to see it as well. I think he deserves. He's probably an over twelve in those attempts and hopefully we'll get it one day.

Yeah.

So speaking of Jokic, is there ever a time where you're like, hey, can you shoot more? Cause he's so good at sometimes, you know, like game will start and he's just facilitating to everyone and he's maybe passing up shots to get everyone else involved. Do you ever have to say like, listen, thank you for passing to everyone, but I need you to shoot because every time you shoot, it's you. It goes in.

Yeah, well, he's one of the more efficient players that we've ever seen and that's why obviously he's a two time MVP and potentially a three time MVP. But you know, there are times we'll have to say, listen, you need to be a little bit more aggressive. You know, certain teams choose to double team him from the get go, other teams choose to play him straight up. It's pick your poison with him like we touched on earlier. But there are, there are games where he's such a great passer, he's always reading the defense and he wants to get other people involved. That's why he's great, because he's going to be one of the top three assists for game players in the league every year. But yeah, sometimes it's like joke, you gotta, you gotta be more aggressive. Look, to attack before the double team or when you have one on one coverage, go to work. He's proven to be unguardable and that's not a knock on anybody. That's just speaking to his greatness and his ability to find and solve any riddle thrown at him. And we've seen him do it time and time again and none better than last year during our run to the.

To the finals and ultimately winning our championship. But he is a great player. He's a great passer. He's really unselfish. So usually I trust him 1000% to read the game and play the game the way he sees, but there will be an occasional time where. Yeah, hey, listen, like, go to work, look, look to score, and, and he. We know he can do that.

Yeah.

And I think he's in really great shape, too. I think that's a very underrated part of his game, is his conditioning. People look at him sometimes, and he might not have, like, the muscle definition on, on the biceps that some other guys have, but I feel like people don't give him credit. Do you think he's. You think teams underestimate how in shape he is?

I couldn't agree with that more. And I think the perfect example was you go back, I think, six years ago, our first time making the playoffs, we had a game in Portland. They went for overtimes. I think Nicole played 60 minutes. And I don't know how many players can do that and play effectively and efficiently. But, Nikola, you know, I think people always judge athleticism on how high you can jump. Well, if that's the only way you're going to judge his athleticism, where you're going to say, nicole is not a great athlete, but it's more than just jumping. It's hand eye coordination. It's the ability to have unbelievable stamina. He loves horses. And I say, you like secretariat, man. He's got, like, a huge heart. Nicole can run for days, and you look at how much we play him, and now that's a. Playoffs are about to start, how much more we're about to play him, because we know that when he's on the floor, good things tend to happen for us.

I think it goes back to that picture that always goes around of him as a kid, and so people see that picture and they're like, oh, this guy can't run. But, no, he's, he's always out there. He's always running.

Yeah.

I do think it works to your advantage, though, that they. That sometimes teams don't really recognize how great of shape he's in.

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

The other thing that, like, you talk about the athleticism, I think the other thing, really common misperception about Nicole Jokic is, oh, well, because he's not a good athlete, he's not a good defender, and that, I don't think that could be further from the truth. I think Nicole is actually a very good defender. And you don't have to be a good defender to be a guy that's jumping and blocking shots above the rim. He has unbelievable hand eye coordination. He's one of the top guys in the NBA in terms of deflections. You guys have seen him breaking, break up a lot of passes with his feet and his timing, anticipation. He's one of the few players in the NBA that's got over 100 steals and close to 70 blocks. So I think that's also an area that people try to pick him apart, but he's proven people wrong time and time again.

So one thing you're a lead at, and I've read a bunch of stories and it's very clear when you talk about your team, is your ability to connect with each guy person to person. And, like, the stories of you going to visit Jokic at his home. Did you ride a horse, by the way, when you went there?

So I didn't ride the horse, but Nicola let me ride the carriage.

Okay. All right. That counts.

He took me to practice one day and he goes, coach, come on. And he told me what to do and I went around and he was really mad at me because he said it was a practice and I was supposed to go a lot slower. And I was like, ben hur, man. I was like, let's go. And, yeah, so I did that one time and he'll probably never let me do that again.

That's fantastic. So your ability, though, connect with guys, you know, one on one, you know, when you, you had that quote about Jamal Murray's injuries and how he's going to be back? I think, you know, when it comes to coaching, the best coaches are able to get their teams to trust them on such a level that it's like, you know, what I'm doing is going to get you to a place where you can win a championship. Was there a moment in these last few years where you could feel like my team is finally in, like they're finally all have bought into what I'm selling and they all are going to trust me no matter what I say. They might not agree all the time, but they trust that what I'm doing is trying to put them in the best spot.

Yeah, I mean, that's a really good question and thank you. I go back to, you know, the bubble, but even our first time making the playoffs, you know, we played San Antonio in the first round and here we are playing the spurs, right, and coach Popovich, and we won in seven games. And that was brand new for Jamal, that was brand new for me. That was brand new for Nikola, and I think that's really helped that. Nicole and I've been together for nine years. Jamal and I have been together for eight, and then we've added pieces around Jamal. I think Aaron Gordon's been here for four and a half now, Michael Porter for five. So what you have with that continuity creates chemistry and trust. So I've never felt like I had to, like, win them over. I felt like we've always been connected, and we, and for me, it's. It's never been. This is what we're doing and is my way the highway. What I learned from a guy like coach Popovich is when we talk about trust as part of our culture, I got to trust our players. So last year, during our run to the finals, we're going through games and scouting reports and opposing plays.

I'm giving our players input. What do you guys see? What do you want to do in this play? So now I'm empowering them so we all feel a part of it. And so I'm not a dictator. I'm very much a coach that wants to give our players input and not so I hope it fails. But, hey, you're out there playing. And I think through all those conversations and all the time that we've been together, I think that's allowed us to get to a place where we trust each other. It's not just them trusting me. I also trust our players, and we have great dialog within that.

So off that question, you mentioned Aaron Gordon, who has been phenomenal for you guys, and what is it, though, putting a guy like Aaron Gordon, who is with the magic, he's the best guy in the magic. Then he comes to the Nuggets and his role is going to be a little different, and he's not the best guy anymore, but you need him to play winning basketball. How does that process work when you have a new guy on the team and you're like, look, you were the man. You're still the man, but there's other guys here who are going to be the man and you're going to play off them a little bit more?

Well, I think Aaron Gordon deserves the credit here. I mean, I could sit here and say, hey, we had conversations about this and that, which we did, but ultimately, it's up to the man. It's up to the person, the player to understand I'm coming to a team that's really good. They've won. They haven't won at the highest level yet. But I can help them get over the hump. And the funny thing is, right when we got Aaron Gordon after that trade deadline, we beat the Clippers in LA when they were fully loaded and healthy. And that's when I think we all realized that we got a chance, if we stay healthy, to win and win big and win a championship. Unfortunately, injuries happen that year, the year after. But then we finally had that chance last season. But Aaron came in understanding that, listen, I'm going to do whatever it takes to help this team. I'm playing next to a great player who's one of the most unselfish players, highest iqs and great passers. I'm just going to play off of him. I'm going to play off of Jamal Murray, I'm going to defend, I'm going to rebound, and I'm going to be completely selfless in everything I do.

And I think guys like Aaron Gordon, guys like KCP, embody being truly selfless every single day. Because when people talk about the Nuggets, it's Nikole Jokic, it's Jamal Murray and Michael Porter. Aaron Gordon, KCP, don't get as much of the attention, but they're all just as important in our success.

Yeah, it's.

I mean, it's awesome watching a team come together like that, where you have pieces from all over the place and it's. Everyone kind of steps into their role. It's. It's beautiful to watch when basketball works that way.

Yeah.

And Christian Brown, too. You mentioned him earlier. I guess a spark x factor. Is he, what would he have to do to get into, like, the starting rotation? Because I know he's great in certain aspects of his game. I think. I think I've heard you talk about him in transition before and how that is a key factor in his game. Is that a guy that you see ever becoming a rotation guy?

Well, I mean, he's the rotation guy for us now, and when we've had injuries, he started a bunch of games for us this year. His versatility is what you love about him. He can be a small fold, a two guard, and he's actually been, when Jamal was out for a while this year. Christian has been our backup point guard at time, so there's not a position he can't play. And you talk about transition. I felt probably maybe halfway through this season, Christian wasn't playing the way I was hoping he would have played this year. He didn't have the same aggression, didn't have the same defensive disposition that I thought he needed to have. And I called him in. We met, we watched film from last year of how he helped us win, even clips from him in the NBA Finals. And I said, this is what we need from you, you know, for you to be the best player for this team. We need you to be more aggressive. We need you to be tougher. We need you to be more disciplined and, and to lock down on defense. And to his credit, from that meeting through the end of the season, I thought he was tremendous for us.

He's put a lot of time into his game. He's shooting a three ball really well. He is a hell of a finisher. If you go back to that Minnesota game, some of the dunks he had in transition were just incredible. Highlight dunks with his left hand on, a guy like Rudy Gobert. But he's an important piece because he can fill so many holes. And for me, with Christian, CB is what we call him. It's always about his intangibles, man. He's got an edge to him. He's one at every level. I want him to go out there and just be a dog and get after people hit people, be aggressive. And when he does that, he's a difference maker. And the other young guy that I think is really improved this year is Peyton Watson. Peyton Watson is doing things defensively, blocking shots at the rim. A lot of plays defensively that most guys in league can't make. So Peyton didn't play at all last year. He's in the rotation this year. And it's going to be a great opportunity for him, these coming playoffs to really step up, because we all know the playoffs is a lot different than the 82 game regular season.

Yeah, you guys got a lot of weapons. Coach, we asked this question to everybody. It's a fun little segment that we do. It's called, it's called, who would you rather play in the first round of the playoffs? The Kings, the Warriors, the Pelicans or the Lakers?

Well, the lucky, the good thing for us is that we know we're either playing the Lakers or the Pelicans. They have their playing game down in New Orleans tonight, and we're gonna. I like to play whoever wins that game.

Okay.

That's smart. That's what, that's what's gonna happen.

Yeah. Yeah. Good answer. Good answer.

That's the best answer we've ever had in that segment.

Yeah.

All right, so I had a couple of last questions. So we're ball knowers. We know ball. And these west playoffs are going to be great. There's so many talented teams. The one seed, though, the thunder, they have had an incredible season. Some people, non ball knowers, are being like, well, they're too young. They don't know how to get through the playoffs. We obviously know that they're so talented. They could, any team could win the west playing them, though, and seeing like their young talent kind of go from, you know, they were not a playoff team last year. Now they're in the playoffs. Obviously, they had to do a lot of injuries guys coming back. But how, like, how impressive is it watching a team that young? I think their, their roster age is like 23 years old. It's pretty crazy.

Oh, really is. And one, you have to give credit to Sam Presti. Their GM's done a terrific job of, you know, handling the roster and, and building that roster up to what we see today. Very young, but very talented. A lot of high lottery picks in there. And it's not just about bringing talent in. They brought talent in that fits, that complements each other. Then you go down to Mark Dagnolt, who I think is coach of the year in the NBA. I think he's done an outstanding job of building that team on both ends of the floor. And then you mentioned the players. I mean, Shea Gilgis Alexander is an MVP candidate for a reason. Unbelievable talent can score. The ball can guard. I think he led the league in steals. You have Chet Holmgren, who unfortunately isn't a rookie class with Victor Wembanyama, but Chet Holmgan, we look at his upside and his ability to impact offense and defense. Young Jalen Williams, that guy is just, he's becoming a go to player for him. He'll be a future all star. In my opinion. Lou Dort's one of the best defenders in the NBA. And I think I give a guy like Josh giddy so much credit.

There was so much noise around him early in the year with the investigation, all the stuff off the court. He was being booed in every arena he played in, and he fought through that. And I think he's quietly a really important piece to that team because he can playmake, he rebounds, he defends, and he makes all of his teammates better. So I don't buy into the hole. They're too young to win it. Yeah, last year people thought, well, we've never won a championship. They can't win a finals. And I go back to year one. We beat the spurs in round one, and we took the Blazers to a game seven in the second round. It's, they have the talent. They have the coaching and I think these Western Conference players are just going to be so fun to watch. I would not be surprised if there are a ton of upsets.

Yeah, it's going to be crazy to watch.

Have you, have you done any, any breakdowns or even thought allowed yourself to think about the best teams in the east? Are you just in the mindset of let's handle our business in the west?

Yeah, I mean, I'm just locked in on the Western Conference. The funny thing is, going into our game against Memphis, game 82, all the games in the west started at the same time. And I knew all the different, like this team wins or this seed in the east. I knew Boston was one, and after that I had no idea what was going on. So it's going to be hard enough getting out of the first round this year, so we're going to take it one round at a time, and if we're able to get out of the Western Conference again, then we'll turn our attention to whoever is coming out of the Eastern Conference.

Yeah.

All right, so I had one last question. It's a row back question. Rho back.com promo code take 20% off first purchase. Qzips, polos, hoodies, joggers, shorts, everything. Roback.com promo code take so we talked about the hurleys. Have you thought about maybe getting on the court and pushing a player during action?

No. Danny do that?

Yeah, he did that in the finals with like when they were up 15 with three minutes left, he just kind of blacked out and he pushed Cam Spencer to be like, go and go and run the play. Have you ever caught yourself getting too, too far onto the sideline? Shock of smart does it as well, where he's basically a six guy out there playing defense in the corner. But have you ever had to like, stop yourself and be like, oh, I'm, I'm basically standing on the court right now?

Yeah.

I mean, sometimes I'm like, you know, the scene in old school, I'm having an out of body experience, man. And I find myself like, why am I on the other side of half court coaching my team? Years ago, Terry Stotts, who was coaching in Portland at the time, he took a screenshot of our game and I was all the way on the other side of the court in the other coaching box. Sometimes my wife will and my daughters will make fun of me because as the game is going on, I am. That's why I like, we don't have to wear suits anymore. Yeah, I can, I can get in a defensive stance and do my up and down the sideline like I'm guarding. Like I'm having any impact on the game.

No, it does. That does. That absolutely has an impact. The coach getting up and slapping the floor a couple times, that's. That absolutely has an impact.

I think the players probably laugh at it, but I think they respect it. I'm not a guy, like, there are certain coaches that you look on the sideline, they'll be over there sitting on the bench with their legs crossed. And I actually said to my assistants, if I ever sit on a bench with my legs crossed, punch me in my face. I said, I am a coach. I'm into the game. It's an emotional game. And, you know, you're all competitors, man. You don't get to this level if you're not a competitor. And sometimes I definitely overdo it, and I got to remind myself to calm down a little bit. But the end of the day, like my mother always tells me, you got to be yourself. And that's what I try to do.

Yeah, maybe if you just get one technical, then have. Have the Jokic brothers be your get back guy. And so if you get too far out there, they come down, they grab you back.

Well, that was one of my best, like, moments last year of winning the Western Conference final. The NBA was going to hug Nimanja and Strahina Nicolas, big brothers and really big brothers, and them taking me like a rag doll and throwing me in the air. And, I mean, those are moments that you'll never, ever forget. And that's what I love about our group. And it's not just our players, but we have a very connected group, and I love being a part of it.

Well, hopefully, you get some more of those moments coming up in the next couple of months. Coach, we really appreciate your time. We love having you on, and best of luck in the playoffs. And let's. Let's not wait a whole year. If you guys win again, let's have you on right away.

So maybe.

Maybe at the parade, we'll have you. We'll have you zoom in at the parade. If it happens again, I tell you.

What, that would be awesome to do. If not, I will see you guys in Chicago and always being great being on with you guys, and let's do it again soon.

All right?

Thanks, coach. Thank you, coach. Appreciate it. Don't worry. We'll police anyone who says, mike, we got you. We're your silent protectors. We got you.

Appreciate it.

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Okay, we'll wrap up the show with fire fest. I'll actually go first this week with my fyre fest because it's the fact that we have a gambling turtle that's going to probably cost me a lot of money.

Well, he's owing one right now. Oh, and one the money line. I wish there was some sort of metaphor, though. Big cat for, um, something like kids fable that started out very slow, reminded us that this was a marathon, not a sprint.

Okay, so I have to stick with mister pair. You're saying he might.

He might be the moneyline guy? We don't know.

We might have gotten, accidentally a moneyline turtle. Tortoise tortured, is it tort?

Is tort. Russian tortoise?

All tortoises are turtles.

So is that true?

Can we say Max only so. Oh, well, Max. Max. He's all tortoises or turtles. Where'd you find that out? No, no, no. Oh, he's got.

Oh, all tortoises are turtles. Not all turtles are tortoises.

So he's a tortoise, but also a turtle.

So that might have been the turtle pick. Oh, yesterday.

He's looking so cute.

Miss eat pear.

Very gorgeous, mister Pig.

What's on his mouth?

Yeah, he's looking.

It's calcium.

He's got a lot of white house him.

What has he been doing? You've been drinking milk. It's calcium powder. They need it to.

For the shell.

Wait, so did you put that on him? No, you put it on his food and then. Oh, no way. Look at you, memes.

He looks like a coke guy.

Memes is really doing a great job.

As zoom in on his face and just make that I fucking love cocaine meme out of him.

Look at this guy. Why do you have a excuse me. Why do you have a jersey underneath? Did he poop on you and come on you?

Apparently that's what their pee looks like is white.

Okay, and what if it's a female tourist?

No, squirt, we don't know if he's female.

Yeah, it's a mister.

Oh, you've, you, you've checked it?

No.

Oh, okay. So we don't know. All right, so that's my fire fuss, is that. Whatever this turtle picks, I'm going to bet. And we've somehow gotten ourselves back into this situation where a turtle is now deciding whether I win or lose money.

He's going to be good.

Yeah.

All right, so he's going to pick the Bulls heat game. Hank, why don't you go to your fire fest while Mister pear picks?

No real fire fest for me. I mean, this sleeping, sleeping the other day, dozing off. Not great.

Yeah, especially after you slept until 1130 on Lester.

Yeah, I might have a sleep problem. I've just been waking up early, which I think is a good thing long term.

Okay, mister.

He's taking his time.

He's not moving. All right, you just let us know. Keep going with your fire.

I'm just addicted to watching old masters broadcast before I go to bed. And I, that, that's been keeping me up.

What have you been wanting? Have you seen Scotty Stradler?

No, I've been like 2002. I've been, it's their four hour broadcast. But I'm like, I'll just turn this on and fall asleep. And I watched for like 2 hours.

You get really into it.

Yeah.

You are addicted to golf.

It's good. It's good. It's a good. Watch Jim dance.

He hasn't moved. He has not moved, folks. He is not moved. I think we, if he doesn't move by the end of the fire fest, we have to just do a game to go to overtime.

Yeah.

So wait, why don't we put food down?

Yeah, put some food down.

He's not gonna move.

If there's Max. Just show. Show him your ass. All right, so no fire. Fire fest is just hanks watching too much golf.

Yeah. Okay. Pft. Good.

Fyre fest. My fair fest, kind of along the same lines of also taxes.

I did fire. I would like to clear for the record, why were people asking? Yeah, well, people were chirping me and like, they're saying, like, I'm gonna get audited and shit. Like I take the most out of my taxes so that I don't have to.

Two taxes.

Not do taxes, but, like, so it's not, you know, it's not like, oh, fuck. I'm gonna be down up here.

He's moving.

Going.

Oh, no. We go into the heat.

He might. He only turns right so far.

Yeah, we're gonna have to figure this problem out.

He's not an Ambi turner.

Okay. Keep going, Hank. So you did your taxes even though you didn't late?

I did. They're on there on the way.

Wood.

We're good.

What's today's date?

It's 18th.

Oh, do you owe money?

I will owe money, but not, you know, I'm not gonna get, like.

They were late.

Go to jail.

Okay.

And if I have to pay a fine, I pay it fine.

All right. Pft, what's yours?

Along the same lines as just the tortoise that stinks at gambling. I tried to do something good and tried to get some advice and learn from experts on tortoises so we can find out more about our beloved Mister pear. And I signed up for an account on tortoise forums.

Okay.

And a lot of hot discussion going on in tortoise forums. Tortoises in the news, advanced tortoise topics. And I made a post there under advanced tortoise topics asking for advice with a gambling tortoise. Because I assume this is a problem they've dealt with in the past. Yeah, they know which types are good. Which types are not good. I got banned from tortoise forum.

What?

They hit me with a band hammer. The mods came after me after about. It was one post.

You're the John Tay Porter of tortoise farm.

And I specifically said we're not doing weird sex stuff with him because I know a lot of those freaks on the tortoise message board are into weird sex stuff.

Yep.

You let that be known.

I let that be known. And I had several real questions about the tortoise, and then they hit me with a ban hammer right off the bat. So I am. I'm no longer blocked by OJ, but I am banned by tortoise for him.

Wait, OJ unblocked you?

No, he's dead. So he's right. But he's not blocking out. No, but he can't you. He can't be blocking me if he's dead.

But his account still.

The account still blocks me.

Yeah, we got to get that fixed.

I know. I'm okay with that.

I'm okay.

I wear that as a badge. But the tortoise form thing is. It's a real issue because I. We are gonna have questions about it, and that's the place to go to get your questions answered.

I'll sign up.

There's. Yeah, you see? And then.

And then do a little, like, intro post about.

Just so you know.

Yeah.

Not trying to have sex with any turtle.

No sex stuff. We've been very clear about that.

Maybe I'll say, listen, guys, I'm not trying to have sex with my turtle. He also is a tortoise. We're not gonna talk about that part. Yeah, just let everyone know.

Yeah.

Separate.

I looked around on the forum, though, and there's some great, great topics like, what did your tortoise do during the eclipse? Was a hot one that was in the advanced topic section.

Oh, he's 50 turning.

He's trying to escape.

He's leaving.

This guy, Mister Pear, he's got a problem. I mean, we. We can do. If he leaves, we can say, no, pick. He's looking.

He's like 60% bulls.

Right.

Okay.

All right.

All right. Yeah, I don't. I don't really have a fire fest other than Mister Pearl.

You want to do a Taylor Swift album review?

Yeah.

Wait, no, actually, no, I don't, because it isn't officially out yet. Right.

But it's.

It's out by the time this is released.

But swifties have been very upset about leaks doxxing each other. They've been infighting in the swifties.

Well, I did. I did hear one song that I did not care for on the album.

Okay.

It's also.

Wait, you listened to it before it came out?

No.

So I was forced to listen to it.

Okay.

I was forced to listen to other music videos.

I was.

Somebody kidnapped me and they said, you have to listen this. I said, no, taylor's queen. Let's not take away from her streams.

Yeah.

Is there any videos I could watch?

I don't have any videos of it.

Okay, just let me know when it's in video for. There's.

I've heard that there might be a very interesting video of her and somebody else. Oh, but watch it. There's one song that I don't like at all and I don't think anyone should listen to. It's about how her boyfriend's friend is super annoying and always trying to get him to schedule things and trying to get him to stop coming to her concerts, trying to get him out to drink beers and just carry on and be a big psycho.

Yeah.

Jock don't listen.

That's not who her boyfriend is. But he has one bad, really bad influence. Of a friend. That's very unorganized.

Yeah.

Okay, so whatever that song's about, I don't like it.

Yep.

Agreed. Jake finishes off. Is he just not moving?

Moving? He's in the middle.

It might be a no pick. Or we could just keep it running the bulls. But he's in the dead center.

Yeah, we'll keep him going.

Come on, mister. Come on, mister. Bear rush.

Greatness.

All right, Jake, what's your.

The other day, I was walking back from the grocery store, and it started.

Pouring right in the middle of the walk.

Oh, I didn't know you like to get wet. We did have a crazy. A couple crazy weather days things.

Hank.

Oh, that's our baseball game canceled.

Yeah, but it was like, there was one day where it was awful. It was raining, then 70 degrees and raining again.

Nice little, like Florida.

Mix it up.

Mm hmm.

Weather's been fine. It's been fucking 70.

No, there's just one day where a.

Little rain, little brain.

You screw your mister pear voice to me. Oh, little. I'm excited for your softball team. I want to play. I also think Hank is not gonna be a good pitcher. He's not taking it seriously. What? I asked who was pitching, and they. Everyone was like, I don't know. And then it seems like you're pitching. Oh, I'm gonna come.

And.

And I'm gonna come. I'm gonna come. Don't come. And, Max, are you the manager, pug, or the hugs? The manager or the hugs?

Hug.

Will you. Will there be a short hook on Hank if he's not throwing strikes?

Yeah, as a zero tolerance policy.

Love that.

Yeah.

All right, I'll be ready. I'm gonna softball.

So they're gonna get hit. Like strikes is one thing. I'm fine with that, but.

Well, no, if you don't throw strikes, they're just gonna walk on.

No, I'm saying that's fine.

Yeah.

If we're giving up runs, that's. There's nothing I can do. That's my field. It's softball.

Sounds like you're okay with getting shelled.

Yeah.

Sounds like you're giving up meatballs.

It's softball.

Sounds like you're throwing it too slow.

I have no choice.

We'll see. It's game zero. Cut me some slack, all right? I'm gonna show up in a big starter jacket with just over my right arm. I'll be ready. Maybe I'll stand. Maybe I'll just sit in my car.

We should find out. We should find out what teams are playing. Against Hank. And then we should get you in the starting lineup for one of those teams.

Just take.

Take place.

Take pictures.

Take him yard.

Yeah, no, just take pictures. Walks are way more embarrassing. And grab the plate.

Oh.

Oh, is he going?

Not really.

Popped his head out.

I found.

I found how you can tell the difference between a male and a female tortoise online.

Should.

Should we check? Yeah, maybe he doesn't like the food that's being presented.

What is it? Lettuce.

Let's check next time he does a pick, because he's already. He's in the middle of a pick right now. We can't rush this. Yeah, this might take a while. All right, should we do numbers and then you just want. Someone just want to stay with the camera and we can just have our pick be whenever he decides.

Yep.

And maybe. Maybe Max or meme say what the pick is after we do numbers so people who are listening can get the pick. That's fair. All right, numbers.

Oh, he's walking towards the bulls.

Eight.

Go Mister Pear. Go Mister pair. Oh. Go Mister Bear. Go Mister Bear. He's going. That's a big move. He's doing it. He's doing it.

And bowl.

Let's go, Mister pair.

Oh, Mister Paul.

Yeah, that was actually good to know that he can go the other way. And he just. He was very torn on it. He actually probably. You can probably put in the graphics when he found out if the Jimmy Butler was out of the heat.

Yeah, he's eaten.

Yes, Mister Pear.

I love you, mister pair.

All right, numbers.

840.

I'm gonna go 73 for Mister Pear. 61 plus twelve is the 60. 112 is the number for a turtle. 61 plus 1273. 2020 for max.

18. Three.

It's hungry.

99.

Poke.

He just ain't.

Are you? Are you? Yeah, I just fed him supposedly one time a day.

Don't did all that coke.

Max, we should go on the Mister prairie, dial 79.

Love you guys.

I don't know what.

Let it wait to be safe. Say after me, like, the better to be safe and stop it. Only

come to the. I know. Jesus.