 Run it up, do run it back. Run it up, do run it back, run it back, run it up. Happy Wednesday morning, and welcome to Run It Back. It's been our special time this week and this week. Only Michelle Beatle, Chandler Parsons, Lou Will, and Shom Shirania joining us from his castle in Chicago. And Shoms, we're going to get to some of the serious news that happened right before the All-Star break. It feels like 1,000 years ago when we learned that Isaiah Stewart got into an altercation with Drew Eubanks. We knew that he got arrested. But what is the latest? So Michelle, off the court, Isaiah Stewart has a court date in Phoenix on Friday. He does not have to physically appear. He's going to have an attorney show up for him on Friday. It's a misdemeanor assault charge for Stewart for that punch on Drew Eubanks. His attorney, his camp, they believe this case will ultimately be dismissed. But in the meantime, he's going to have to go through this on Friday. The Pistons practice today. They play tomorrow against Indiana. I'm told that the Pistons are awaiting the NBA's direction on where this goes for Isaiah Stewart, whether he can play or not. And really how the NBA wants to handle whether there's going to be discipline, whether he's going to play moving forward. The league said last week that they are looking into it, that they're investigating the situation that happened last week in Phoenix, where before the game, Isaiah Stewart, Drew Eubanks got into an altercation, chest to chest that resulted in a punch to the face of Drew Eubanks. We still don't know what sparked it. We still don't know if anything was said by Drew Eubanks or what else really allowed that to take place. But right now the NBA is going through their investigation and the Pistons are really awaiting from the league on where to go from here. Yeah, they've got their championship hopes on the line right now, waiting. Question, how is there not video in this day and age? That's what, Shoms, I don't know what you heard, but I heard there's a video. Obviously every inch of a NBA arena, there's got to be some sort of footage, right? And I know someone that's super close to the situation and I've heard two different stories, right? I obviously hear the reports and I've obviously trust Shoms to see a dozen. But I also heard that he just got off the bus and that they've had issues before in previous matchups and it was a straight up sucker punch to the back of the head. So if that's the case, I expect some serious repercussions. Like that's not okay. You can really hurt someone like that. Now, if it was a chest to chest, they were talking shit back and forth and they were getting into it and one guy threw a punch first, I think there should be a little more lenience on him than that's just a fight, you know what I mean? Like that's still unnecessary, still no place for it in the game, especially in the tunnel. But if it's just straight up sucker punch, that's not cool when someone can really get hurt like that. You're right though, like where's the video? This is the NBA arena. There are camera dudes that are waiting for arrivals. So they have it, the NBA is looking at it. There is video, the security, Phoenix, they've seen it, the league has seen it too. And people that I've spoken to that have seen it have shown that yeah, Drew U-Banks was punched in the face and Isaiah Stewart dropped his bags, delivered a punch and Drew U-Banks, from what I'm told from multiple sources that did identify the video that had contact with that video, it showed that Drew U-Banks really didn't flinch. He took it and really he stood there stone cold, they're obviously separated by security, eventually Isaiah Stewart left the arena with piston security as well. He was not put in jail, but he was arrested, cited, and now he's going through this. I mean, I would think he might be a little shocked too, Drew U-Banks, like just what? Good for him taking the punch though for Isaiah Stewart. Yeah, that's not a small dude. That's a solid gin. Yeah, kudos to them keeping a video secret. Yeah, like how does the Dramon, Jordan, Paul thing, that obviously leaks, every video leaks, this thing I feel like is the most easiest video to leak someone that's just not even a team employee really just works at the arena. But yeah, I think eventually this is gonna come to light and we'll kind of have a better understanding and kind of see it, but there's still no place for it regardless of what happened and I expect some severe punishment. Like, what's the guess? Well, what are we thinking? I mean, at least 12 games, right? And now that the standard has been set for Draymond Green with 12 games and what he did on court, this should be worse, off the court, in the back. It's just a silly thing to do, arrest was made, so that should be real repercussions and again, Isaiah Stewart, he's not as popular as the Draymond Green or some of these guys that we like to call heels and tough guys, so, you know, but he's has a reputation of wanting to fight people and it shows and now that he's been caught in the act of actually hitting someone, we need to address this and it should be at least 12 games. Yeah, it's gotta be worse, right? Like, there was never even an arrest for John Morant and look at the situation that he got in. Draymond Green, again, he's a repeat offender but so is Isaiah Stewart, the reaction he had chasing LeBron around the court, like, the NBA is not gonna overlook that and so I think when you have some situation like this where it's not even in the heat of battle, it's not even on the court competitive, like you've been stewing. This is at four o'clock, getting off the bus, like this is a real issue. This is a situation that needs to be nipped in the bud because this is uncalled for. Again, there was an arrest made, so the NBA, like Adam has to lay the hammer down. Their season's already over, set the kids for the rest of the season, like, there's no place for this. If a piston gets suspended for the rest of the season, do you even care? No, I don't. That's sad. I don't think the fans do either. I think it betters their chances at another top pick. Great, great. Speaking of Adam, he's probably not in the best of moods these days following the All-Star game because we all watched him hand that trophy out, Shoms. Have you heard any rumblings behind the scenes of sort of fallout due to the lack of competitiveness of that? That's tough. So we've heard from the players that he's spoken out. The players spoke out after the All-Star game saying that clearly something needs to change. We've heard the fans speaking out afterwards saying that, I mean, clearly we've seen a fan reaction. There's no question that the league also can't be happy. But the NBA was also involved over the weekend. I'm told Andrea Godalla, Larry Bird, and Dr. J all went to the pregame locker room before the All-Star game on Sunday, essentially telling players we're the best in the world, we need to play defense, we need to compete, show why we're the best players, essentially giving a prep talk to the players, a pregame speech, saying that we have the God-given ability to show that we're the best players in the world. The MVPA was the first to the locker room on Sunday and clearly the outcome that we saw was close to 400 points scored between the two points. And so this is clearly something from the player's perspective, MVPA, the league, the fans, even the players addressed it after the game that this is clearly something that needs to be addressed. How will they move forward? That's the question. But listen, three guys, two guys, including Dr. J. Larry Bird, greatest of all-time type of players, and that's the reaction that they'll get. Dr. J. and Larry Bird. It is crazy, because I went back and watched the 2001s and clips that Vince was talking about yesterday. It was insane. Like it was like a playoff atmosphere. That last game, Kobe and Staphon Marbury going back and forth, and that's what it needs. You can see more competitive games in Chris Brickley's summer pick-ups and Rico Hind's UCLA pick-ups. It's not even close to competitiveness. So like, I don't know exactly what they're gonna do. People, I saw Trey Young and Donna Mitchell said there needs to be an MC. An MC. On the court, like Rockin' Park, like I guess firing up and making them more, I'm like, that's definitely not it. But is it more money? I mean, these guys are making already so much money. Is it another bonus? That's a bad look though, if you do that, right? Like the fans are gonna be like, really? I think the comparisons are misleading when we talk about pick-up games in the summer versus the all-star game. In the summertime, you're getting ready for the season, you're gearing up. You hadn't seen these guys all year. For the last four or five months, you've been cocooned in, getting prepared, getting ready for training. And so when you finally see them, you're gonna get some competitive pick-up games cause you wanna know where you are going into the season. You wanna see what these guys got. You wanna see where you are in the pecking order of the guys. And so you get a different environment in the summertime. If the players have a problem with the all-star game, you guys are the first line. Just have a conversation amongst yourselves, play hard to put a better product out there. I hate to see guys come out and not take it seriously. And then once there's backlash, they're like, well, we gotta do something about it. You guys are literally the first line of defense in fixing this thing. We wanna see the best players, at least for a quarter. Give us the fourth quarter. For 12 minutes, both coaches will say, listen, I want five guys that actually wanna be on the floor. Who wants to play? Put the best 10 guys, well, put the 10 guys out there that wants to compete, semi-compete at some type of level where the fans can be satisfied. Other than that, I don't wanna hear the players complain. I don't wanna hear anything about more incident. What more incentive? Can't be more money. We don't need any more gimmicks. We don't need anything. We just simply need these guys to compete and entertain us. That's interesting though, because the N.C.s in tournament, that did motivate the guys for whatever reason that was, whether it was a trophy or a bonus. So maybe financially it can do that. It just seems so ridiculous. The financial part of it, it was an incentive to get other guys that 500K. Yeah, even like it was like I'm a vet, exactly. It wasn't for them. And the problem with the off season, the UCLA pickups, the Chris Bickley, those guys are playing hard to get in shape for the season. These guys in the All-Star weekend, they're doing the opposite. They're trying to coast, because this is their only break of the long six, seven month season. So it's tough. The All-Star game you mentioned, 2001, you watched those clips. The fourth quarter was insane. It was insane. But still. They were double teaming Kobe. But if you watch, it was two guys having a duel. But even Tim Duncan coming over, setting screens for Kobe, they were doubling Kobe at some point trying to get the ball out of his hands. Marbury was making shots. So you had two guys that take the initiative and say, I'm going to compete and I'm taking this personal. And step one, Marbury was that guy. We need that. That's where I like the home court advantage maybe in the finals because, okay, you know what? Trey Young, the Hawks aren't in the contention for the final. Don't play in the fourth, don't play the last six minutes. Yeah, put the guys out there that have- Let's get this, you know, Yannis and Jason Tatum on the east and the guys that are on the contending team. I'm not playing the England. Then let's match them up against Kawhi and Jokic and guys that actually have a chance to be in the finals. But like you mentioned, Trey Young, you say you might not have an opportunity to be in the finals. But what if Trey Young is dead set on competing in that fourth quarter? Well, you'll know by the fourth. Yeah, I think then they can, yeah, as an all-star player, you have that conversation with Doc Rivers and say, hey, I got it. I'm going to give it my all for six minutes, whatever it is. But I'm just saying maybe the home court advantage can give the majority or some of the guys a boost to compete. We can't incentivize every single thing. We really can't. It's crazy to be- It's crazy. Can I give you two ideas that were brought to me for Slam Dunk that I thought were kind of interesting? One was the revisiting of, I think the 2002 Slam Dunk contest when you had the wheel and you had to spin it and it'd be like Dr. Jade. And then they had the screen and you could do that now. Who does that dunk the best? Exactly. And you actually see the old dunk and then they do it. The other idea that I was like, oh, this is interesting is for the Slam Dunk contest prize, you team up with like a luxury car brand and a special edition, like they only make a few of them. Like a one of one. And that's like the prize. Listen, I mean, you can already do that. You can already buy that with your own money. But it's a special edition that doesn't even, you can't just go, you can't get it. I like the wheel thing too, but then it kind of takes away the original, like the originality of like your creativity of getting a dunk on a dunk. We've decided that there aren't that many left. So we're just like, maybe we just want to see you execute it well like Vincent. Today is going to be the first day I sound like an old ex NBA player. These guys make so much money now. More than ever before. Let's stop incentivizing everything. Just simply do what's expected. It's the all-star game. I get it. I understand I was 17 years in. I understand what that break looks like. But for 15 minutes, give these people what they came to see. And if you can't, don't go. And if you can't, don't go to the parks. Go to Turks. Don't do it. Don't do it. Give the fans what they came to see. Just make it, just put some integrity on. Give me a fourth quarter. I'll be happy. Because it's getting to the point where I'd rather watch a Wizards Pistons game than the all-star game. I'd rather see five Jalen Brunson's out there trying. Because he's happy to be there. There's no juice to the game at all. I have no interest in watching it. It starts with the players. It doesn't start with incentives, cars, money, any of that. DJ's, MC's, none of it. It starts with the player. It's simple to play. Sean, we need to get your update on the MC idea. Because that's, no. All right, we're getting to the Milwaukee of it all. Because games are starting back up tomorrow. And the Bucks, as a reminder, are three and seven since Doc Rivers got there. And after the all-star break and all the interviews that were conducted, it just feels like things might be worse. So first up, you have Doc telling your own whitesman of Yahoo, taking a job when you're about to go on the toughest road trip of the season is not the smartest decision. I even told them that. Can we wait till all-star break? It would have been a lot nicer. I'd like to think that this was said in jest, but it's a quote so we can only take it for what it is. Thoughts? I feel like that's just something you don't say out loud. That's something you realize and you understand. But you don't say that out loud. You're an adult. You've had coaching situations before. You've had multiple opportunities. This is now your job. So take it how you want. Don't put this on the players. Don't put this on the ownership, saying I don't know why you're firing Adrian Griffin, things like that. It just feels like he's deflecting. And I saw the whole beef with Austin and JJ, and I see both sides there. But Doc Rivers, again, you've had a lot of lives in the NBA. You keep getting these opportunities. And you have a very, very talented team. So I do understand the point where, like, this is now you're in control and you have the talent. The deed is done. They fired him. This is now your situation. You can't say things like, I wish you would have waited till after All-Star Weekend, like they didn't. And so now you're almost making the ownership look bad by saying things like this. But I think there is still light at the end of the tunnel. I think this is getting to the point where it's almost like Steve Kerr, like they're saying too much. Just go out there, compete. I hope you made adjustments during this break with his staff. Got more comfortable. The Bucks, the Dame, had a great All-Star Weekend. Hopefully that's some sort of momentum going to the second half of the season. Oh, there's a lot more, by the way. This is the tip of the iceberg. Yeah, it's like dark. This is once. This isn't a smart thing to say. As somebody that's worked with Dr. Rivers for five years, even though it's just a quote, I guarantee it was said in Jess. With a little. Semi-joking. And I agree with Chandler as well. Some of these things are also better left unsaid. And I think his two worlds clashed. I think he still has a little bit of his TV job in his system. And he probably was oversharing, trying to say something a little clever, a little light. A little lighthearted. And listen, if there's seven and three, and he says this, we brush past it. But because there are three and seven, you take it a little bit more seriously. And so, I think Doc was saying this just in Jess. I don't think he was making an excuse for himself. I'm actually a big Doc Rivers fan. You'll never get me to say anything negative about him. Very much like JJ Reddick. Very much like Pat Bev and people who spoke out about these issues. Doc changed the trajectory of my career. I've had my best years under his guidance. And so, I know who he is as a coach. I know the type of things that he says. And so, I understand this. It doesn't look good when you're three and seven. But again, if you say that in your seven and three, he'll still say the same quote. Okay, so let's throw that one out. Let's go to the next one, because there's more. Here we go. This is also Doc's time with Serious Exems, NBA Radio. Personally, to be honest, I told our owners when they called, I said, I think you, I don't understand why you're doing this, you know? And they said, you know, one of the things they said was, well, it doesn't matter, we've done it now. And we want you. And so that was a tough one. I didn't, that was, that's where you had the hesitation. Okay, that's no room for interpretation. That's straight from the horse's mouth. See this, I think this is a private conversation that you have with the ownership that you never get brought to light. Like, no matter, that clearly was said. And a lot of people, listen, Doc River, you're a smart guy, you're a cool guy. Be like, you know this, this is, it goes without being said. Like if everyone thinks it, it doesn't mean you have to say it, right? And this is just an opportunity where like, he can just take all the bullets, take your three and seven, take it, just like the Tyron Lou was, just like James Harden was when that trade happened to LA and they turned around, now no one talked about it. I would just stop talking about it. I would stop giving sound bites in general because this is, these are all things that people know already, people assume. This is, it's an awkward situation. You coach in the All-Star game was weird. It should have never happened. It's a kind of a silly thing he's in right now. But also no one had a gun to his head. He didn't have to take it and he didn't have to take the job. And so I think he understands that there is potential here. They do have to absolute stud all NBA players. They do have a chance to win right now. So I'd be focusing on those things instead of deflecting and not making excuses necessarily, but kind of making excuses. But he's also, but again, he's also one of those polarizing coaches where no matter what he say, it's gonna be dissected. He's one of those personalities. He's part of the show. He's part of the NBA show. He's one of those coaches that people love to hate, that people love to hear what he has to say at the same time. That's why he can, if he get fired tomorrow, he'll be back on TV by Friday. He's one of those type of personalities. And so no matter what he says, there's gonna be something to go with that. And like I said, if they're seven and three, opposed to three and seven, all three of us don't really care. Which they very well could be the next 10 games. They could go seven, three, eight and two. And then now he can say whatever the hell he wants to say. It doesn't matter because they're winning games and that's the ultimate goal. So this is the last of the dock part before we get the players. Yeah, cause JJ Redick made a few ways when he said this, the trend is always making excuses. We get it. Taking over a team in the middle of the season is hard, but it's always an excuse. There's never accountability with that guy. That one felt rough. I disagree. I disagree. That wasn't my experience with doc. You know, there were games and situations where he came in and said, damn, I screwed that up. I really messed that up. I'll fix that and I'll be better. And there was times where he was like, y'all need to do better. You know what? And that's the balance of being a good coach. And that's also the balance of being a coach that has championship aspirations and expectations. Everybody expects doc to do well. No matter what the team has, and you know, he's been blessed to have a lot of talent. And when you have a lot of talent, you're going to put a target on your back. You know, we said this when he first got the job. Now that Milwaukee was a team that can kind of go under the radar and do that thing, when you hire a dock rivers, that puts you in the forefront of criticism and people talking. And so I disagree with JJ saying this. It hasn't been my experience for doc to make a bunch of excuses. He may be talking too much, maybe doing too many interviews, but again, he's fresh off of TV. Might have some of that still in his system, but I just disagree with JJ on this. I'll tell you this, every player has a different situation in a relationship with the coach, right? So this does, and I'll make it quick, but sorry Conrad. This, Conrad's like, shut up, stop, we gotta go. Like JB, bigger staff to me. He's the greatest guy in the world. I've never had him as a head coach. Clearly there's some issues in Cleveland right now with Donovan Mitchell and other relationships with him and Cleveland. So it depends on that dynamic. I've never played for Doc Rivers, but clearly with the way JJ read it saying that there's some animosity, there's some tension there between those two. Shoms, the mood with the box, and I know things get kicked off again tomorrow, but what is it right now? Michelle, it literally does not matter what anyone says. This team has a championship goal. From ownership all now, this is a title or bust season. You have Damian Lillard, Yannis into the combo and Doc Rivers. They made that coaching change at the midway point of the season because they truly believe this is a championship quality team. And that's why they went out and got Doc Rivers to win a championship. So it literally doesn't matter what anyone says internally. Like that's what they want. That's what they're desiring. That's what they're going for. And hopefully they, for their sake, they have a healthy second half of the season. They just added Patrick Beverly at the deadline. They got Danilo Galanari in the buyout market. I know Lou is familiar with both of those guys and Yannis into the combo. His voice matters the most. He told Eric, name of the athletic that we need to stop feeling bad for ourselves. We need to stop, you know, talking here. Like we need to just go out there and produce. I think second half of the season, the relationship between Yannis into the combo and Damian Lillard. That's going to be the most important for them. We saw Damian Lillard have a massive, like Chandler said, big time, all-star weekend. But having the ball in his hands down the stretch of games, that's going to be important. But this team, it's just about winning a championship. And if they fall short of that, there's no excuse. They're going to fall short of that. By the way, Yannis, Yannis is also talking a lot more these days because he had a bit of a head scratcher of an answer. So hear his answer to something. I just, in general, I do not watch basketball. So stats, highlights, how people play, I have no idea and I love it, do you know? I love it when I go to the game, I have no idea who I'm playing and what they do. All right, so. But you know what's crazy? I read the quote. I didn't see the interview. And at first I was like, is this guy serious? But now you think it's funny. When he's lying. Clearly he's joking after seeing the interview. He's trolling. It's just not a good joker. But it's, yeah, it's also not very funny. It's that deliver-like. Because you have lost in the post-season. You haven't won a championship. Exactly. So it is weird to make jokes that kind of have some truth to it. So it was like, wait a minute. This quote alone, take away all the accolades, everything that we know about Giannis. Just this thing alone. And we want to blame Doc Rivers for everything. That's fair. Like you can't say, at the same time of Doc Rivers, you can't go out as the leader of the troops and say, oh, I like to come into games unprepared. I don't know who I'm playing. Which is a lot of- Joking or not, it's not funny because you have lost in the post-season. You haven't won anything. Which is a story, by the way, because if you guys don't know how preparing for a game work, you have scout teams, you have dummy teams. You go through the teams' plays the day before. If you have a couple of days of practice, you're going through everything they're doing. So does he watch basketball? Probably not. A lot of us, we consider- Yeah, on his time off. We consider it a job. When we're sitting at home, we're catching up and binge-watching something else. But when it comes to game preparation, there's certainly scenarios where you have shoot-around, film, all of these things that you can't avoid to get prepared for a game. So was he trying to say something clever, sure, but it didn't come off of us. Yeah, and that goes into winning a championship, which obviously they did, they did, they won a championship. But you don't just roll the ball out there and play. This is, it's a free advantage, watching film and playing. And again, after watching the video, he's clearly making a joke that's just not very funny. Yeah, it's the delivery. It has a lot that needs to be worked on. And now, the final piece. Got a lot of splutter. A drama and Milwaukee. A drama and Milwaukee that we have. So he was, I mean, all-star gave us that. A lot of passive-aggressive-ish. Well, this one feels, I don't know. Maybe it's nothing, maybe it's just, honestly, a mistake. But he named his starting five of current players in the league that Dane would want to play with, whatever, Tim, Steph, LeBron, Katie, and BAM on a bio. Me and Lou disagree on this. He thinks there's no issue. He's just starting to- It feels weird. I think it's weird. It's like Jamal Murray going out there and saying Joellen beats the best center in the NBA. And Joke, I don't care if that's what he actually thinks, it's against. Like, that's just something you don't say. Weird to say, I don't care. It's weird to say, especially when you're putting Kevin Durant and LeBron James to guys his same exact positions, like people he's got to go through this year. Right? It's a little weird. It's weird. It's his list. Yeah, but it was no, it's his list. It's no Luca, there's no Joakic. They're not his teammates that he just got traded to. He got traded. He didn't go there. Yeah, but he okayed it. He had a love affair with the Miami Heat, by the way. They were following each other on Twitter this and that. True, he thought he was going there. You got traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. I don't have to put anybody on my list. That's not on my list. It's my list. No, you would be on my list. And I think that's hurtful that I wouldn't be on yours. I appreciate it. No, not you. But yeah, I think this is a non-story. I think LeBron is fine. Like if someone says if I play for Carlisle and I say Popovich is the best coach, I don't think he cares. So if I'm like throwing Kevin Durant in there where like, Yannis kind of should. Yeah, so do we want guys to be honest sometimes or not? No, I think you need to lie to you. There is a democracy. You need to support your teammate. I think that's more important than telling your truth. Especially this week. It feels weird. With all the shit going around Milwaukee, too. And then the guy that just got traded there, that's arguably their best player. They're arguably the other best player out of his starting five. It's weird. It's uncomfortable. It makes for an awkward situation in the locker room when you don't have to do that. Yannis probably hadn't even heard this. This is nothing. Everybody hears everything. These guys that say they don't follow, they're off social media. They know everything. It's bullshit. Shoms, I would never leave you off a list of favorite people. Why is everyone getting on the list except me? You figure that out. I'd never leave you three off of any list. Thank you, Shoms. Team player. Love you. We have a different culture here. Love you. Me too. Get some rest. We'll talk to you tomorrow. We'll take a quick break before we back. Why not on your list? There you go. Run it off. Run it back. Yeah, yeah, run it off. So yes, we get games back tomorrow. So before that, we got to answer some hot questions. We start with Chandler. Have the Warriors finally figured it out? No. I don't think they have. I think they're playing better. I think they're Steph Curry is doing Steph Curry things. I think Clay Thompson is going to kind of have those big impact games and get more comfortable off the bench, continue to develop the young guys. But they're 10th in the Western Conference. They're barely in the play-in. I think they will stay somewhere around then. It'd be nice to see them sneak into the A-C. But it's hard for me to say they're going to pass second meadow. It's hard for me to say they're going to pass the Lakers. The Mavs are a better team. So it's tough for them. So no, I do not think they have. Why do you have a computer out, and then you do all your research on your phone? Well, usually I take notes when there's games and stuff. But this is not. And that, between that and the pen, it's all a joke. Number two, how far will Sixers fall without Joe L&B, Mr. Lou? Sixers won't fall at all. They're sitting in the fifth place, got a 2 and 1 half game lead on Indy, sitting in sixth. So they're actually closer to four than six to me. So I feel like they even move up. They even have an opportunity to move up in four. Or they stand pat right there at fifth. I think they have enough talent, consistently enough, they can stay pat. Can I chime? Can I see that coming? Yes, please. I think the Pacers and the Heat catch them. There you go. Friendly bet. Friendly bet when you fell. We bet something that I forgot in Vegas. I bet too. It was a thousand dollars. It was. All right, love that. Oh my god, which of the top four teams in the West will come out on top? Janet. I think it's the Minnesota Timberwolves. I think they're healthy. They're playing well. They have a game and a half lead. I think they're going to continue to win games. They just re-signed Mike Conley. It's tough because it's so close. It could go either way. But I'm starting to believe that they're a regular season team. I got to really get my vote. They got to do it in the postseason. But I think they finish number one C, which is crazy. We got to run the tape. I think you said the exact opposite. Like three shows ago. All-star break. They figured it out. They figured it out. All right, the break. There's only 30 games left. Come on. I mean, there's overlining. Can anyone stay competitive with the Celtics and the East Lou? Absolutely. Cleveland is trending up. They're getting it going. As much as we talked about Dame Lillis, All-Star weekend, none of the Mitchell had themself a time as well. I see them coming back healthy, stronger, getting it together, Milwaukee as well. I think Milwaukee figures it out. That's for you. But I think Milwaukee gets it together. So there's a couple of teams that I'll put in that mix. Can I chime? Oh, my gosh. I would take the Celtics over the entire field of the Eastern Conference. I agree. But the question was, can anybody stay competitive with them? I don't think they go to one seven-game series. I think they coast to the finals. You want a bet? Yeah, how many bets do I take? How many do you tell us? Jesus. Retire. Would no MVP, with no MVP, Jokic, SGA, someone else who you got? I'd love to throw Tatum in there. I'd love to because I think he is on the best team. I think they're going to walk in their way to the finals. You would love to throw him in. Just for some reason, I sent my notes to Lisa though. I think I have him like fourth. I think it's going to go to Jokic. And then depending on how the last 30 games finish, SGA is right there, man. He's right there. And that would be cool because I'd like to see somebody new, a new guard, a new face. And he's extraordinary. It would be cool. It would be nice to see him. But I think it's Jokic, it's just a Liz. SGA from MVP. OK, boom, done. Do the Lakers have enough to make the playoffs a lieu? I believe so. They're sitting at nine, in the play-in right now. I think these guys are going to turn into who we always thought they were. Now that the break is over, now that all starts over, I think they turn it on. Is the play-in play-off? Because I think. We do this every time. I know. What do we decide? But if they have to be the Dallas or Sacramento this Western Conference play-in is going to be nuts. Like that's going to be exciting. We said at the beginning of the season there's a legit eight teams that can come out of the win. Mavs, Kings, Lakers, Warriors, that's the hell of a play-in. Yeah, I don't hate it. I will watch that. I will watch that. I will watch that. Probably. All right, we talked about them in the last segment. But can the Bucks actually turn things around? I think so. I think they have 30 games against plenty of time. I think they're healthy. I think they have their nucleus now going forward. They have the talent to score. They have the talent to defend. When you look at the Eastern Conference, I still think they're the second best team. So yeah, I think they can turn around, but they've got to go through that monster in Boston. And I don't think that's going to end pretty. But yeah, I think they, honestly, I think they finish second. Lou, much better. Can Wimby get? Scott's the limit. Very young player. Obviously he's a rookie. He's doing things that we've never seen done before. But the more and more comfortable he gets in his role and the more and more that he sees how the league works and what it takes to be competitive, I think he can be a great player. So I think the sky's the limit. Speaking of, did you see he signed with Pharrell's Louis Vuitton? Louis Vuitton? He's an ambassador? Okay, fashion. That's a great deal. That's a great deal. I'll call him after 9.30. I got really distracted because that's a big get. Top what player right now for you? 40, 50. I mean, you got 24 All-Stars, so let's start there. Well, but you know, you can already. Let's start there. He wasn't really an All-Star snub either, so there's 10 of those. Okay, so top, what'd you want, 35? I just said 40. Fine, I'll take it. Yeah, he's there. And by the way, next year, I think he's gonna be top 15. I think he's gonna just go. Okay, there you go. That's what I like to hear. That's what I wanted to hear. Agreed. Are the Mavs the most dangerous team in the West that nobody wants to face in the playoffs? I don't know if they're the most dangerous team, but yeah, covering Luca and guarding and dealing with that dynamic backcourt for possibly seven games is a nightmare. I love the addition of PJ Washington. I love the addition of Daniel Gafford. No one really talks about that one, but it gives another lob threat. So now they have legit bakes with Gafford, Lively, Powell, Kleber, they're a deep team. The most dangerous, I don't think so. Probably a few of those. Number 10, Lou, who finishes with the worst record? You got Pistons with eight, Wizards with nine, Spurs with 11 right now. Pick a number 1 through 10. Yeah, the answer is who cares. Pick a number 1 through 10. Seven. It's gonna be the Washington Wizards. It's gonna be the Wizards, okay. Wow, really? It's gonna be the Washington Wizards. And they'll get the sixth pick and draft a bum. Shouldn't the two worst teams just play each other for the rights? I think they should fight. I'm not fighting. No, because both coaches are gonna sit their best players. Yeah, they'll load management back in. No, because you gotta win the game between the two worst to get the pick. Pick a number 1 pick, yeah. That's a shitty, it's kind of a bad draft too. Number 1. That's a great point. I don't even know who they're gonna pick. If there was a Wimby, I would be really shitting the bed, like who do you even take this year? I agree, I have no idea. It's tough. I would like to watch that. I would watch that. That's the worst part is like the year you actually are bad, whether it's injuries or tanking or whatever, and then you kind of look ahead and you see the drafts and there's obviously there's talent, but like there's no. Not life changing. There's no guy. There's no guy that I'm gonna build my team around. No, this time last year we already knew what was happening. In all seriousness though, out of these three teams, I feel like the Spurs will come out of this all-star break and start turning the corner. I think they start building in the right direction. That's why you're my favorite teammate. That's what I'm talking about. We're gonna take a quick break. When we come back, we're gonna have our interview with Matt McClung and Vince Carter. If you didn't see it, you're gonna want to when we come back. Run it back, yeah, run it over. Run it back, yeah, yeah, run it over, run it back. Yesterday we sat down with the 24-dunk champion, Matt McClung, two-time champ, and special appearance from Hall of Fame finalist, Vince Carter. It was pretty awesome. Here it is. Get on my left. Get on my left. Matt McClung. He's the drum culture. I'm too flat. Get upstairs. Get on my left. Get on my left. Come on. That's just fun to watch. He is back, fresh off of his defense of his championships. Slam dunk. There he is. Coming to us from a car. I like this. I like this for you, Mac. I don't know what's going on here. Congrats, by the way. What was the celebration like for you and Indy? It was great. All my friends and family were there, so just kinda enjoying it with them and really just taking it all in. Mac, out of last year's performance, obviously that was one for the ages, but this dunk contest versus last dunk contest, how would you compare them? Which one were you most proud of? They're both, I was really grateful for both, but I think definitely the first one. I had more in the tank on the second one. I just, it didn't go as well for me, but I'm glad about the outcome, but I definitely think I had a better performance in my mind. All right, Mac, let's be honest. Jalen Brown wasn't supposed to be in that fight. What's your opinion on that? Did you think any of the other guys were more deserving or what was your experience? Yeah, I mean, I think Jacob Toppin has some incredible dunks and I already had a crazy dunk for the last dunk, but it's hard for me to make opinion about someone else's opinion. Like, I can't judge for the other guys and yeah, it was tough. I definitely thought he was great and I thought, Jalen Brown wasn't as, I know people are giving him our time but I thought he had some good dutch too. Which one? Wow. I mean, the 360 women, like it's not as easy as he made it look. I mean, there's a lot of things. I think he definitely got some flack for the Kaisenet one, but I don't know, man. Dunking and being on that stage is not easy, so I wouldn't get flack to anybody. He stepped up and did that, which was big for him and our game. Thank you. Stick it with him. Mac, did you love that there was an all star that was competing with you? Like, did that put any more pressure on you or do you think that was great for the dunk contest? Yeah, it definitely is good. I mean, we want the all stars to be in it and people who want to be in it, so I thought that was really cool, him. Definitely. And your first dunk, the self-falued, you called it the whoop-whoop. That was incredible. That's right. And it only got the score of 48 from the judges, who by the way, I thought the judges were pretty horrendous. Were you surprised? No, no, not a 50 on this? That dunk was amazing. This is insane. Yeah. Incredible, bro. Look at this. Yeah, so I usually put my arms out a lot farther on it, but if it didn't get a 50 out of there still, but no, it's probably the hardest dunk I had to do all night, so I definitely was surprised it got a 47 or 48, whatever it got. I was a little stressed for you right here, Mac, because the judges were getting crushed rightfully so. It's almost like they didn't know that doing it on the second attempt is not to be taking points off. And then I thought, if Mac doesn't advance, because the judges suck, I think we're on the riot. I would have loved it. Like it's gonna be a problem. Oh yeah. That being said, when you practice these dunks, for example, a guy like Shaq, there aren't a ton of stand-ins walking around earth that look like Shaq. How do you practice that dunk? Yeah, so I just had a bunch of my friends come and they would stand on boxes, stand on chairs, just trying to get that Shaq height. Yeah, but no, we would just get a measuring tape and try to figure it all out, but I'm glad it worked out. That's awesome. That was crazy. No, nothing. Nothing. Wow. Mac, how many hakes also use Shaq as a prop? But when you saw him, did you consider like changing things up? Or you knew when he used Shaq the way he did it, like my dunk is gonna be better than that. So it's tough because I didn't do two of the dunks I was supposed to do. And one of them was involved Shaq, but a little something different. And I don't know, maybe I'll just keep that to myself so I can maybe, if I do it again, I can use it. But no, there's a lot of off the top, just randomness in that dunk contest for me. Yeah, Mac, the dunk over Shaq obviously got you 50s and you won the dunk contest, but when did you ask Shaq? Like, can you do this? Did you rehearse with him at all? Like, how did that kind of develop? Yeah, so I got a decent relationship with Shaq. He's been very supportive and he's sent to even high school just checking in with me. I texted him like, hey, would you do that with me? And he was like, yeah, but I didn't tell him about the jersey till in front of everybody. I was like, you know, I'm just going to wait and it'd be hard to say no in front of everybody. But he was really cool. And he said, I better not miss it. But if he puts on the game city jersey, I was like, all right, I won't miss it. Mac, I know you said that you had a couple of dunks still in your back pocket. So are those going to roll over to next year? Are you going to unveil them on Instagram or something? We'll see, man. I don't know. You know, probably two days out from it. I'm just going to keep thinking and see if it's right and we'll go from there. We're writing it down. We're keeping notes. Matt, when you look at next year's dunk contest, obviously a lot has to do with where your future's at, where you're playing. But do you, right now, two days out, do you feel like you want to do the dunk contest again? How do you view the dunk contest after two years of doing it and winning it? Yeah, I really don't know. I really don't know what I even, you know, my energy towards it would be. And it just, it had to be something I think about. It's not something I would say I'm not doing. It's not something I would sign up for right now. So I would just think on it really, really deeply and try to figure out if my heart's in the right place for it. And if, you know, it takes a lot of your body. It's not something that's easy to do. So it's a long preparation and, you know, dedication. If you decided to do it again and it felt right and it felt good, considering your opponents, who would be your dream team of guys you would like to compete against? Yeah, I mean, it's great to have the stars out there. I don't know. I want people who really want to do it though. You know what I mean? Cause it's like we were saying, it's the craft. It's a lot of preparation. It's not easy. It can be embarrassing, you know. So just someone who really wants to and I think some of these stars that are super athletic should do it and it could be nothing but good for them. And no offense to us, but we figured we'd bring someone in who knows a lot about dunk. So Vince Carter was there in Indy. Vince, so what did you think? What'd you see? I was impressed, man. I mean, look here, what Beck just said, man just gives me chills cause I've been saying it. It's, it's you want the stars and the people who are able to do it, to do it, to get in there and which I think will make a great competition. And I think that's what we're missing. But forcing these guys to do it, you won't get the, you know, what you really want. And I love the fact that those guys, you know, obviously Mack is defended, but like Jalen Brown and Jaime and in top and getting in it, but you know, because they want to and you're going to get their best effort. But it's time to, you know, for these superstars to just come on out there and put on the show. They're very capable of it. You know, bump the brand. I think if you put a great show on, your brand will be safe. Regardless if you win or lose, you know, you push the envelope, you know, everybody's going to enjoy the competition. Aaron Gordon, who, who didn't win, we're still like, hey, his brand was okay. He didn't take a hit. No, it didn't. Mack, how many, how much inspiration, how much motivation, how many ideas do you get from someone like Vince or some of the past dunk contest participants? Yeah, I think with a guy like Vince, it was like, you kind of learned from his swag with it. Like he just came in there so like confident and it played to the fans. Like it's just, it's, it's really a lot. Like you have to really think really deeply and it just kind of be your aura and your determination for it. I think I got that from Vince, just like his swag coming into the arena, like I'm here, you know? I got that. I wanted to be in it. You know, I felt like this was an opportunity. I wanted to be in it. Obviously, I, you know, the league asked, but I wanted to be a part of it. And when, once you get there, like I said, man, you have to, you have to be confident. And I prepared for it. Like I took it seriously and, you know, it wasn't just, oh, I'm here. I'm going to just have fun and just go about it now. I approached it, you know, like a game day and I was just ready to go. And I think that's why I was able to put on a great show like Mack has done. By the way, Vince, can you judge next year, please? Thank you. Because that was- See, no, no, because see, here's my thing. I was on, I was actually on true TV doing the contest. So I just more, so gave my opinions on it. And, you know, since we're here, since Mack, you're here, I want to say to him that I was, I was impressed about, it's a lot of pressure, obviously, defending. And, you know, however you view the competition, however fans view the competition, whatever it is, you still have to go out there and do your job. And the one thing I was impressed with Mack was, he did what needed to be done in each situation. And what I mean by that is I think the last dunk, he could have pushed the envelope and I've seen video, because I've seen you before, I've seen video and I know with that dunk, there's other things that you can do with it that I've seen you do, like dunking from behind, I know that, but he did the right dunk. It was wowing, but it was safe for him. And he got the job done, which I thought he thought things through a little bit and I was impressed with that. So I got to ask both of you, I got you here. Prime Vince Carter. Oh man. Prime Mack McClung, who are we taking in the dunk contest? No, it's not close, man. It's not even close, that's Vince all day, man. Don't even, don't even do that to me. Hey, man, you don't have to answer. No, it's like, but I would love the competition. You know, that's what it's all about. I know the NBA years ago tried to get, and put a lot of money up for the best to do it. And, you know, that would be, you know, Prime Vince would want all the smoke with everybody because like it's just gonna bring the best out of me. And Mack, would you have to prepare differently? No one you're going against the goat dunker, Vince Carter? I might have to start two years in advance, just thinking and trying to figure it all out. You didn't just dunk, by the way, there was the Rising Stars game, which was fun. Did you enjoy that? What was a memory that you took out of that game? Yeah, I mean, it was good. I know we won. I know it's an exhibition game, it's the Rising Stars, but I don't know. I can't get on the floor and not compete. That's just me. So just to have the G-League guys win, I mean, that meant something to me. And, you know, I thought, you know, I played well and my teammates played well, so it was a lot of fun. Oh yeah, no, you guys weren't playing, which was, it was actually quite fun to watch. What's going on basketball future-wise? Like, do you have plans? You have goals. Like, where are you right now? I know you're in Osceola. What happens next? Right, I think, for me, it's just to keep flying pressure. I feel like my whole life, that's what I've done, the plot pressure, keep showing, taking any excuses away. That's what I try to do every year. And if I'm in Osceola, then I'm gonna try to win a championship with Osceola. That's really it, but it's all God's timing and I'm gonna keep flying pressure. I'm not gonna quit. Love that, Mac. And after watching the Rising Stars game, man, you belong in the NBA. You're not just a dunker, man. You're a hooper, so keep working hard because you want to see you in the NBA and we damn sure want to see you back again for the three-peat. Damn right. Hey, I want to say something to that, Mac. You know, like for me, the dunk contest opened the door and gave me the opportunity. And I like what you're saying. It's like, whoever I am right now, I'ma do my best and continue to take advantage of this opportunity. You're in the dunk contest. You're getting to show your skill, you know, obviously in your athleticism, but yes, in the Rising Stars, you guys really came out and played hard. That's how you open doors and that's how you get that opportunity because there's some team moving forward that's going to need guys. And that was a platform where everybody got to see your skill. So I think keep taking advantage of these opportunities. I appreciate it, guys. It's been a pleasure, man. We appreciate the time. Congrats again. Hope to see you in San Francisco next All-Star Weekend. Run it off, run it back, run it off, run it back. Welcome back to Run It Back. We have, you heard of this? No, this is my first time hearing about it. Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Luke Longley are embarking on a no-bull tour to share their perspectives on the last dance story and their experience from playing in the Bulls and the night. I'm interested, but also I love, well, I love the last dance. It's like, that was the best documentary of COVID is this just going to be everybody besides MJ shitting on what really happened? I think they just want to get their perspectives. Obviously the last dance was MJ heavy. It even pissed Scottie Pippen off a little bit. So I think this gives them an opportunity to speak their peace and how they've seen it Scottie gets to be MJ for this documentary. He gets to be MJ for his head honcho. But I am curious. Anything that comes with the 90s Bulls, they were one of the most polarizing teams of all time. I'm interested to hear what they got to say. It's crazy though, because that documentary during COVID, I remember being so hyped every day of the week that that would come on. So it'd be interesting to see the perspective of the other guys if they go at MJ. Like, are they going to talk? Scottie's definitely got some to say. He's got some Bullets in the chamber for him. He's definitely got some to say. I'm curious to see what's left in the tank though. We've heard so much of it from the last dance. I'm curious to see what's left. Will Jackson going to talk in it? Right. Like, is it going to be the GM, the general manager, the owners? It's going to be interesting. I definitely watch it. I'll definitely tune in. I'll tune in. I don't mind. All right, tomorrow we've got a fully loaded program. We get back to games tonight. Make sure you tune in tomorrow, 8 AM Pacific time. PST. We'll see you guys tomorrow on Run It Back. Run it back, run it back, run it up. Run it back, run it back, run it up. They run it back, y'all, y'all.