 Run it up, run it back, run it up, run it back, run it back, run it up, run it back. Oh hello and happy Thursday morning. This is Run It Back on FanDuelTV. I'll introduce those of us who are present. Shyam Sharani, a stadium insider. Lou Will rocking the sweet merch. And then the fourth member of our party who's once again on a golf course somewhere in America. Sir, you can't take a day for golf. You're taking a day tomorrow, Michelle. For a death, OK? Real life stuff, bro. Dammit. God, I'm going to make him feel guilty right off the top of his head. I'm just kidding. No, I got no rebuttal on that one. I apologize. Sorry about your loss. Are you playing with celebrities? Like what is this golf tournament? So this is the Madison. It's the Madison Country Club member guest tournament. So it's like their big fun tournament. So if you're a member here, you get to one time a year, you bring a guest and there's all these different flights, all these prizes. And it's like just a sick event all week long. It's the tournament that brought Travis to last year for Pertulino Bay. This is the I'm the guest for Madison Club. So it's just flip-flops. It's like a pay-it-forward for rich people. I love this for you. Pretty much. That's so nice. OK, well, we do have some basketball. And we are happy that you're with us for the top of the show. We're going to start with a moment, a video that I think is hilarious. James Harden here. He passes it to Kawhi. He tries to block Kawhi. Yep, their teammates. And it's kind of awesome after the game. And by the way, they're up big here, but James Harden just, he was just trying to lighten the mood, he said, Lou. I'm going to tell you the truth. He might as well attempt to block the shot, because he was going to be in a way anyways. Kawhi can't drive to the rim. He's supposed to field a corner. That wasn't there. The spacing wasn't there. But this is fun. Like he mentioned in the post game, he's trying to bring a vibe to the team, trying to bring a certain energy. They were up 20 points when this happened. This would be hilarious. This would be hilarious clip if Kawhi makes this shot. Simple fact that he didn't, it puts it in a space of, well, what the hell was that? You know what I'm saying? I thought I was confused. Other than that, if he makes this shot, it's a hilarious clip. I don't, this is nothing. Too good a block. Chandler, what'd you think? Because you sent it on the thread this morning. You're like, what? Yeah, I can honestly say I've never seen something like this. It's funny also, since James Harden, all the comments, it's like, this dude doesn't even play defense because he doesn't see. And now he's trying to guard his own TV. But again, like Lou said, like James Harden's after the game, it shows that James Harden is happy. It shows that he's having fun. And obviously they're up 20. He clearly would never do this in a close game or a game of sort of meeting. But like he said, he's trying to bring a vibe. He's loose and he's happy. I've never seen someone do this on the court before. So I don't think this is an issue again. Well, you got the, you got the Ray John Rondo and LeBron James Clip where Rondo was supposed to throw him the lob. He didn't throw it and ended up laying it up. But LeBron act like he was gonna, he was gonna block it off the backboard. But he actually made that layup. So nobody ever talks about it. Yeah, it's true. But this was funny. I was flabbergasted. This is hilarious. Without sound too, you're like, was there was a whistle blown? Like what's going on? What was your takeaway? Well, I love that Kawhi Leonard seemed way caught off guard. Like in real time, he was caught off guard. I thought that made it even funnier. Like Lou said, to me, I found this funny. I found it humorous. There were up 20 points. If this was a close game, if it was a real threat of an opponent, which Portland unfortunately was not last night, has not been for the last few weeks, I don't think James Harden would do that, obviously. And this team has gone through somewhat of a funk, seven and eight since the All-Star break. And I think James Harden, he spoke about it the other day, like he taking the onus on himself as far as being a leader, being a guy that can bring some fun, some energy and take this team out of that funk. And of course, I think he expected Kawhi Leonard to make that shot. I think if Kawhi Leonard did make that shot, this moment would be something we'd be talking about in a very, very positive way. It would be a funny moment, kind of like that LeBron Rondo moment would have lived on for years, something we still talk about. Unfortunately, he missed a shot and is going the other way. And I do think Kawhi Leonard after the game did take it with some humor. I also think the trailblazer is supposed to just been like a moment of wait. What? I'm confused and don't know what's going on. Well, they should have had somebody doing it instead. Well, that's, that's also fair. I'm just trying not to say that, but yeah, you're right, you're right. All right, so that was a fun, light-hearted moment and the video's great. We have another moment in basketball last night. Man, maybe not so light-hearted. Draymond with the jersey here. Ooh, of Aldama, pushes him, nothing, nothing happens there, but Taylor Jenkins does complain to the refs. Draymond comes in, which then Desmond Bain is like, no, we can't do that. The green bumps into the coach right there, who gets knocked down. This results in double texts for both green and Bain. Lou, it's a, it's a Draymond green day. Again. Yeah, yeah. I don't know what Dray's intention was at the beginning of this clip, grabbing his jersey and creating contact. You know, this is a reputation thing. Draymond has always been the enforcer for the Golden State Warriors. He's always been that guy that's gonna stick up for, for his teammates. And he's also gonna, you know, create situations like this. I have no idea what was the issue there. I would say, I would say the first clip was probably somewhat of a problem. If the referees didn't call anything, I'm not sure what happened after that. That if coaches on the court, and he's protesting as he has an issue with this, at that point, when everybody is having a conversation and open on the floor, everybody is privy to that conversation. Right. So from that point on, Draymond is standing his ground. Bane probably felt like there was a moment that his coach should have had some privacy. And now you got guys touching each other and everybody's standing that ground and obviously it's gonna get escalated when everybody gets involved. And, you know, this is, this is part of Draymond's thing. You know, he gets under guy's skin and that's part of his MO of doing this to his opponents. And especially the Memphis Grizzlies. That's true. You know, he has a, he has a bone to pick with the Memphis Grizzlies up until the point in his commercial. You know, he tells his daughter, watch out for the Grizzly Bay. See, you know what I'm saying? Just a joke in jest. And this has been, this has been the history that he's had with the Memphis Grizzlies. I thought it was much about nothing, but I think everything is whatever. I mean, look, it's Draymond. I think that's really why we're even talking about it, Chandler. It's the fact that his reputation sort of precedes him at this point. But, you know, any shock, any concern? Why is he in that in the first place? Yeah, a little bit of both. And I honestly think the Grizzlies handled this about as good as they could, right? This is what anybody would do. The fact that he's kind of holding his Aldama's jersey like that, Aldama could have reacted a lot differently and he could have actually gotten to a physical altercation, which then is really bad news for Draymond Green. So the fact that he's even putting himself in this situation is just another horrible look where he's got to be better. He's got to realize that he can't afford another strike. This is, everyone is watching him. Everyone is waiting for him to react like this. And if Aldama, for some reason, knocked his hand out or pushed him and then started like an actual physical altercation, Draymond Green is probably suspended for the rest of the year. He's probably not going to play in the play and it's going to really, really hurt his team. So I don't love it. I don't love walking up to the coach while he's talking to your player. Desmond Bain, he reacted as anybody would. And then it got kind of ugly from there where he didn't mean to take Jenkins down. Obviously he didn't even see him when he knocked him over. But this is just another situation where Draymond Green has got to be smarter. He's got to be more careful because he doesn't have any other warnings. He doesn't have any other strikes to deal with. This is his reputation. This is who he is. And I know this benefits their team a lot and they've been a lot better since he's been back from the suspension. But don't do anything like this. It's going to harm your team and get you back off the floor back suspended because this could have went sideways really, really quick. Someone grabs my shirt like that. I'm not just going to let it go, especially if it's Draymond Green. So they're lucky that this was handled, honestly classy by Aldama. I play devil's advocate. This was unprovoked. From the clip that I saw grabbing his jersey, this is unprovoked. I think he's out of bounds for that. But on the flip side, I always want my enforcer to stay dangerous. Like Dennis Rodman never changed. He never changed. Even though he had a different way of going about things, he never changed it. Draymond Green is never going to change. I don't care how we chop it up. He's never going to change. This is part of what makes him Draymond Green. Is all of it cool? Is it all acceptable? I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is, if this is your role for this team, then you're going to make sure you enforce things and you're always in the middle of whatever's popping off, stay dangerous. Yeah, but Lou, you see how much better they are when he's on the floor? If this thing got nasty and this thing got into an actual fight, he's done and he's not playing in the playing and that hurts their team. So yeah, I get it. This is who he is. He does provide the energy and that spark. But just be smart and don't put yourself in these situations where they escalate and you could miss more time. I agree with you. It could have escalated really easily. It should have. It could have escalated very much easy. But again, I'm not tripping because I like when Draymond is kind of in his Draymond bag because you create these instances and I agree with Chandler at 1,000%. They are a much better team when he's on the floor. But meanwhile, we're not talking about Steph Curry or Clay Thompson, any of these guys, when they filling up the stat sheet, quiet is kept while he's doing this. I mean, it is funny that the Aldama of it all could have escalated and he just sort of looks at him like, what are you doing? Here's the thing though, when you're a hothead, you're not thinking, right? There's not a moment between your reaction and everything else. It's just a reaction. And I will say this though, because you know, we got all the help that they told us he was gonna go do all that stuff. Afterwards, he and Bane had a moment. Everything seemed to be cool. Could that be the growth that we're looking for here, Lou? As much, I think it was much about nothing. Again, those two guys, I think they had it under control. The first time they were kind of speaking, they both were holding their ground. And then again, once your teammates, the referees, team security gets involved, it gets escalated, that gets Taylor Jenkins on the floor. And it turns into this big thing. And obviously, when you look around and everything settles, you're like, well, Draymond was involved. That was the bad guy. And I'm saying he did start this. Of course he did. He definitely started it. But from that moment on, everything is fair game. If they're having a conversation on the floor, he's privy to that conversation just as much as everybody else. Aren't you glad you don't have to go chase down a suspension time today? I mean, thankfully. Thankfully, for Draymond Green and the Warriors, this is not that. I mean, listen, I kind of agree with Lou, where thankfully this didn't escalate and it was a lot of just pushing and shoving and a lot of just, I really didn't know what to make, what was going on. Just boys. I'm just curious why he was even grabbing his jersey. I wish I would have seen a longer clip to give me more context, because that's all we see. Only thing we see is him holding his jersey. We don't know if it was some elbows thrown, some pushing, some shoving before that. I'm not taking up for anybody, but from what we have, I don't know why he would do that. Well, we have a dunk last night. I do like when we wake up to nice dunks. Chet Holmgren, bit of a poster moment here. Okay, but it's a simple question, though. Is it better than... Are we back in the rookie of the year conversation again? No, we're not. No, that's Alston. What for this? This is a nasty dunk, though. That's a sick one. Oh, cute. But if this was Wimby. Yeah, but Wimby's already got the award. It's the greatest dunk we've ever seen. He barely got off the ground. Wimby's already won the award. Get her Lou, get her Lou. I just wanted to ask, I didn't ask anything about rookie of the year. I just wanted to know simply, was this better than Anthony Edwards' dunk? Oh, absolutely not. Absolutely not. I'm concussing probably. It wasn't better, but by the way, we're joking about rookie of the year. Who cares about this dunk? This man had 35 and 14 last night, too. And he looked good. In a meaningful game. In a meaningful game with a big win. You know what I mean? This was, but this dunk was nasty, but it wasn't Anthony Edwards' nice. I do love that we're getting everything from here on out. Did he compare it to Anthony Edwards? It was before Anthony Edwards' dunk and after Anthony Edwards' dunk. He said a standard. That is where we're gonna start. He said a standard. Comparing everything. P-A-E, pre-Anthony Edwards. Oh, there you go. I was like, whoa, what's pre- There we go. I like it. I was just doing before. Now we can get to some games, because we had some. And remember, Yannis was out for the Bucks. They played Boston and Boston beat them. Seventh straight win, 1-22, 1-19. Tatum with 31. Peyton Pritchard, 10 of 19 in the second quarter. Damian Lillard finished with 32. They led by as many as 21, but they also let Milwaukee get as close as two points with 32 seconds left. I don't... These runs are insane to me, by the way. The playoffs are right around the corner, Lou. This team is head and shoulders seemingly above everyone else. But are you concerned when they let things like this happen? No, I can't be concerned when, again, what was the first sentence? They're head and shoulders above everybody in the Eastern Conference, you know? So I don't know. I think sometimes they take their foot off the gas because they have comfortable leads. Fair. They have a lot of these games under the wraps already, you know? And other teams are continuing to play through the buzzer. You got to give Milwaukee a lot of credit. You know, they had guys playing really well. Bobby Portas was shooting it like he was a shooting guard last night. Pat Bev was in the lane finishing floaters and giving them an offensive punch. Damian Lillard was Damian Lillard. Give them guys credit. They put themselves in a position to have an opportunity to win this basketball game, but Boston was still too strong. And then Peyton Pritchard a big shout out. He was the reason that a lead was even built. That big time, second quarter, he was making every play for like six minutes down that stretch for them. And that created, that game went from a two to four point game to a 12 to 14 point game in a matter of minutes on the back of Peyton Pritchard. So giving them credit. We always talk about that depth. This is a good look for them. I mean, Chandler, it can't be ideal that you give up these types of leads, but I suppose until the playoffs actually start, a wins, a wins, a win. A wins, a win. This is the second best team, right? So this is the team that they're gonna face. They understand that Giannis was out, but so was Drew Holliday. And I can argue that he's just as important to the Celtics as Giannis is to the Milwaukee Bucks. So I think this is a big win to lose a lead like this, is a little concerning letting your foot off the gas, not can keep extending this lead. But Lou mentioned Peyton Pritchard, Pat Beb gave him the two small real early and that backfired, he ended up getting some big buckets flexing on him. It certainly did. And we do, we talk about their starting five as elite, which it is. It is probably the best, them and Denver starting five. But when you can go and you can get a 19 from Peyton Pritchard and you can get some production from like that outside of that starting five with Drew Holliday out, it makes this team even better because they can defend. We all know we're gonna get with Tatum and Brown. And this was a big win, but I'll tell you this, they're the best team, they won seven in a row. I think they're 11 games up on the Milwaukee Bucks. The gap's not that big. If they see each other in this fully loaded, it's gonna be a hell of a series. I'll tell you that, it's not gonna be a sweep. It's not gonna be five games. This will be a competitive series in the playoffs because the Milwaukee Bucks have gotten a lot better. They're deep, Bobby Portis is playing like an absolute stud. And Chris Middleton again, Chris Middleton, 22, six and six. He is the difference maker for this team. Efficient as well, eight, four, 11 on shooting. Like this is a quiet storm. This is gonna be something that we're gonna have to pay attention to. This Milwaukee Bucks team, everything's not going their way, but it's leaning towards that, it's projecting towards things starting to lean their way once they get Yonah's back in the lineup and Chris Middleton's playing out of his mind right now, quiet as cap. Okay, but he said it wouldn't be a sweep that the gap, first they have a loving game lead, but the gap's not that big. Do you agree that there's no chance that this could just be an embarrassing sweep? I think there is a gap, but if anybody's gonna be the team that closes it, it's gonna be the Milwaukee Bucks. They have all of the tools to do it. They got the depth, they got the star power. The only thing they're missing, they gotta be more defensive minded. I think that's what Doc Rivers is there for. Doc Rivers is gonna put them in a position to be successful on a defensive end, or at least when there's guys on the floor, this is what he did for my career. He said, Lou, I don't expect you to be a knockdown, I don't expect you to be a lockdown defender, but I need you to be vocal, I need you to communicate, and you need to be in the right spots every single time at the right time. And that was clear to me. That was something that I needed from my coach to know what was expected of me on a defensive end. So if he can tie these loose ends up with the Milwaukee Bucks, if anybody's gonna close that gap, it's gonna beat him. I don't know, Shoms. I'm excited for the Eastern Conference. I mean, Western, we already know it's gonna be crazy and awesome and fun, but we have scoops, we have scoops. We always have scoops. Oh, wait, no, I want the music. Now we have scoops. Now we use the fish. The rookie, Thompson, news. Not great news. A star Thompson, rookie for the Pistons. Had a good year this year, nine points, six rebounds, couple assists a game. He is out for the season with a blood clot, and this is something that he's now being treated for. The good news for him is he's beginning some on-court workouts, at least some conditioning work overall, but he's not gonna have some, have full go basketball activities until after the season ends, into the summer, gradually progress him. Obviously just tough news, and we wish for him for the best for him. That's like just a bummer for your first year in. Western Conference News, the sale of the Timberwolves. I see a lot going on around that. There's been a lot of speculation and this process began in April, 2021 where Mark, Laurie, Alex Rodriguez bought the Timberwolves for $1.5 billion, but it was gonna be done in installments of payments that had a March 27th deadline next week for the full $1.5 billion. There were $600 million that needed to be paid, and there was an investment group, Carlisle Group, that did not end up coming to fruition late in this game. So Mark, Laurie, Alex Rodriguez find another group, Dial Capital Partners, that is now coming in and finishing off this financial backing for the Timberwolves and they have closed the sale, pending NBA League approval, Board of Governors approval. They've signed the documents, they've sent it to the league, sent it to Glenn Taylor, so Mark, Laurie, Alex Rodriguez are ready to take over the Timberwolves officially as soon as the NBA approves it. That's a pretty nice place to be in the world when a $600 million loan falls through or investment and you can go get another one like that. Life's good. I will say ever since they took over, ever since they started getting back in the fold, you've seen a different Timberwolves vibe, different energy, they're trying to bring this big market type of feel to Minnesota. I think we're gonna see some new arena plans potentially. There's a lot coming with that organization right now. That sounds fine, I see a lot of Alex Rodriguez, a lot of A-Rod Shoms. Heat, Cavs last night, look, I'm surprised they even had A-Team to put out there, but they did, no BAM, no Duncan Robinson, no Tyler Hero, no Donovan Mitchell for the Cavs, Evan Mobley, Max Trues. Didn't seem to matter though, because Terry Rozier was here and he had 24 points in the clutch 107-104 win for Miami. Jimmy Butler with 30, Jared Allen had 25 points and 20 rebounds, but the nine points that Rozier had in the final 124, that's gotta feel good where you are in the season, how many games left and you can look to him for that. Yeah, just a little note, I didn't realize that he was a Cleveland guy. So he made one shot and I seen him going down to court saying this is my city, this is my city and I was kind of, I was a little confused. And then post-game, they said that, he's a local high school star in the Cleveland area, so this was an emotional game for him and the look that he gives to Miami, he going into the post-season, he's a guy that can create a shot off the dribble, that a lot of guys, you take a Duncan Robinson, you take a Trues in the pass and all of these other guys, they needed somebody to create shots for him. Terry Rozier can create for himself as you can see on these highlight clips, so he gives him another dynamic score and every once in a while on a defensive end, he'll take a marquee matchup. He's not scared to guard their best player, so that gives them depth on both ends of the court, another guy, another scoring punch and somebody else who's gonna fit in the heat culture and play some defense as well. Half-game behind the Pacers, Chandler, Chandler's still there, Chandler's still here with us, right? So there he is, buddy, we missed you so much. What did you make of Rozier's play last night? Well, that's exactly why they went and got him, right? This, he gives them that another ball handler, that another score, especially in the absence of Tyler Hero, this is what he does and I kind of like that. The Patty Mills pick up also is a little sneaky. I love that pickup, it just gives them another shooting guard but Terry Rozier, he got off to a slow start when he got there. We can see him starting to get his rhythm, starting to get comfortable and make big plays down the stretch when guys are out and again, we talked about this was a battle of two teams that are extremely beaten up and this is why I trust the Miami Heat more than the Cleveland Cavaliers. They've had it, of them fully healthy. I think their landslide better than the Pacers, than the Magic, Philly, without Joellen Bede. So I think they're in a good spot. They can get guys back, get Hero, Bam, Duncan Robinson, Richardson, I mean, they're missing four or five, you know, role players that contribute every single night. So, Jimmy Butler had a big game last night, he gave them 30 and five and four. So, Terry Rozier, this is exactly why they got him. For these situations, he can take over a game, he can set up the offense, he can get to his midrange and he's starting to see him kind of get his confidence in him find his spots on the floor in a Miami Heat jersey. So, if the Heat play the Cavs, you're taking Heat, no questions asked. No, it's gonna be, it depends. Again, the Cavs are just as unhealthy. They got no Mobley, they got no Mitchell, they got no Max. That's not what she asked you, because you said you can trust them more. If they're both fully healthy, I like the Miami Heat winning that series. That's bold. That is. But, I take a side bet on that. Look at the Cavs, Mobley, Drew's. My guy, Dean Wade is even out right now and you know he is. That is your guy. I want that bet. Yeah, you all want that bet. I'm taking all bets this weekend. The Heat play the Cavs, J.B. Bickerstaff, you're my boy. I got the Heat. That is just disrespectful. We both take that bet. Choms will not, he's a professional and he's going to remain such. Jared Allen by the way. No, I'm just thinking of me. He wants that bet too, she's shocked. He wants it and he was not. This was only his second career 25 point, 20 rebound game for Jared Allen. Granted, there's no bam on the other side but that's a hell of a performance. Listen, I don't care if you're at the YMCA. 25 and 20 is 25 and 20. I don't care who is going to play that game. You got to give Jared Allen credit. Gives them a big time guy that's on the inside of there that's going to man that lane for them. And defensively, we talk about his offense all of the time but he's just as important to Cleveland as a Rudy Goldberry is to a Minnesota Timberwolves. In the postseason, that's going to be key especially when you start talking about half-court basketball. So when Chandler says he likes to Miami Heat, I get it because they have a history of always putting themselves in a position to beat teams in the playoffs. But Cleveland has shown it all year throughout all of the injuries that they've had, all of the adversity, they're still in one of the top spots. You can't really ignore that. And Jared Allen, give them a lot of credit. 20 and 25, big time game. We'll take 20. He mentioned the other day that he's underrated. He's not talked about enough. So we should talk about him because the guy's averaging 16 and 11 on the season too. He's having a great year. He's damn near and all started last year, I believe. And this is a huge pickup for him. He's honestly one of the most underrated players just because we don't talk about him. And every night, no matter how many minutes he plays, he's productive. He's low maintenance. He doesn't talk. He doesn't care what he wears walking into the game. He's zero distraction. He just goes out there and he hoops and he's bouncing. He block shots. And he's a walking double-double. So he is key to this team going forward. Him and Mowgli, when they have both them in the lineup, they're so big. They're so long. It's a good look. So he's had a great year and we should talk about him more. That is some shade. No, no, no. I'm laughing because I was watching these highlights. And maybe this was a Thomas Bryan thing. He was getting his ass cut. No, it's still 25 and 20. It's still there. I thought, listen, initially I said 25 and 20 no matter who's out there. But he was eating Thomas Bryan lunch. He almost wore his jacket to school right there. By the way, it's telling that somebody doesn't care what they wear to the arena is straight shade. It's the worst. I bypassed that. I bypassed that. I mean, I get it. Go back and look at his outfit. He's kind of a cute little nerd. Like he's a quiet, nerdy dude, which is fine. Don and Mitchell, do we know anything more? Yeah, there are two issues right now with Don and Mitchell. One is he's got a nasal fracture that he had surgery on, and that's going to make him miss some time. But even bigger than that, he's got an ailing bone bruise in his knee. He had PRP injection in that knee. Then he comes back about a week later. And then he said over the weekend, I just don't feel like myself. I don't feel like I'm getting by people blowing by players like I'm used to. It is something I'm going to have to manage. And I'm told Don and Mitchell is prioritizing the playoffs. He knows he has to get right. This team, we still haven't seen them consistently fully whole with Don and Mitchell in the lineup. Evan Mobley's still out. Getting those two guys back, getting them healthy, they still need to gain that chemistry together. Hopefully the last stretch of the season, the last couple of weeks, they'll be able to do that. I know. You don't want to waste the season. It's been a great season so far. All right, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, Bookie Cousins joins the show. Woo-hoo! She knowin' all over the map, cause she make a clap. With a short zone of the skin tight jeans. She get a run. Throw, way to go. Punch it. Throw! Got it up. And it's stuck. Get on my level. For my money, the blocks are always fun. All right, he's back. Four-time All-Star. Two-time All-NBA. Bookie Cousins is here today. We got a Kentucky show. I feel like we've sort of become a North Carolina Kentucky show this week. I'm not mad at it, Bookie. But you did play a year there. You reached the Elite Eight. Today we officially start the madness, at least in my mind. What was your, like the biggest memory you have of that time? Man, I would say definitely around tournament time. You know, that's when the most excitement happens throughout the year. The most, you know, it's usually when the most unexpected things happen. It was plenty of times, you know, down the stretch of our freshman year where, you know, we were really tested. Things could have easily went the other way. You know, my tip-in shot against Mississippi State in the SEC tournament was, you know, one of the most memorable moments where, you know, that could have easily went the other way for us. So that's something that sticks out. Just the different environments you play in during March Madness, during our year, I believe we were in Syracuse. So we ended up playing in the Dome, said. And so it was something that, you know, we weren't accustomed to. The backdrop was, you know, something that threw most of us off. Only, you know, only real Hoobas really know the difference between, you know, that backdrop. Deception. Yeah, that depth perception. So, you know, a lot of things came into play, but I would say the most memorable is definitely the SEC tournament. God, welcome to it. And DeMarcus, you were on that team with John Wall. I know how close you guys were, are, knew each other before, even Kentucky. Tell me this, is it true he pranked you in high school and told you that he was going to Duke and then just hung up? Man, John's such an asshole. But yeah, you know, we thought about teaming up, you know, as youngsters and, you know, he played a nice joke on me right the day before. You know, John was, you know, super hype player coming out. So, deservedly so, I don't want to say that in a disrespectful way, but deservedly so. So he was one of the last guys to announce. So, you know, leading up, you know, I thought we were on the same page. We going to, well, at the time it was Memphis, actually before Cal left, but Cal ended up leaving to go to Kentucky. So, I automatically followed. John was one of the last guys to announce where he would go, you know, so he called me right before the announcement, like, you know, I'm going to go to Duke and he just hung up, I'm like, yo. Forced prank ever. I called the Duke, I called him like 10 times, like, no answer, no answer, he finally text back. This is how much I asked. So, he texted me back, like, I'm just fucking with you. I'm not fucking with you, I'm not fucking with you. It's like not thought out at all. It's the worst prank I've ever heard. Boogie, I can't, I can't think of a school that levels up. I mean. Kentucky has legendary alumni. What's your amount of Rushmore of Kentucky players? Oh my God. You just got four spots. That's it. Are we talking like all the time? Oh, yeah, forever, ever. Because, listen, four can come out of y'all group alone. That's a tough one, dude. You give him a tough one. Oh my God. Because you got to think old school, you got to think the new school guys. I know, oh, it's been so many dominant players who come through Kentucky, bro. You want to think about it? We'll get back at the end. By the way, just to put in perspective. Hopefully y'all just forget. No, we're not gonna, we won't forget. But I'll tell you why it's unfair, Boogie, and you can throw it back at us. We asked Tyler Hansbro, his Mount Rushmore of annoying Duke players. That was a little bit easier for him to come up with. I'm sure, I'm sure. So you can probably do that as well, by the way. You're going back to Taiwan, the beer leopards. I love that, by the way. Your experience so far, I love the logo. What's it been like? Tell us some stories. Man, it's been amazing. Honestly, they treat me really well. As I step into this next stage in my career and things like that, I'm not done playing ball. I still love the game with all my heart. So I'm cool with experience in different places and different parts of the world. So my experience in Taiwan has been incredible. The people there are incredible. They really love basketball. The fan support there is just unreal. And I get to do what I love to do, which is play ball. So I'm excited where I'm at. I'm learning about different cultures, things like that. The biggest thing I think I've learned is just realizing how much talent is around the world. And I was lucky enough to only experience the NBA early in my career. I didn't have to go overseas. I didn't have to take the G League route and things like that. So I was, by default, brainwashed to the point where I thought the most elite talent in the world is specifically in the NBA. And that's just not the case in the reality of the situation. So my eyes have been open when it comes to just the high level of talent all around the world playing this game. So I'm appreciative of that part. And I'm just enjoying the game. I'm going to ride off in the sunset. And I'm going to ride to the wheels fall off. So that's where I'm at right now. Are you hoping to make one more, one last run to the NBA? Or at this point, you want to play the sport that you love? Now, I really want to play the sport I love. I mean, obviously, if the opportunity ever comes about, that's something I would really, really consider. But I'm also so content and so happy in this space I'm in right now. It's probably the first time in my life why I actually feel free and feel like a normal person. So I'm really enjoying that part of life. Just being able to be a father every day has been incredible. That's probably one of the hardest tasks I've ever experienced, just waking up and being consistent on a daily basis. So it's a challenge that I've embraced and I'm really enjoying. So to answer that question, that's something I would really have to consider. But like I said, I'm super content where I'm at in my life right now. DeMarcus, I'm sure you see the chatter, though every time big man goes down, they always mention you as someone that could sign somewhere. And the speculation is always there online. I mean, how many teams do you feel like you could go and at least help improve? Be a guy that supplies some depth for? Which team do you think needs Boogie the most? I think I could help any team. If it's being in a better leadership type of role, I got plenty of knowledge and I'm willing to draw knowledge to these youngsters. And on top of that, if it's a team that's really actually trying to play for some, I know my IQ and experience can help any team. I mean, when you look over the landscape of the league right now, that's probably one of the biggest things that I think is missing from the league. It has become a super young league. So the experience and the IQ of the game, you know, isn't where it was or what we're accustomed to seeing in the past. And no knock to any player or anything. That's just the times we're in. So when it just comes to experience and bringing that into any team, I think that's gonna elevate any team in NBA. You know, we're gonna do a little memory lane here because at the start of your career, six and a half seasons in Sacramento, six different coaches, which is crazy to think about, never more than 33 wins. When you look back at that chapter, what could have been different? Was there one piece that maybe had it been different, it would have gone a different way? You know, I've spent majority of my, you know, early career trying to figure out that exact question you asked. And I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. What's that reason? I'm still waiting to see. But I mean, that's just how sports go. It's not always about the talent. You know, sometimes it's the circumstances, sometimes it's the environment. Like everybody isn't blessed with, you know, the best opportunity. But at the same time, it's the equal playing field when it comes to making the best of your situation. And that's all I try to do throughout, you know, my time there. So, you know, it's not much to really, you know, say, I wish this could have happened, or if this was done better, it would have been, you know, that's hypothetical, it doesn't really matter. So, you know, I made the best of it, you know, and shit, I'm here now. So, so good. Back in the day, you were traded to the Pelicans. You had that opportunity to shed a front court with AD. He's averaging 24-12, two blocks right now, but still facing so much criticism. Why do you think that is? Is that a personality thing? Is he too quiet? He doesn't defend himself ever. Why do you think he faced so much criticism, still, playing at a high level that he is? I think it comes with, you know, the environment. Obviously being teammates, we wanted the greatest to ever touch, definitely on, you know, the Mount Rushmore of players in the Bryan James. When things go bad, we all know it's a list of guys that's gonna be blamed before it gets to the best player on the team or one of the best to ever play. And, you know, that's just then, then Bryan, on top of that, he plays for the Lakers. They have a tough fan base. Right. They expect it. Excellent. I mean, you were there, Lou. You know how to shoot. They expect it. You get criticized as a Laker. Yeah. It's a completely different experience being a Laker. And you can average... Oh, absolutely. You can average 25 and 12. You can average 25 and 12, and it's still not being enough. Like, that's not enough. It's championship of bus, no matter the season, no matter the roster, no matter the timing. And that's just the territory that comes with, you know, being the teammate of the Bryan James, because greatness always comes with him and the same thing goes with being a Laker. So I think that plays a huge part in the criticism he receives. And it may be a little bit of him not, you know, speaking. You know, 80s is just not that type of guy. 80s, the type of shut his phone off and just not give a fuck. Which is, you know, it works for him. Right. And, you know, it's other guys where they gonna speak up and defend themselves. So, and usually the more quiet guy, people feel like, you know, they can go at him a lot more. And like I said, if it's, for instance, maybe a Dreymon, Dreymon's gonna defend himself. Dreymon's gonna speak up. Oh, yeah. He's gonna... And you ain't gotta never worry about getting his words mission screwed because it's gonna come straight from the horse's mouth. You know what I'm saying? So it's just a different in personalities. And like I said, it just comes with the environment as well. DeMarcus, you reunited with King's owner, Vivek Ranadeve at All Star weekend in Indy. We saw the picture Vivek Ranadeve posted. What was that like? Are we gonna see you at a King's game coming up? It was actually cool, man. You know, it was good to talk to him. It had been a while. We had messaged, you know, a little bit over the years, you know, a little bit here and there. But for us to actually meet in person, it's been some years. So it was cool to, you know, see him and talk with him. And, you know, he helped me, you know, put some things to rest. Like I knew some things were done a little weird with my time there. And he validated a lot of things that I couldn't, you know, figure out at the time. So, you know, I'm happy for that. We're on the same page. We cleared up a lot of, you know, rumors and things like that. And, you know, he let the truth be known as to why things played out the way they did with my age. So I'm appreciative of that. And I'm moving forward, man. You know, we're on a clean slate. We're gonna figure things out. And it's probably a great chance I do end up at a game show. So I'm excited. I like that. That's so sad. And DeMarcus, I know you went to the Warriors for what ended up being KD's final season there. There was his Achilles injury. There was the injury, the incident with Draymond during the year. Obviously the loss to the Raptors in the finals in six games. What stands out to you most about that season? Man, yeah. It's a lot. I would just say it was a lot, honestly. But you know, that comes with championship teams. So, but for me, it was the positive stuff out way more than any of the negatives, which is, you know, crazy to say because it was a lot that season. But just us, when that five touched the floor and, you know, we were all healthy, that's probably the most fun I could say we all had playing basketball at this level. And probably the easiest we've ever had playing at this level. Like, seriously, it was like... That's the best starting five ever. I mean, it's... In my opinion, yes. And obviously it's a small sample size, but when we were all healthy, it was ugly, bro. It was ugly. So, and it was fun and it was, like I said, every night it was low key just kind of going through the motions and beating teams by 25. So it was a lot of fun and easy basketball. And I've never been on the floor with that much Hall of Fame talent at one time. Like, it was incredible, bro. So, like I said, I think the positive stuck out more than, you know, the little bit of adversity that we dealt with throughout the year. So... Let me ask you about the young fellow, Wimby, having an incredible rookie season. I still got Chet as my rookie of the year. I still value winning and he's the second best player in that team. I ain't gonna lead you. Wimby is playing... You just did. Nah, nah, nah, nah. Wimby's having an incredible season. What would you rank him amongst players and are you a fan of his game? What are you seeing from Wimby? Huge fan of Wimby. Man, what I see from Wimby is, you know, once again, we're starting to, like, in real time see the evolution of the game. Once again. And I think it's dope to see. I think he's a high character. I've never, you know, got the chance to meet him in person, but I've heard a lot, you know, throughout, you know, the great minor throughout the league. He cut his phone off, too, at 9.30. He said, don't call me after 9.30. I'm not available. Margot. Margot. Yeah. That's a bright future. That's the time of a bright future. But, you know, high character guy loves the game, and that's something that's kind of unspoken about in the league. Usually when it comes to big, it's not a lot of bigs that love the game. So the fact that he loves the game, that's a good sign for him. That's a fact, too. That's a big one. Highly skilled. Highly skilled. I mean, he has all the intangibles to, you know, sneak his way into that Mount Rushmore. So obviously, he's still young in his career, but incredible, incredible talent. And, you know, I look forward to seeing how his career plays out. Boogie, we're up against the clock. We will get back to you on your Mount Rushmore. We're not gonna forget. I will never forget. But we appreciate the time. We're gonna take a quick break. Keep doing your thing over there, brother. Yeah, best of luck. Antoine Walker, when we come back, it is a Kentucky day. Antoine. Woo! We'll be back. Run it up, run it back, run it up, run it back, run it up, run it back, run it up, run it back, run it up. Last second shot, score, pull up on the block. Antoine Walker, walk it, shoot back, go for it. Score, score, score, score, score. I mean, I'm not doing it perfectly well, but it's something. He is here, the 12-year vet. He's a champ. Antoine Walker joins us. That doesn't feel right when I'm doing it. We just have boogie cousins on, so it kind of does feel like we're sponsored by Kentucky today, and I love it. You won the championship back in 96. A run like that, what is it like, especially when you're a young kid? Oh, it's unbelievable. I mean, for me, that year was special because we were predicted to be, it was number one seed to start the season. We took our early season loss, that second game of the season, and then we ran off, I think, 26. 27 straight. You guys can look that up, but we ran off 27, 26 straight, right into the SEC tournament, and we ended up losing in the championship game at the SEC tournament, and then the rest was history. From there, we ended up winning six more and winning the title. Just a real special year. A team that was really, really close. We had nine pros, I think, off that team, but I'm not mistaken. So just see everybody make it and be able to. I'm proud of one team. Crazy. That's silly. I think nine of us made it off that team, but just in the way we won. I mean, and I don't want to be biased here, but I think we are arguably one of the best college teams, if not the best team. I think our margin of victory was like 24, 25 points again. We really dominated and really shared the wealth and everybody got rewarded. I mean, nine pros off one. It's hard to make that argument. I need to ask about the Jorts. That was a thing that actually happened. Kids may not know that, by the way. Denim Jorts were played in. What's happened here? And I saw that they did like a vintage release, yeah. Oh, that's dope. These are go crazy right now. That's either back out, I saw. Did you like them, man? I mean, it was a little weird, especially the blue ones, but they were lightweight. They were so light. We had a huge converse deal. So obviously converse was trying to keep up with Nike and Adidas and making some authentic things. But Coach really did a good job of giving us like our own lane of, even with our sweatsuits. I think we had like six or seven sweatsuits, which was probably on the hurry love at that time, the different type of converse sweatsuits. The shoes were terrible. Not half the minute. We didn't have the best shoes in the world. But at the school, you know how it is, just free. You're gonna wear them, especially in cons. We ain't got the deals that these guys got now. Hey, Coach said if you run out of 25, 26 in a row, y'all can have as many jogging suits as y'all want. I hope that y'all can have every color of y'all want. I just asked Boogie and I put his back against the wall. Your Kentucky Mount Rushmore, you got four spots. Who you going with? I'm gonna go Travis Ford at point, Rex Chapman. Okay. Jamal Masburn, myself and this is toss up, but I'm gonna go with AD, I was waiting for you to ask somebody young in there. I was waiting for one of the young guys to get at it. They ain't playing long enough, man. They ain't playing long enough. There was one in there. Yeah. I put Anthony Davis over there over Sam Bowie. I really wanted to put Sam Bowie. Oh yeah, Bowie was a doctor. You know what I mean? I got Kenny Walker still left. I put myself over Kenny Walker. Smart, smart. So you gotta remember just they said that Travis Ford, the Kenny Walkers, obviously Sam Bowies, they kind of started it. You know what I mean? Especially Travis Ford. I came in right after that group had started to turn Kentucky. They had to play under probation. So they didn't get a chance to reap their benefits. So we came in right after them and came right in and kind of took off. So I have a lot of respect for those guys. Antoine, you played for Rick Petino at Kentucky, obviously, and then again in Boston for the Celtics. Why do you think it didn't work out for him in the NBA? Impatient. If you look at, especially my tenure, I probably played with 40, 50 guys in a two and a half year span. You guys know that's impossible to build a team with guys going in and out the door like that. Look, we drafted Chauncey Billups, take three and trade them after 40 games. I mean, just an impatient coach wanted to win. He came from a situation where he was winning 80% of his games, probably 85%, and couldn't take losing, couldn't take the rebuilding process. And then I think that's where the impatient lie that, you know, he had to rebuild that thing, continue to try to put pieces around myself and did a good job of draft. And I thought Chauncey and Ron Mercer with two great picks, he just didn't let her play out. We won like 38 games that year after my rookie year, only went to 15 and coached one or more than that. And he came in and just kind of cleaned house. Every other day, it seemed like somebody knew was coming in a locker room. That's so, by the way, he has not combed at all in his old age, it's still going. Let's talk the Celtics for a second, best record in the league. We were talking earlier about the gap between them and the Bucks right now or really anyone else in the league. In your opinion, who's close? And if they don't win at all, are you counting this as a failure? I would count it as a failure. This team has been, this team has well put together. And the only reason I would count it as a failure is if, I would say getting to the finals. Obviously winning is another level, but getting to the finals, this team is good enough and she'll get to the finals. Because the core two guys have been together. Jalen and Jason have been together. They know how to play together. They know how to feed off each other. They've added some great ingredients around them. You think about holiday and Pazinas around them. So they got everything in front of them. Joe Mazzulla has another year of experience. You've got another guy to have to sell on the bench, assistant coach. All the stars are alive for them to win it all. Hopefully they can stay healthy to finish out this season. They're going to have home court advantage throughout the playoffs. So it is a lot of pressure. They did everything they're supposed to do. They dominate this season, put their self in position by having home court advantage. And now it's time to get a title. These are two young stars. Obviously Jalen's got his Max Dale, Jason's coming up next summer. And then you're going to probably, possibly have 700 million put into two guys. You're going to, you're trying to win championships when you got those type of guys right there. And then they're crying. And they should both, I think Jalen played well in the finals, but Jason wasn't great the last time he was in the finals against Golden State. He should have a chip on his shoulder. I just like what they had. I think they're in perfect position. I like the way the guys are fit in to make a deep run in doing it all. Jason Tatum takes some heat sometimes for his clutch play like this season. 95 minutes of clutch time play. He's shooting 32% from the field. Antoine, do you feel like he deserves the criticism? Do you feel like he deserves the critique? Yeah, of course, he's a star now. I mean, he's a guy that you rely on to deliver for you at the end of games. He's got to be clutched. This is nothing different from any other superstar that's been in his league. So you got to deliver when it counts. And that's what separates yourself. That's when you start to become an all star to go into being a Hall of Fame player. Is to be able to make clutch shots, make great plays down the stretch. And you got to think these guys, to be so young, they've had such a lot of early success. And now they're coming into their prime. So I expect them to play well, I expect them to make those shots and make winning plays. They're necessary sometimes about making a shot. It may be making the right pass or making the right play. And I believe those guys are primed and ready for that. Antoine, we appreciate the time. Best of luck to Kentucky and this one. Lou, do you have Kentucky winning at all real quick? I do not. Okay, I just want to make sure you didn't lie because you were on the line. Do you have Kentucky winning at all? Of course. Okay, good. I got my biggest cross. I know how that works. Honestly though, not to be biased. I like where we got seated. I like the way we got to go. I mean, I don't want to go through Pittsburgh, which we could have been a little bit closer to Kentucky, but I still like this group. Perfect. I like this group. It's gonna be fun. It's like the best time of the year. We appreciate it. We are also done here on a Thursday. Lou is antsy and wants to get up and run away. Can you feel it? Do you feel out of breath here? This year was my first year in like years I'm not. What? Shops. Yeah, it's a late, late, late entry for me. I don't know if I'm gonna do it. You got like 20 minutes. That's gonna do it. Lou, I'm open. Be back tomorrow. Oh, God, bad. Who saw that? Did we see it? Yo. Run it up. They run it back, yo, yo. Run it up, run it back, like a running back, yo. She knowin' all over the map cause she makin' it.