 Run it up, do run it back, yeah. Run it up, do run it back, run it back. Run it up, do run it back. Happy Tuesday. Welcome to Run It Back here on Fandle TV, guys. We have actual games tonight. Really, really good games. Are we excited? Yeah, let's do it. I can't wait. Are you throwing a party at your house for a big watch? Yeah, totally. Yeah, totally. We'll be there. And Stadium Insider, Sean Charania, Chandler P, Blue Will. My name is Michelle. We're the brightest color that exists today on the show. Why not? Make everyone happy. We're going to start with Lakers at Pelicans. Man, they've been out in New Orleans for a minute. This one's at 730 Eastern. A lot of Lakers fans yesterday with some theories on what they should do. ESPN's Mike Greenberg-Greeney said the Lakers should sit LeBron and AD. You know, these are theories, these are strategies that we're thinking, but it's all too avoid facing the numbers. They're just picking fights to channel this point. Yeah, you avoid Greeney. You avoid Greeney's back at it again. Is it that crazy, though, to think about trying to avoid the numbers? Yeah, it is. Why is it why? Because you're going to have to go through them anyway. So why mess with the basketball gods? Why you're not good enough, first of all, to sit here and rest this game and then have to go and then beat the Warriors or the Kings? Not like that's a layup, anyways. Not like it's the Eastern Conference where they possibly have the Bulls or the Hawks. No matter what happens in this game, sure, would it be a more favorable matchup if that happened to work out where they just organically lost the game tonight and then they won against the Kings or the Warriors and then drew the Thunder instead of the Nuggets? Yes. I think that would make more sense. I think they'd have a better chance to win that series, but you can't risk in a one game all or nothing to sit your guys or to, you know, load manage them when they're fully healthy just to get the chance at possibly having a more favorable matchup. You cannot do that. That is... Yeah, it's not like this is a seven game series where they got a bunch of games where they can have opportunities to get over that hump. All the gimmicks and all of that playing chess and trying to put yourself in a position to have the right seed. Those games are done. At this point, the best basketball teams are going to win the games. Simple as that. So should they want to lose a game on purpose at this point? Absolutely not. It's a reason all of these teams are in the position that they're in, in this play in tournament. You don't mess with the game. You don't mess with the basketball. Yeah. I agree with the thoughts. If they were good enough to do this, they would have done this earlier. Not when it's a one game, basically, March Madness Elimination where your whole season's on the line. You just absolutely cannot do that. You have to win this game and then you have to take your chance against the Nuggets. Oh, it's a chance. You know what I mean? But that's what you have to do. You can't just let it come down to one game because then anything could happen. Then you could be in Cabo next week instead of playing the Nuggets. How stupid would you feel? But isn't it daunting? First of all, you think, OK, the Nuggets swept them in the conference finals. Boom. They also beat them in all three games this season. Boom. So yeah, you go in there tonight. You play this game. But is that not sitting on top of your mind the entirety of this game that, OK, we win this. This is our prize. I mean, yeah, you go into a feeling like that and just making sure you go win the basketball game. But I'm laughing because it's saying the internet yesterday was filled with Laker fans that were down for them trying to lose on purpose. That doesn't sound like the Laker faithful to me. Yeah, that doesn't sound like the Laker's attitude. I've worn that uniform before. They want to win at all costs. Win everything. They've never learned. They've never tried to lose anything on purpose. So I'm calling BS on that. Yeah. And again, out loud, when you say it, sure, they would rather the Oakland City Thunder because of their inexperience because they have never been there before because of how youthful they are. Yeah, that makes more sense. But they're not in the position to do this. And we can't just act like they're this team that can flip the switch. OK, we're going to lose this game. We won't get this game. Or they would not be in this dogfight of the play in tournament that they are in. So that makes no sense. It's too risky to do. Do you think the nuggets right now are sitting at home going, we would rather play blank? I mean, I don't think they care. I think they think I don't think they care. But if I'm going to take a shot at guessing, they would like the Pelicans to win this game. I mean, what team would want to play against the best basketball player in the world, no matter what phase of his career that he's in, you don't want to match up with the best basketball player in the world. Simple as that. Yeah, if I'm on the nuggets, I want New Orleans just because of that reason. I don't want to play against LeBron James, Anthony Davis for possibly seven games. I don't want to go Laker Nations everywhere. There's going to be Laker fans tonight in New Orleans. There's going to be Laker fans in Denver. Like, it is damn going to be a home game in New Orleans. It's going to be a home game tonight. So I will say the Lakers, I think, a huge advantage in that. For the Lakers fans, they travel regular season games. Again, that means so much right now. I guarantee you it's going to be uncomfortable for the New Orleans Pelicans. Are those not just bandwagon people in different cities that have Lakers? They're still loud. It's America's team. Just making sure I understand what the rules are. The Lakers are America's team. And it's one of, if you're a home team, it's one of the most annoying things to go through. Sure. Just run out of your tunnel on your home court and get booed by the Laker fans. In New Orleans. It's one of the most annoying things Historically, New Orleans doesn't have this crazy home court They don't have a crazy fan base like that. So it's not like their fans are going to be outrageous and put them over the top. There's probably going to be louder Laker fans in there than Pelican fans. They're getting a lot of motivation this morning. No, they have motivation. They're getting a lot of motivation. Hopefully. They're in tune, Chandler, but I understand what you're saying. They don't have this rich history of going to court later, going to Boston where these crazy atmospheres is going to be a normal game for LeBron. Yeah, I understand what you're saying, but they are motivated. They will be there. Shout out to New Orleans. Shout out Smoothie King. You get a smoothie when you go there as a member of the media and a big fan of that. Shams, the AD of it all. I know injury reports and all that. Is there a world in which we don't see him tonight? I don't see a scenario where Anthony Davis doesn't play. He himself came out after the game on Sunday and said, there's no doubt I'm going to play. I've had some conversations in the last 24 hours. The plan is for him to play. I don't see any other way. But for sure, the Lakers have to play for seven. You don't tank this idea of tanking for eight. I don't see the Lakers do that. You play to win. There's too much to risk. The other thing is by playing Denver this or if you do win and you do play Denver in that two-seven matchup, you at least get them early in the playoffs. Last year, there's a lot of wear and tear on LeBron James. There's a lot of wear and tear throughout that roster. You get them early. You're going to have to play them anyway. Get that out of the way. And can you imagine the confidence they have moving forward if they knock off Denver in the first round? That opens up everything. I'm saying it's a long stretch. What percentage are you giving up? This escalated fast. Less than 3% chance. I don't think they're... But again, anything can happen. The Lakers are a talented team. I'm just saying if you, like Shams just said too, they're going to be healthy. They're going to get it early. If they can happen to knock them off, then the next round, they're going to have the most confidence knowing they just beat the best team in the Western Conference. Obviously, we're getting way far ahead of ourselves. It was a sweep last year, but there were a couple of games that were close last year against Denver. I mean, the Lakers can make a case that they're going to make this series more competitive. The Lakers are dangerous. You like him, you hate him. They are dangerous. It's not going to be an easy series. I'm going to laugh if they don't even win this game tonight and we're sitting here. I think we're looking ahead a little bit much. This is a mile high now and we're talking about it right now. They got to win tonight for us to even have this conversation. All I'm saying is like, why fear the Duggets? Why fear the Celtics? If you have goals and you have aspirations of winning that conference. Go on, Whitney. What else is there? If you have that, you're going to have to beat them eventually. So why not in the first round? If you have goals and you have dreams. Stay positive, Lakers. Keep going. You got this. Lou, does AD have to be the best player on the court for anything to happen? I don't think so. I think LeBron James has been the best player on that team this year and he's been the leader. Anthony Davis has to be the best version of Anthony Davis. Now, does he have to put the pressure on himself as I have to go out there and outplay everybody on both teams? Absolutely not. But he has to be the second best player on the floor for them to be really successful. But I don't think he has to be the best. We got a... Oh, were you going to say something? No, I searched on his phone. You're watching this there. Something was happening. It's scrolling Instagram real quick. So here's the deal. AD had 30 points, 11 rebounds and 33 minutes against New Orleans. That was on Sunday. There's a two-legged parley. You know I'm going to do this. 25 or more points and 12 or more rebounds, plus 137. That dropped down already. Man, you should take it now. How are you feeling about it? I love that. I have one little stat here that I love for this game. The Lakers ranked second in the league in points in the paints at 56 points game and Anthony Davis has 16 of those points. Oh. They don't really have a guy to guard him. Valentinus is just great big, but he's not as mobile to guard him. Herb Jones is too small and Zion I would assume is going to start on him. He's going to make him have to work on both ends. So I think Anthony Davis does have to be the dominating force. I think you have to get him the ball. No matter who starts on him, especially if it's Zion, I think you try and get him in early foul trouble. But yeah, this is the key for Anthony Davis. He's got to get going early and I do think he gets the spotlight. You don't feel like he has to be the best player, but he has to absolutely be dominant. He has to be forceful when he plays. Impose his will early, get to the free-thaline, get on the offensive glass. He should be the most dominant player. And that stat with the points in the paint, that's huge because they can run, they can do, but when it slows down on the offensive glass, Anthony Davis has got to be dominant. Brandon Ingram, by the way, made his return with the knee injury thing on Sunday and he played 23 minutes. So is he full time? Go? No restrictions? His minutes are going to go even higher, I think, tonight. I think he's going to be more of a forego than not. To me, the biggest thing though with this Pelicans team is now that you reintegrated BI, who I believe Lew will play with, you reintegrate him into the lineup. Play with everybody. That's true. Zion was so comfortable when Brandon Ingram was out with having the ball in his hands, playing that point forward role. I think for the Pelicans, the big question is always with this team, when Zion's healthy is how do you blend these two guys? How do you make both of them fit next to each other and play at a high level? And tonight will be another example for them to try to figure that out. Chandler. I'm hot, right? I'm sweating. It's really hot. This hoodie is so thick and warm. There's a lot going on. It's almost like you didn't know that it's always hot in here. I'm sweating too, makes everyone feel better. And I'm sure it does. Let's talk about ceiling for the Pelicans. There are certain teams that I think we just sort of assume that there's a very low ceiling. I don't know what you're putting over New Orleans here. I mean, contender seems like a stretch. I don't think they're real contenders. I loved this team early last year when we were talking about Willie Green, Coach of the Year, and they have all these young assets with Murray and Murphy and Herb Jones and Alvarado. And then they have these stars when they're healthy. They're really, really good. And now, as of lately, C.J. McCollum has found his rhythm. He's gotten hot. Valencianists, you know what you're gonna get from him. You're gonna get a solid double-double, pretty much every single night with that guy. And then they have two elite players that can get out and transition. They can go get you a bucket and Brandon Irminsi and Williamson. So I think they do have a lot of talent. They are on the right trajectory. I just don't think with the Western Conference being so deep this year, this is their year, but I wouldn't be, either way, this game could go either way tonight. They've had a great year. Now with Brandon Irminsi back too, that kind of gives another layer. If I had to pick, I think, I'm going Lakers tonight, though, still. I think, damn, I think the Lakers get more calls. I think the NBA wants the Lakers to win more. Whoa! It's here to see. I think the Lakers get it done tonight. I don't think the home court advantage is gonna be too big of a deal. And you know what I was thinking too? This is the closest thing to like March Madness we got with LeBron. It feels like it's like the one game elimination. Never played college basketball. This is his March Madness. This is his March Madness. I like it. Yeah, that's a good point. In April. In April. In April. Let's look at the odds. I know they're fluctuating back and forth, left and right. Pelicans right now are the favorite, oh yeah, yeah, minus one and a half right there, over under of two, 24 and a half. And the Lakers have won three of the four games that they've played against New Orleans. So let's just go, Lou. Who wins? Yeah, who you got? Who you got? Who's gonna be the Lakers? Like I said, I'm one of those guys. I don't bet against LeBron James. I don't bet against Steph Curry when it comes down to it for the money. If it comes down to winning the basketball game for the money, to move on, to do anything special, those are two guys I've just learned to never bet against. So I got Lakers tonight. I agree. And you know we didn't repent of playing but if you, whoever loses this game, that pressure has gotta be crazy on the next game. You know what I mean? Like you had a chance to block in the seventh seed and now you have one game later, you're going home. So this is such a big game and whoever it is, it's not gonna have an easy game next round whether it's gonna be Sacramento or Golden State. You know what? Let's just, I'm gonna say New Orleans. Just to be... No, that's Michigan. Yeah, let's see what happens. Yeah, let's see what happens. It looks really good. I mean, that's not a bad thing. I don't know what it is though, but like Lakers, Pelicans, they've had their number. They beat them in the eighth season tournament and they beat them on Sunday for the chance to play seven, eight. This is different. I like to say they do. This is for the money. This really is, this is different for everything. Yes, sir. Well, for to go get beat by the Nuckets, but yeah, it's for everything. Sick reward. It's like a weird prize. Warriors Kings is the later game today. Warriors, God, it's deja vu. Warriors beat the Kings last year in game seven of that first round series. It's a game seven type environment. Again, tonight in Sacramento, do we have confidence, Chandler, that the Kings can figure it out? Again, in this scenario, one game sure, anything can happen. If I'm betting, man, I'm betting Golden State Warriors tonight. They're just the big brother of the Kings. They've always had their number. I think the minute that Kevin Herter and Malik Monk went down for this team, that is a huge hole, it's a huge void. I'd love to see Fox come out early tonight, make Steph Curry work on the defensive end. So bonus, dominate, although he has not played great against the Warriors, but those two guys have to take 20-plus shots tonight. Like this is it for them. They need this game. And again, because if you lose this game, then it gets real dicey in that next round. But I like the Warriors. Oh, look at that. Kings going to sleep. This is what we wanted to. We wanted to change the legers. And the Warriors to get 7-8. This is no diss to the Sacramento Kings. I like the team that they've built. Again, it's two guys in the NBA that I don't bet against when it's for the money. Steph Curry, for the money, he's putting them to sleep. You like the Warriors more than the Lakers. I like Steph Curry. Oh, okay, that's a different one. Are we looking ahead? I'm just saying, would you rather bet it Warriors tonight to win or would you rather bet the Lakers tonight to win? If they played each other? No, that game or that game. Which one do you think is more of a lock? I think the Warriors game is more of a lock. Whoa! Okay, Warriors are more, why? Do we just trust them more? Listen, that Pelicans Lakers game got a lot of star power in it. Got a lot of star power in it. New Orleans is playing really good basketball. I just think the Lakers are the type of team that they get methodical with how they go about games, with game planning, with strategy. LeBron James is going to go out there. He's going to manage the game. He's going to manage the pace. He's going to manage the flow. It's going to go his way. It's going to be tilted his way. So I think the other game is going to be a little bit more of a lopsided way. And you know what's interesting? You were saying whoever wins that first game, like congrats, you're going to get the Denver Nuggets. It's the opposite on this. It's like, okay, if we can win this game and then go get the next game, we have a real shot at actually going and beating the Oklahoma City Thunder with a better draw. So this, yeah, it's almost like we said, Laker Nation wants them to sit. That's not going to happen, but it is a more favorable matchup to get the 8C and the West is here in the seventh. That's what I'm saying. Sometimes you don't want to be great. It's a better position for these two teams almost to go and go balls to the wall and win these next two games and then get the Thunder rather than rest and sit, Lakers cannot do that. No, I don't think they can either. Let's just take a road, a trip down memory lane because this seems like a bit of a rivalry building. Stuff had 50 in game seven of the series last year. And of course there was the Dremont stomp on Sabonis and his chest in game two. We got him up there. Does this have enough to be considered a rivalry? And I was in the building when Dremont came back in that one and he got a standing ovation, which is everything that's wrong with the world. But that being said, Chandler. I will say Sacramento fan base is awesome. They're going to be loud. They're going to be rowdy. They're going to try to light the beam tonight and they're not going to let Dremont Green forget about that moment. Every time he touches the ball, they are going to boo him and it's going to be a crazy atmosphere. They're so close in location, but the Warriors pack a different punch. They're like the Lakers. There's going to be so many warrior fans also in there that love Steph Curry and love Clay Thompson. How far is the drive to Sacramento from here? It's not, oh, from here? Oh, from here? Like seven? It's about pulling up. Seven hours, maybe? I live a life. Oh, seven hours? I don't live that type of life. No, I know. And a lot of it's just kind of boring so you can just cruise. And also anytime Dremont Green's on the floor, there's going to be some sort of physical, yeah, there's going to be some sort of environment that's going to, could possibly be hostile, especially when there's already been. I'm excited for these games, man. I think Louis really wants to go tonight to the game. I'm excited. It's been a long time since we've seen so many great matchups. So many great matchups, making the greatest players in the world earn it. This is exciting. I'm excited to see these games. And think about the people that didn't like the plan initially, like if they didn't like LeBron. Like LeBron. These two teams would already said whoever created the plan should get fired. These two teams would already just be home. They wouldn't even have a chance at going to get. We hated the idea. No, it's perfect entertainment. It's better than anything we could have asked for. And also on this bonus thing, he's never had a triple double against DreamOn. So how do we get over the VAT, huh? Do we get over that? Like I said, he's got to be aggressive. He's got to do the same thing Anthony Davis. He's got to come out. It's one game and then you need to go to the next one, but he's got to dominate. And again, he's never played great. DreamOn Green's a great defender. He's physical, he's mobile. He's one of those rare guys that can move his feet and stay with guards. And he can also be physical with a strong surveillance like this. So I just think, like I said, it's got to be him and Fox, especially with those two wings out, they have to do the majority of the scoring. Take 20 shots, take 25 shots. Doesn't matter, you're going to live and die with those two guys tonight. This is going to be fantastic. Also, DreamOn said it too, didn't he? He said he hates the playing game and the greatest thing that's ever been created. That was actually a really good DreamOn quote. If you're in it, you love it. If you're not in it, you're like, why is there the play-in tournament, right? Like that's probably one of the problems. This is one of those things that's not relevant to you until you need it. I think you love it if you're the one and two. See too, because it gives you a couple more extra days of rest. I mean, those guys all have like a week off. It works for everybody. The Lakers made it to the Western Conference finals out of the play-in tournament, right? He made it to the NBA part out of the play-in tournament. So clearly there's something here that works. Especially when it's so deep and everyone, the 10th seed, what was their record this year? Everyone's above 500. Everyone's above 500 and they're the 10th seed. They deserve a crack at it, they got this right. Let's talk young dudes on the Warriors. They've been a huge part of what they have done on the court. What's the impact you've seen? I mean, a massive impact then. They're blending their vets and their youth better than they have ever under Steve Kerr. And I think John, they come in good. Trace Jackson, Davis, Brandon Pizemski, they love all three of those players. And Kaminga, we've seen develop into that second option on any given night. He has qualities that makes him a star caliber player. And he missed some time late in the season with the knee injury. He's on his way back. He's looking better to close the year. They need him to step up tonight and for the rest of the playoffs. He's also extensionalizable, Michelle. So seeing how that goes in the summertime after his third season will be interesting as well. That's exciting for everyone involved. Look, I just, I want to look ahead because I think this is the gazillion dollar question as well. If the Warriors lose this thing, is this the last time we see Clay, Steph, and Draymond playing together? I think so. I think so. I can see Clay, I think he's played well enough this year to go and get a huge bag from a team like Orlando Magic or someone like that that's gonna offer him a bunch. I am. And I think he deserves it. I think he's got one more crack at it to go and be the guy. And I think with everything that's happened, I won't say this year for them to basically be the 10 seed and go and get knocked off by their little brother, the Sacramento Kings. I think this would be their final game together. This big three, these three guys are Hall of Fame group. They've done a lot together. They've created memories. They were a championship group. I love to see guys start and finish their careers in one place that they've done so many great things for something just feels like there's time for a change in Golden State. It just feels like it. When you're around this game for so long, you can tell when the energy is shifting and it feels like that's the vibe going into this playoff run that we're probably seeing the last days of this three together. It's basically Clay's gonna be gone. That makes me a little bit sad. That's why he's taking everybody on the boat. Steph always shows up. That is not, we're not worried about that. But is there a chance we get an old school Splash Brothers performance? Which would mean, and here we go, Steph and Clay both have to score 25 or more, which right now is at plus three, 89. With those odds, I would take it. I think Steph definitely is gonna go over 25 and Clay's had these games for again. He can get hot early. He can make seven, eight, nine, 10, three. So at plus three, 89, I would definitely take this little part. I like that one. Clay Coiley got worked back into the star ladder. We never discussed it. Yeah, the whole come off the bench thing was a blip on the screen. Yeah, and he's had a few of those are like 27 points seems to be his wheelhouse. Dreymon, by the way, first player to record a double, double without attempting a field goal or a free throw. That's crazy. The other night, that is a weird stat. So here we go. Eight or more assists. That's magic. Yeah, that's... That's as crazy as it's not having a free throw. That's also magic and weird. Yeah, there's a couple of weird moments in the end of this one. That was crazy. If he scores eight or more and eight rebounds, assists and rebounds, plus 286. I liked it. Yeah? Look at Lou write stuff down. He's gonna take that one. Just assists and rebounds. I like just crazy as we were talking about a player who the points are the hardest thing for him to get. He's gonna get the rebounds. He's gonna get the assists, the swings, swings. He's playing with the best shooters ever. His average are kind of up this year, though, points. I'm just saying, if you told me, all right, Dreymon, eight, eight and eight, which one's he not gonna get? I would probably say points. Yeah, I think that would be okay. If he's on the floor for 30 plus minutes, he's getting eight assists and eight rebounds. He's the ball a lot. He's crashing the glass. It's the points that are gonna be the tricky part. I buy that one as well. Kings, we've talked a little bit, Chandler, you've mentioned the huge injuries, by the way, of the last month this season. Is there anything on Malik Monk that you can share? Malik Monk is gonna be out well into April and May. There's, I mean, he's not gonna return anywhere in this play internment. Ever. He's out for a season. That's what you're saying. So, I mean, the Kings are preparing to move forward here if they do make it in the playoffs for at least the first round through the first round without Malik Monk. That's just such a bummer. And they do have guys to step up. They do have, you know, Keegan Murray, they have Harrison Barnes, these guys have stepped up. But yeah, Malik Monk provides just that spark to energy, the outside shooting, everything. And it's gonna take a collective effort. You know, Davion Mitchell, he's been better. He's been making some shots outside, but that's a big holder of place. And then on top of that, Kevin Herter, your best shooter, he's out too. Those are, I think, too tall of a task to overcome. That's two big ones. Let's go ahead and predict this bad boy. The odds on a fan dual sports book right now have the Warriors two and a half point favorites. And they were split. The series was split. When the Kings won both their games, it was by a single point, which is interesting to me. Lou, who wins? Golden State. Golden State. The beam, I'm sorry, Sacramento, I don't feel like that beam is gonna be lit. You know, and you guys should be on edge and y'all should be there and be very supportive of your team. You know, this is the team that just took you out seven games the last time we were in this position. So, you know, the proof is in the pudding right there. I still like Golden State. You need to stand when you're saying it there. I don't know. I'm saying it. It's gonna be a great game. But I can see even Golden State pulling away with this, you know, double digit. I think they're gonna come out, you know, dang, double digits. I think they're gonna come out ready to play. And I think they, this is what we wanted, right? This is what everybody wanted. A little wow wings. I want to be entertained. I want to see a triple overtime thriller. I wouldn't mind that. I think the Warriors and the Warriors went pretty big. Especially we're on the West Coast watching sports so much easier out here. Yeah, I'd take a triple overtime. Don't mind it. We're gonna take a quick break when we come back. Legend. Legend. Bernie, William, hello, Bernie. Last class. And classy. When we come back, when we come back, returns. I mean, this next guest, it's an honor. A four-time World Series champion. A five-time All-Star. And a four-time Gold Glove winner. Also can rock the guitar. And the first guest to raise suit and tie on this here show, Bernie Williams. Ladies and gentlemen. Yep, legend, legend. He's the first person to get a clap from us as well. I mean. It's something about the memo, you know, the dress code or whatever. But never in doubt, he's always better to be overdressed. That is the motto. That's the way it goes. All right, we're gonna talk, because the Knicks right now are doing really well, but we want to kind of do a little memory here. You guys were at the peak. The Knicks in the mid-90s were the most fun. In my mind, I have this image that Yankees and Knicks players all hung out, partied together, did kind of fun things. Is this true? Part of it is. Part of it is. I think part of it is. I think there's a lot of things that I may not be allowed to say in public. All kidding aside, I do remember those Knicks. I mean, they were hardcore. I mean, they were bruisers. They were, you know, they will run through you. You know? Yeah, I mean, Harper and Patrick, you know, all those guys, you know, we were hanging out, you know, back in those days, and it seems like we were the toast of the town, so it's a great memory. What a great time. Bernie, there were some legendary Knicks games at the garden around that time. Obviously Reggie Miller, eight points in nine seconds. The Knicks heat fighting in the 97 playoffs. Were you there for any of those iconic moments? What were your favorite memories? No, I mean, I was not there for a lot of those games. You know, I used to, you know, kind of run into them, you know, in the city and in various events and charity events and restaurants and, you know, Broadway shows. And we were kind of like, you know, going into the same places. And I was so, you know, I thought I was a tall guy, but looking over those guys, you know, that made me feel so small. But yeah, I mean, we had great camaraderie and we knew that as team players in this great city, you know, we had great expectations. And it was just a great time to be alive and be part of the, you know, the sports fabric of the city. I mean, when New York sports are crushing it, there's no better place. Grammy nominated guitarist. She also played the anthem at the garden a few times. What is more stressful? Because I would think baseball for you is second nature. Do you get stressed when you're doing this right here? Whoa, yes. There's a lot of stress there. I mean, I usually compare it with, you know, having to, you know, like nail two free shots, you know, there's no time left. The game is on the line. You know, you've done it a million times, but there's that time and place, you know, where that, you know, everything comes together and you have to perform. And there's no second chance, you know, you just got to do it or do it, sink or swim. And yeah, that's what I feel, you know, when I play the anthem, but you feed off of the energy of the people and you have, you know, this one chance to make it right. And once you hit that last note, man, you're like, oh, all right, it's great. I mean, I know James Dolan fancies himself a musician. He's got the band. He does all that. Does he bug you for tips and how to be better? No, I think he has a great group of musicians that he draws upon, you know, do that. I'm actually dying to play with him one time and kind of sit in that band. I think that will be a lot of fun. Bernie, who is the greatest guitar player of all time in your opinion? Oh my God. Man, that's such an unfair question to ask. It depends on the genre, the type of music, but the type of music that you'd listen to. I mean, if it's blues, you have, you know, a thousand players that play blues, classical music and rock, you know, you're mentioning names. I mean, it will be some of my favorites. I mean, I will probably go with George Benson, you know, maybe Pat Metheny, BB King, Eric Clapton, and then Andres Segovia, they're all over the place, you know, it's one instrument, but he has such a great cultural, you know, rapport, you know, all cultures, you know, all countries have a great guitar player. And, you know, it's a, I think the key is just try to keep your ears open, you know, for new music and always, you know, try to appreciate, you know, the, you know, the art and all these great musicians and not try to, you know, pigeon hold yourself, you know, just to want genre of music. That's awesome. I mean, I would do both being a rock star. Yeah. And a rock star guitar player. You and Carmelo, Anthony actually go way back, Bernie. How did you guys meet and are you guys like still close? How did that transpire? Well, yeah, I mean, I was so fortunate to be part of his effort to bring a lot of joy, you know, to Puerto Rico. And I went actually in two or three of those trips, you know, he would, you know, refurbish a basketball court in San Juan. And he did, you know, various events, you know, fundraising for, you know, a lot of youth charities in Puerto Rico. And we were, you know, he just recruited a whole bunch of us and we were so glad to be part of that effort. And, you know, kudos to him. I mean, he is one of those guys that never forgot where he came from and he just came back and made, trying to make a huge impact in the community that he came from. So that was just a great thing to be a part of. So are the next, should they retire his number seven or what are we thinking on that? Absolutely, man. I mean, he was part of the city. I mean, he gave New York a lot of joy, you know, nailing all of those three pointers and doing, you know, doing that. And he raised the roof a whole lot of times. You know, he was part of those great teams. And he played hard for the city. I think he, you know, he definitely deserves it. So on some of those legendary Yankee teams you played on, did you have any teammates that were Hoopers? Which one of your teammates do you think would have the most success in the NBA? I don't know. I probably would, I do hear rumors about, you know, before games, you know, usually on the road, you know, we had like Paul O'Neill and Gerald Williams, you know, sometimes Gerald would like sneak in and he'd go on a court and have their warm-ups and kind of shoot some hoops there. So yeah, those guys, I mean, Gerald Williams was probably one of the best athletes that I've ever seen. And Paul, you know, those guys, you know, really worked hard on and off the field. And that was part of their conditioning. I think it was great, you know, the fact that they, you know, kind of introduced another sport, you know, into their preparation to get ready for a Major League Baseball game. So I thought that was awesome. We always talk about that. We were talking with football players. Can we score a touchdown? Can they score a bucket? If one of a professional athlete, like Lou Will, say he played varsity. Well, it's you. This is different. Okay, me. Yeah. Like I made varsity baseball as a freshman in high school, J.B. basketball. It wasn't never very good, never played college. Haven't played since. If I got 500 at bats and the MLB burning, would I, could I get lucky and get one hit or no chance? Because now I played golf and the ball doesn't move and I could barely hit the thing. So I can't hit a 90 mile an hour slide. 90, they're throwing it like. Yeah, I mean, I, I think it could probably be, you know, you run into one, you know, once in a while and make some contact, you know, just by sheer luck, you know, 500 of bats, I mean, chances are you're definitely going to run into one. Make contact, you know, maybe just follow it off, you know, hit a little blooper here and there. I mean, they just count as a hit, you know, back in, you know, the next day that was a line drive. You know, it doesn't matter how it, how it felt. I had to. But yeah, having that hand-eye coordination, I think that so many athletes that were so great in so many sports, but, you know, this whole niche of being able to hit a, you know, a fastball, you know, 90, 100 miles an hour and then hit a changeup and hit a forkball and something like that. I think it's one of those things that you're kind of born with. Yeah. And you kind of, you know, enhance your ability to play the game as you get older, but it's, you know, it's definitely an acquired thing that you have to work hard, you know, most of your life to be able to, you know, you see that, that 10,000 hour thing that you got to spend, you know, to be a master of your craft, you know, it definitely holds true in a baseball and trying to hit a baseball. I honestly think that would be harder than scoring. I was going to say, I had the pleasure of doing batting practice with the Phillies once. And their hitting coach, he started, he put the ball on the tee and I was like, come on, man. He was like, no, I have to show you the correct way to hit a baseball, how to line your hips up and everything. He was telling me, you basically had to start swinging before the ball even comes out. So it was a, it was a, yeah, it was a surreal experience. You got to guess. Yeah, you got to guess. So 500 at bats, we would get lucky and make contact on maybe one. Cause I hit one finally once it came out, the machine after we got off the tee. And I tell you, my arms were ringing. My hands were ringing. It's a completely different thing that you're training for. So I got some mad respect for you guys and what you're able to do at a high level. I want to ask the NBA has some great owners. I played for one in Steve Ballmer. You played for George Steinbrenner. What was it like playing for such a legendary owner and, and Mr. Steinbrenner? And what are some of the pros and cons of working with someone like that? Well, I mean, I didn't see a lot of cons, you know, playing for Mr. Steinbrenner. I think that he really spent a lot of time, effort and resources trying to provide the team with the best of everything. You know, the trick part of it is that he will definitely would see, try to see some return on his investment. So he'll demand that excellence. And I think, you know, if, like in my case in particular, I wanted to be perfect, you know, and my pursuit of perfection, I kind of stumble about, stumble about excellence, you know, somewhere along the way. So we had a lot of great expectations as a team and individuals, you know, trying to get to a point that we could be the best players individually and then try to get the some of the parts to work and that trying to click to have some chemistry as a team. And I think George was the best in trying to provide us with the best resources to be in a position to be successful. So I cannot knock him for that, you know, he always wanted to win. And that was first and foremost, you know, he didn't want us to have a good regular season, even a good playoff, but he was like, World Series or bust and every year that we won, you know, the next day, literally the next day we would just go, okay, what's going to happen next year? You know, who are we going to be? You know, and trying to make preparations right after we won the World Series, you know, there's no time to, you know, bask in the glory or, you know, kind of enjoy a little bit of that. He was all about next year, the next of that, you know, the next season. And, you know, I think that relentlessness, you know, it was just permeated through the whole organization and that created this culture that we were so proud of, you know, be a part of and that great run, you know, from mid to late 90s and early 2000s, you know, it's some of the best times in the city, you know, what he came down to baseball and the Yankees. It's one of my favorite things is there's a group of people out there who've just watched Seinfeld reruns. And so their only knowledge of George Steinbrenner is just the back of the head and George Costanza. And you and Jeter were on an episode together. What was that experience like? Did you have a script? I know you had a line. Was it scripted? Did they do a lot of ad-lib? What do you remember about it? He was a scripted line. That was my thing to have, well, actually 15 seconds of fame and a sitcom. He was, I mean, the whole experience was just out of this world, you know, it was right after we won the 96th series against the Braves. You know, we, me and Derek had an invitation to go to Hollywood to film an episode of Seinfeld. I mean, I was a total no brainer. We stayed at the Beverly Hills Hotel. We got into the NBC studios where they have transformed the parking lot into a batting cage. Wow. We had Jason Alexander there trying to teach us how to hit. You know, it was just an incredible experience. And, you know, it's part of the spoils of being a champion in those days. And, you know, obviously Seinfeld was such a great show just to be a part of that, you know, it was surreal and awesome and everything, everything in just that moment in time. That's awesome. That's so good. Bernie, your former teammate, Alex Rodriguez, is part of a group trying to buy the Timberwolves still. What kind of owner do you believe A-Rod would be? I think he'll be a good owner. I think, you know, he'll, you know, with his experience, you know, playing for several teams over his career and his acumen, you know, financial, whatever you want to call it, I think he has the right combination of things, you know, to be a good owner. I think, you know, knowing the players, knowing what it takes to be a champion, knowing the preparation that it takes, you know, for players to be at the best of their game, you know, because he went through it, I think it's a great element and a great variable to add into the whole mix. I mean, a lot of these people that run, you know, the team from the administration standpoint, you know, have maybe limited or not experienced, you know, playing, you know, the sport itself. So it might be hard for them to relate, you know, to an athlete or some sort of situation. And I think he's going to be in a better position to answer those questions and contribute to the, you know, to that club. So I think he'll be a great owner and, you know, he definitely has a flair for, you know, being in the public eye and being, you know, the center of attention in many instances. So, you know, knowing, you know, what it takes to be in front of a camera and being able to say the right things at the right time, you know, it's also going to be a good thing for him being an owner. So I think he's going to be great. Yeah, he's always seems to be in the media and in the public eye, like you said. And he, for whatever reason, always gets a lot of hate. What was your experience like playing with A-Rod? He was a great teammate. You know, he was an awesome teammate. He prepared himself to the best of his ability. He was all about, you know, his knowledge of the game, the fact that he, you know, wanted to be as part of the winning tradition of the New York Yankees as anybody on the team. I mean, he had a great 2009, you know, World Series, you know, he was, you know, part of the fabric of the city. He enjoyed playing in New York and he did the best, you know, to try to be the best player, you know, at this time, at the time that he was playing with us. So I have nothing to say about A-Rod. And he was awesome and, you know, numbers prove it. And, you know, I had a great time playing with him and him being my teammate. Honestly, you need, you also need that guy. You need sort of the quote unquote villain, the drama. It's just, it's fun. It's fun for what we do for a living Bernie selfishly. We got, it's the best. A-Rod, Jeter, do they like each other? They hate each other. Now we see them all as adults, like working together. Yeah, now they're all the time together. I know. I kind of know that. And I think it was part of the whole situation that happened there. And I think it was good, good for the fans. I think it gave them something to talk about every day. And I think, you know, the, you know, the main thing was that they were, you know, teammates, you know, on a, on a main goal and a common goal to, which was to win a championship. And they, they were able to accomplish that as well. Before we let you go, Bernie, why don't you tell us a little bit about tune into lung health? What is that? Oh yeah, yeah. Thank you so much for letting me talk about that. It's an initiative that was designed to help people cope with the anxiety and all that has to do with dealing with interstitial lung diseases. And my connection with that is because my father died from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which is one of these interstitial lung diseases in 2001. And we had a hard time, such a hard time diagnosing his condition. So we're really want nobody to go through what my family went through. So tune into lunghealth.com is a website. We have a lot of resources, educational music, curated by myself and others. Music from Stevie Wonder to the Beatles, to Frank Sinatra, vocalist exercises and breathing exercises to enhance the quality of life that people that are suffering from interstitial lung disease. So thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to talk about that. I think it's a really important subject. No, thanks for sharing that info with us. Everyone check that out. Bernie Williams, this has been an absolute pleasure. We appreciate the time. Thank you so much, guys. God bless. We'll be back soon. Run it up, run it back, run it up, run it back, run it up, run it back, run it up, run it back. Chomp scoops. All right, what do you got for us? Team USA, we've been talking about it all year. And we had seven of the 12 participants about a month ago when we reported Juhad, a Devon Booker, two commitments for Team USA. And they've finalized 11 of their 12-man rosters. So the new four players, Anthony Edwards, Bam Adebayo, Tyrese Halburden, and Anthony Davis, that leaves one spot open. I'm told this is Kawhi Leonard's spot. This vacant spot is Kawhi Leonard. If he's healthy, if he wants to play at Team USA, he's someone that LeBron James and Kevin Durant want to see at Team USA and want to see play. But if he can't, Paulo Bencarro, Paul George, Jalen Brunson, all under consideration for that open spot, I'm told as of right now, not Kyrie Irving or Deer and Fox in play for that spot. But listen, Tyrese Halburden's roster spot, the spot that he got, that was really the position where you looked at a guy like Deer and Fox, defensive-minded guard, a slasher, athletic, or a guy like Kyrie Irving who we've seen play in the past, a gold medalist in the past. Obviously, this year has had a resurgence season for the Mavericks who are contending. So that was the big position that still, even after this announcement, after this news that I put out there, is still a little bit of a debate around the league as far as why Tyrese Halburden over those two guys, but that's a decision USA basketball made. Yeah, who got snubbed? Kyrie Irving, I think he's done it before. He's a gold medal. He's played with great players. He's played with the Ronnie, plays with Luca now. He knows how to coexist on a situation like this. And he's had, like Sean just said, he's had an unbelievable year. He deserves a spot. Jalen Brunson is the guy you gotta look at. I love the Kauai Leonard having a little bit more versatility, having small ball liners. Listen, this is a great product. This is what Team USA needs to do. This is a gold medal roster. This is one of the best rosters we've ever had. This is a great, great team. So it is, obviously it's always gold or bust for us, but this team is phenomenal and we're winning the gold medal. Is there a cutoff when Kauai has to, is it just? Well, training camp starts in July. So I think they're gonna give it as long as they possibly can. Kauai Leonard is the guy that they want on this team. They're trying to form whatever you wanna call it. The Avengers, Dream Team 2.0. They're trying to bring all the best players and I think LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Steph and Curry, when they spoke last summer, when the World Cup was going on, they talked about we wanna go all play. We wanna have all the Hall of Famers play. And we wanna kick everyone's ass. By 40 or 50 points. That's not my place here. I'll leave that to you guys. I'm not here with a suit on. You can say ace. But what I will say is that's what those three guys talked about last summer and they want Kauai Leonard on this team to bring you to fruition. Shoms, can you just say ace? Mm-mm. Why? Nope. You got a shoe deal, Shoms. What's going on here? Why won't you do it? Fine. I'll just hijack them. Bevron, come on. Okay, we got Pistons news. Yup, I said it. It's happening. It's weird to have Pistons news, right? Yes. So, 2020, they brought Troy Weaverne as the general manager. The Detroit Pistons, from what I'm told, they are hiring a new head of basketball operations, a president of basketball operations, the search process starts this week. Obviously, disappointing season 14 and 16. This is a team that hired Monte Williams, paid him a contract up to a hundred million dollars. They expected to compete in the playoffs. They fell way short of that, and they had the record for most losses in a row in NBA history. They will hire a new head of basketball operations. That president will decide on the future of Troy Weaverne and potentially Monte Williams. Targets, I would expect two big name targets. They're not available right now, but John Horst, general manager in Milwaukee, and Tim Connolly, the president of Minnesota. Really? I reported last week. If he can turn this team around. If he can do that. He has an opt-out in his contract with the Timberwolves in the off-season. He turned the nuggets into the championship contender. He turned the Timberwolves into the championship contender. If that's up to him. Yeah, if you turn the team around, you can't pay Monte Williams, you pay Connolly. They pay the players and get good players to win the games on this team. They need talent. They're just hired. More than they need staff. Chandler did call this four months ago. That's true. Well, it wasn't that. He is a genius. A lot of people say that. How about Chandler for president of... Please. Not a mountain of money in the world to get me to move to Detroit. And there it is. We'll take a quick break. We go back to wrap things up on Run It Back. We had to insult at least one town today. We hadn't done it yet. Run it back, run it up, run it back, run it up. I'm going to flick up with me. This is crazy. This was awesome, by the way. Oh, baby. He hit this impressive. At the rim. That's nice. Those are two jumper shot fakes at the rim. That's nice. And then with the hand and the little drop off. So little... I like it. I like the hero. Look at this. I like the hero. I'm here. That's fine, right? Look at this. No, I'm not. Got him. Oh, you too. Take this. Here, get dunked on now. That's nice. I like it. Do you love it? And there's just Dick in the paint there. Excuse me? Grady Dick is in the paint. Oh, right. Yeah, good call. Green. Shout out, Givante Green. He had some big games late in the season. How come some guys wear shirts under their jerseys? I think you have to have some sort of like shoulder situation. Oh, it's compressed? Yeah, it's got pants and everything. I did that in college just because I was scrawling you. I literally wore like a... Oh, we saw. Like a Hanes t-shirt underneath it. You look like a giant head. That's all you look like. This was nice. Oh. I want not on Jeff Green. This was nice. Lose dunking on Jeff Green. Lose rookie. Lose rookie. I thought you decided you were stupid. Lose rookie of the year. How'd that fit up? You know what? It would have been cool though, Lou. We'll be back next year. We'll be back. We'll be back next year. We'll be the most approved next year. Most approved next year. There you go. Okay. Olivia Muxin's Prosper. Oh my. This kind of went under the radar. All of these against the Pistons? You know what, Shamsuit, James Wiseman had a little bit of a year this year. All of these clips showed some flashes. You just wouldn't know, because, you know. Got his... Another shirt. Interesting. A lot of shoulder injuries here. A lot of shoulder injuries. Oh, they're dunking and falling like that. It's a nice dunk. Went under the radar for sure. Is this true? We have Mark Cuban on the show tomorrow. Oh boy. Well. You better come in with some more kidding questions. Let's get it. No, no, no. Let's keep it PG tomorrow. Let's get it. We gotta talk about the taxes. That's what I want to talk about. Taxes. What are they? We hate them. Oh, that was yesterday, wasn't it? We're talking taxes. Ampolish here is back. Oh man. Tomorrow's gonna be a quite the fun show. We got Cubes and Polish here tomorrow? Yeah. Oh. We got a big day.