Folks, welcome to the Pat Bev pod with Ron.

Ron.

It is always a pleasure to bring you a beautiful piece of content that is brought to you by McDonald's. Mcdonald's. I got mine.

You know I have mine. So you know I stayed with mine.

You know I have mine. I might have eaten a couple of fries. Don't blame me. Just enjoying myself. The presentation looks a little bit less good. That's just because I've been enjoying myself because it's McCrispy season. These McCrispies. It is McCrispies There's something about these McCrispies that just get my taste buds into a frenzy. They're absolutely ecstatic. Anytime they even sense that a McCrispies in the vicinity, they have to have it. I don't know if it's about the deliciously crisp chicken. I don't know if it's about that buttery bun or that perfect pile of pickles that they plop onto each beautiful bite. It's the McCrispy. You need to be going- McCrispy. You need to be going get yourself a McCrispy right now. This is the exact message you've been looking for. What should I have for lunch? What should I have for dinner? A McCrispy. You should be getting a McCrispy. Take a brush with greatness and make sure that you enjoy yourself. The McCrispy is going to take you where you want to go. I have mine. I love mine. I'll be enjoying mine. A McCrispy. Real ones know about the McCrispy. Taste it for yourself today.

We love it. We absolutely I absolutely love it. I heard a birdie say the McDonald's is going to be coming back as well.

Yeah, I got to. That birdie, for some reason, that birdie never lies when it comes to us.

Yeah, exactly. That birdie, whether it's a hamburger, It'll never make me grimace, but it's just something about this. There's nothing clownish about Ronald McDonald, honestly. That's what I have to say. When I talk about that guy, I talk about him with the utmost respect.

Pat, Pat, Pod with Roan.

Roan. We are brought back for another fresh episode. I hope you guys have been keeping up with the live streams because it's playoff basketball.

Because we've been killing It is payoff basketball, and I wish we was in it. But this episode is strictly going to be about basketball. So we're going to just dive right on in.

I love to hear you talk about basketball.

Okay, go on. You tell me what you want to talk about, and we go from there.

I want to talk about the Boston Celtics. Okay, cool. Do you want a specific question, or do you want to just freelance?

I'm going to go Boston Celtics, and if I didn't answer anything within that frame, you go specific.

Okay.

All right, cool. Boston Celtics. Completely locked in. Completely locked in. Obviously, the forefront of it is Jason Tatum, Jalen Brown. That's understood. But the Derrick Whites, they're doing it out Porziñas. The Al Hofer, the Drew Holidays, the Payton Preachers, the guys that are coming in and the guys that are playing I mean, they're making an impact. Impact. Hauzer's coming in, he's playing well. Impact. They're locked in from top to bottom. They're well coached because of their record. People expect them to win every game, every playoff. But you got to give a lot of these teams a lot of credit. This is not one of those years where you guys just sweep each other. These are years where, okay, you lose when you learn from it, you build on It shows the character, the poise of their team. They're the most dominant team in the NBA playoffs right now, and that is the bottom line.

Drew holiday hasn't been putting up crazy points numbers. But can you talk a little bit about his defense and the quickness with which he makes decisions on the basketball court? Everything is second nature to him. It seems like he makes the right to move right away without even having to process.

Yeah, I think I heard someone use the word connector. It was a perfect, fantastic word. And not only that, to me, and I hate saying this because I'm a defensive basketball guard, and I hate saying this, he might be the best guard defender probably the last decade. I'm talking about body of work. Obviously, we know that Marcus Smart got defensive player in the year and all that. But even during that year, he was elite. The year before, he was elite. The year after, Marcus Smart got the defensive player, he was elite. The year they won a Championship, he was elite. So you got to get Drew a ton of credit. His size, he's not like a small guard. He's a 6'4, 6'5 frame size. He can handle guys in a post. He's well with his body. He doesn't He'll commit a lot of fouls. So defensively, he's been up there for a decade of the best guard defender in the NBA. So when he comes to a team like this one, it's so much offensive firepower, and he really doesn't have to do too much. Get it swing, swing. Okay, cool. Okay, I see how they're playing this in mismatches.

Okay, I'm going to dominate. I'm going to get the big in a paint. Okay, cool. I got to swing, swing. I'm going to turn good It's good and it's great. But don't get it messed up. Don't get it effed up. When it gets closer, when it gets closer and the game starts getting a little tighter and they're playing some of these better teams throughout the playoffs. He's going to turn it up a notch. We've seen him do it every time we go to. So, yeah, that's a shout out to Drew Haller.

Let's keep it on the Celtics. Al Horford is a player who has had such an interesting career trajectory because early on with the Celtics, he was a stud. Then he goes to Philadelphia and it's almost like, has this guy reached the end of the road, no boys to men? And then he goes back to the Celtics after a stint with the Thunder, and it's almost like he's the Al Horford of your, and he's doing everything that he needs to do, and he can play defense, and he can hit threes, and he can be a versatile player, and he has a charming smile. What has allowed Al Horford to have a game that ages so gracefully into his late 30s?

Those years, he didn't play. Also, he didn't play a ton of minutes. So I'm thinking, preserve You can't get those years back to also those are years that are not taxing on your body. And as basketball players, going from different situation to different situation. You might leave one situation, and I didn't think I I was my best form in that situation, that last time. That summer, you're going that summer, you know what? Putting in crazy work. Your focus is dialed in, you're locked in. I want something better. I got to play better. So I don't know exactly what it was, but I don't think he really played a lot in OKC. And I don't think he really played a lot in Philly. And I just really gave him time to be fresh, fresher than his age is right now.

He's not beating up his body playing 35 minutes a night for all these years in a row.

And his game is low impact, though. His game is low impact. He's not trying to dunk on you all the time. He's not like a I'm going to jump out the stands and I'm going to block your ball, put it in the third row when I'm grabbing rebounds over my head. He knows how to use his body a lot. So he box out in space. He doesn't turn down any three-point shots now at his age. He used to pump, he can get in there. He don't even have to do it. He catching, he's shooting it. He's shooting it at a really good clip. He's still great on the offensive rebound. If he has a small on him, you're going to punish him. They're able to defend Defensively, they're able to clog them up. Sometimes we play ball time. I hope it was on me sometimes. So the coach does a great job. I wouldn't say hiding them, but using what he does to his benefits.

Do you discredit the Celtics at all because of the path that they took in the playoffs? They're playing the Heat without any Jimmy Butler. They're playing the Cavs without Jared Allen and now Donovan Mitchell, and they're either going to play a young Pacers team or a beat-up Knicks team. Do you think that that lessens their story at all?

No, it should not because they still were the best team in the NBA. By far, the best record.

That's how seeding works, right?

Yeah, you're the best record, you get the easiest path. Yeah. So So you're not going to take nothing for them. They've been dominant all year. They've been dominant all year. So they deserve their flowers.

At the same time, though, you look at the Western Conference teams, and it seems like some of them have had a little bit tougher tests to this point in the playoff. So I don't know if it's a foregone conclusion that the Celtics make the finals, but once they do, they might be going against a team, no matter who it is from the West, that's a little bit more battle-tested. So it's almost like you want to get some of those tough games in to to prepare you for an arduous finals experience.

Yeah. And we as fans, whether casual, where it's basketball fans, where you're a basketball player not playing anymore, we try to look for things to, I don't know, force an edge in our head that the series is going to be good, whatever the series is, right? Boston, they've been dominant the whole entire year. Obviously, more games, you go through more things. But I guarantee if you ask any of those players or coaches, if they can get a sweep each round, each one of them will say, Yeah, I guarantee you that. So you can't take that away from anybody. It's just that the playoffs are very different. Anyone can beat anyone any given night. It's a lot of team ball now. Like I said on the stream, that's why you have to respect role players more now. Because it's the Jalen Brown, it's the Jason Tatems, obviously. It's the Carl Anthony Towns, the Anthony Everts, obviously. It's the Jokuj and the Murray's, obviously. But the guys that surrounded them, the guys that surrounded them make their job way easier. No matter what the championship is, it's going to be somebody going to be rested, somebody going to be battle-tested, somebody going to be fully not healthy.

You can make the argument, Porzina is still out, he's not healthy. So But that's what it comes with. That's the play-offs, that's the NBA season. That's the grind of it. We always just say the healthiest team always wins. So we'll see in a couple of weeks.

I want to talk a little bit about the trajectory of Darius Garland's career. A couple of years ago, it was the All-Star Weekend, and the captains get to pick from the pool of All-Stars of whoever they want. And Darius Garland was the top overall pick outside of the starters maybe two years ago. It seemed, I think that it was LeBron and Durant were the captains, and they both wanted Darius Garland badly. He was the hottest commodity in the league, or at least in that draft as as far as people love this guy's ceiling. They thought that he could really blossom into an absolute stud. Two years later, while he has made progress and is a lead guard on a playoff team, that's one of the final eight remaining. It seems like some people are less excited about his prospects as we've seen the emergence of other young stars like Tireece Maxi, Shay. What does that say about Darius Garland's trajectory and why have we seen at least the public perception of it plateau?

I think because they've been hurt a lot, especially during this year. I think he got hurt early. You weren't able to see a lot of them. I think he was wearing a mask. I don't even know exactly what the injury was. They don't have a lot of TV games. You don't see Cleveland on TV a ton. So you miss them. Not saying it's fair. And then when you get to the playoffs, they play a good team like Boston that you really can't see what he's been doing and how he's been doing. He's a tough cover. He is shifty. He can shoot it. He got float work. He love to pick and roll. He's fast and quick at the same time. He's a tough cover. He's a tough cover. I don't think it's plateaued. I think they've just been dealing with a lot this year. A couple of new players, like I said, injuries. So sometimes you don't get the best form, and then you match up with the Boston Celtics, the best team in the NBA, and they got length and they're double teaming you. So I don't think it's plateaued. I just think that it's just been a tough year, and he still played well.

Yeah, I think that that brings up a conversation that's even more relevant when you get around the NBA draft. And You'll start seeing these guys who maybe really dominate at the college level, a guy who's maybe 6'1, or 6'2, or something like that. But then you're in the pros. Not only do you have to guard big point guards, but then you get into situations where people will want to switch everything, and then someone might try and hunt switches on you if you're not a really tough and stout defender. Do you think that there are young players who can't reach their ceiling because of their inability to guard multiple positions? And if you were one of these young players, how would you combat that? How would you round out your game?

Defense will always win championships. The best defensive team will always win. I know people always think offense, but in order to get those dunks, in order to get those transition threes, you have to get stops. Unless you're literally taking the ball out the basket and just running with it. Defense is the biggest key to any offense. But the playoffs are different. The playoffs are all about matchups. So if you can't defend a team will pick on you all game long until either they win or the coach takes you out. And okay, cool. They pick on somebody else. That's just how the playoffs are. That's literally just how the playoffs are. We went in trying to pick on Tyrese Halliburton. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. In that case, you have to go, Okay, cool. Is it working tonight? Okay, it's not working. Okay, cool. We got to go to plan B. Did it work last game or it didn't work with that? Okay, we got to go to plan C. So some guys it works with, some guys it doesn't. So that's just the nature of the beast in the NBA. You got to be able to sit down and guard them.

You got to be able to guard different positions as well as a small guard in the NBA or you'll get picked on.

Let's pivot over to the other Eastern Conference series, the Pacers and the Knicks, since you briefly touched on the Pacers. Barnburner. Barnburner. Werner. Exciting basketball. Fun to watch. Would it feel better to lose to a team that's going deeper or it's about the same?

No, losing is losing.

I don't think it's-No consolation prizes.

Yeah, I don't think it's whatever. Losing is losing. No Ogie hurts the Knicks. No Ogie hurts the Knicks. Hurt's the Knicks. Ceeakom is familiar with both of those guys because he played on the team with them. He was the starting guy on the team with them. So it's a ton of confidence while you see Ceeakom play. Indiana is fast, man. And their bench is very, very underrated. You go in like, Man, Obitopin, okay, cool. We go let him shoot. You look up O'Bee Topping, he must have been shooting 40 something from the three entire playoffs. You look at Nimhardt, oh, he's small, man. Nimhardt is gone, whatever. Look up, Nimhardt on average is 13, 12, 13 in the playoffs. Oh, T. J. Mccona. Okay, cool. He going to You look up, T. J. Mccona got 20. You know what I'm saying? They're very, very... Their bench is very, very underrated. They play extremely fast. They have rim protection. They play extremely free, and they're well-coached, where Carlyle is great. They're well coached. So as we know, it's tough to win Indiana. It's tough to win there. We didn't win one game there. Took the double overtime, came up short.

But we didn't win in Indiana. It's always tough to win Indiana. And a team like that, they're dangerous because they come out hot and ain't no looking back. They came out this last past game, I'm talking about in Frigo. I literally couldn't miss. And they won by 30. They're not like one of those teams that, okay, cool, they go get up and they go shoot themselves in the foot. They go get up. They go keep playing their way. They will keep playing their style. They will keep shooting their threes. They will keep playing fast. And that's tough for any team to beat.

But when you look at the next, when they're in Frigo, they really It's a lot of people that have to fight it up themselves. But at the same time, your guy Chandler Parsons recently had a... He had something nasty to say about Tibbs, and he basically said, It's Tibbs' fault that there are so many injuries on the Knicks because of his proclivity. No, come on, CP.

You can't say that.

Because of his proclivity to play people such high minutes. Do you think that there's any truth to that at all? I mean, guys are playing 48 minutes a game, but there's a lot of injuries that have befallen the Knicks. He likes to keep a very tight rotation where it's almost the exact opposite out in Indiana, where they'll play... Doug McDermott is getting some minutes. They'll play 11 guys.

Yeah, but that's just how Tibbs is. I don't think it's a knock on Tibbs. I just think that players can't say stuff like that. You can't say stuff like that. Cp got big knee injury. Was it because he played 48 minutes or was it because of his, I don't know, lack of training in the summertime? I don't think that injury is based on the minutes you play. You play some minutes, you recover, maybe you don't practice as much. So You can't put injury on a coaching staff and on injury, soft tissue injuries. That's usually, that comes from summertime grind, usually. I'm 35 years old. I've been fortunate to play a ton of years in the NBA. I don't have a lot of soft tissue injuries. My shit may be an ankle roll that you can't really predict that, but not a calf, not a ham string, not a quad. Different injuries are different. You just got to... Some injuries are based on lack of training. Some injuries are based on you fall bad, someone lands on you. A noncontact injury. You step wrong, you plant wrong, you spin wrong. So to put injuries on coaching stats and to put injuries on teams, I don't think that's fair.

If Jalen Brunson is able to get to the next round, if he is able to make a decent run and steal some games against the Celtics, where does that put him as far as how he's perceived in the league by his peers? Does he have everyone's full respect at this point?

I think he has everyone's full respect now, but it's just hard, man. You see these guys doing these all the high flying dunks, and you see these guys shoot 40 foot threes. You get lost in the shuffle or not as appreciated. Obviously, we see it because it's coming from a big market, but it's lost if it's coming from one of those smaller markets like that, which is, I don't think That's not fair. We talked about six, one and under. That really doesn't help you neither. But with all that, he still is whatever the odds is, bet it against him or whatever the look of it is, his size and how he gets his points. You can't argue with it. He's doing it up there with some of the great. So you got to give him his respect.

You got to. Have you seen the videos of him training as a kid with his dad, basically being like, your tiredness is weakness. He's on his ass, and they're at the basketball court. His dad's having him dribble under his arms. He's exhausted. His dad's basically making him run it again. He seemed to have benefited from an NBA-level player training him as a young player. And then you look at people who didn't have that training. I don't think anybody was really training you at that level being like, Hey, get the fuck out there and record, or get out there and put out some videos about how your training regimen is. Is it a big advantage to have an NBA dad, or at the same time, is it that much more impressive when a guy like you is able to do it without any NBA pedigree in the family?

You know what? I think, and we should not be saying this, right? This shouldn't It's not going to be a conversation, but it is. Having both parents is an advantage, and it shouldn't be an advantage, right? It shouldn't be. You should know when you come home, you come home to your dad. But in some areas of the world, it's always not like that. Mom is mom, mom is dad. In some special cases, dad is mom, My dad is dad in some special cases. So you got both mom and dad. That's an advantage of a person who doesn't have mom and dad. I think that's it. I've seen it with upbringing of my family, upbringing of my cousins. I know I talk about them a lot on the pot. Like parenting is the most important, the most important. So I don't even think it's NBA dad. I just think it's dad, period. Dad around You just go be just a little better if dad ain't around. You know what I'm saying? That's just the nature of the beast. What they say, it takes a village. It takes a village. It really does.

You ever hear the term nepotism, baby?

No, put me on.

A nepotism, baby, is like when somebody's parent is a successful director in Hollywood, and then their kid is now getting jobs in Hollywood because of nepotism, because their family member is getting them a job. Say someone had a job at Barstool, and then their little brother wanted a job at Barstool. And so now they're getting a job at Barstool because of nepotism, because they're able to have a benefit of having somebody in their family that's in a high place, and now they're getting these good roles. Like George Bush is dad's President, and then George Bush becomes President. Nepotism. So do you think that nepotism exists in the NBA? Do you think guys get a more unfair shot because of who their dads are sometimes? Or do you think it's completely merit-based? It's a full meritocrat. Democracy.

Yeah, I don't think anybody getting no pass because of who their dad is. I think that's more pressure. Your dad used to play an NBA, I couldn't play against him. I couldn't play against your ass, though. You know what I'm saying? Oh, your dad won a championship. Oh, you're a I'm going at this motherfucking son. Fuck that. Oh, your dad, he ain't even play basketball, but he likes to talk a lot. Lavar Ball or Ja-Maran's dad. I'm on your ass, man. I'm on your ass. I don't want to hit them talk. I don't want to hit their mouth. I'm on your ass. So that's just how it goes. It's competition-based NBA.

Okay, guys, let's take a second and talk about game time. Game time. Look how easy it is for me to get to the game time app. I don't even have to type in the entire word game time. I just type in G-A-M, and then bam. Game time app right there up on my phone. Do I want to go to a Knicks game? Sure. Last call. Go to a Knicks game. Or do I want to go see the Westminster Kennel Club dog show? That's how deep they get on game time. I go to a rangers game, liberty game, Gotham FC game, Brooklyn cyclones game. Darts. I could go to darts. I mean, there's an endless amount of possibilities, fun times, and they're sitting right there in your phone with game time. Get last minute tickets, get great prices on whatever seats to whatever event you want. Just go ahead and pick the good times and let game time bring them directly to you. Game Time. And guess what? Take out the guesswork of all your buying tickets with Game Time, download the Game Time app and create an account, and use code PEPBev for $20 off of your first purchase.

Wow, what a great deal. Terms do apply. Download the Game Time app today. Last minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. Okay, guys, let's take a second and talk about body armor. You know I have some body armor with me at all times. This zero sugar body armor has been my life hack to hydration. Anytime I get into the Barstool office, go over to a cooler, crack, grab myself a nice, delicious, and may I say nutritious body armor, zero sugar. I got the orange right here, or as our friend south of the border would say, naranja. But 10 calories? Come on, you really can't beat that. Plus the electrolytes that will be flowing through your system because sometimes it's not just enough to put water into your body. Sometimes you want to go a little bit above and a little bit beyond with some of these fantastic electrolytes, which are brought to you through this delicious potassium, the antioxidants, the B vitamins. It's natural flavors and sweeteners. That means you're getting a natural product every single time, gluten-free, no caffeine. You don't have to worry about any jitters or anything like that. If you're living a gluten-free lifestyle, don't worry.

Body Armor, zero sugar has you covered. And on top of that, it tastes so darn good. Good, that you are going to do your body a favor every single time, and your body will thank you right back. Your body will grovel at your knees and say, Why have you treated me so well? And you just say, That's because I love you, body. That's because you love yourself. And it's all brought to you by our good friends over at Body Armor. Body Armor, get yours today at Walmart or a local grocery store near you. Let's talk about the Western Conference. We watched the game, the Thunder game together. Fun time. But then I saw some highlights that I missed towards the end of the game, and it was the Dallas Mavericks shooting free throws. And Shay Gildas Alexander is one of the three Oklahoma City Thunder players in the paint. And as a shot goes up, he moves his hands up right as the shot's going up, and then the Dallas Mavericks miss. And then Luca's on the line. He throws his hands up as the shot's going up, and then Luca misses his first shot.

A little bit of gamesmanship from young Shay Gilgis Alexander.

Is that Dirty? He got that from DeAndre Jordan.

From DeAndre Jordan?

People were saying he had some- I got it from DeAndre Jordan.

Oh, you did?

I got it from DeAndre Jay Jordan started that whole thing. You shoot free throw, DeAndre Jordan, he just step out early. Oh, throw you off. You damn the airball. You come on, Big Dre. Ref, come on. But he's been doing it so long that it becomes like national for him. So I stole it. Let me do this shit. This shit worked. I'm in the playoffs, man. Some guy did it. I did the free throw line. He missed. Referee 10. Come on, Patrick, you can't do a game. Extra free throw. He gave him a free throw? So, yeah, that shit worked. Extra free throw. Patrick, you can't move at the free throw line. Come on, man. Say that, say that, say that. People do it all the time, but say last, it's me. I get it. So, yeah, I stole it from Dre. Shae for show started for DeAndre Jordan. That's DeAndre Jordan shit, hands down. And he's taller. He's seven foot. So when he does it, it looks like, hey, bro, what the fuck you doing down there? Stop moving. It throw you off a little bit. So, yeah, shout out to Big Dre.

I used to do the same thing in beer pong. Somebody would be about to shoot. I step aside, so the whole background changes at the last second. Their depth perception is maybe thrown off. They had a field of vision. It could be genius. It could be good for us to use during the beer Olympics.

Has that been a sore winner?

I mean, it depends on if you've won yet or not.

Okay. Or a sore competitive?

I think, to me, anything is fair in competition.

If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying type of vibes.

I don't think it's cheating. I think it's trying to do small things to gain- That's cheating. Cheating?

You're moving before anyone moves at the free throw line. You shouldn't do that. It's in a rule book. You're cheating.

So you're cheating then when you do it?

I've cheated.

Yeah. I think that it's finding little wiggle room and ways to give yourself the smallest competitive advantage.

But that's not wiggle room. That's cheating. Moving right after the release or right before the release of the ball, you can't do that.

Well, there's There's some people that love the rules. There's some people that are obsessed with the rules. I love the rules. You do?

Yes. Sometimes. Sometimes.

So what about when you would move at the free throw line? That doesn't seem like you love the rules.

I know, but I see it's like you're going down the street. You see light is yellow, but you know what? It's yellow. I know I was going to get hit red, but you're not going to pull me over for that. One person sees it, another person sees it, another person doesn't. I just seen what was happening. I said, no, that's okay, a little gray area that you can do. Oh, let me try it. It worked.

That's what I'm I'm not even talking about, gray areas, wiggle room.

No, but it shouldn't be like that because it shouldn't be that. If you nip that in the bud with DeAndre Jordan early, you nip that in the bud with everybody. That's what I'm trying to say. It's no wiggle room.

It seemed like it worked for Shay. They're not going to call it on him.

I guess he's cheating them joints, weren't it?

Yeah, why was that? I guess the moment. Man. Concentration. Big Cat said that he would have hit the free throws.

Stop. It's funny. Everyone talks about, Don't miss your free throws, right? Don't miss your free throws. Don't miss your free throws. How can you miss the free throws? They're free. This, this, that, that. And you go up there, man, by yourself. You hear cry out. You go through your routine. You shoot it short or strong. Crowd get heavier. Crowd get louder. Now you feel shaken. You damn. Hold on, let me lock in real quick. You're overthinking. You know what I'm saying? A lot of shit going through your head. Okay, cool. So I like to go like I'm back at the park. I always like to go like I'm back at the Chicago playground. So I get there, do my pre Before and before. Okay, cool. See it go in. That feel good. Okay, cool. Get to the line. Two dribbles. I'm a spin guy. Boom, spin it up. Great bend on the knee. Let it fly. But the breath is essential. The deep breath before you get it. The cool the nervous system down. That is essential. That's bigger than the two dribbles in the spin, the deep breath.

Who taught you to cool the nervous system down?

One of my trainers' name was Aaron Miller. I think I shot like 68 % one year from the free throw line. Then the next year, I saw like 71. But I got better, but I wasn't in guard fashion. So we switched up my whole free throw routine. I think I shot 81 this year, 85 in the playoffs.

Wow.

Yeah. So we switched it all up and it was nothing. It was nothing with form. It was nothing with anything. It was all breathing before you dribble the ball, motherfucker, breathe.

That's good advice, no matter what you're going through.

Yeah, straight up. No, but shout out to my yoga instructor. She was phenomenal. I went to this I've been doing workout twice. I work out two days. My next off day, I do yoga. Workout two more days. Next off day, I do yoga. So I'm in the yoga spot and Hot yoga, too. She's talking about breathing. She's talking about your breath, how it's the foundation, how if you forget anything, go back to your breath, go back to your breath, go back to your Class was extremely hard. I'm talking about... I told her after the class, I'm an elite athlete, and this was hard. This was extremely hard.

What was hard about it?

It was hot. It was hot. The pressure from the heat was a lot. That was most of the issue. The pressure from the heat was a lot. So after the class was done, I go, I talked to her Yeah, that shit was hard. But what got me through was the breath. She up, breath is foundation. No matter what you're going through, I said, You know what? I learned a lot in life. This one class, I learned a ton about life.

Did you feel better afterwards?

What? No matter what the situation may be, it may be good. Take a deep breath. It may be bad. Take a deep breath. Fan might say something crazy. So what? Take a deep breath. You might hit a big fucking shot. It's okay. Take a deep breath. Your girlfriend upset you. Take your deep breath. Your girlfriend excites you. Be cool. Take a deep breath. Valuable lesson in life. And I unconsciously teach my children, Asan, count to 10. Fuck that, that don't work. Count to 20. But with that comes with deep breaths. I think that's the most important of being better. Make sure you breathe.

My parents used to tell me that all the time, and I didn't really take until later in my life when they'd be like, Yeah, just count to 10, or take three deep breaths, or whatever. I didn't really realize that or start implementing that until later on. When I was a kid, I definitely wasn't like, Okay, let me be mindful. But it takes... Some things take time, some lessons take time to take. Let's talk about the Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota T Wolves.

You're talking about a heavyweight matchup. If you want to see some fine basketball, some competitive basketball, some well-coached basketball, team game, a defensive game. If you want to see that, Real basketball, a defensive game, watch that fucking series there, boy. They doing so much. They're making the court smaller. They're showing so many bodies. Everyone's getting back in transition. They Putting pressure on the paint, but it's hard to get to the paint. Heavy on the ISOs. Heavy on the, okay, cool. You want ISO? We go double team. Hey, you want to post up? We go double team you. Everyone's crashing for the rebound. Everyone's boxing out. It's a great series. The best series in the NBA right now.

I think that there are very few series that are emblematic of how good and modern the NBA is. You are looking at guys who are skilled at seven feet tall, guys who are European, young draft picks who are bubbling up and taking over the league. You're seeing diverse styles of basketball, intensity from both teams. It's really emblematic of the modern NBA. And if you love basketball, this series is going to excite the shit out of you.

Yeah, I'm in a great series. Great series. The Coaches are coaching their ass off. Coach Frenchie on one motherfucking lead, coaching his ass off. Coach Malone, he always coaching his ass off. The refs letting them play. The refs let them complain. The refs are letting them do whatever they want. It's a great series, man. This series is great for basketball.

What's the key for one of these teams to steal a game? I mean, I guess we've seen teams win on the road. A bench.

Bench play.

Bench play?

That one's easy. Bench play, right? The reason why Minnesota was They're really good. Those first two games, their bench played really well. Their bench played really well. They came up short. I think Nas Reid had nine. I don't think Nakeel Alexander, I don't think he really played well that game for bench, all bench.

Does Rudy Gober need to have another child?

No.

You got to relax. It could be helpful. It could be helpful just to shake things up, have Nas Reid in there for another game. No, but it seems like Minnesota Oda's bench has a little bit higher potential. You're looking at a guy who's six man of the year, the different looks they could throw with big men where-Yeah, but Justin holiday comes in there, hits three threes.

Brian comes in there and put some buckets up. What's his athletic key? I don't know if it's his last name starts with a W. I don't know if it's Watson or Wilkins. I forgot. But he comes in defensively. He's great. Reggie Jackson, he was great. So a bench player is really important for this series.

And sometimes when you get deeper into the playoffs, people will start to realize this bench player. I don't think people were talking about Bruce Brown going into last year's playoffs, but when a team makes a really deep run, it becomes more of the public consciousness of how good certain bench players are and how meaningful that they are. But man, Denver Nuggets, tough team to get out.

That goes back to the role players, man. Let's go back to the role players. Role players are pushing the NBA right now. Kaelin Clarke play tonight. Hey, look, let's go to Amsterdam. New Amsterdam starting five. I got a good one today.

Okay. Hit us with it. New Amsterdam starting five. You know that I don't go anywhere without this crisp, cold, and delicious bottle.

For real? But you got to make sure when you... Because I know you take the bottle everywhere, Ron. You need to... Don't take it while you're driving.

I don't take it while I'm driving. Well, it's sealed while I'm driving. I went well within the law.

That's what I'm saying, right.

But I'll bring it to somebody's house. I was just at a graduation party this past weekend, and you know I showed up with two bottles of New Amsterdam vodka, one for the ladies, one for the fellows. I don't know who enjoyed them more because there's something about New Amsterdam vodka that is going to take you on a ride every time that you're enjoying it. Five times distilled. That's called going above and beyond. You could distill it four times. You could distill it three times. No. Five times distilled, three times filtered. New Amsterdam vodka, it's something about the way that this bottle looks. It's 100% grain, neutral spirits. It feels like a Metropolitan, futuristic good time. If you're sipping on some new Amsterdam vodka, it's almost like you've been transported to a city in the future, and you're sitting outside, and the air is somehow more pure, and there's peace on Earth, and everything is right in the world. And you don't know if it's because the world is has figured everything out, or it's just because that new Amsterdam Vaka that you have in your hand, you could have it on ice, you could have it as a mixed drink, you could have it as a shot, but make sure you have it with you whenever you're going off to have your good time.

New Amsterdam Vaka, the official Vaka of Barcell Sports, the official Vodka of Barstool Sports, the official Vodka of the Pap-F-Po with Ron.

The Pat Bev Pa. Roon.

And go ahead and make sure you're finding your wins with New Amsterdam Vodka. Oh, yeah. Okay, let's get into the starting five.

Starting five. This is going to be a good one. Are you ready?

I think I am. I hope I am. I pray that I am.

Basketball players that has pushed the sport.

Two come to mind right away. Three come to mind right away.

Okay, I'm going Magic Mike, and I ain't talking about the movie.

Bars.

Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan.

Why Magic Johnson? How did he push the game?

He put more flash on the game, more excitement on the game by his playmaking ability.

The Lake Show.

Showtime. He put a little bit of flair with playmaking. He made passing and creating for others cool, great. But he did it in a way where, oh, everybody want to come off playing like that. Then obviously, Michael Jordan, the perfect basketball player, the perfect size, perfect shoe size, ball head, the elbow, the right-hand in the perfect form, literally the perfect basketball player.

Winning the amount he did. And he changed his... I think style is a lot of it. He got people wearing baggy shorts.

Yeah. And then the mid-socks. He made everything Mike did while he was playing basketball looked cool as fuck.

Cigars, golf, gambling.

Pushed it, right? So that's my two. But My third is very, very, very, very tough because I'm convicted, Ron.

Convicted?

Between LeBron and Steph. Conflicted.

Honestly, this might be a hot take, but Steph might have impacted the game more than LeBron. I think he has. As far as pushing it forward with play style, because- I think he has. I agree. Because you can't play like LeBron. You can't play like him because you're not built like him. It's an unattainable goal for people. But Steph is attainable. He's 6'3. He doesn't have above the rim. He's not flying like Derrick Rose through the air.

I know, but that's not what I'm talking about with LeBron. And this is why I understand the argument with Steph, but I might still have to go LeBron.

Okay, talk to me.

Because When it comes to business savvy in the NBA, LeBron has laid a blueprint foundation on how to be a businessman in the NBA with also being an NBA player. Okay, cool. He tatted all up everywhere. He's a walking brand. Okay, cool. He has the same wife since high school. That's the motivation right there. His homies are his agent. Nobody was doing that. No one was doing that. The business part of it.

I bet fewer NBA players are going broke now, and I wonder if LeBron had something to do with that.

You know what I'm saying? Like, heavy on investments. Maybe guys were investing, but LeBron is investing everywhere. Like, great businessman model without... With having the homies around, with having a wife, with having children, still being a basketball player and still having the weight up comes with basketball players. Yeah, you got your homies. Yeah, you got your girl, your wifey. Yeah, you got your kids. But wearing that every day while playing. The business model on how to take care of your body, how to invest in your body. That's why I say LeBron. But when it comes to play, when it comes to shooting no look threes, Steph. But when it comes to the The business side of it, the longevity of it, the how to manual of it, how to do it all, how to be a basketball player, how to be an NBA player, LeBron James.

So who do you pick?

And I'm going to stop there.

Starting five.

I'm going Bron. I'm going Bron. That's my third.

You could put them both in. There's room for both of them.

It's not because I'm I'm stopping it. That's it.

Starting three.

Kaitlyn Clarke, because we said basketball players. We didn't say men or women. Wow. And then I'm going Lisa Leslie.

No.

I have to. And then my final, it's the same way with LeBron Ron and Steph, it's Candice Parker and it's Diane Tarassi. No, bro.

They pushed the game.

You're saying that these people- I'm saying Lisa Leslie pushed WMBA. She pushed it. First girl dunk. After that, everybody was trying to dunk. Everybody wanted to see the next girl that was trying to dunk. What Kaitlyn Clarke has done with female basketball and hasn't even played a game yet. She's pushed the envelope. They're flying charter already. They're making it known. You got to start them coming in. You got to take care of the WNBA. And they're flying charter now. They get more people in the stands now. I mean, I know it's going to be a hot topic, and I know she hasn't played a ton of WNBA games, but she's pushing it. She's pushing the envelope. She's pushing it. And then I'm going, Candice Parker, Diane Therasi, and that's tough.

You have starting eight right now.

Yeah. So that's why I said it was five. That's why I gave you the top two, right? I gave you the magic. I gave you magic, and Michael Jordan. And then I'm giving you Lisa Leslie, Candice Parker, Kaylee Clark. I mean, Diane Tarassy, Kaylee Clark.

What about LeBron? So you just took out LeBron.

No, no, no. But I'm saying that's the LeBron Steph argument. That's the same argument as the Kaylee Clark, Diane Tarassi.

Well, we need to put this on a graphic. We need five for the graphic.

Michael Jordan. Sorry, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan. Lebron James. Candice Parker. Kaitlyn Cart.

The disrespect to Allen Iverson. The flat-out disrespect to Buba Chuck, Allen Iverson.

There's no disrespect.

Baggy shorts, braids, the handles.

I gave you five.

You're saying, dude, little girls wanted to be like Allen Iverson. Little girls were wearing Iverson. They were wearing the finger sleeve. They were wearing the headband.

Okay, you add Allen Iverson, who are you taking out? We said basketball. Candice Barker. We didn't say...

For Allen Iverson?

What she's done to the game, bro. What Candice Parker has done- What he's done to the game, bro. I agree. It's tough. I agree. It's tough. It's tough.

I'll give you some other honorable mentions, but I had to stick up for Iverson.

Who's your five? Who's your five?

Okay. Can Can I use yours, or do I have to use a completely different one?

No, use yours.

Okay. Iverson, Jordan, Steph, LeBron. And here's one that's a game changer. Yau Min, Brought the game to China.

No women?

No women.

Man, I can't take you serious, man. What do you mean, man? Women's basketball is literally getting bigger by By the minute.

Yeah, but I mean, so is lacrosse. But if that doesn't put it on the same level as NBA basketball.

By the minute, man. By the minute. By the minute. They're pushing it. I'm telling by the minute. Okay, but that's your five.

Yau Min brought basketball to 2 billion people.

Yes, he did.

That's a lot to push the game. Shaq, I think, pushed the game a lot. I think in stylistic ways, I think Jalen Rose pushed the game a little bit at his time. I don't think you can understate some of his contributions, the Black shoes, Black socks. But I think I'm thinking stylistically a little bit more for some of this stuff.

I'm thinking a total package. I'm going professional basketball players. And it just takes... It's more than just on the court. It's off the court also. That's what I'm saying.

What's the team Candice Parker has played for over her career?

Tennessee. To start.

And then in the pros.

La Sparks. She played for the Aces. She played for the Chicago Sky. She played for the...

That might be it.

I think I'm missing the team, though.

Yeah, you got it.

Okay, that was it?

Yeah. I mean, you knew more than I did about her, honestly. I thought you weren't even going to know the team she played for.

No, stop playing, man. I'm a basketball player. I'm a fan of basketball.

I'm a fan of basketball. I didn't know all that. I don't think that she sucks or anything like that. I'm not saying that, but I'm saying that I think- Every girl coming out of college basketball reminds me of Candice Parker.

Every girl. You're tall, you can dribble. Candice Parker. And what Kaitlyn Clarke is doing to women's basketball, I'm talking I'm not even talking about Big Push, where she got to the WNBA and they got planes.

That is crazy. You saw the video of everyone on the plane?

They have planes. They fly the way we fly. I love it.

She's the Amelia Earhart.

Make sure you all play Booray, too.

That's what I was saying, bro. Are they playing Booray on there? Not with their checks, bro.

I love it.

They got to be playing with monopoly money.

I think that Kaylee- No, they can play with $10, $20 a game. Don't do that to them.

But I just think that they're not getting paid enough. But I think that- I don't think they're getting paid enough either.

But Kaylyn Clarke, Ms. Wilson over there, She's changing it. They're changing it.

You think Kaylee Clark has to pick up every dinner for her team this entire year for the Indiana Fever?

No, but I think the Indiana Fever is going to pick up every dinner for the Indiana Fever. Trust. Trust.

I wonder if she's making more money than they are as a team, if she's making more money individually than the entire team is. She might be.

That's a great question.

She really might be.

That's pushing the envelope. Do you see what I'm saying? That's pushing It's an envelope.

Dude, but Allen Iverson.

I know. That's a tough one. I just wanted to take two women. I wanted to take two women, at least.

So that's our- But talk about Allen Iverson's impact a little bit, just as What's to talk about?

What the fuck? I got braids and tattoos. Everybody wanted to put on a sleeve. People still wear sleeves. You feel me? No one's ever did it at his size.

Period.

Heart of a lion. Played through injuries. Play hurt. Every day showed up.

Except for practices.

I wasn't there.

But they don't pay you to practice.

Chill, chill, chill. They pay you to do everything. They pay you to be a professional basketball player, so you can't say that.

But if you miss a... Well, whatever. Guys, let's talk about DraftKings real quick. Sound the trumpets. It's horse racing time. So that means that it's time to sign up for DK Horse, an official DraftKings affiliate. I signed up for this during the Kentucky Derby. I had so much fun playing along. And honestly, whenever you're in this big horse racing, these big horse racing days, the Kentucky Derby, Belmont, Preakness, you might get caught up thinking, It's only the last race that counts. But then you get the DK Horse app, and suddenly, all the races are in play. You can have fun with whatever race is you want to get a little bit of action on. You could pick all different You could just go win-play show, win. You could go Xacta, Xacta Boxes, Trifecta. It's so much fun learning about this, and it's all possible through DK Horse. Right now, new customers who download a DK Horse app can get a 100% deposit bonus up to $250. Just deposit $25 or more and complete the play-through requirement. Wager on your favorite horses, and then watch the races live right in the app. You could just watch them right there.

Download the DK Horse app now. New customers get 100 % deposit bonus up to $250 when they opt in with code Roan only on the DK Horse app. I also thought it was awesome to see your coach, Doc Rivers, defending himself. Did you see any of those clips? It seemed like he was echoing some of your points.

Yeah, I seen a little bit of... As a coach, it's hard to... You don't want to entertain that, but it's the truth.

Jj Reddick did have two good years with the Sixers, where he scored more points than he did when he was on the Clippers.

But how far did it go?

Fair enough. To the second round, they lost to the Toronto Raptors. It was a tough one. But I think that the point still remains.

But JJ, man, yeah, but JJ on this way, get a head job for the Lakers. So shout out to JJ Reddick.

Yeah, congrats on the head job, JJ. I hope you're enjoying that.

If you get to, congrats, bro.

But would you... I mean, I think that it's a really tough job to be the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

I think it's a tough job to be a coach anywhere, but for the Los Angeles Lakers, even harder.

Absolutely. Even harder. And then coaching LeBron James, even harder. And JJ Reddick has had an awesome career as a pundit, awesome career as a podcaster, awesome career in college, awesome career in the pros. And then once you become an NBA head coach, it's almost like all of those things are thrown out the window, and you're only judged on how you do as a coach.

Yeah, but he has a good backbone, if you know what I mean, where he started from. I always like to... You can't take that away from a person, right? We don't know his high school coaches. His high school coaches is probably great. That's where he got his basics from. You leave there, you go to Duke, his college coaches Coach K. You don't even have to even go on from that. You go to Orlando Magic. His first coach was Stan VanGundi.

Great coach.

Great coach, right? You leave Orlando Magic, where do you go next?

He was in Milwaukee for one season with Scott Skiles before he wound up with Doc Rivers.

So we got Stan Van Gundee. Solid as fuck. Scott Skiles. Solid as fuck. Doc Rivers. Solid as fuck. I'm talking about elite coach. Brett Brown. After that, he had Brett Brown. Solid coach. We're missing the Pelicans.

The Pelicans, he had Stan Van Gondi again.

Stan again. And then Rick Carlyle. And Rick Carlyle, all right. So he's been surrounded by great coaches. Great Be coaching. That's a great... Those are some great coaches.

But if you don't win a championship, they'll fire you in two years.

Yeah. I mean, it's a revolving door, just like players. You're not healthy. There's going to be another 16-year-old replacing you. That's just how it goes.

Look at Mark Jackson. He was an incredible player, and then he couldn't get it done in the pros. And then he was still good in the pros, but he got replaced by another great coach. And And it's almost as if everything he did as a player, some of the stuff that he's done as a pundit, and the stuff that he did early on as a coach in Golden State, people don't really give him as much credit for it. It's really a risky move on JJ Reddick's part because it puts the story of JJ Reddick into a different realm.

But that's the chance you take when it comes with coaching. You are the bullseye.

He'll probably get 50, too.

You can make your own history.

I'm happy for him, bro.

I'm happy for him. I think he'll do a hell of a job as a head coach.

How much do you think that they give him?

I don't know. I don't even think it's about money at this point, right? I think it's just about opportunity, him taking advantage of his opportunity.

Udonis Haslem said today on a program on a different network that it would make for a tight locker room is essentially what he was saying. If JJ Reddick were over there, you think that there's any truth to that?

I've never played with JJ Reddick. I've just only been around him outside of basketball, so I can only judge him from that. And he's been Great. I ask him for advice. He's been great. I call him, he picks up. I base guys off stuff like that. Ever since I met him in Indian County, he's always been great. Always. Since I was in high school, and he was one of my favorite college players coming out. So I've always been a fan of JJ Ready. Don't stop now.

Don't stop now. We got to go back to basketball a little bit, and we didn't talk about this because it was so much going on.

But to be the only team to win a game ever in a playoff history without two of your main scores. It's pretty fucking awesome.

The Milwaukee Bucks.

Pretty fucking awesome. We never talked about it. You're talking about breaking history. Every time I get with Doc, we break history. You know what I'm saying? Like down 31 playoff game, come back, win.

Breaking history.

Never been done. Never been done. Two of your main guys not playing. When? Something has never been done.

Not just two of your main guys, your two top scores.

Yeah.

Never been done.

What a fucking basketball year this was, man.

I'm excited for the gross of the Milwaukee Bucks.

What a fucking basketball, man. What a fucking basketball year, right? Started in Philly, right? Was coming off the bench. Every time I started, I averaged 12, 13 points a game for Philly. Playing some huge games. Came over here, playing a ton of huge games. Guys came out, had to step up, had to try to win some games without some guys playing. What a fucking year, Ron. Healthy. Played over 80 games this year.

What was What's the best moment of your season?

I think that Game 5 game. I think that Game 5 game.

Winning without Giannis and Dame, 13 and 12.

No, just the- Running the show. Running the show. Running the show. Yeah. Only people had a double-double at that age. John Stockton, Chris Paul, and Steph Curry, and now me. That's an elite group, no matter what. Over 35 years old, that's an elite fucking group. It just sucks. It sucks losing, right? It fucking sucks losing.

What was the low point of the season?

That ball incident. Easy call.

Crazy that those happen within two days of each other.

Yeah, it's that funny how life is. But subscribe to the pod. Subscribe to the motherfucking pod. And if you're a kid, subscribe Tried to the motherfucking pod. Kids, always, always listen to your parents. They know more than you. They do.

What did you learn this basketball season?

I learned that no matter where I go on where I play. I can impact any team. And no matter the highs, no matter the lows, stay even keel. If it's low, don't lose your head. If it's high, don't get too high. Stay even keel. Stay even keel. So two things I learned, those are the two.

You have been in yoga, huh?

Great pod, buddy.

Great pod.