Nightcap Hour 1: Jalen Brunson TAKES OVER Game 1 of NBA Finals + Wemby DOING TOO MUCH

20:12You said to me, yo, you know, keep at it, because you let me rap for you. It was magical for all of us.

20:18Shannon Sharpe:We made it, we made it. Yeah, I'm like, we? You know, I'm like, I know these guys, but who are you? I'm MC Jin and this is Laugh But Not Lease. I'll be chatting with guests from all walks of life about the power of humor when it comes to facing difficult times. Like the co-founder of Rough Riders, Darren D. Dean. Talking about as a kid, do you remember that we met even way before? Let me think. Did you walk up to the gate? That was me, D. That was you? That was me. The day we found out that you and the whole crew was at Hit Factory, the mission was to get me to go to the gate, start freestyling and see if I could get in the studio.

20:52I'm rapping and then suddenly I hear a voice. Hey, open the gate. Let him in. The gate slowly went. They all they're watching this and they watch me walk into there. And that is a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life. Listen to Laugh But Not Least with MC Jin starting on June 9th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is. Getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is. getting a new one put up in its place. As long as there's a politics of race in America, there's going to be a politics of remembering the Civil War.

21:29Shannon Sharpe:To get to school, I had to go down Robert E. Lee Boulevard. To get to the grocery store, I had to go down Jefferson Davis Parkway. If you're an historian and you leave out half of what the history is, you're not doing your job. I'm Akilah Hughes, and Rebel Spirit Season 2 goes deep on both of those things. The fights, the politics, the people who won, and my personal campaign to add something to the Kentucky Statehouse that's actually worth the wall space. We are more than our bodies. We contain essence. We contain spirit. How do you represent that? They are just fueling a fire that is really catching.

22:03You'll see what I mean. Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And this is the thing I like about Josh Hart, too. Not only does he do things that don't show up on a stage, that chart all the time. He's going to have games in this series where he shows up and scores 15, where he scores 20. Just don't know exactly when it's going to be because OG is playing well. OG is consistent. Brunson is consistent and it's by committing a sense with him because some games, when he doesn't score like this, he helps you out in other areas like you saw.

22:43Again, at any point, before we continue to go and talk about this series and talk about the Knicks and their win tonight, you guys can jump off the Spurs man wagon and flip. I'm just letting you know ahead of time. You can flip and come on to the side. It's just one game, Ocho. Listen, I said that. You said it was one game when the Spurs played the Thunder. One game, yes. You picked the Thunder too. You said it was just one game.

23:08Shannon Sharpe:One game, yes. Did it have the Knicks taken home court? Absolutely. Absolutely.

23:14Chad Johnson:Listen, I agree with both of y 'all. Ocho, Josh Hart the highest plus minus tonight in the game at 22. You look at it, when you say things that he does, things that don't show up in the stat book, you're right. Because when you talk about being physical on the screen, fighting over picks, he's a guy that it's hard to pick him, bro. It's hard to screen him because he's fighting over the top. He's still making it tough for the offensive man. He's not succumbing to the pick and just dying on the pick. No, he's fighting over. He getting that leg over, staying in front of his man. Man, you know how hard that is, bro?

23:48Chad Johnson:It takes a lot of effort and will for a guy like Josh Hart, man, to stick, to stay in the game and really defend his man. He understands the assignment. You know, he can't die on picks. He playing hard as I don't know what, bro. And that's championship basketball that the Knicks played tonight. I give them credit. Great, great, great game playing game one. And, you know, they got to try to keep it up.

24:14Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, I think the thing, Joe, is that you look at the Knicks. I think they had, what, six, seven turnovers in the first half and only had one or two in the second half? Yep, yep. That's the difference in the ballgame. And we've seen the Spurs. They have a propensity is that once they start turning the ball over, Joe, Ocho, they turn it over at a high rate. It's kind of like back-to-back. It's like they get one turnover, they come back down, turnover again. And then, again, taking fast shots. You have to understand, you don't have to, just because you're wide open, walk into a three joke right right and i think sometimes that plays into the knicks hand because you're really trying to blow the game open and i don't know look it's hard to argue because they've hit some big shots in the thunder series and before that series if you notice they were hitting big shots and doing it that way but i think you have to understand the knicks you're playing into the knicks hands yeah uh but i i gotta give the knicks a lot of credit for the way they played tonight down by 13, and then it's like, we're still not going away.

25:13Shannon Sharpe:You haven't broken us. Yeah, we might be bent, but we're not broken. And for them to stay the course, like I said, you look at Brunson, get your 13. You get OG, get your eight. Josh Hart just rebounding the ball and defending and playing lanes and stealing the basketball. I just thought the Knicks team, and you can say whatever they want to say, you can say that, oh, Philly was this and Philly was that, or Cleveland was this and that. They're a very good ball club. The thing that you got now is they got so much damn confidence that they belong and they can see the finish line. San Antonio is going to have to play their best ball every single game in order for this not to be.

25:54Shannon Sharpe:Because the Knicks, I told you, Joe, the Knicks are dangerous.

25:57Chad Johnson:They believe.

25:58Shannon Sharpe:They believe. They can see the finish line.

26:02Chad Johnson:Yeah, I can see it too. Listen, you win 11 damn 12 games in a row in the postseason, bro. It says a lot. It says a lot about your team. And these guys, since that Atlanta series, I know we always go back to that, but since that Atlanta series, bro, they've been kicking butt. I'm talking about shooting at a high clip, defending well. Hey, this ain't far-fetched, fellas. They really believe. They really believe that they can win it.

26:32Shannon Sharpe:And, man. You think about it, Joe, five games. They won their last five games by double digits on the road. They beat Atlanta. Remember how they blew Atlanta? They beat them by 30 in game four. Yeah. And they came back and beat them by 100 in game five. I mean, game six. They did the same thing in Philly, put monster numbers on them, and then they opened up with probably one of the – if not – them and obviously the two teams, the best teams are here because both teams have been really, really hot. San Antonio won their last two games, and we know what they did in order to get here. But for you to win double-digit games with no team in NBA history and the playoffs go back a long, long way to win five consecutive role games by double digits, that tells you you're playing at a supremely high level and they're playing with supreme confidence.

27:18Shannon Sharpe:The Spurs are going to have to play. They're going to have to find another level. Wimby's going to have to do a better job protecting the ball. Joe, he had a lot of turnovers tonight.

27:26Chad Johnson:Six turnovers.

27:27Shannon Sharpe:He can't turn the ball over. He can't turn the ball over like that. But I thought Cat did a great job of defending him. I thought they did a great job of keeping bodies on him. When the balls went up to make sure he just didn't go chase down rebounds, I thought the Knicks played an overall very, very good game, very smart ball game.

27:43Chad Johnson:I agree. I agree. The Spurs didn't make shots tonight, fellas. It's hard when you don't make shots. They're a young team, and when they don't make shots, they're going to have games like this. You know what I mean? I don't know if they played this bad, you know, in the playoffs, this whole playoff run. You know, you look at Wemby 6 for 21, Ocho Fox 3 for 13. If those guys aren't efficient, man, it's going to be hard to win, bro, because you play so much through your big guns that you need them to step up and at least be solid.

28:17Shannon Sharpe:You know what I mean? But you know what, Joe? They really didn't play bad until the fourth quarter. They go into the fourth quarter with a seven-point lead. So you go into the fourth quarter with a seven-point lead, and you lose by 10. So you're minus 17. Yeah, I mean, think about what you had to be in order for you to lose up by seven, lose by 10.

28:40Chad Johnson:Yeah, but hey, look, we know the Knicks to be grimy all postseason. For sure. You know, they look against Cleveland in the first game against Cleveland. Game one, they're down 22 at one point. Man, they known to come back, bro. They known to come back. This is what they've done. This is carbon copy of things that they've done throughout this postseason. They're built to be able to come back. They're going to continue to fight, even if you got them down. Obviously, we all know that. And I just think San Antonio kind of exhaled in that fourth quarter. Yes. And that's when things started to unravel for the Knicks.

29:16Chad Johnson:Brunson making shots. OG didn't really get it going really until the fourth quarter. You know what I mean? And Burson, he didn't shoot great. He was 12 for 31. But prior to the fourth quarter, he was very pedestrian, bro. And he came through in the clutch.

29:32Shannon Sharpe:But that's what makes him so dangerous, Joe, is that, you know what, you could live with the percentage, the 12 or 31, is that you let him have that big quarter. That's the same thing that you mentioned, the Cavs. What did they do? They gave him that big quarter in the fourth quarter where he gets 17?

29:47Chad Johnson:Yeah.

29:48Shannon Sharpe:I think he ended up having 19 in the fourth quarter in overtime. And so you allowed him to have that big quarter. Now you allow him where he was probably, he probably made six of seven, six of eight, you know, in that fourth quarter when it mattered. So it really doesn't, excuse me, it really doesn't matter. He's a guy that you're like, oh, yeah, we got him under control. We got him on lock tonight. All he needs is to see one go in.

30:14Chad Johnson:That's it, bro.

30:15Shannon Sharpe:and he stayed on the attack

30:17Chad Johnson:yeah I got a small I just want to chime in real quick I was letting y 'all have what y 'all wanted to say about the Knicks obviously I don't like the words that you used you said they allowed him to have a big quarter no he took that fourth quarter this is what he's always done he's always taken over certain quarters to help them win games being down by seven that's nothing that's an arm's reach for the Knicks. We've seen him do it countless times, time and time again. We've seen big body Brunson show up in the fourth quarters in moments when it matters most, and he's always done this consistently.

30:55Chad Johnson:You're right. You're right. Always. You're right. Now, I love how you guys have talked so eloquently about the Knicks tonight, but again, with the ball knowledge that you do have, both of you still pick the Spurs, yet again, proving me to have better ball knowledge. I'm missing. That's neither here nor there. it is what it is. It's set in stone. And, hey, I don't know. Hey, listen. And the Knicks got great contribution off the bench too, fellas. This is what I was thinking, you know, coming into this series, who was going to come off that bench and give them a spark? Sham had been shooting lights out, you know, since he's gotten a chance to play throughout this postseason.

31:35Chad Johnson:I thought McBride came in and gave him solid minutes. Robinson gave him solid minutes, just banging, battling. Guard and Wimby being solid. You know what I mean? Not a whole lot of fouling. I thought he was great tonight. Alvarado came in, gave you great minutes, energy, effort, making shots, just being that piss, running the pick and roll the right way, getting great shots. Man, collectively as a team, the Knicks did what they were supposed to do. You figure, hey, listen, you're in the finals. We understand that we want to prevail. We want to win. We want to win a championship. championship we have to some way somehow come into san antonio and win a game we don't i don't know what game is gonna be but hell this first game was a great one to get yeah now the best one to get the easiest one to get yes sir so now all the pressure is on the spurs bro can't go to new york down oh two period point absolutely cannot because there's a great chance if you go

32:31Shannon Sharpe:to new york oh two you're not coming back well you're coming back but you won't come back to play basketball. I think, and also, Joe, if you look at it, I thought Miles McBride, when he hit that corner three that kicked off the rim and from the corner, you see like, this is like, oh.

32:49Chad Johnson:Hey, man. Sometimes you got to be living right, Joe. You do, bro. And you know what's crazy? Okay, Ocho, and I know Ocho going to love this, but it seemed like the Knicks living right, bro. Everything going their way. the little small stuff. You know what I mean? It's like, I don't want to say it's our most distant, but they playing great ball, bro. They getting all the good bounces. You know, everything going their way right now, Ocho. Listen, I don't care what you say. When you go, what's that? This was 12 in a row tonight, right?

33:20Shannon Sharpe:Yeah.

33:21Chad Johnson:Bro, that's an amazing feat in itself, bro. Yeah. Yeah.

33:29Shannon Sharpe:Nuh-uh. Yeah, yeah. The last two in Atlanta, then they got two. Then they got all four in Philly. They got all four in Cleveland until 11. Yeah, 11. No, because they beat Atlanta game four and five. Yeah, it's 12, Joe. They won the last three.

33:48Chad Johnson:Yeah.

33:48Shannon Sharpe:They won the last three. They beat Atlanta, went back. New York won that, then came back to Atlanta, won that. So they won three, then they won four, then they won another four, then they won tonight, yeah.

33:57Chad Johnson:And look, they've done it with key guys missing. You look at OG. Hell, he missed the whole Philadelphia series, fellas. He did. He missed the entire series. I'm like, you know, that's why I really thought Philly had a real chance to win. But those other guys, Harden Bridges, they stepped up. They played huge throughout that whole Philly series. I just think, you know, whatever the Knicks needed, they were able to, you know, muster it up and get it out of somebody off this team. Brunson has been the ultimate leader that you can ask for, especially when he comes in the fourth quarter and down the stretch in clutch moments.

34:35Chad Johnson:Look tonight, bro, he took over the game. They had no answer for him down the stretch.

34:38Shannon Sharpe:Right. Because you got 21 points in the fourth quarter, maybe a little bit more, maybe, I don't know, maybe 23 points with OG and Brunson just in the fourth quarter, just those two guys. Yeah, yeah.

34:54Chad Johnson:Yeah.

34:55Shannon Sharpe:And I think the thing, what we talked about in the Thunder series, Joe, I think it's a little different. I think they need to probably try to get to that 60-point plateau, the Spurs. Yeah. Because they want the game high. Yeah. Where in the Thunder, you wanted it low. The Knicks want it low. You probably want it high. Yeah. But with the way the Knicks play, Knicks probably can win a 140-138 game, Joe. They can.

35:20Chad Johnson:The way they're playing, it might not even matter. Yeah, you're right. The Knicks adjust well. And not only that, I mean, hell, San Antonio just didn't make shots, man. If they make shots, y 'all know they look like a totally, completely different team.

35:34Shannon Sharpe:Fox didn't look – he looked out of kilter tonight, though, Joe. He looked – he looked – he making it very easy to make that, hey, we got a guy available for y 'all if y 'all want it.

35:46Chad Johnson:Hey, listen, listen. I told you, man. At some point, Harper got to be the starting damn – he got to be a starting guard. Yeah, it won't be till next year, Joe. It won't be till next year. It won't be till next year. Obviously, when they try to revamp and make that run again after they lose the finals, I'm sure Fox won't be somewhere else. Damn. I'm just telling you. I'm just being honest. I just don't know down the stretch, man. Uncle Ocho, it's hard to have Dylan Harper not in the game, bro. It is.

36:17Shannon Sharpe:He played so well. He played really well. I thought they went. I mean, Champagny was insane. He was scorching hot in the first half, Joe, hitting that three right before the end of the second quarter.

36:31Chad Johnson:Yeah.

36:33Shannon Sharpe:He was scorching hot. I thought they kind of went away from him. But Wimby, I thought they did a great job on Wimby. Yeah, you look at the final numbers, but if you look at it, they made him take some very, very tough shots. He took some off-balance shots. He airballed a couple. I thought Mitchell Robinson and I thought Cat did an unbelievable job on him, forcing him away from the basket. And they did a great job when the ball went up of somebody finding him and putting the body on him. They just didn't let him just run around arbitrarily and just snag rebounds. Yeah, he got a couple. He's a great player.

37:04Shannon Sharpe:And that's what's going to happen. But I thought overall, I thought the Knicks did a great job on him in limiting his rebounds, but also limiting their second chance points. Let's look at the second chance points and you'll see what a big discrepancy it is, but it's in the Knicks' favor. And the Spurs with those guys because they got great rebounding guards, Joe. Basel, Harper, Castle, Champagny, they can rebound the ball.

37:33Chad Johnson:Oh, yeah.

37:33Shannon Sharpe:They are a very, very good rebounding guard team. They are. Yeah, we talk about Wimby. But if you go back and look at their guards, look at what their guards had. Look at Champagny. He had 10 rebounds. I think Basel had like nine or something.

37:46Chad Johnson:Yep, yep. Castle had eight.

37:48Shannon Sharpe:Yeah.

37:49Chad Johnson:Yeah, Dylan Harper had eight. You know what's funny? Joe, I'm sure you'll probably know who one of these players are. But, Chad, y 'all let me know if I'm right. Me watching basketball this time for the first year and having to sit through it and watch every series, every playoff series, watching the players and learning the game a little bit, for some reason, I like to use football analogies when in comparison to players in basketball. Tell me if I'm wrong. Or, Chad, you too. Steven Castle the way he plays the game both ends of the court right very physical loses his temper sometimes but he reminds me of in football terminology he reminds me of Marshawn Lynch or like a Marion Barber tell me I'm wrong as far as how he plays

38:33Shannon Sharpe:yeah you get what I'm saying or am I tripping no but I think if you look at him an Ocho defensively he reminds you of the honey badger you see how aggressive he is he's aggressive on both Both ends of the court. Yeah. But he not undersized. That's why I said Marshawn Lynch and Marion Barker. He not undersized. Look at him. Hey, if you look at him, hey, they try to – because they like to switch. When it comes to – especially late in the ball game, Brunson, you're like, no, I don't want to switch.

39:05Chad Johnson:Yeah. Yeah.

39:07Shannon Sharpe:No, no, no, no, no, no. I ain't going to be lazy. Yeah. Because early on, they were switching everything. They come Vassal take him. They come Champagny take him. They come Foxy take him. late in the ball game and that's what you love about it you you love you love that about him i just think the thing is they need to do a better job of taking care of the ball because all turnovers aren't created equal sometimes you can turn the ball over early and it don't hurt you but they got a bunch of their turnovers late when they were already losing the momentum

39:31Chad Johnson:so now you're not even getting shots up on the glass yeah yeah i agree hey look i think a lot of those turnovers come from wimby too on down the stretch yeah trying to you know really impose as well, you know, probably trying to take over the game, maybe do a tad bit too much late. Just kind of, I think for them, because the Knicks, they sitting and waiting. They are great on-ball, man-to-man defensive guys against Wimby. And he's not making a jump shot. Okay, Ocho, I know he made one late, but for the most part, hell, we just got to play him for the drive. Wall up, make him take tough shots. You know what I mean?

40:10Chad Johnson:and, you know, he's not physically opposing to where he's going to bump you and knock you off balance. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He doesn't create no separation with his body. No, no, sir. So you look at guys like Mitchell Robinson who was in there guarding him. He's going to win that matchup more times than not just by being disciplined on defense, Uck and Ocho, keeping his hands high. And, hell, if you make them tough shots, bro, cool. But for the most part, we're going to be physical. We're not going to let you get to your spots easy. And we're going to make every shot you take, we're going to make it tough.

40:39Chad Johnson:I thought the Knicks had a great game plan, bro. Great game plan.

40:43Shannon Sharpe:Well, the one thing, you know Mike Brown, he's a defensive guy. He can, you know, you look at what he was able to do. He's coach of the year with the Cavaliers and people like that. And, you know, obviously Sacramento, I still don't know what Sacramento was hoping for. I really don't. And this is no knock on Doug Christie. He's earned the right to get an opportunity. But you fire a man after you go to the playoffs. Now, I don't know what it was. Maybe management and ownership in him or whatever the case may be. Maybe he and Fox buddy here, and I don't know what the case is. But at the end of the day, you let a damn good coach go, a proven coach.

41:19Chad Johnson:Yeah, but you got to have some damn players to go with it too, though. Yeah. You got to have some.

41:23Shannon Sharpe:I don't know what they're doing, Joe. I don't know. You know, you trade Halliburton, and maybe you say, well, we didn't need two point guards, Halliburton and Fox.

41:31Chad Johnson:Right.

41:31Shannon Sharpe:And you say, you know what, but we got Sabonis, who plays really well with Fox. He's really good in the pick and roll. Hey, he can drop it off to him. He can shoot the middie, but he really wants to roll to the basket. A tremendous rebounder. But at the end of the day, this game was more about what the Knicks did do and a little bit less about what the Spurs didn't do. Because I think a lot of what the Spurs didn't do was because of what the Knicks did do. The Knicks have won 12 straight playoff games. That's the second longest single season post-winning streak in NBA history. win me after the game.

42:06Shannon Sharpe:I'm going to figure it out. I was bad tonight. It's not more complicated than that. I love his really simplistic approach to the game, guys. Ain't a whole lot of BS. There's not a whole lot of fluff. There's not a whole lot of just talking. Man, he talked a long time. He ain't said a damn thing.

42:23Chad Johnson:Right, right.

42:24Shannon Sharpe:He's very, very simplistic in his answer.

42:27Chad Johnson:Yeah.

42:27Shannon Sharpe:I'm going to figure it out. I was just bad.

42:29Chad Johnson:Yeah. Hey, the accountability that that young man take, bro, You got to love it. But I don't think he can show the load. Hell, Fox got to take a lot of that load, too, Uncle Ocho. You know, they need Fox to play well for them to get in this series. There's no way. He can't go three for 13, guys. I'm sorry. Because in this series, his offense has to be his defense. You know what I mean? Yep. He has to keep those guys honest. And he's cat quick, a guy who can shoot, who can get in the lane. and they shouldn't be able to stay in front of him. So I need him to put his imprint on the game, man. He just missed some easy shots tonight, Joe.

43:08Shannon Sharpe:He got in the lane. He missed some easy shots tonight. He missed some shots that he'll probably, on Friday night, he'll probably knock those shots down. Damn, man. I thought Castle was really aggressive early. I thought he played well. Dylan Harper was phenomenal. But I agree with you, Joe. I think he needs more minutes. I think he has to have more minutes. I mean, I get it. You got De 'Aaron Fox. And, but right now, I think once you get to the playoffs, you know what, you got to put feelings aside.

43:40Chad Johnson:Man. Well, hold on. I just asked that question last playoffs about a certain player being benched for someone else. Who you saying? I forgot what we were talking about, Joe. We were talking about, I forgot what player.

43:53Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, I remember you talking about, but I don't remember what player we've talked about either. Yeah, I don't remember who it was. And I said, Joe, why don't they make the switch? And I think, oh, the Harden. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you're talking about benching Harden. Yeah, but I think the problem is with Harden, who is coming into his place? You look at Harper, what Harper has done, Harper is playing better. I understand that Fox is a veteran, but if you take Harden out, are you saying that you believe that Schroeder will give you more than what Harden is giving you? That's the problem.

44:24Shannon Sharpe:Because we can see the body of work that Harper is doing. We saw Harper in game one, 22 big points off the bench. Tremendous down the stretch in the fourth quarter. Outstanding in overtime. We watched him in game seven. Even Fox had an outstanding game seven. Even though he didn't play that well in game six and they won the game, he bounced back in game seven and looked like Darren Fox and said, look, if they play like that, if everybody played like they're playing now and you get that kind of production out of Darren Fox, there's a great chance you can win the next series. Absolutely. And he's going to have to.

44:54Shannon Sharpe:Like Joe said, three or 13, they're going to get a gun, Joe. Yeah, I mean, he can't go in single digits. He's averaging 16 points, and I think he gave you what, nine tonight?

45:04Chad Johnson:Seven.

45:05Shannon Sharpe:Gave you seven. No, no, that can't work. Ofer from the three-point line? Nah. Nah.

45:11Chad Johnson:Nah.

45:12Shannon Sharpe:Can't have that. He's too much. He's a good player. Miss Johnson on After the Game. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news? Huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how did we actually come up with the name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers.

45:53This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast where people could call in and say, Hey Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.

46:21I love the sounds. The buzzing from the stadium, the chanting from the fans, the announcers calling the place. Soccer. Futbol. It's home. Why do I watch the World Cup? That's like asking me, why do I breed? I inherited that fandom from my mom. I like watching it with my dad. It's a connecting force. From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Echavarri, and this is American Futbol. A show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots. We go beyond the game to the people and the stories that make it great. A soccer game is a festival. It's not just a game. It's your culture. I took an elbow to my head, which cracked my skull.

47:06It is an American game. The Brazilians don't like hearing that, though. Are they the only ones that don't like that?

47:11Shannon Sharpe:Nobody likes that. As we get ready for the Men's World Cup this summer, listen to American Football as part of the My Cultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

47:50We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reed. He has to guard Julius Randle. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on a night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too.

48:12Chad Johnson:Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court licking his fingers while he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You said to me, yo, you know, keep at it because you let me rap for you. It was magical for all of us.

48:38Shannon Sharpe:We made it. We made it. Yeah. I'm like, we? You know, I'm like, I know these guys, but who are you? I'm MC Jin and this is Laugh But Not Lease. I'll be chatting with guests from all walks of life about the power of humor when it comes to facing difficult times. Like the co-founder of Rough Riders, Darren D. Dean. Talking about as a kid. Do you remember that we met even way before? Let me think. Did you walk up to the gate? That was me, D. That was you? That was me. The day we found out that you and the whole crew was at Hit Factory, the mission was to get me to go to the gate, start freestyling, and see if I could get in the studio.

49:12I'm rapping. And then suddenly, I hear a voice. Hey, open the gate. Let him in. The gate slowly went. They all there watching this and they watch me walk into there. And that is a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life. Listen to Laugh But Not Least with MC Jin starting on June 9th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is. Getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is. Getting a new one put up in its place. As long as there's a politics of race in America, there's going to be a politics of remembering the Civil War.

49:50Shannon Sharpe:To get to school, I had to go down Robert E. Lee Boulevard. To get to the grocery store, I had to go down Jefferson Davis Parkway. If you're a historian and you leave out half of what the history is, you're not doing your job. I'm Akilah Hughes, and Rebel Spirit Season 2 goes deep on both of those things. The fights, the politics, the people who won, and my personal campaign to add something to the Kentucky Statehouse that's actually worth the wall space. We are more than our bodies. We contain essence. We contain spirit. How do you represent that? They are just fueling a fire that is really catching.

50:24You'll see what I mean. Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

50:33Shannon Sharpe:How they can get Wimby more involved, we got to get him moving and spacing towards the rim. whether that's on roles or running in transition, we need to do a better job of establishing that early. They do. Yeah. But he needs to do a better job himself because he's gotten so comfortable, Joe, hanging out by the three-point line and getting the ball way out there. And there is taking... Before we go, I think he needs to do a better job of breathing. Joe, two minutes into the game, he's dead tired.

51:04Chad Johnson:Yeah.

51:04Shannon Sharpe:I mean, he's gas, Joe. He's hyperventilating.

51:07Chad Johnson:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

51:09Shannon Sharpe:I mean, he's going – he's running a mile, and he's running the first 400 meters in 49 seconds, don't you? Bro, you got three more laps to go. He's going so hard. If you look at him, he's literally hyperventilating. Two times up the court, and he's got his hands on his short, and he's doubled over.

51:31Chad Johnson:Yeah. It's probably the moment. Yeah, it is.

51:35Shannon Sharpe:It is. It is. He wants to do well. First playoff game. You got to slow it down, though, Ocho. Yeah, just relax. Yeah.

51:42Chad Johnson:Yeah. Yeah. Take a couple deep breaths. But yeah, I agree. I agree. I think it is the moment he wants to win so bad that, you know, he's going out throwing his wide so early, playing hard so early, that he's gassing out real quick. Yeah. Yes. And you can see it. So I think he's got to be better in a few different areas, in which I think he will. but if I'm the Knicks, bro, we're going to make it tough for you. Unk, Ocho, you ain't going to be able to catch it inside that three and be comfortable. The only time you're going to be comfortable is catching it outside at three to where you can face up and kind of go off the dribble.

52:19Chad Johnson:And guess what? We're going to live with that. We feel like we have the advantage in that aspect. Wimby, he's going to have to wheel his way through this, bro. This is the finals. You know what I mean? He's going to have to wheel his way through this, and I think he's capable of doing it, but he has to be better with efficiency. You know what I mean? Because I think when he's efficient, it helps out the guys around him. It makes the game a lot easier for those guys around him. Because when he's not, then here, now we don't have to overhelp. We don't have to send a double. And now you got guys like Vassell and Champinney, they ain't really getting wide open shots.

52:55Chad Johnson:Fox ain't getting no wide open shots. Everybody's having to create off the dribble throughout chaos, and it just wasn't great for him tonight.

53:03Shannon Sharpe:And you got guys, look, every guy they got, with the exception of Champagny, can take you off the bounce. Champagny is great at spotting up. And if you run him off the spot, he'll sidestep and get back to the three so he can make that. But if you look at Vassell, Vassell can take you off the bounce. Obviously Fox, Castle, and Harper. But I thought the Knicks did a great job tonight of not succumbing to being on the road, being down 13. I think the big thing is having been there, done that before, that gives them confidence that they can do it again. My grandfather used to tell my brothers all the time, if I take you somewhere, I expect you to get back.

53:37So being down in the postseason and being able to come back,

53:42Shannon Sharpe:well, we've done it before. We were down 22 at home. What's 13?

53:48Chad Johnson:Yeah.

53:49Shannon Sharpe:We've been down before. Hey, think about it. They were down in the first half. They cut it all the way back down. Now, the Spurs take off again, but they're like, oh, we can track them down. Hey, let's just play one possession at a time. Let's force nothing easy. Let's don't give them no layoffs. Let's not turn the ball over and let them get out in transition. Let's make them work for every point that they get. They're a young ball club. This is the second youngest team to be in the NBA Finals. The only team that was younger was the 77 Trailblazers. Bill Walton.

54:23Chad Johnson:Lucas.

54:24Shannon Sharpe:Hollins.

54:25Chad Johnson:Yeah, go ahead, Joe. And momentum is a real thing. Yes. Momentum is a real thing. The Knicks have momentum. 12 damn games in a row in the postseason. Bro, that's momentum. That means that y 'all hitting on all cylinders, y 'all all on the same page, and y 'all playing great team basketball. Your leaders are stepping up. Brunson is stepping up. No matter how he gets his 30, 27, 30 points a night, damn it, he getting it. You know what I mean? By any means, that boy is getting it, man. I'm telling you, even when it doesn't look as great, You look at these fourth quarters and a lot of these games in this postseason, he's been coming through for his team, bro.

55:04Chad Johnson:The Knicks look good.

55:06Shannon Sharpe:That's what makes him so special. And what, two years ago, he won the Clutch Player Award. Last year, I think he finished second to Shea. And hey, Shea's very deserving of the award. But there aren't many players in the NBA that's currently playing that they might be overall better players that I'm not so sure I'm not going to put the ball in his hand when it's all said and done. Even though some of those players are better overall than him, Joe.

55:31Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah, yeah.

55:32Shannon Sharpe:In the last two, three minutes, I'm not so sure how many other people I want the ball in their hands other than him.

55:38Chad Johnson:No, you're absolutely right. And guess what else? He hears the whispers, fellas. Oh, man, you can't win with no 6 '2 on the guard. Y 'all don't think that man hear that? Boy, please. He coming out playing like it, too. Yeah, okay, I'm going to show you. You want me to show you? I'm going to show you.

55:53Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. and and and you know and i understand because if you go back and look at the history with the exception isaiah thomas yeah steph curry yeah guys that are six two or under i alan irison he got him there but he didn't win more times than not magic johnson was really the first big guard to do it but magic johnson is six f and nine yeah he ain't no small guard yeah yeah so i understand what people are saying and plus everybody played for the first 50 years for the the best part of the best 50 years, everybody played through a big. Yeah. You go back to Mikan and Russell and Chamberlain and Jabbar and Elijah Wan and all those big – it was big, Shaq.

56:34Shannon Sharpe:It was big, Duncan.

56:36Chad Johnson:Yeah.

56:37Shannon Sharpe:It was big. And so, yeah, you get an isolated situation like Isaiah, a 6 '1 guard that can lead a team. Yeah. You get Steph, that's a 6 '2 guard that can lead a team. But more times than not, it's the bigger players that lead your team to championships. And like you said, Joe, he hears that.

57:00Chad Johnson:Yeah. Yeah.

57:01Shannon Sharpe:He hears it. He has the perfect team. See, a lot of times, you know, to build a team, that team is built. Look what they got. They got defenders. Yep. They got rebounders.

57:13Chad Johnson:Yep.

57:14Shannon Sharpe:And then they got him. Yep. When they built that team for AI, it was perfect. They had defenders. They had rebounders. AI, we space it. You get to go one-on-one. Hey, Ty Hill and Mutombo, y 'all get the ball. Hey, y 'all rebound.

57:34Chad Johnson:Yeah.

57:35Shannon Sharpe:AI had all the scoring. Yeah. We don't need y 'all for that.

57:37Chad Johnson:Yeah, you're absolutely right. The difference is, though, Brunson, he can have a sub-part night, and they can still win. A.I. could handle, so he had to be great every damn night.

57:47Shannon Sharpe:He had to, yes. You know, you got, for the Knicks, O.G.

57:50Chad Johnson:can be the best player one night. Cat can be the best player one night. Hell, Bridges could come along and be the best player heart. They have so many guys they can beat you with, but the catalyst is Brunson. The way he leads, the way he scores the ball, the way he keeps the composure down for these guys, especially when it comes down the stretch. I don't think people understand how important it is to have a guy on your side that's composed even in the most chaotic situation. You know, when the fans are bawling down on you on the road and you know it's just you and your teammates, bro, he's the one who leads the charge every time.

58:27Chad Johnson:Every time.

58:29Shannon Sharpe:We had a situation where a fan ran on the court and it looked like he was trying to get a selfie with Wimby. Joe, you ever been involved in a situation like that?

58:37Chad Johnson:No, I ain't never been involved with nothing like that, bro. Hey, that's crazy, though. That's crazy.

58:43Shannon Sharpe:They asked Wimby, had he ever been in a situation? He said, I've never been in a situation like that. I didn't know how to act. It really surprised me. It really surprised almost as much as the time where the bat crashed onto the court. Yeah, he was smiling. Yeah, because the thing is, you've got to be careful. You don't know what a fan is thinking. Right, right, right. You're thinking that he might want to do something like this because it ruined Monica Seller's career. that fan the german fan steffi graf monica sellers was not on the scene and she was routinely beating steffi graf who happened to tie with the best player the fan jumped came on the court put a knife in her back she was never the same so you don't know what a what's going through that player's mind you're like oh man they just want to mess their hero i don't know what you're right absolutely I don't know yeah yeah and and so they have to be on the side I remember when LeBron went back uh I think the Cleveland the fan right out there and he went you know he wanted to hug LeBron and you know but but you got to be careful and so and like women says I don't know I mean what do I do I mean I think James Harden slammed the guy that ran onto the field Mike Curtis slammed the guy punched the guy and slammed him for wearing or the coats but you just have to You have to be careful because you don't know what's going on in a fan's mind.

1:00:05Chad Johnson:Absolutely. Yeah. And obviously, it was a little kid. And you see him trying to take a selfie. And you see this happen a lot, a lot in soccer as well. When it comes, you know, with Messi and Cristiano, you know, fans, they try to do the best they can to control it. But it's hard because by the time the security realized the fan is out there, by that time, they're close to the player. And first thing they do, they got their phones out trying to take a selfie because there would be no other way to meet those type of individuals, especially when you go to watch a game and you're just a fan in general.

1:00:36So they'd rather get in trouble and take the chance and just having that picture and that moment has them set.

1:00:42Chad Johnson:Yeah, but that's a scary moment too, though, as a player, being out there on that court and somebody charging the court like that. Like, I'll say, hell, I don't know what he running out here to do. You know what I mean? You don't. You don't, bro. So, you know, I was sitting there. I was like, hold on. What the hell is this dude doing? And what the hell he thought was going to happen? You know what I mean? They probably raced this shit out of the damn phone.

1:01:05Shannon Sharpe:Hell. I mean, hey, John Lennon lost his life like that. Thought it was a fan. He had an album to sign. John Lennon signed the album. Mark David Chapman pumped bullets in him. Damn. Lost his life. You don't know. Right outside of his apartment. Wow. Yeah. You don't know. Oh, everybody, oh, man, that's your hero, your role model. Only the individual know what's going on in his head or her head. Now, we remember, I know you guys, you probably see that Morgana, the kissing bandit for the Dodgers, used to run out there with a big old boom running up and down, and she'd run out there, and she'd hug and kiss everybody.

1:01:48Shannon Sharpe:I mean, it got to the point that, like, hey, that ain't nobody but Morgana. She'd go out there and get a hug, and she'd go on about her business. it was and so that's that's where the thing but you just have to be careful with those fans uh and like you said i mean because your reaction time you sitting there you trying to watch and you trying to see if anybody throwing anything or anything like that and by the time you realize that individual hit the ground yeah he's gone damn

1:02:17Shannon Sharpe:but uh the security got it fast and i think the thing is now is that uh networks don't put the cameras on them because you know before you streaking and all kind of stuff ocho the camera was following you and the guy's zigzagging over here right there and then guys started people started putting advertisement they started doing these betting sites again whatever the case may be trying to get some free pub and so i think the networks have done a great job of not you look let's not even put the camera just keep the cameras on the stands or the fans and we ain't got to worry about that well i told you i told you i'm taking i'm taking brandon and marketing for nightcap to the next level.

1:02:53Chad Johnson:What you doing? Y 'all think I'm playing. Hey, Uncle Joe, I'm telling you that. Get your bare money ready. Y 'all can split it, whatever it might be. But at the World Cup, at the World Cup, I'm probably going to do the Haiti-Portrait. I'm probably going to do the Haiti-Brazil game. If I don't do the Haiti-Brazil game, I'm going to do the Portugal, the Portugal, wait, who's Portugal playing? Is it Morocco?

1:03:15Shannon Sharpe:Don't start midline. I'm going to do one of those games. Listen, hey, Joe, I'm going to streak the field. mid-game, and I'm going to have on my nightcap stuff. I'm going to have on my nightcap stuff. So, you know, security ain't going to be able to catch me because I'm going to make sure I wear cleats in the game. That might tip them off right there, Ocho. You got cleats on in the game. Right. You a fan, you got cleats on. You must be thinking they're going to throw your ass in the game. They don't see that. When I hop that thing, you got to think, Joe, you got to think 1.5 billion people watch each game, man.

1:03:50Chad Johnson:Ocho. Hey, we finna be global. We already global a little bit, but I'm talking about next level global. Ocho, it may not be on no damn weekend, because we can't get you out till Monday, okay? Yeah. Yeah, so you might want to. You got to be a weekday, Ocho.

1:04:03Shannon Sharpe:You do that thing on a Friday,

1:04:05Chad Johnson:your ass in there to Monday.

1:04:07Shannon Sharpe:They're going to keep it till Monday, Ocho. Hey, you know y 'all got pool, man. Y 'all got pool. This ain't no Fast and the Furious. I can't break your ass out of jail. Breaking people out of jail That only happened in the movies.

1:04:20Chad Johnson:Right, right, right.

1:04:22Shannon Sharpe:So cutting the power and drilling all that other stuff,

1:04:25Chad Johnson:that it don't work. Hey, I might know somebody in there who makes sure you're straight, but outside of that, Mike Brown credited Rick Brunson after the game.

1:04:33Shannon Sharpe:We were all bitching too much at the officials, and Rick Brunson was great. He told me to shut the hell up and told the rest of the team to be quiet and leave the officials alone. It was great of him because we're kind of all losing our minds out there. I think it's kind of happened when Jalen Brunson felt that he got filed. he kind of like did something with his knee. Yeah.

1:04:51Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

1:04:51Shannon Sharpe:You know, he got upset because you see him went down and he went to talk to Scott Foster and he was talking to Scott Foster after the game. Scott Foster, Capers, and Sean Wright had the first game because then they listed all the officials that's going to be – that have a game. And most of them has had at least, you know, only one first time but most guys have had somewhere between two. And Scott Foster, I think he had the most – I think he had 19 finals games repped. But I thought it was a great game. I didn't think officials weighed too much one way or another, Joe. That's just me personally.

1:05:27Shannon Sharpe:I mean, some people, obviously, people that lost are going to say, well, Spurs got hosed. And the team that won said officials were great. But just looking at it from outside on my television, I didn't think the officials played that much of a role in the outcome of the ballgame, me personally.

1:05:40Chad Johnson:No, I don't either. I thought it was a great game. And that's what you want, man. You don't want the officials dictating the game, man. Right. Let the teams get in between the lines, compete, and let them play it out. You know what I mean? I thought tonight was a great play of that. So, you know, I thought the officials were pretty good tonight. I'm with you on it. Joe, but how often do the coaches, the assistant coaches,

1:06:08Shannon Sharpe:like, man, calm down. Bro, get off the officials. Just play ball. because you're arguing with officials and you're not playing. You got to play ball. And for him to say Rick Brunson told me, hey, man, shut the hell up. And y 'all shut the hell up too. Just play.

1:06:26Chad Johnson:Yeah. Hey, that's pretty common though from your assistant coach. Your assistant coach has to keep everything composed because a lot of times the head coach is so irate at times, especially when you think you're in the finals. Hell, man, you on the ref probably every damn chance you get. You know what I mean? And for Brunson, for Rick Brunson to be able to calm everybody down, bro, it says a lot. You know, obviously the trust that they have in him as a coach, you know, and what he sees from his guys, his players, obviously his son, Jalen Brunson. You know, I think from your assistant coach, that's what you need, bro.

1:07:03You need somebody who's very composed in chaos situations,

1:07:07Chad Johnson:and that's what it was tonight. That's a good thing, too. Obviously when you have a coach like that, an assistant coach, he has to always be level-headed because your head coach is always going to be irate. If you think about it, Unc. Man, your camera off, Ocho. Huh? Oh, my bad. Oh, shoot. Hold on. Hold on. What the hell did I do? Okay. Can you see me? No, I can't.

1:07:33Shannon Sharpe:There you go. I can see you now. Yeah. Oh, that's my wrong camera. But anyway, like I was saying, I'm going to switch to my other camera in a minute. But it's good to have a coach that's level-headed all game because your head coach is going to always be all right. It's like on the sideline with football. There's always someone that pulls the head coach back in college and NFL football. You always got to have that because the head coach is losing it. They're not thinking about nothing else outside of good calls and bad calls. And when a call is bad, they're going to let it be known. They're letting the emotion get the best of themselves.

1:08:07You got to have somebody on that sideline, man.

1:08:09Chad Johnson:Hey, not only that, your head coach is always pretty much going to take up for his players. Jalen Brunson felt like, you know, he was getting fouled. He wasn't getting the whistle. The head coach is pretty much all the time going to step up and, you know, try to put a bug in the ref's ear. Look, man, I need y 'all to watch this. I need y 'all to watch that. So I understand it. And then, plus, we playing in the finals, bro. You don't want to squander no possessions away. Nope. damn sure don't want to squander no games away when you feel like you have an opportunity to win on the road and the Knicks did that yeah they played really well and kudos to uh Rick Brunson

1:08:48Shannon Sharpe:because you know obviously his son is playing and I'm glad he gets an opportunity because you know changing of coaches and they could have just moved on they said no you're too valuable yeah yeah your son plays really well uh and you can probably get through your son talk to your son when the damn head coach who he is can't.

1:09:07Chad Johnson:Right, absolutely. Absolutely.

1:09:09Shannon Sharpe:I'm happy to see Rick still there. And, hey, maybe he won't get as much credit, but Mike Brown took time out of his interview to make sure he personally thanked him for the message that he said to, like, hey, bro, you need to calm down, and y 'all need to calm down too and just play effing basketball.

1:09:30Chad Johnson:Yeah, hey, look, and then y 'all know when head coaches get new jobs, it's not a given, bro, that they keep somebody off their staff that was there. You know what I mean? Typically, they have their own guys that they want to bring with them. You know what I mean? And for them to be able to keep Rick Brunson, I thought that was a plus for them.

1:09:50Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. And plus the thing, look, I think he earns his keep. You know, we were talking about nepotism. I mean, nepotism never came into effect. It never seems to get mentioned until it involves us. And then all of a sudden, nepotism is a problem.

1:10:03Chad Johnson:Yeah.

1:10:03Shannon Sharpe:when it's never a problem for them because they keep their family members hired. They keep their homeboys and friends. So, hey, to each his own. I don't really have a, I don't think there's a really a definitive way that you can hire because everybody now with this chat GPT and everybody lying on their resumes now, it's just really hard to tell. It's just a gut feel. And, you know, sometimes you hire somebody, you're like, this was the wrong fit. Yeah. This was the wrong damn fit. But it ain't really a whole lot that you can do after that. But it just try to let it run its course. But I think, you know, with Jalen being the star player on the team and Rick Brunson having his ear, that maybe when another coach couldn't.

1:10:48Chad Johnson:Yeah. Goes a long way. And think about this, man. If you Jalen Brunson, you got your dad on the sideline. He's the assistant coach. Man, I'm going to do every damn thing I can possibly to make my dad look good, bro.

1:11:03Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, for sure.

1:11:04Chad Johnson:You know what I mean? That's just coming out, competing at a high level, playing the best basketball I could possibly play to make him look great. And damn, he doing a damn good job of it.

1:11:15Shannon Sharpe:I said it before, and I got, you know, Chad talking about old you. I'm playing hard regardless. But if my coach look like me, knowing that I don't know how many more opportunities he going to get.

1:11:26Chad Johnson:Yeah. Yeah.

1:11:27Shannon Sharpe:Oh, yeah. Make you play hard. Best believe I'm going to be on my best behavior.

1:11:31Chad Johnson:Yes. That's just the way it is.

1:11:32Shannon Sharpe:Now, everybody knows I'm going to play hard. I mean, I don't think you'll find a coach that says Shannon Sharp didn't play hard for me.

1:11:37Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah.

1:11:39Shannon Sharpe:Be it position coach, be it OC, be it head coach. But I understand the situation that my coaches that look like me, they're in. They don't get an opportunity to get a job here and a job there and a job here and a job there and a job here and a job there. That don't work like that. You don't get to get no lose. There are very few times that you get to have a losing record and then go get you another job. It has happened, but it's few and far between.

1:12:03Chad Johnson:Absolutely. Absolutely. Hey guys, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know. Tired and sick. Tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.