Nightcap Hour 1: Michigan WINS NATIONAL TITLE over UCONN + North Carolina HIRES Mike Malone as Head Coach + Knicks BEAT Hawks in THRILLER

13:15Shannon Sharpe:Caught it. So I like this. You know, sometimes calls have to be made in crucial junctures of the game.

13:22Chad Johnson:Yeah.

13:22Shannon Sharpe:And everybody's like, well, swallow your whistle, but you can't swallow it. It's too important. You can't. That was too obvious, too egregious of a play to swallow it. But in this game right here, I thought they let the kids play, and Michigan kids played a little bit better than UConn.

13:36Chad Johnson:I agree. I agree. I like that the officials let those guys play. It was a physical game. A lot of missed shots, which caused for a lot of, you know, bodies falling, hitting the ground. I'm glad the refs kept their composure, man. It really didn't dictate the game. I agree with you. It was a great game to watch, man.

13:56Shannon Sharpe:And if you think about it, guys, Michigan was extremely aggressive. They shot 28 free throw attempts.

14:03Chad Johnson:Yeah.

14:04Shannon Sharpe:And they cashed. They were 25 or 23. So, prior to the guy missing two, Joe, they had only missed one free throw.

14:11Chad Johnson:Yeah.

14:12Shannon Sharpe:You see guys, five for five, two for two, eight or nine, four for four, four for four, two for four. So, that's when the clock is stopped, I got to cash into these. Yeah. I got to get those points. Yeah. And Michigan did an unbelievable job. Congratulations to the Wolverines. London Berg said, hey, we think we're the best team. I think they got a case. They have a very compelling case to say they're the greatest Michigan team that came through the University of Michigan. I understand the first team won with Lloyd Vaught and Glenn Rice and Terry Mills, Sean Higgins, Ramil Robinson. But what this team was able to do, 37-3, and who they beat along the way, They beat number one, Arizona.

14:59Shannon Sharpe:They beat UConn, who had won two of the three last national championships. They were just unbelievable throughout the tourney and a very hard-fought win that they earned, and they are your national championship. The University of Michigan reigns supreme of men's college basketball, 69-63 over the UConn Huskies. The Huskies were trying to do something that only Coach Wooden can say he's done. that's won three championships in four years. Maybe Coach Rupp done it in the 40s, but no modern coach. When you look at Coach K, you look at Coach Smith and Roy Williams and Bobby Knight, and there have been some really, really good college coaches along the way.

15:40Shannon Sharpe:Billy Donovan, none of these guys could have said they won three championships in a four-year span. And Michigan took down a very heady team. They're led by a bunch of seniors. they do a Coach Hurley does a great job of coaching these guys they play, they're well conditioned they trap, they get up into people but tonight belong, belong to the Michigan Wolverines check this stat out Joe, Michigan scored 61 of their 69 points either in the paint or from the free throw line hey Joe when you look at that Michigan team right with most of those players coming out the portal, coming from other schools who do you see that might any lottery picks in there what do you think?

16:27that can make a difference at the next level?

16:29Chad Johnson:yeah they got I don't know if they're going to be lottery picks but they got some first rounders in here

16:34Shannon Sharpe:I think Lindenburg probably be a lot

16:36Chad Johnson:Lindenburg, yeah Mara at 7-3 you can't teach height oh yeah yeah yeah he going you can't teach height he can help any team in the league I mean with that presence and he ain't really no big stiff on the block he got a few moves No, he can move. Yeah, but defensively, yeah, I've seen him switching on the pick and roll, guarding guards, but defensively, he can help anybody, man. You're right, Ocho. They got some first-round picks. Yeah.

17:04Shannon Sharpe:If you think about it, Ocho, remember when they had Big Edie at Purdue, 7 '4". Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's more agile than Edie. Joe, in the mock draft, they got Lindenburg going 13 to the Heat. They got Myra going 23rd to the Hawks. Oh, okay.

17:21Chad Johnson:All right. All right, Myra. We might can do something with you down here in the ATL. What?

17:26Shannon Sharpe:And Johnson Jr. going 27th to the Celtics.

17:29Chad Johnson:Hey, look, this game, though, I ain't going to lie, it was an ugly game. Because for Michigan to shoot 13 % from the three and 38 % from the field, man, it's hard to win games like that. But when you sitting in that chair and you shot blocking, and you defending and you making the game ugly, and UConn shot 32 % and 28 from three, hey, this ball game could have went either way. Yes. I feel like UConn, they never caught a rhythm. They never got their shooters. Their shooters never caught a rhythm. If y 'all really watch this game, you'll see how Michigan switched everything. Switched everything.

18:08Chad Johnson:I seen Mara out there guarding Mullins one time, way out there on the perimeter.

18:13Shannon Sharpe:As soon as they come, as soon as they try to hit us with a slip, the guys already pointing, go. Don't even worry about it, go. Hey, that's why we watch film. We know everything they're going to do.

18:22Chad Johnson:They like to run these back picks, these slips out. And we ain't giving these dudes nothing. We already know the game plan. We're going to be out there before you even get out there. So I thought it was a great game plan by Michigan, man. Them dudes came to play. They understood what was their state and Michigan national champs, bro.

18:39Shannon Sharpe:Yep. But the Wolverines' 36-point paints were the most allowed by UConn all tournament long.

18:47Chad Johnson:Damn.

18:48Shannon Sharpe:That's a big team, man. You got 7 '3", Marr. You got Lindenburg. You got guys. I like Johnson, too. Johnson Jr.? Huh? I like Johnson, too.

18:56Chad Johnson:Johnson played great. Yeah, he did. Yeah. Yeah. They had a lot of guys step up and play big, score some big baskets, played great defense. I thought they were really in tune tonight.

19:07Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, I thought Marr early on, Joe, he was on the right block. He couldn't score. He was spinning towards the baseline, throwing it with the left. I said, if you want that shot, go to the other side and spin to the baseline and throw it with your right.

19:19Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah.

19:20Shannon Sharpe:So that's the only thing I was like, bro, that's twice that you've had that shot point blank and you've missed it. Go to the other side and throw it with your dominant hand. Yeah. Unless you Jokic, Jokic is really the only guy that can consistently throw that shot, that little soft baby hook. because his touch is so phenomenal. He might have some of the best touches I've seen from a big man from about 10 foot and in. Throwing the ball with either. And it looked like, bro, you're just throwing that ish up there. But all I know is it goes in.

19:48Chad Johnson:Yeah. Look, I thought Reed battled Mara early. He missed the first couple post-ups that he had Mara did. I thought Reed done a great job. But as the game kind of went on, you know, he started to get to his spots. He caught alive. He got some easy baskets. He was able to put his stamp on the game. So, man, I'm – hey, hey, this was a fun game to watch, bro. It was a fun game to watch. Who was an outstanding player? Lindenburg or Elliott? No, probably Elliott.

20:20Shannon Sharpe:Damn. Who? Because if they go – because I'm thinking they go by the entire tournament, most outstanding player. They go by the tournament. If it's the tournament, it's Lindenburg.

20:32Chad Johnson:Lindenburg. Sometimes they don't do that, though. they go by straight the championship game. You know what I mean? I'm saying.

20:38Shannon Sharpe:If you look at, Joe, you look at Lauren Best yesterday, she got it. And Gabriella Hawkins way outplayed her.

20:47Chad Johnson:So you might be right. Who won it though, Uncle? Y 'all know?

20:51Shannon Sharpe:Elliot Cadeau won it.

20:53Chad Johnson:Yeah. Well.

20:58Shannon Sharpe:This is unbelievable. What's his classification? Is he coming back? You know, he came from Carolina. He came from North Carolina last year.

21:05Chad Johnson:I know. Yeah, he came over here. He got a little cheese come out the portal. Yeah, he jumped in that portal quick, didn't he, man? Yeah.

21:15Hey, that little NIL done paid off, huh?

21:17Shannon Sharpe:Ain't it, man. Literally and figurative because I won a national championship and I got a little cheese in my pocket. Right. Ready for a different take on Formula One? Look no further than No Grip, a new podcast tackling the culture of motor racing's most coveted series. Join me, Lily Herman, as we dive into the underexplored pockets of F1, including the astrology of the current grid. Lewis Hamilton, Capricorn Sun, Cancer Moon. Wouldn't you know it, Michael Schumacher is also a Capricorn Sun, Cancer Moon. The story of the sport's most consequential driver's strike. We have one man who, upon hearing that he was going to be fired, freaked out, and apparently climbed out the window of the bathroom.

21:58Shannon Sharpe:And was Daniel Ricciardo's illustrious F1 career a success story, a cautionary tale, or some combination of both? He started getting all this attention, and he maybe started to think, I'm bigger than this, I'm better. And plenty of other mishaps, scandals, and sagas that have made Formula One a delightful, decadent dumpster fire for more than 75 years. Listen to No Grip on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. That's the double. North Carolina's search for the next head coach has landed in an unexpected place as the Tar Heels intend to hire longtime NBA coach Michael Malone as the school next head coach.

22:36Shannon Sharpe:Malone is an NBA champion from his time with the Denver Nuggets, won 510 games in 12 seasons. He's one of the most respected tacticians in the NBA, has spent the past 10 months as an ESPN analyst. Malone hasn't coached college since he was an assistant at Manhattan in 2001. He was also assistant at Providence from 95 to 98 in Oakland from 94 to 95. According to ESPN, Malone's reputation as a coach is high in NBA circles and having the respect of UNC legends Michael Jordan and Roy Williams played a role in the hire. So knowing how Carolina normally hires, they like to keep it in the family. If you think about it, they went from Coach Smith to Guthrie to Matt Doherty.

23:24Shannon Sharpe:I think they had Peterson and then they got old Roy and then they turned it over to Hubert Davis I think that's the succession who came in after Matt Daugherty before you go Joe

23:49Shannon Sharpe:okay so there was no So it went for Roy came after Matt Doherty, and then it went Huber Davis. So you like this high, Joe?

23:58Chad Johnson:Hey, I love this high, Uncle Ocho. You know, Mike Malone is a proven winner. Obviously, we know he's won an NBA championship on the highest level. He's coached MVP, Nikola Jokic, you know, all-stars like Jamal Murray. And when y 'all look at it now, hey, we know college is a professional sport, bro. This ain't media. This ain't just regular college no more. So you want a coach who's well-respected, you know, who these recruits are going to idolize and look up to and want to, you know, come to North Carolina. North Carolina is a prestige school, man. So they're trying to get back on the winning track.

24:38Chad Johnson:I thought this was a great hire. Hey, look, and another point is the portal opens tomorrow. Yep. The basketball portal opens tomorrow. So now you got a coach who's in the driver's seat, and now he can go out and get some players. Because y 'all know it's probably about 2 ,000 players in the portal right now.

24:57Shannon Sharpe:And the thing is, Joe, you got to have a coach on hand when the portal opens. You got to, bro. You can't wait. You can't hire somebody on Wednesday. You can't hire somebody on Thursday. You got to have somebody in place. When that portal opens and says, okay, we got our guy. Because you can't go to a kid and say, we're thinking about hiring X, Y, and Z. the kids want to know who they could potentially be playing for outside of the how much how much you got for your boy oh did not okay now we talking outside of that that's the first thing how much you got how much and how many minutes that's what i need to know yeah okay go ahead listen hey hey hey joe and unc that's the first thing i'm gonna say right listen i know mike malone right yeah we're respected we're respected in the circles when it comes to nba he's won a championship he coached one of the greatest if not one of the greatest big men of all time in Nicole Yoke, yes?

25:47Yes. That has no bearing and no weight. It's not going to pull any strings being the hiring head coach at North Carolina. You got the pay to play. You got the pay to win. You understand the landscape of college basketball right now and football in general. In order to get those players in there, you got to come with the bag. Hello. We respect what you've done in the NBA. We expect y 'all keeping it in the family when it comes to hiring coaches at North Carolina. but you have to understand open up your checkbook if you want to get the players to come there just because you hired mike malone doesn't mean you're gonna have success yeah it doesn't mean that now i respect him and what he's done in the nba i respect that the players probably respect that as well but how much are you paying me to come here even though it's a prestigious school we know what you've done we understand the players that's come there before but times are different now yeah you got to pay to win and that's what it come down to and some of these guys joe's like

26:43Shannon Sharpe:hey, I'll make me about$4 or$5 million in case I don't make it to the NBA. I got a great head start on life. Because, you know, sometimes your parents be able to give you like, hey, my kids, they got a head start. They had no college debt and they had a car already taken care of. So they got a head start. Everybody got, you know, within a month or two, they had jobs already lined up, but they had no college debt and they had a car. So they got a head start. So guys like, hold on, I ain't make the NBA. Now I can go to the G League or I can go overseas. But if not, I can go ahead and start whatever I got my degree in or whatever the case may be.

27:16Shannon Sharpe:I got me a nice little nest egg. I got$500. I got a million dollars stashed away. I can get me a great start if I can just wait until the job that I really want come to fruition. This is how these guys think. You're business people now. Yeah. All that student athlete, damn that.

27:32Chad Johnson:Yeah, you're right.

27:33Shannon Sharpe:If y 'all try to do, they're talking about student athletes. Y 'all didn't care enough about nobody getting no books until they started getting some money. And now y 'all try to put emphasis on student athletes. Nah, which one of them got an academic scholarship? Walked on to the football team because they already had a degree, already had a college tuition paid for. Nah, the college tuition is paid for because of the football or that basketball or that baseball. So y 'all keep that student athlete bull job. I'm an athlete that happens to have to be a student.

28:01Chad Johnson:Yeah. And we know that even though the portal open tomorrow, we know teams are already been working. Oh, yeah, they've been talking. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're going to act like, you know, tomorrow the first day. But, hell, they've been recruiting since the tournament started. You hear me? Yeah.

28:16Shannon Sharpe:They don't slid them a little something on the show. They don't slid them a little something.

28:18Chad Johnson:Yeah, y 'all already know what's going on. They locked in. Because, look, think about it. We've never seen North Carolina. Obviously, you know, they're going to have a lottery pick. They're going to have a top four or five pick this year in Caleb Wilson. But for the most part, they always have great players at North Carolina. You know what I mean? North Carolina, Duke, those blue blood teams always keep great talent. So with Mike Malone at the helm, Uncle Ocho, I'm sure he's going to be looking forward to bringing in some great talent and putting, you know, Chapel Hill, North Carolina back on the map for sure.

28:52Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. You know, Joe, they're not getting – because of the one and done and the NIL, the talent is more spread out. You know, before, Joe, they only went to like a handful of school.

29:03Chad Johnson:Yeah.

29:03Shannon Sharpe:North Carolina, Duke, Kansas got first pick. And then another five or ten guys kind of spread out all over the place. But Duke, Carolina, and Kansas and Kentucky got picked. They got – it was like a summer. If you ain't have no money, you got to wait and everything done scrapped over and people done tried to itch on and not. They're like, man, these shows don't feel like no 30s. They feel more like a 32, 34 because everybody done squeezed their ass in them. And your mommy had no money to put it on layaway. so you get what everybody that picked over. Go ahead, Ojo. Hey, Uncle Joe, just like you said, right?

29:38It's a business, right? And when it comes to business, right? When you got goddamn bees, what's the best way to attract bees? With the goddamn honey. So the college landscape is goddamn even now with players going all over the place. So if you understanding that, now that you understand it's a goddamn business, hell, goddamn supply and demand. The more you open up your pocket, the more players you can get to come to your school. Now, thinking just because it's North Carolina, thinking just because we have the Jordan brand, thinking just because we hired Mike Malone, you know, who's well-respected in the circles in the NBA, that's not going to cut it.

30:14I mean, it ain't cut it for how many coaches they had

30:17Shannon Sharpe:before Huber Davis. Well, Roy, and that's why, you know, you see a lot of coaches talking about, you know, I want to spend more time with my family. But I guarantee you, if the NIL hadn't come into a place and you still had the upper hand. They'd be coaching.

30:30Chad Johnson:Yeah. They'd be coaching. Y 'all already know what's going on. Hey, but look, they going after these guys that's in the portal that has experience, who's been in college, who are juniors and seniors. You look at Michigan. People are going to copy this, man. You know what I mean? You want guys who are not scared, who understands what college basketball is like, and going to come out and compete. So, hey, man, if you're a freshman, you got to be a five-star, and you got to be that boy. You hear me?

30:58Shannon Sharpe:Yes.

30:59Chad Johnson:If you want to come in and play, boy, you're going to be that boy.

31:02Shannon Sharpe:And the fact of the matter is, Joe, is that a guy that's in the portal, he's already been to college. He already knows he has study hall. He already knows he has to lift weights. He already knows he has to condition. He already knows he has to go to class. So I don't have to have, I don't have to like, boy, I sure hope he go to class. I sure hope he go to study hall. I sure hope he does conditioning. That guy's already done that.

31:24Chad Johnson:Yeah.

31:25Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. If I'm paying, look here, if I'm paying you, I ain't finna try. Look here. Ain't no on-the-job training, Ocho. Nah. You come. You got to come ready. Experience, hey, when I got my job application, experience required. Don't you bring your ass on here and think somebody going to teach you what to do and get a, hey, okay, I'll teach you what to do, but you're going to be on an hour salary. You damn sure not going to be salaried.

31:49Chad Johnson:Hey, look, the one thing y 'all know is, you know, it take a while, even the top freshmen, it take them a while to understand how to compete at the highest level, how to play defense, how to play the right way. Hey, bro, it ain't just about you. You know what I mean? Like, we got guys who've been in college three, four years already. You know what I mean?

32:08Shannon Sharpe:Yep.

32:08Chad Johnson:So it's a learning curve for a lot of these young cats. And, man, it's going to be fun to watch. I'm looking forward to see what Mike Malone, you know, pull out his hat as far as who he going to get out this portal, what kind of guys he going to bring in, what type of system he going to run, and what it's going to be like.

32:26Shannon Sharpe:But if you look what Arizona coach and the Michigan coach and a lot of these coaches says, I'm not interested. Because, I mean, it used to be, if this job opened up 10, 15 years ago, every coach would have been interested in it.

32:40Chad Johnson:Yeah. Matter of fact.

32:42Shannon Sharpe:That ain't the case now.

32:43Chad Johnson:Nah.

32:44Shannon Sharpe:That ain't the case now.

32:46Chad Johnson:As a matter of fact, they probably would have kept it in the family too.

32:50Shannon Sharpe:Yes.

32:51Chad Johnson:I just think now, like I've said before, with it being a professional sport, but you want a guy who's proven, who you know that these cats gonna respect. And that's what it was about. Yeah.

33:02Shannon Sharpe:And you look at, cause the coaches now they're looking at, hold on. I can go build a program with the portal. I can go build something like Signetti and become the second highest paid coach and make it almost 12,$13 million a year. I don't have to go to one of these blue buds because you know what? Other schools pay money too now. And we got famous alumni You got Mark Cuban Who went to Indiana Yeah So you got these guys like okay If you guys want to compete With the big dogs This is what it's going to take And everybody loves a winner Nobody has a problem Spending money As long as we're winning When the winning stops The funds dry up Yeah you're right

33:53Chad Johnson:But, hey, and it's been reported that, you know, his daughter played, Mike Malone's daughter played volleyball at North Carolina too. Yeah, see? She on the volleyball team. This a win-win for him.

34:04Shannon Sharpe:Yep.

34:05Chad Johnson:You know what I mean? So, man, this is.

34:08Shannon Sharpe:Well, now I got to take off scholarship. Your dad is coaching. He can pay for your way. So I get somebody else.

34:19Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah.

34:19Shannon Sharpe:But that's normally what happens anyway. You know, you got a kid, your son or your daughter is a student out there. Your dad is a coach. Hey, he probably takes a little. I say that tongue-in-cheek. Let me stop. Because everybody goes, man, you hear what Sheldon Sharp saying? He said that North Carolina should revoke Mike Malone's daughter, and he should have to pay for it out of his pocket. I said that tongue-in-cheek.

34:45Shannon Sharpe:Ready for a different take on Formula One? Look no further than No Grip, a new podcast tackling the culture of motor racing's most coveted series. Join me, Lily Herman, as we dive into the underexplored pockets of F1, including the astrology of the current grid. Lewis Hamilton, Capricorn Sun, Cancer Moon. Wouldn't you know it, Michael Schumacher is also a Capricorn Sun, Cancer Moon. The story of the sport's most consequential driver's strike. We have one man who, upon hearing that he was going to be fired, freaked out, and apparently climbed out the window of the bathroom. And was Daniel Ricciardo's illustrious F1 career a success story, a cautionary tale, or some combination of both?

35:23Shannon Sharpe:He started getting all this attention, and he maybe started to think, I'm bigger than this. I'm better. And plenty of other mishaps, scandals, and sagas that have made Formula One a delightful, decadent dumpster fire for more than 75 years. Listen to No Grip on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. the Knicks beat the Hawks 105 108 105 after a quick review wipes out CJ McCollum's half court buzzer beater that would have tied the game the Hawks first home loss since early February put an end to an Atlanta's 13 game home winning streak ISO Jalen Brunson led the way with New York he had 30 points 13 assists Carl Anthony Towns K.A.T.

36:07Shannon Sharpe:21 points 12 rebounds and 6 assists MVP chance rubbed in fourth quarter for Jalen Brunson who carried hello.

36:17Chad Johnson:Man, listen you know when we play the Knicks and Lakers out here man, it be more Knicks fans and Lakers fans than it be Hawks fans in the building I seen so much blue and orange it disgusted me tonight I ain't gonna lie to you, it disgusted me watching the game. I'm like, man, what's going on? But hey, look I like Alexander, man Ooh

36:38Shannon Sharpe:Hey, hey Joe, Joe, before you go, see what I'm talking about? Oh, Joe, you see what I'm talking about? Yeah. Now, Nikhil Alexander-Walker, he was playing alongside Ant-Man. Yeah. Could he do this in Minnesota? No. Now you see why I say guys, they got to go be, have the ball in their hands. He was never going to be this in Minnesota.

36:58Chad Johnson:Nah.

36:58Shannon Sharpe:Not with Ant-Man.

36:59Chad Johnson:Nah.

37:00Shannon Sharpe:Shea Gilgis was never going to be that.

37:03Chad Johnson:Not with Kawhi. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. I agree. I think in Minnesota, not only do you got Ant-Man, but you got Julius Randle, and both of those guys are kind of ball dominant. So he was getting scraps. Man, he done came over here and thrived, bro.

37:17Shannon Sharpe:Oh, 36 points on 12 of 19 shooting, 7 of 11 for three. So you mean to tell me with Russell Westbrook, who's an all-star, with Kevin Durant, who's an MVP, James Harden, the way we know him today because he went to Houston, he was going to do that at OKC? I mean, when you asked T-Mac that question, he said, yes, he could have done it. Now, I can't explain it the way Mac explained it. There you go. You believe James Harden. If he stays, if he stays in OKC, he's going to be the exact same player that he left and went to Houston, playing along Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

37:57Chad Johnson:Hell no. Ain't no way. Let me tell you something. Would he still average like 20 points a game? Yeah. He probably still would have got 20 a game. but man the way he was able to you know kind of do whatever he wanted in Houston bro he wasn't gonna be able to do that you Katie a ball handler Russell ball handler hell you can't have three dominant ball handlers on no one team bro I don't know hey Joe I would I would say as one dominant ball hand at the OKC team and that would be Russ because Katie could play off the goddamn ball yeah he can't have the ball but now I listen I I don't remember exactly how you probably remember better than I could, the way T-Mac explained it.

38:34When Unc asked T-Mac the same question, and T-Mac said, yeah, James Harden would still thrive if he was still on that team and being able to score 30, 36, even with those two.

38:46Shannon Sharpe:No, he did. I get to T-Mac straight. He said he averaged 20. But a 20, you're not even in the conversation. He got in the conversation for being one of the best two. They were like, who is a better scorer? Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, or James Harden. He stays in OKC at average 20. That's not even the discussion. Yeah. That's not even the discussion. He's not going to win an MVP. When was the third option ever an MVP?

39:17Chad Johnson:Man, I don't even know if he would have even been an all-star. Because, you know, KD and Russ, they were going to be locked in every year. You know what I mean? Unless you just head and shoulders better than everybody. Yeah, yeah. But outside of that, it was going to be hard. It would have been hard for him to be an all-star. But I think he still would have been a hell of a player, just nothing like he was in Houston, bro. Let me tell y 'all something.

39:38Shannon Sharpe:That's all I was trying to say. That was my only point. I didn't say he couldn't make an all-star team. I didn't say maybe they figured out and they won a championship. I say, but the James Harden that we know, that's a three - or four-time scoring champ, averaging 36, averaging 35, averaging 32, one of the first to have a 60-point triple-double. He's not doing that with Russ and KD.

40:00Chad Johnson:Because his usage rates were going to be too low in OKC. His usage rate was so high in Houston, he had the ball every chance, every time down court. So look.

40:12Shannon Sharpe:I say, Mac. I said, I hate to go against you. But James Harden had the ball all the time. So what's Russell Westbrook going to do? We've seen Russ. He's not an off-the-ball guard. He needs the ball. Now, KD can play without the ball, but he's still going to need his 17, 18 shots.

40:32Chad Johnson:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

40:35Shannon Sharpe:Go back. Look at James Harden when he was in Houston. How many shots per game did he average? There are only so many shots to go around.

40:41Chad Johnson:Man. And they had Ibaka. They had some guys who could play, man. Yes. It was going to be hard for him to average 30 or 36 a night. That wasn't going to happen.

40:52Shannon Sharpe:It's like Shaq and Kobe. Shaq and Kobe going to take the lion's share of the shot. But they're not going to have a third option that could be potentially an all-star?

41:01Chad Johnson:No.

41:02Shannon Sharpe:Look at what Chris Bosh, when he got with D-Wade and LeBron. Look at Kevin Love. Kevin Love was 26-13. Go look it up. He was 26-13. Look at what his numbers did when he got with Kyrie and LeBron. Yeah.

41:22Chad Johnson:Because they ain't going to be force-feeding you like that.

41:24Shannon Sharpe:Check this out. In 18-19, he averaged almost 25 shots a game. What was his peak was 25? Yeah, his peak. And his highest in OKC was 10. The highest in OKC was 10. So he went from 10, he averaged 15 more shots. Because why? He's the guy.

41:44Chad Johnson:Yep. And he knew it. And he knew it.

41:51Shannon Sharpe:I'm not saying James Harden, maybe. Maybe not. He's a top 75 player. But all I'm saying is the James Harden that we fell in love with, the guy that was giving you 30, he scored 30 points in 30-plus consecutive games.

42:09Chad Johnson:Impressive.

42:09Shannon Sharpe:They're like, man, Kobe never – this guy never did that. Great scores never did that. And I'm like, T-Mac, I said, bro, I showed you the basketball. Bro, you in the Hall of Fame. But I got to disagree with you on this one.

42:20Chad Johnson:Yeah.

42:21Shannon Sharpe:I just got to.

42:21Chad Johnson:Yeah, I disagree with him too. and that's my, and Mack my guy. I just see it. I couldn't see it.

42:27Shannon Sharpe:I just don't see it. I just don't see it. Not with Russ, not with Russ, and not with KD.

42:32Chad Johnson:Nah, nah.

42:33Shannon Sharpe:He had to get away. Look, now, we would have never known had they gave him that extra$5 million that he was looking for.

42:42Chad Johnson:Right.

42:42Shannon Sharpe:But when they didn't give him, and then he went to Houston, and he came out the box. He had like 35 back to back. I'm like, hold on, wait a minute.

42:51Chad Johnson:Yeah.

42:51Shannon Sharpe:And he did not look back. Y 'all remember that game that you remember when he was talking, they went overseas and they was talking about, and the GM said something crazy about this country or that country. Yeah, yeah. China got upset, and everybody thought James was bad, and James, he out of shape, and he dropped 44. Yeah. Bad boy, man.

43:16Chad Johnson:Bad boy. Hey, listen.

43:18Shannon Sharpe:That left-handed, that's a joke of death. He had a stretch for about five years. He was as good as putting the ball in the basket as anybody in the history of the game. Anybody. Jordan, Kobe, whomever. Whomever your great scorers is. Will, anybody that's averaged 30, James Harden had a stretch in Houston that was as good as anybody in the 80-year history of the NBA at putting the basketball in the basket.

43:48Chad Johnson:Yeah, I love watching him, especially his first couple years there, Anker and Ocho. I mean, and not only was he getting by his man, but he was dunking that thing. He'll booth that thing on you coming through that lane. Hey, he was something else, man. He was special, bro. He's still special. When I watch him play now, he still knows how to manipulate the defense, get what he wants, make guys around him better, make big shots. You know, I think everybody get on to him because of the postseason. You know, he hasn't had much success in the postseason, But for the most part, I think now he's with a team that, you know, they can make some noise in the East.

44:23Chad Johnson:I don't know how far they can get, but I know they can make some noise.

44:26Shannon Sharpe:I don't believe they can beat Boston.

44:28Chad Johnson:You don't think so?

44:29Shannon Sharpe:Nope. And if K don't get – could they beat Detroit without K? Yeah. How soon does K get back?

44:37Chad Johnson:I just don't know. How he going to be when he come back? That's a punctured lung. Like, that ain't – like, you need that to breathe, bro. Like, at the end of the day, I don't know what that's going to be like with Detroit.

44:48Shannon Sharpe:Joe, all your starters had double figures. Y 'all had 48 rebounds. Y 'all didn't shoot the ball that well.

44:55Chad Johnson:They didn't. You know what was a glaring thing when I was watching this Hawks and Knicks game? What'd you thought? And this is the growth and maturity that Jalen Johnson has to have. Okay, Ocho. The growth and maturity that Jalen Johnson has to have. He had 21 and 11.

45:12Shannon Sharpe:Yeah.

45:13Chad Johnson:But with seven minutes left on the clock, I think he may only took one shot. I think he made a three. You know what I mean? Like, he has to demand the ball more. He has to be more aggressive. And he'll figure that part out. You understand? Like, this is the first year they traded Trey early in the year. So, it's a learning curve for him. I expect him to make a huge jump next season. And hopefully in this postseason, man, he understands it more. But they're going to need him to do a lot more versus just, you know, kind of being out there. I know Alexander had it going in that fourth quarter.

45:48Shannon Sharpe:That's what I was about to ask you, Joe. Yeah. Did he get up? Did he say, you know what, Walt, you got it going, go ahead and do your thing. But that's the thing.

45:56Chad Johnson:That's the thing, though. It's like, you know, when you the guy and you got another guy to get going, you still have to some way somehow maintain rhythm within the game. You know what I mean? Because I thought it was a few possessions. Uncle Ocho, especially under three minutes, I was like, Like, I need Jalen just to get the ball, maybe even go to the mid post, tell him to get out of the way, and just make a play. And I think he'll learn that part because he's such a special talent, and I enjoy watching him play. Man, that's why I say, don't nobody want to see the Hogs, man. Don't nobody want to see the Hogs, bro.

46:27Chad Johnson:Hey, Joe. Hey, Joe, with Alexander Walker going off like that, you still think Jalen Johnson should insert himself, even with young bull, it's hot? Yeah, they needed him. It was a few times, Ocho. It was a few times they needed him to be aggressive and make a play. Like I say, man, in the last seven, eight minutes, Ocho, he was just kind of watching because Alexander kind of had it going. But I thought that he had some opportunities to be aggressive and try and make a play, whether it's get to the line, get you a little chippy. I just think, you know, just a little more, you know, probably would have got us over the hump tonight.

47:05Chad Johnson:But, I mean, he's still a special talent, bro.

47:08Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. I mean, you guys had five. All your starters in double figures. You guys just didn't shoot the ball well. Kong Wu, 4 '13". Jalen was 8 of 19. CJ was 7 of 19. Walt was the only one. He was 12 of 19. Dyson Daniel was 4 of 11. You guys just didn't shoot. You guys shot 40%.

47:27Chad Johnson:Yeah.

47:27Shannon Sharpe:40%. I mean, the opposing team shot 50%.

47:31Chad Johnson:And didn't get none from our bench, for real. You got eight points. Yeah, Kaminga played 22 minutes. five points, five rebounds. It's just, it's kind of disheartening for me because I like Kaminga so much, Ocho. You know what I mean? I'm like, I feel like it's sometimes, man, you're going to have to have Kaminga and Jalen Johnson out there at the four and five just to make us a faster team.

47:56Shannon Sharpe:Yeah.

47:57Chad Johnson:You know what I mean? To create opportunities for everybody. I think it'll make the game a little easier, but I think Quinn doing a great job with these guys. I mean, they had won 11 straight prizes tonight. So, you know, it's a tough loss for us.

48:14Shannon Sharpe:You do realize, though, if you go that small lineup, somebody's going to say, bro, I just got to make sure I crash the board because you are really undersized. Yeah. Because if they go Cat, Cat is a legit seven-foot tall. I don't know what you call it, Mitchell Robinson. So you got to be careful. So you got to say, guys, look here, we got to go – we got to have basically everybody go to the glass. Because you're so undersized. If you go Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, and Kaminga at the 345, you are seriously undersized.

48:52Chad Johnson:I understand that part. But think about this. Who in the hell Carl Anthony Towns or Mitchell Robinson going to guard? They can't guard no damn body if we like that. We may. What are they going to be able to do? All we got to do is gain, rebound, and get out and run. Them boys in trouble.

49:08Shannon Sharpe:And I was like, hey, Cat, I know you don't like to do this, but get your ass down on the block. You got Kamingo, you got Daniels, or you got Jalen Johnson.

49:19Chad Johnson:He probably would try and take advantage of it, but I live with it. I ain't going to lie to y 'all. If I can get the ball out of Brunson's hand, because it seemed like down the stretch, Uncle Ocho, y 'all know Brunson's so clutch, bro. He makes up shots down the stretch. I'm like, man, I'd rather the ball be a cat hand than it is in Brunson.

49:38Shannon Sharpe:But, Joe, the shot that he's making, hey, I'm just looking at the bench on the coach. What you want me to do? Did you see that shot he just made? Damn. You're right. I took my shoe off and threw it, tried to hit the ball. And I still didn't impact it. I've tried everything, Joe.

49:57Chad Johnson:Hey, big body Brunson, he a tough cover. I ain't going to lie. He know how to use his body well. to create space, get to spots, and his pivots with step-throughs. I'm like, man, he out there, he look like a little bitty big man out there.

50:12Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. He got tremendous feet. Watching him at Villanova, I did not see this. No, I ain't either, bro. The only time that I thought he could be special, if you remember when Luka went down when he was in Dallas? Oh, yeah, he took over. That's where I was like, hold on. You can do this?

50:30Chad Johnson:That's how he got paid, hell.

50:33Shannon Sharpe:Dallas effed that up.

50:34Chad Johnson:Yeah. Well, he's a ball-dominant guy, and I don't know if you can play him and Luka together. I understand. You know, we look at Brunson now, but, hell, think about it. We were just talking about James Harden and OKC. Brunson wouldn't have been able to do none of this in Houston. I mean, in Dallas playing with Luka?

50:53Shannon Sharpe:No.

50:54Chad Johnson:Nah, he wouldn't have been able to do this. No. I mean, being a six-foot two-guard? You got to have the ball. Man, two-guard post player because he going to post up. I don't care if he's got bigger than him or not. He going to post up. He a good guy to have on your team, man. I think he facilitates well. And if them other guys get involved, Bridges, OG, if they play well like they did tonight, they played decent, huh?

51:21Shannon Sharpe:They did. Yeah, it's going to be hard to figure out. OG gave him 22. OG was 50 % from the floor. Cat was 9 of 12. But Carroll Bridges was 7 of 13. Mitchell Robinson was 4 of 6. But he gave you 12 rebounds in 20 minutes.

51:36Chad Johnson:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, they haven't been playing great ball like this. They've been playing decent. But, you know, everybody ain't been putting up numbers like this.

51:44Shannon Sharpe:No. But I'm definitely getting the ball out of Brunson's hands. Somebody else got to beat me.

51:51Chad Johnson:I'm saying, how you going to get it out of his hands, though? You going to double him?

51:54Shannon Sharpe:I got to trap him. I got to make him give it up.

51:56Chad Johnson:They got too many guys. They got too many guys who can play.

52:00Shannon Sharpe:I live with Cat. I live with OG. You just said the man won the Clutch Award last year, Joe.

52:06Chad Johnson:Yeah, you're right. Yeah, he did. He did.

52:09Shannon Sharpe:You don't believe it?

52:10Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah, I believe it. Hey, listen. Hey, I'm like, hey, I don't know, man. I think, you know, he made a lot of tough shots, but doubling him on a pick and roll and he get the passes to Cat, I feel like Cat's smart enough to where he can make the right play. He can find OG. He can find Bridges. He may even shoot his little touch floater in the paint. I think Cat's too good for that. You can't double off Cat. But you do realize, you do realize, Joe,

52:41Shannon Sharpe:that Bronson ain't looking to get a ball up in those situations.

52:44Chad Johnson:No, he's not. He's not because he thrived in those moments. He understand those are his times. Hey, man, when you got that ultimate confidence from your teammates, your coaches, in those moments, I'm speaking from experience here. In those clutch moments, the last thing you want to do is let your teammates and coaching staff down, bro, because they believe in you so much. You know what I mean? So when you watch Brunson late in games, man, it's like he's so comfortable out there. He understands what he can get. not only does he have a great mid-range shot and three-point shot, but them pump fakes to where he gets you and he gets to the line, them step-throughs.

53:25Chad Johnson:He got a lot in this game. He got a lot in this game.

53:29Shannon Sharpe:They didn't shoot a whole lot of free throws. Neither team. They only shot 17 free throws apiece, Joe. Both of them, 13 or 17.

53:36Chad Johnson:It's a three-point shoot. How many threes we get up tonight?

53:41Shannon Sharpe:The Knicks got up 33. You guys got up 42.

53:46Chad Johnson:We going to shoot that three now. Yeah, we're going to shoot that three-ball. I ain't going to lie to y 'all. We're going to shoot that three-ball.

53:54Shannon Sharpe:It was – he got 17 in the fourth, Joe. He had 13 points going into the fourth quarter.

54:01Chad Johnson:Who?

54:02Shannon Sharpe:Brunson.

54:02Chad Johnson:Oh, he had 17 in the fourth. Yeah, he got it going on him. 13 assists.

54:08Shannon Sharpe:So, you know, he get it going in the fourth. So, what is he looking to do? Keep it going.

54:13Chad Johnson:Yeah. I mean, I didn't think he shot well. I mean, hell, he was 11 for 26. Hey, look, if a guy got to take 26 shots to get 30 points, shit, man. Hey, Joe, you can live with that? Hell yeah. Yeah. All day long, Ocho. All day long, bro. He was three from three? For sure. He getting this 30, but as long as you're winning. Well, I think in that fourth quarter, he was very efficient in that fourth quarter. but I think he wasn't playing great throughout the game. But in that fourth quarter, obviously he turned it up. He did.

54:53Shannon Sharpe:He got 17. And that's the thing. Look, Joe, you've been that guy that's been the guy in the fourth quarter.

55:03Chad Johnson:Yeah.

55:03Shannon Sharpe:And you know once you get it going, ain't no turning that off.

55:06Chad Johnson:No. Not unless you double it. Either you run out of time or somebody beat you with a bigger shot

55:12Shannon Sharpe:than what you made. But you're not stopping it once he get going.

55:15Chad Johnson:Yeah, because it was nip and tuck back and forth for the last two, three minutes.

55:19Shannon Sharpe:Yep.

55:20Chad Johnson:And I seen McCollum, he that one at the end, I thought it was good. When he shot that three. It was good.

55:27Shannon Sharpe:It was just on the fingertips. Oh, man. It's like, Ocho, what you say in football? Coach, give it to me early. Get a guy going early. Early. You can kiss the baby. Hey, you at my mercy now. Yeah. I done got me about four or five, about six passes in the first half. Oh, no. You got me all the way to the four. You got me all the way to the four.

55:54Chad Johnson:Hey, hey, I know exactly what you're talking about. Hey, listen, in football, you know, y 'all want to get off to a great start. You don't want to go into halftime with one catch for seven yards. Nope.

56:08Shannon Sharpe:But they think you can just turn it on after that. Oh, yeah, we got you. We got you. What you mean you got who? Hey, you going to be in there with an attitude and something else, ain't you, man? Hey, Joe, that's one of the worst feelings in the world, Joe. And what makes it even worse is if you go through practice all week and they got stuff game planned for you just to get you the ball, the team you playing, make sure when those plays are called where you know it's coming to you and they roll and they bracket and they double you. Man, listen. Damn. All I'm saying is, look, Ocho, I want to get you frustrated.

56:50Yeah. We're going to double Ocho the first half, get him frustrated,

56:57Shannon Sharpe:look at him on the sideline, look at how he's pacing.

57:00Chad Johnson:Yeah. Hey, hey, and then when he –

57:02Shannon Sharpe:Look at him on the sideline. You see he threw that water out? He ain't even drinking the water. He got a cup of water and he's drinking.

57:07Chad Johnson:Throwing his helmet down. Throwing his helmet. Hey.

57:14Hey, Joey, Joey hurt, boy. Going to the half with no catches or going into the half with one catch? It hurt. Because you can't tell me you went and did all this practicing all week, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. We had to walk through on Saturday and you're going to allow these folk to dictate what we want to do offensively.

57:31Chad Johnson:Hey, the worst thing is when you go into a game, bro, and your body feeling good, your attitude right, you feeling good, you're like, oh, yeah, this is going to be a good night tonight. and you mess around, you throw a dud out there. That's the worst feeling in the world. He like...

57:46Shannon Sharpe:Hey, watch it, watch it, watch it. All I need to see is what thing, I need to see what thing from him. We got it, that's it. That's all I need you to see right there. That's all I need you to see. You see that right there? We got it. We got it. Don't even worry about it no more. We got it now.

58:00Chad Johnson:Hey, hey. Ain't running his route forward because he know the ball.

58:05Shannon Sharpe:Hey.

58:12Chad Johnson:good job good job hey ojo yo hey uh when when when games like that happen in football do y 'all ever talk to the quarterback and like halftime try to tell hey look look man you gotta look over here sometime i'm open i don't bother him i go straight to my old coordinator i go straight to my officer coordinator i'll probably tell hugh something especially when the game is going on yeah even though hugh doesn't have as much control as i would like i would want especially in game yeah i wait till halftime come i never ever ever ever bother my quarterback ever why you probably tell you huh you probably tell you yeah i mean i'm gonna tell you okay okay hey hey during the game when i was frustrated hey joe hugh jackson was my outlet that was my outlet that bent my frustration because he's one of the few people going to listen.

59:01He's probably going in one ear and out the other, but he's still going to listen to me. I don't bother Carson. Carson has enough. He got to worry about it, especially during the game. Every Blue Moon joke, I pick up the phone and tell Brad, listen now, you know I got you. I got you. And that's it. I won't get into nothing else, you know, what I see and they doing. I won't do none of that. I would just remind him, I got you. And then I just hang up.

59:26Chad Johnson:Yeah. Yeah. And just in hopes. Come on now. Don't do me like that. Hold on. So you can use the phone anytime you're on the sideline? Okay, Ojo. Yeah.

59:35Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, once you pick up, it goes straight to the offense. Go straight. Yeah. The offense got a phone. The defense got a phone. And if you dial nine, you can get an outside line. What? I'm glad I ain't know that. I'm glad your ass ain't know that either. You been calling people. Hey, I'm glad I know that.

1:00:01Shannon Sharpe:I'm definitely glad. I don't even know why I said that. Oh, man. Nah, Joe, I was – I told you, I just like, man, I was like, man, we did all this. You know, I'm talking to myself, you know, Rod, I'm like, man, we done did all this practicing, and then it laid the ball game. We down. What you like? You to get out my face?

1:00:29Shannon Sharpe:I mean, what you want me to do?

1:00:31Chad Johnson:Not what I like, what you see. Hey, they see your attitude. They see you pissed off, so they try to come over there and talk to you. Hey, we're going home. We okay? You okay, I'm not. And what make it worse is, Unk, they'll come to you asking what you like, matter of fact, and we losing. We losing, so whatever you give me ain't going to make no difference anyway at this point.

1:00:52Shannon Sharpe:What are we talking about? I sure wish y 'all had asked me this in the first quarter or the first half.

1:00:58Chad Johnson:It happened like that in basketball too, though, believe it or not. What you saying?

1:01:05Shannon Sharpe:But Joe, your personality, you ain't going to say nothing.

1:01:08Chad Johnson:Well, I think I enjoy being an all-around guy. I ain't never needed nobody to get me to rock. You know, when I was a kid, you know, I used to always see the big men. You know, they have to go down there and post up. And if the point guard don't throw on the ball, they be pissed off too. So once I got a little size on me and I can handle a rock, oh, you mean tell me I can go rebound this ball and push it up the court and make my own play? Boy, please. I ain't never worried about no point. I'm the point guard. I'm just playing the center spot and the point guard. Yeah. Okay.

1:01:47Shannon Sharpe:Unfortunately, Joe, Ocho and I, we couldn't do that. They have to call a play that's deliberately, that's meant for us. Now, I have done some things I'm not proud of, like run the wrong route intentionally. Hey, I switched positions. Still ain't getting no rock. Hey, what I do like, Joe, this is, I mean, obviously you have to have years in, especially with your quarterback. The chemistry has to be there. You guys have to understand and know what each other is seeing, especially out there on the field what i do like is once i got comfortable with carson we got into you know year three and year four is if there was a game where a game was slow and i wouldn't get the ball and he wanted to get me going try to not to really calm me down it's not like i acted or acted or acted a fool or nothing he had changed the play at the line of scrimmage he'll just look at me if i got if that safety drift over in the middle of the field yeah he'll look at me and he'll he'll throw a number up, you know, just to let me touch it.

1:02:47Give me a slam, give me a quick out just to get me going. Joe, once I touch that ball, you got me the rest of the game. I don't need, you know, it ain't got to be nothing deep. You know, just let me touch it. Just let me feel it and then I get going and once you get me, once I start

1:03:02Chad Johnson:talking in the game, I'm good, Joe. You just want to feel like you're a part of the game. That's it. That's it, Joe. I don't need much. I don't need much. I didn't wear a mouthpiece on purpose, Joe. Just let me touch the ball early. And once I get to talk with the players on the other team and TV timeout, you got me the whole game. I'm good. Hey, look, in basketball, man, if you're bringing the ball up, especially early in the 2000s because we were playing with two traditional bigs, you know, they'll trap you at half court, especially if you got it going. They'll trap you at half court, make you pass to somebody.

1:03:34Chad Johnson:Now it's harder because everybody can shoot.

1:03:37Shannon Sharpe:You know what I mean?

1:03:38Chad Johnson:That's why, Uncle, I was saying, you're talking about trapping Brunson. There's too many guys out now who can play, make, and shoot the midis, shoot the three, as opposed to, hell, 15, 17, 20 years ago. You ain't had that.

1:03:52Shannon Sharpe:You know what, Joe? I just want him to get a ball up early. I don't want him to have the ball the whole damn shot clock. If he get it late, okay. But I got to make – maybe I can entice somebody else to shoot it, to F it up.

1:04:04Chad Johnson:Yeah, I think what Atlanta was thinking tonight, though, they had played pretty good defense on them throughout the whole game. And then that fourth quarter, you know, they probably thought they were still going to be able to, you know, do a number on him. But he was able to get loose. He got a couple easy buckets, step throughs. I'm like, man. And then he made a couple threes. Next thing you know, hell, you can't cool nobody off once they done made two three in a row.

1:04:28Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, you right about that. He done got it going. That's the worst, though. That's the worst. You practice all week, Ocho, and you just catch him like, oh, man. I called my brother. Hey, bro, go have a good one this week. You boy in there. You know, he asking how that thing looking. He said, looking real good. Looking real good, man. Looking real good. I done told him. I'm like, ooh. I done counted. I'm like, okay. I'm looking at the first 15, Joe. I'm like, okay. One, two, three, four, five, six. I say, out of the first 15, I literally have six, but I'm going to be conservative. I got three catches in the first 15.

1:05:09Shannon Sharpe:I'm like, okay, okay.

1:05:18Shannon Sharpe:And they already know. I put my chin strap, Joe. I fasten it backwards. So the chin strap, it ain't dangling. It's back here. So they already know what time it is. Yeah. 84, we good? We good? No, we ain't good, man. Stop. No, you know I'm not good. Why you asking me this? hey sharp telephone tell them I ain't in

1:05:46hey you know it would have been different Joe if you look at today's game look at the way they use pooping the cool look at the way they use Jamar Chase and JSN who else they use like that Jetta oh yeah Justin Jefferson you see how they be all over the place in the slot coming out the backfield, putting them in motion, you know, stacking the splits and doing... Joe, I ain't do none of that, Joe.

1:06:11Chad Johnson:You didn't do none of that? I'm out wide to the left. I'm out wide to the right. Every blue moon, I'm in the slot. Every blue moon. Joe, I'm out there getting it off the muscle, Joe. Off the muscle. I don't do... I ain't going in motion. I ain't doing nothing. Ain't no tricks. Ain't none of that. You call the play, I'm getting open. I don't give a fuck. I don't give a fuck. You put three people out there. I'm finna be open.

1:06:32Shannon Sharpe:Look at them tight ends now. Joe catching 125, 589 balls. What's the dude? The dude in the... Who? McBride. Trey McBride. Oh, yeah, he went crazy this year. Arizona? Yeah, he went crazy. The guy's getting 117, 120, 126.

1:06:52Chad Johnson:Hey, y 'all know a quarterback like a nice tight end now.

1:06:56Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, my quarterback like me too. But not like he had that ball off the TD, getting five, six yards to clear. Man, you out there running that thing, getting 1 ,500, 1 ,700, 2 ,000. Yeah.

1:07:10Chad Johnson:Boy, y 'all had a squad, boy. Yeah, you ain't finna get no whole bunch of passes. I think – what's the most?

1:07:18Shannon Sharpe:I did catch – I think 70 passes. I mean, 70 passes and you got a 1 ,700-yard rush, Ocho? Yeah. That's a lot of passes. That's the most you caught in the season? No, the most I caught in the season was 87. but I caught I caught I caught 80 he had over 1500 I caught 70 72 he had 1700 and I caught 60 I think 64 he had 2000 hey they had 8 in the box yeah to try to stop him and then I tell you know and then everybody want to play cover too because even if they didn't have 7 in the box they can get that safety down in a hurry So it was TD job to run them out of cover too. Yeah. Make them drop that safety down.

1:08:02Chad Johnson:Yeah.

1:08:03Shannon Sharpe:And so now me, Ed, and Rod, we play one-on-one. Yeah. Yeah.

1:08:11But, hey, it is what it is.

1:08:13Shannon Sharpe:Hey, I got what I got. I can't complain. I was a part of three teams that got to the Super Bowl. We won. We got some Pro Bowls out of it. We got some All-Pros out of it. Got a gold jacket. I can't complain. Hell no. I see these guys, man, catching 100. And Ocho, you see J.S. Ocho, you realize these guys be getting 180, 190 targets? That's crazy. That's crazy. Targets.

1:08:40Chad Johnson:It's a pass-heavy lead now. Oh, yeah. But they throw the hell out of that ball. Man, what?

1:08:45Shannon Sharpe:They throw the hell out of that ball. And his top salary, Ocho, in 2017, the top salary was$17 million for a wide receiver. Yeah. In 10 years, it's increased$25 million per year. Damn. So the top salary was 17 million AB. Now it's 42 JSN. Ooh. That's crazy. So in another 10 years, where is it going, Ocho? About 60. 60, 65. Ooh. Quarterback will be well over 100.

1:09:12Chad Johnson:What about the running back? The running back going to come back? You got to be, no. About 25. Hey, if you're a running back now, you got to have some hands too, don't you? You got to be able to do everything. You got to be Gibbs.

1:09:23Shannon Sharpe:You got to be B. John Robinson. You need to be C. Mack. The days of like guys just bruising, nah.

1:09:31Chad Johnson:Getting 25, 30 rushes a game, that ain't happening no more.

1:09:34Shannon Sharpe:Like a Derrick Henry? Yeah. Nah. No. Hell, I don't know if they're gonna be a guy that big. Be that big, be that fast, and be that durable. You know the beating that man done took?

1:09:48Chad Johnson:Mm-hmm.

1:09:49Shannon Sharpe:Sheet.

1:09:56Black Effect Podcast Festival is back in Atlanta on April 25th at Pullman Yard. Yeah. And the full lineup is nuts. We got the Grits and Eggs podcast, Deontay Kyle and Big Ice Cup Cat. We got Club 520 with Jeff Teague and the gang. Yeah, yeah. Don't call me white, girl. Mona will be there. Keep it positive, sweetie, with Crystal Renee. We got Reality with the King with Carlos King. And yes, Drink Champ will be in the building.

1:10:20Shannon Sharpe:Okay. Plus, you know, we're going to have a lot of guests. So you need to join us. And we got the Black Effect Marketplace. to pitch your podcast and everything you expect from the Black Effect Podcast Festival. Tickets are on sale right now. Go get yours at blackeffect.com slash podcast festival. Don't play yourself, okay? Pull up.

1:10:41Shannon Sharpe:Ready for a different take on Formula One? Look no further than No Grip, a new podcast tackling the culture of motor racing's most coveted series. Join me, Lily Herman, as we dive into the underexplored pockets of F1, including the astrology of the current grid, the story of the sport's most consequential driver's strike, and plenty of other mishaps, scandals, and sagas that have made Formula One a delightful, decadent gumster fire for more than 75 years. Listen to No Grip on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.