Nightcap Hour 1: Thunder LOOK UNSTOPPABLE vs Lakers + Austin Reaves CRAHES OUT on Refs + Cade DOMINATES Game 2 vs Cavs

17:08Chad Johnson:And that's a recipe for disaster on the road, fellas. It's hard to beat a great team, especially a championship caliber team with 20 turnovers. You just can't do it. And then another thing, if Bron is going to be kind of average like this, then he needs Aiden to play well. You know, he ain't got to be great. Aiden ain't got to be great. He going to need to get you at least 15 points, you know, eight to 10 rebounds, just for y 'all to stay in the game and compete. It's just too much because you don't get nothing from your bench. Luke Canard came in and gave you a little something. But for the most part, you rely so much on your starters, bro, that it weighs heavy on them.

17:45Chad Johnson:And then once you do get in that fourth quarter and it's a tight game, man, y 'all know OKC got another run in them. They got another run in them because they still fresh. One of the youngest teams, and they ain't bogging not one person down with a bunch of damn minutes. You know what I'm saying? You look at Chick, they ain't got no answer for Chick. Okay, Ocho. Nope. They don't. And I think the more and more he becomes aggressive and asserts himself, the better off they're going to be. He plays great off Shea, understanding that, damn, every time Shea is in a pick and roll or whatnot, they're trying to double-team and keep the ball out of his hands.

18:17Chad Johnson:Hey, look, you can tell OKC practices. They goes over it because when that ball comes out, those other guys are ready to shoot or make a play. They're just too deep, man. They're too deep. Hey, listen, I know we want to see the Lakers get a game or two.

18:31Shannon Sharpe:Mm-hmm. I don't even know if they can do that, to be honest. I thought this was a great game, especially late in the third quarter. I was like, oh, man, Shea gone? Yeah. If I'm not mistaken, Joe, they had like a three or maybe a four-point lead when Shea left. I said, okay, you expand that. Let's get to the fourth quarter. You got a lead going into the fourth quarter. You look up. They down 10.

18:53Chad Johnson:Mm-hmm. Hey, you look at that damn Cason Wallace and that damn Jerry McCain. Yeah. Man, I mean, you talking about two pivotal players and what OKC does, bro, as far as getting things done. Oh, Shea, you got to take a break. Oh, don't worry. I got you. I got you. We're going to pick up the slack. And they do it every game. This is carbon copy of how they've been great throughout the whole season, bro. Yeah, Shea is awesome. He's the MVP, the reigning MVP. But, bro, they got – hell, if Shea sit out, they probably can still win the game. Yeah. Just keep it real. They got guys who get to it, fellas.

19:32Yeah. And Uncle Joe, you got to understand, right? FGA missed time during the season. And they didn't miss a beat. They didn't miss a beat. Even though Shea's not scoring 30 in this series, he's scoring 20. They still haven't missed a beat. When he goes out, they still haven't missed a beat. They continue to float. I think if you take the Lakers, right, Uncle, and you say they played perfect basketball, they didn't have any turnovers. They played well in transitional offense and on defense. They still wouldn't win this game because they not get enough from everybody else. Achimura played well.

20:06LeBron did enough. Austin Reeves looks like himself again. Yeah. But it's just not enough. DeAndre Aiden, you got to come to the party.

20:18Shannon Sharpe:Three points. You have an invitation to come to the party. Three points. He's up and down. You don't know what you're going to get from him. He right there at the rim. Why not dunk it? Why he trying to lay the ball up? Bro, I'm like, bro, you right there. You seven foot tall, and you trying to lay the ball up. That's Jokic. Let Jokic lay the ball up. You dunk it.

20:37Chad Johnson:Yeah.

20:38Shannon Sharpe:He lays it up. He misses it. Gets it back again. And misses it again.

20:42Chad Johnson:Yeah. Yeah. You can't. When you turn the ball, first of all, the last thing you can do,

20:48Shannon Sharpe:if you don't have a – it's kind of like, Ocho, when you don't have a high-powered offensive football, the last thing you can do is turn the ball up. You can't. Because you don't have the weaponry. to get back into the ball game. That is the Lakers' problem. Because they don't have the offensive firepower, the last thing that you can do is turn the ball over. First of all, you can't turn it over. You don't have the firepower, and you're not a good defensive team.

21:12Chad Johnson:Yeah.

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26:17Shannon Sharpe:Because most lefty players are more lefty dominant than right-handed players are right dominant. You look at the guys that's been left-handed in this league. You look at Zach Randolph. You look at Manu. You look at Marshall Onus. You look at James Harden. You look at guys that have been left – they really, really, really left-handed dominant.

26:36Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah, yeah.

26:38Shannon Sharpe:And I don't know why the Lakers still don't – and Aiton got the guy, got the guy, and guess what he does? Let him sidestep and go to the left and lay the ball up. I was like, I'll be damned.

26:48Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah. They come at you in ways, bro. It seems like – it's times where it seems like the Lakers kind of got it, even if they got a two-point lead, four-point lead. man, you got your starters playing so many minutes, Uncle Ocho, that when it does come in the fourth quarter, seven minutes, under seven minutes, they start making these bonehead plays, bro, just lackluster turnovers. I'm like, damn. I know his fans took him to school.

27:14Shannon Sharpe:There ain't no way he caught the bus on his own. I know his fans dropped him up like a school every day.

27:18Chad Johnson:Hey, hey, hey. And it seemed like one turnover, it kind of starts to compound into another. Next thing you know, hell, now you're back down 10. It's like so it's hard for them to keep overcoming these huge leads because we want one thing we do know Obviously without Luca, they're not that high power offensively. Yes. They got guys who can score. Yeah But to keep pulling yourself out of these deficits bro It causes too much wear and tear on you then in the fourth quarter you start to see all these Bone-headed turnover that you like bro. What are you doing? Hell they did dog dad

27:53Shannon Sharpe:You know why, Joe? If you look at Jalen Williams playing 15 minutes, Caruso played 22 minutes, Kaysom Wallace played 31 minutes, McCain played 18 minutes. The reason why J.J. can't play his bench that many minutes is because they blow up.

28:08Chad Johnson:You don't trust him.

28:09Shannon Sharpe:If they're down five and they come in there, by the time, I mean, J.J. got to call a timeout and put the starters back in because now they're down 15. And the game is about to get out of hand. He can't play anybody for extended stretches because they just don't know what to do. They start turning the ball over. They're like, and I'm sure J.J. and the staff has gone over this stuff, but he's constantly like, I can see him like, what are we doing? I don't know.

28:35Chad Johnson:I don't think they know either. Yeah, you know what? I think they know what the game plan is. I just don't think J.J., he don't trust nobody coming off that bench for real. Outside of Luke Kennard, who plays great off Bruin. Yes. He don't trust a single soul coming off that bench for real. You know, he'll give them a couple minutes here and there, but hell, in them couple minutes, if you ain't made no splash, then come sit next to me.

28:58Shannon Sharpe:Because the thing is, Joe, is that I can't trust you. When you get there, you turn the ball over and you pretend like – and guess what? We going to switch everything. And guess what happens? They stay with the guy. The guy don't get switched off, and he hit a wide open three.

29:13Chad Johnson:Yep.

29:13Shannon Sharpe:And he says, I thought we said we were switching everything. And then they looking at him. I thought, no, I thought you, and he said, no, no, no, don't worry about it. Hey, because see, I put, it's like this is a football joke. They're only going to put your ass in the game so many times and you F up before they say, hey, they're going to cut you or they're going to put your ass on the bench. Yeah. You know what make it worse too, Unc? It not only do you have the players on the bench that don't really have the wherewithal to know what to do once they get in the game, it's the fact that they playing the goddamn OKC Thunder.

29:46It makes it look worse. But it's even worse when they do get in the game and you don't know what the hell you're doing.

29:52Chad Johnson:Yeah. Because their pressure is just too much. Their pressure causes these guys to turn the ball over. And we know you turn the ball over against OKC, it's probably going to lead into some damn points.

30:04Shannon Sharpe:Yes.

30:04Chad Johnson:Every time. I mean, they're just too much of a juggernaut for the Lakers to have any of these guys to play pedestrian. You damn near need. If Bron don't go off for 35-40 or AR go off for 35, man, you're going to have to have everybody play right at a medium to where y 'all can just stay close in the game. And I thought they'd done that until like the fourth quarter. For the most part, okay, Ocho, they stayed within reach.

30:30Shannon Sharpe:I thought that we can get to the fourth quarter, Joe, because they were down in the fourth quarter. They came back and made a run. I think they got it to within five. But the third quarter, they were up like five or six. And the next thing you know, Shea goes to the bench and they take off. I'm like, I thought this was supposed to be your opportunity where you take off. You don't allow them to take off. You're supposed to be in the driver's seat. This is the mark of a very good basketball team. Let's not deny that. They're a very good basketball team, but they do entirely too much flopping. Oh, yeah.

31:03Shannon Sharpe:I mean, man, D.A. ain't touched Chet. He fought. Oh, Lord, have mercy. I thought the Holy Ghost hit him. Hey, everybody got a case of them flops. on every every game you see everybody everybody got a case of them damn flops trying to trying to get a call oh joe huh it's getting out of hand now yeah yeah it is a little bit hey you know what it ain't also for the lakers what ain't make it too easy they had to play against the rest tonight as well i'm not sure what the rest were doing tonight now i'm listen i'm not want to say anything i'm not going to blame that on the reason why you know the thunder won but they didn't make it any easier for the goddamn lakers tonight man ain't nobody come to see you otis ain't nobody come to see you i've never heard i'm charming you know what i've never heard anybody say you know what man i'm gonna go see tony brothers i want to see brothers i want to see capers or i want to see hey i want to i've never heard anybody say that yeah you're right you're right so so why do you feel like you need to insert yourself the best games in which you don't insert yourself i understand guys are gonna foul but y 'all be tonight with some ticky tack stuff.

32:12Shannon Sharpe:And I'm like, hold on. You go by the, you barely bump Shea. They calling it. On the other end, Jalen Williams run dead in the brawn. Knock him on the ground and they don't do nothing. They talking about play on.

32:27Chad Johnson:Yeah.

32:29Shannon Sharpe:On the other end, Kinnard barely touched Shea.

32:33Chad Johnson:I agree.

32:35Shannon Sharpe:And I get it. I get it. It gets frustrating when you think all the calls going against you, Joe, you've been in that situation you know it gets frustrating Ocho it seemed like we we hey are we getting the holding calls yeah getting the unnecessary roughness or the uh or the ticky tack penalties and you're like

32:50Chad Johnson:hey bro we're not the only ones out here now yeah yeah hey look listen think about it I don't even really think the Lakers played bad outside of the turnovers I mean you look at their field goal percentage they shot 50 but hell if you let a team shoot 55 against you that's a recipe for disaster You probably going to lose that game, fellas. You know, you got to tighten that up. I think JJ is going to have to, you know, hope somebody come off this bench, bro, and give you a spark. I mean, I know it don't look great, but, hell, when you going home, Ocho, somebody going to have to come in, man, and get, hey, look, maybe they come in and get you 15, 16, who you least expected from.

33:33Chad Johnson:Right, right. But in order to beat this OKC team, hell, just to get a game, bro, you're going to have to play pretty damn perfect almost just to win one game.

33:42Shannon Sharpe:Absolutely. Joe, did you see what happened after the game? Did you see Austin Reeves talking to the official at half court? No, I didn't see. What happened? I don't know. He was just talking to him. And they were all looking around, listening. And he was like pointing like, you know, I don't know. And I don't want to paraphrase. So hopefully we'll get more context and we'll get an opportunity to talk about it. So hopefully they'll have the press conference, and at some point in time we'll be able to talk about what he actually said to them. But he had five fouls. Marcus Smart had five fouls. Shea had four.

34:13Shannon Sharpe:But, I mean, Hartenstein, two. Chet, three. Two. Nobody else really was in foul trouble. But Shea.

34:20Chad Johnson:They got a bad whistle tonight. Bad whistle.

34:24Shannon Sharpe:It's tough.

34:24Chad Johnson:They had three guys with five fouls. Jackson Hayes had five. Yeah. Yeah, it's hard. And you know what? You want the ref to kind of swallow the whistle a little bit, man, and let these guys play. You can't just – that's why they say refs control the game, bro, believe it or not. In basketball, refs control the game. They can control the outcome. They can control the outcome.

34:46Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. Joe, you said something very interesting. You said they control the outcome because they determine how aggressive you can play. Right. You might want to come into the game like, okay, we're going to body them up. we're going to play physical. And the refs say, nah, we're not going to let you play physical tonight.

35:01Chad Johnson:Yeah.

35:02Shannon Sharpe:And so now you got in your mind when you practice in the game, Phil, you don't say, look, we're going to body this up. We're going to play physical X, Y, and Z. But when the officials come out early and they set the tone, we're not going to allow you to play physical. That changes your whole mindset.

35:16Chad Johnson:It does, bro. It does. It takes your aggressiveness away. If they continue, if they calling these ticket tag fouls on you, it's the playoffs, bro. Yeah. It's going to be aggressive. You know what I mean? they're going to be borderline fouls, but man, we don't expect you to be blowing your damn whistle every trip down the court. You can't get in no rhythm like that.

35:34Shannon Sharpe:No. They say in Austin Reeves and the Lakers had a meeting with the refs after the game to share their frustrations. Joe, have you ever seen this? Have you ever seen a team? I mean, have you in your 17 years of playing in the NBA, have you, your team or any other team that you, you saw had the officials at half court after the game talking about the frustration that they just had in the game.

35:59Chad Johnson:I've never seen it. I've never seen it. But understanding the circumstances and Lakers playing against OKC, yep, they know they the defending champs. But damn, come on, man. Let us play. You know, don't come out here and dictate the game. Y 'all know what the fans want to see. They didn't come to see y 'all ass blowing your whistle every two, three trips down the court. You know, it's bad for the game, bro. So, hey, look, I don't blame them. You know, when you lose them, bro, you know, you'll find any little thing or you'll find any type of way to, you know, try to change the outcome. And if it's talking to the ref versus going in the media and slandering them and you getting, you know, you getting five, 50 ,000.

36:39Chad Johnson:Guys don't want to do that. So maybe they're trying to alleviate their problem. But, you know, I guess we'll kind of see, man. I can understand their frustration, though. It's just too many guys with too many fouls and it just don't make sense. Yeah. You know what? That might help a little bit, Uncle Joe. but I still don't think that's even enough. Let's say you take the refs out the equation in this game, you still have to be able to play. You still got to be able to make shots. You still got to stop turning the ball over. You still have to be able to stop Shea and stop Shett and stop Hardenstein and the rest of those boys.

37:09So I think even let's say you take the refs out the equation, I still think they don't have a chance. Maybe the game is a little closer, but you still need contributions from goddamn DeAndre Ayton. You know, you still got to stop turning the ball over. There's so many other factors that go into it outside of the refs where, okay, you don't lose by as much as you did, but you still don't win the game.

37:30Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I mean, you're not wrong. I mean, yeah, we know the Lakers are up against it. This is the best team in basketball over the last couple of years. I think the last couple of years they've had one of the best – they've had the best record in the Western Conference. I think they've had, what, two back-to-back 60-win seasons. I don't know if that third season, the one that Luke and them knocked them out. I don't know if they had the best record then, but they were really hot up there.

37:56Chad Johnson:Yeah. And for them to – the Lakers got their work cut out for them.

38:03Shannon Sharpe:They got to play – they've got to play as close to perfect or damn near perfect or perfect and still – and then still hope AKC is off that night. Yeah. So let that sink in. Think about how hard that'll be. You got to play damn near perfect, next to perfect, perfect, and the team that you're playing against still needs to be off somewhat in order for you to beat them.

38:30Chad Johnson:And that's probably not going to happen. They too good at home, fellas. They too good at home. They take care of home court. I'm sure they one of the best teams when it comes to playing at home. They not really – it's hard to go on OKC and get a win, man. So the Lakers got their hands full. So now I expect for the Lakers to, you know, be somewhat better going back. They're digging at home.

38:54Shannon Sharpe:But here's the thing. You got to. You know how the L.A. crowd is now. Yeah. They're not like OKC. They getting glammed up.

39:05Chad Johnson:Oh, yeah. You know how they did.

39:06Shannon Sharpe:They pull it up in Bugattis. They pull it up in Spiders. They pull it up in Ferraris and Lambos, Bentleys and Rolls. That front row ain't A.A. They ain't got no paint on and they ain't going crazy. it's different. And the thing is, what happens if you get down 10 early? You get down 15. Hey, them boo-birds gonna come out, huh? You're absolutely right.

39:28Chad Johnson:I think at home, though. I mean, because look, check this out. One thing they've shown us is that they can compete with OKC. They just had one of those lows in the fourth quarter, mainly toward the end. You know, the separation kind of comes to where OKC just pulls away from them. But I do expect them to be a lot better at home, fellas.

39:49Shannon Sharpe:Yes. I think the thing, look, I'm trying to think. A.R. or LeBron needs to go get as close to 40 as they possibly can. And the other guy, if the one guy gets close to 40, the other guy got to be 28, 29, maybe even 30, with another guy in the low 20s. Hachi. So either that's Marcus Smart, that's Hachi, that's Luke Kennard. Luke Kennard was shooting the ball extremely well tonight. I wish he could have got more minutes, but I understand. But see, the thing is hard to play him, Joe, because he can't guard anybody. Nah. The hell, the people on the court can't guard nobody either. They're taught, look, if it's AR, if it's anybody, we're attacking.

40:36Shannon Sharpe:They're not going to attack Marcus Smart because what they're doing, they're trapping Shade to get the ball out of his hand.

40:42Chad Johnson:Absolutely.

40:43Shannon Sharpe:But everybody else, if they get a one-on-one, oh, they're trying to get downhill.

40:47Chad Johnson:Yes, sir.

40:48Shannon Sharpe:Immediately. It ain't no dancing. Hey, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm getting downhill.

40:53Chad Johnson:Yeah. And it don't matter who it is. It could be Shea. It could be Mitchell. Hell, it could be Isaiah Joe. It could be McCain. Wallace and Caruso, McCain. They just got too many guys, bro, who play great in that system that OKC has, bro. So I credit their coach and the system that they got. I mean, it's just going to be tough, man. I mean, like we always say, OKC is a college town. You know, they have fanatics as fans. So it's hard to win in there with that six-man, that crowd get into it. It's just too much. Lakers got to go home and find a way to get a win, period, point blank.

41:34Shannon Sharpe:It's going to have to – we've seen Austin Reeves have these type of – now we know Austin Reeves can go. He can go get 40. Oh, yeah. We just don't know if Bron at this ripe old age of 41 can still – because in order to get that level of point, Joe and Ocho, you got to sustain a fitness level. He's 41. You got to be able to sustain that. Guess what? You're going to have to attack. You're going to have to get some foul shots. Three balls are going to have to get going down. And you know what happens when you get tired. That ball starts hitting the front of the rim.

42:06Chad Johnson:Yeah. And it's just hard to take LeBron off the damn court. It seems like every time he go to the bench, bro, it's not a lot of good stuff that happens. You know, when he's out there, because of his IQ for the game, not only is he continuously putting pressure on the rim, but he's getting other guys involved, making plays, getting guys wide open shots. And that's what you need. I think A.R. got to some way, somehow stay aggressive and be efficient like he was tonight. I'm saying for them to win. And you got to have Marcus Smart. Obviously, he plays defensively, but they need some good offensive output from him.

42:45Chad Johnson:Because if you bogging down your starters with all these minutes, damn, you got to hope they play great. And then again, Brown playing 37 minutes, probably averaging. What are you probably averaging minutes this series?

42:59Shannon Sharpe:He was around 33, 33, 33 and a half.

43:02Chad Johnson:Yeah. And I think with limited rest, fellas, it's just tough, man.

43:06Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, because they didn't know two days now.

43:08Chad Johnson:Yeah, no.

43:08Shannon Sharpe:You done got your big rest day before game one. So now it's every other day. You're back at it. They back at it again on Saturday. Yeah. And they back at it again on Monday.

43:17Chad Johnson:Yeah. Yeah. So you being able to get that level of rest,

43:22Shannon Sharpe:the thing is that Austin and Marcus got to do a better job of taking care of the basketball early because they're spotting. He's spotting. They are spotting. Okay. See them points. They're going to get, they're going to get that. Don't give them no easy buckets. Don't give them an opportunity. and that's what they're doing right now because I thought Austin Mason, and the thing is they get out and run, they get in transition quick because they're young and they're a very unselfish team

43:50Chad Johnson:I mean you watch

43:51Shannon Sharpe:them guys, the way they're celebrating I like Jerry McCain, I thought he was well I thought he played well with the Sixers but I understand the Sixers situation when they got Maxie and they got Edgecombe it's like bro we really

44:02Chad Johnson:ain't got no room

44:05Shannon Sharpe:and Paul George is really a two So it is like we really don't have any room. But I thought he was shooting the ball well before he had that injury last year.

44:12Chad Johnson:Yeah, he was. He was playing great. He gave him great minutes. I didn't even see that coming from him. I was surprised. So for OKC to make that move and get him over there, I mean, man, he fit seamlessly coming off that bench, playing in that system. He looked damn near unstoppable tonight.

44:31Shannon Sharpe:I don't know what it is. Joe, he's 4 '5", 3 '3", but they come in there like the coaches instills so much confidence in them. He's like, son, as long as you're playing hard, there's not a shot that I want to allow you to take. And you can see the way they play. They're not even bothered if I take this shot and miss it as opposed to guys on the Lakers bench. But the guys on the Lakers bench, LaRavia, he coming in there and he's like, bro, I'm like, LaRavia, I get it, you're playing hard, son. He really trying, Joe. But the mistakes that you're making, you can't keep making those mistakes. And that's what irks a coach, is that you keep making the same mistakes.

45:14Shannon Sharpe:Because either you have a problem processing it or we're having a problem teaching it to you. One of the two. Now, which is it? Yeah.

45:23Chad Johnson:And that's why the leash is going to be short. The leash is going to be short. Like I say, man, when you take your best player off the floor and everything just starts to unravel on you, It's like, damn, okay, he done been sitting over here two, three minutes. We got to get you back in there, big fella. You know, that's just what it is because they don't have playmakers like that, bro. Like, it's so glaring that they're missing Luka in this series because you need a guy who can score. You need a guy who can playmake for everybody. I mean, that's 33 damn points, man, that they missing. So we can't sit here.

45:56Chad Johnson:You want another eight assists. Yeah, we can't sit here and play crazy now and act like, you know, we surprised how OKC is treating the Lakers right now. I mean, they're missing a big pivotal piece to their team. I mean, and it's showing in this round. And the thing is also, Joe, you can take LeBron off and you got Luka and AR.

46:14Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. You can take AR off and you got Luka and Brown.

46:18Chad Johnson:Yeah.

46:18Shannon Sharpe:You can take Luka off and you got AR and Brown. Yeah. So there's always a combination and you got two great ball handlers. Yeah. Plus you got Marcus Smart and you can take some of the ball handling off of Marcus Smart. He can make some plays, but all things being equal, I'd rather have the ball in Luka, LeBron, or AR's hand. I would like him to focus on defense. You're asking an awful lot of him. I need you to make plays, initiate the offense, but I also need you to keep Shea up under control. That's an awful lot.

46:46Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah.

46:47Shannon Sharpe:That's an awful lot. And then playing that type of game mentally, you know, you got – I mean, you can't have a letdown. Because you have a letdown, the guy's going by you.

46:56Chad Johnson:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And think about as great as they're playing Shea, trapping him in all these, picking roles, making him get a ball up. Hell, Uncle Ocho, he still went 7 for 13 from the field, 53 % from the field. You know what I mean? So he's still efficient. He's doing his job. Hey, look, as a scorer, as the main guy, if you're in a position to where they're trapping you every time you got the ball, just string the trap along like he does. Hey, at the end of the day, I've done my job. I got two on the ball. Now, when I swing it up out of here, now y 'all got to go make a damn play. I done my job, Uncle Ocho.

47:32Chad Johnson:You know, I got two guys on me. I ain't going to beat the double team every time. Now, there will be times that I will be aggressive and try and kind of force the issue a little bit. But for the most part, man, I'm going to take the double team. Boom. Get off of it, and hopefully we can get a great shot. We can get to the bucket, get a free throw, get a wide open three, or just make plays. And I think OKC does that better than anybody because those guys play great off of Shea, bro. I'm telling you. In a film session, you know they going over that. Listen, boom. Once they trap, hey, check, you show, make yourself big, make yourself a present, we hit you, hey, man, you got to go make a play.

48:09Chad Johnson:Whether you get all the way to the rack, shoot your midi, spray out the three, I just think they have so many guys who can play that role. I like Hartenstein in that role. I like Check in that role. And then when you get these other young guys going like Mitchell and Caruso and Wallace, hell, things just start to unravel, man, because they're all defensive-minded.

48:30Shannon Sharpe:Guys, we got a cell phone video of Austin Reed getting animated, talking to the refs after the game. Let's take a look at what we –

48:50Shannon Sharpe:So, all the refs and the – I thought Arton did also is in that scrum with the Lakers players.

48:57Chad Johnson:Yeah.

49:04hey

49:05Shannon Sharpe:hold on check this out Joe the rule states at the end of each game the coaches and the players are to leave the court and go directly to the dressing room without pause or delay there's absolutely no talking to game officials mmm

49:20Chad Johnson:hey listen that's gonna be a big ass fine

49:23Shannon Sharpe:you think that's gonna be a fine

49:24Chad Johnson:hell yeah Well, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's going to be a fine. It ain't like we were shoulder to shoulder and I'm, you know, I'm demonstrative toward him. Right. Listen, bro, I have a, I have a problem and I'm just coming to you correct as a man. Now, if I go to the media and when they go to ask me questions, I say, oh man, the rest was some shit tonight. Yeah. Now I'm going to get fired. I don't, I didn't really see nothing wrong with the way he went by tonight. Like, actually, I mean, I thought it was pretty fair if y 'all ask me, man, versus going to the media because you know you're going to get fired.

50:01Chad Johnson:Yeah.

50:02Shannon Sharpe:The rules state there is absolutely no talking to game officials. Hug this out, okay? We got another video where he's talking to the refs late in the ball game. And let's see if we can read some lips and see what he's saying.

50:15Chad Johnson:Mm-hmm.

50:25Chad Johnson:He said, that's some bullshit. You don't talk to me like that. Poo-ha. Yeah. Hey, hey, hey. Hey, let me tell y 'all something. There's some refs out here with some slick miles now. You know, they only can take so much. They still human, too, now. That's what I tell people. People are like, oh, no, you got to be at the bus stop. Yeah. And look, you stay on the ass all game you want to. They get frustrated, too, bro. Absolutely. They get frustrated, too. And I've heard refs. I've seen refs call guys out their names. You know what I mean? It's, hey, look, and in the heat of the moment, you're already at your highest pitch-tivity.

50:58Chad Johnson:Yeah, so things may get a little overblown a little bit.

51:03Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. So in NFL, I mean, they fired my homeboy one time because he said something. I think he got fined and suspended a couple of games because he said something to Big Trent. But if it can be confirmed, yeah. I mean, they're probably fined. I don't know if suspension, but there's a chance that Lakers are going to get fined for this. That's two L's, you know. They make it worse on themselves. Not only are you losing in-game, you're losing to the refs. Shit, I mean, that's two losses in one.

51:38Chad Johnson:Hey, you got to take it if you're the Lakers. I mean, if you got three guys with five fouls, Uncle Ocho, I mean, damn. We finna go home. Let me go and put this bug in there now. Now, that way, when we get home here, maybe they swallow that whistle a little bit and give us a chance.

51:53Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. Maybe we get a little cooking. Maybe we get some of our cooking. Maybe we – Yeah. I don't know who's going to be the officials. I mean, maybe Sean Wright, maybe Courtney Kirkland, maybe James Williams, maybe Capers. I don't know. Hey, maybe you might need to go to the game for a little good luck. Check this out. Austin Reeves on the interaction with the ref. I felt like I was respectful to all of them all night. A million times in the past, I've had way worse stuff. And when we're doing the whole tip ball and they're switching spots, I wanted to get to the other side because I had the guy on the other side.

52:32Shannon Sharpe:I was just trying to keep an advantage. And he turns around and yelled at my face. I thought it was disrespectful. The whole time I was going over there, and I don't think I said too much to them. I know Ben Taylor stepped in and said something. but at the end of the day, we're grown men. And I just didn't feel like he needed to yell in my face like that, and I told him that. I wasn't disrespectful. I told him that he didn't need to do that. I did that to him first. I would have gotten a tech. I feel like the only reason I didn't get a tech was because he knew he was in the wrong, and I felt disrespected.

53:05Yeah, that happens. Look, the refs, they give some guys passes, bro.

53:12Chad Johnson:Yes. Some guys, they'll take your ass right away. Quick. With the quickness. They don't want to hear it. You know what I mean? Some players, they feel like, you know, you don't even got no right to even be speaking to me.

53:25Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, yeah, yeah.

53:25Chad Johnson:Yeah, the rest be like that from time to time.

53:28Shannon Sharpe:Because you got some of them guys, Joe, they've been in this thing 15, 20 years. Bro, you just got here yesterday. And how you feel? First of all, why you walking up to me? Just because you see those vets walk up to me and we have a conversation, I ain't talking to your punk ass. I talk to him, but not you. Like, you're in my face, boy. Hey. Hey, Joe, my favorite clips, Uncle Joe, is to see Chris Paul with his funny mannerisms.

53:51Chad Johnson:Oh, yeah. And to see Chris Paul get teched up. It'd be so fun, man. Hey, hey, and that's Tony Brothers. Tony Brothers be like that. He don't take a lot from me. He don't care, bro. Yeah. He don't care who he is.

54:07Shannon Sharpe:Hey, I mean, you know, because I know Zach and some of them guys, I know a lot of them. So I've been to enough games and so obviously, Sean Wright, I used to work out with Sean Wright. But...

54:20Chad Johnson:Tony Brothers will cuss you out. Quick. Tony Slink with her. Man, what? And tell you, hey, man, what you wanna do? He that type of... I'm telling you. I'm telling you, bro, he that time has seen it. I'm telling you.

54:33Shannon Sharpe:Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, Joe, hey, if I was a pitcher, I'm like, Hey, don't make me bring these together now. If I bring them together, it's gonna be trouble.

54:44Shannon Sharpe:Try to tell you, get out of my face. Hey, if I put these hands together, it's gonna be trouble, trouble.

54:53Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah, they act like that sometimes, bro. You get the fun. Hey, look, that's why I can't remember the ref name who CP hate when he refs his game. Scott Foster. Yeah, Scott Foster. Hey, hey, boy, them two going at it's so funny. Hey, yeah, CP got a bunch of antics against him, bro. But I seen it up close in person, man. You know, and when you watch it, when you really know what's going on and you watch it, you start to be like, damn, they might do have a little something between them. You know what I mean?

55:18Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. Because they're human, bro. And look, there's no love lost between Scott Foster and Chris Paul. At some point in time, and you can say it's nothing X, Y, and Z, but it is. Because, look, I know how you feel about me. And this ain't no one-way street, bro. Hey, it ain't one way. It's what goes both ways. This two lane traffic going both ways.

55:40Chad Johnson:Yeah.

55:41Shannon Sharpe:I don't like your ass either.

55:42Chad Johnson:Yeah. Hey, listen.

55:46Shannon Sharpe:But at the end of the day, you can't do nothing. I'm the one that got the whistle.

55:48Chad Johnson:Hello. Hey. Yeah. And I'm really, right.

55:54Shannon Sharpe:Number three.

55:58Shannon Sharpe:Take it to the showers.

56:01Chad Johnson:Every time. Me ain't taking too much, boy. Hey.

56:05Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Hey, and you know, hey, hey, they didn't play with Joey Crawford. No, so. Joey Crawford, Hugh Hollins. Now, Dick Bavetta was a little lead. Dick Bavetta, he got along with everybody. Dick was cool.

56:17Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah.

56:18Shannon Sharpe:But, but, uh, Hugh Hollins and Joey Crawford?

56:21Chad Johnson:Wasn't playing.

56:22Shannon Sharpe:Man, you remember, hey, Joey Crawford sent Timmy to the locker room. Hey. Yeah. He called a tech on him. He was on the bitch laughing. Timmy was like, whoo, whoo, whoo. Yeah. Boop! Damn. Timmy looked around like, me? Huh? Yeah. I think David Stern suspended him for a game too, though.

56:40Chad Johnson:Yeah, because it seemed like it gets a little personal for them refs, bro. And it ain't never supposed to be personal with them.

56:48Shannon Sharpe:Nah.

56:49Chad Johnson:But you know, as a player, you can kind of sense that. You can feel that energy. You know what I mean? Especially in the game. It was like, damn, you letting them be extra aggressive with me today, ain't you?

56:59Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, I'm feeling some type of way. Really? Yeah. Look, normally the superstars always got calls. Jordan got them. Magic got them. Especially guys that drove the basketball. Kobe, Mike, LeBron in his prime. I mean, guys like LeBron and Shaq really never got officiated because they so damn big. It's like, we literally just call the game. I mean, the game be five hours long if we officiated Shaq properly. The guys beat the hell out of him. I don't think when Dr. Naismith invented the game of basketball, I don't think he envisioned having a guy 7 '1", 325, playing the game.

57:39Chad Johnson:Hell no.

57:40Shannon Sharpe:So what do you do? Because when Shaq does this, them bowling pins, everybody going down. Yeah.

57:48Chad Johnson:You got to call that, man. I don't even care how you cut it. You lead with them elbows, they calling that, bro. Because you hitting above the shoulder. That's in the neck, chin, the back of the head. Like, they calling that. And what about Dikembe?

58:03Shannon Sharpe:Rest his soul with the sharp hands, elbows. He can't cut people up.

58:08Chad Johnson:And then, you know, when they came out with the verticality, where you could just go straight up. And you can hit somebody body to body as long as you vertical.

58:17Shannon Sharpe:Yeah.

58:18Chad Johnson:I think that changed the game, too, Arkan Ocho. because a lot of that contact and it may be initiated by the offensive guy, but they not calling. They don't call that often.

58:28Shannon Sharpe:No. You know what I'm saying? And I think that's what they try to get. They try to get DA and they try to get Jackson. Hey, hey, just go vertical. Don't come. Long as you don't come forward with it, you're going to be fine. Just elevate. Cade Cunningham has 25 points, 10 assists to lift the Pistons past the Cavaliers, 107 to 97 and take a 2-0 lead. The top seeded Pistons have won five straight games since the Orlando put them on the brink of elimination. Man, I thought Cade Cunningham Look, the two best players in this series Have been Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris Yes, yeah Copenhagen's spit-free pouches Are packed full of American-grown tobacco Made for welders Stuck behind masks Or mechanics Stuck on a fused spark plug The long-haul trucker Stuck in gridlock Performing, working late at the field office Or anytime there's no time or space to spit, there's Copenhagen spit-free pouches.

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1:03:38Shannon Sharpe:When they needed buckets, Tobias Harris and Kay Cunningham. Caden Huntingham hit big three after big three after big drive after big drive. Tobias was sensational tonight. James Harden again, Joe. Hey, I don't know what's wrong with him. Another game, Joe, where he has more turnovers than he had made field goals. Yes, sir. It is what it is. I mean, I don't really know. And they picked him again clean. They picked him clean. He just said it yesterday, Joe. You know what? That's on me. I got to protect the ball better. I got to do better. That's what I mean. He comes out the following game. Not only do he turn the ball over, but they get points on every goddamn turnover.

1:04:25Every goddamn turnover. I mean, this is not the – I understand you're a top player, one of the best ISO scores of all time. We know what you did in Houston. We know what you did in Brooklyn. We know what you've done in some of those other places. but this is the time to shine and show the James Harden we're used to talking about every time young bull gets to the playoffs I don't know what happens it can't be stage fright because you used to being in the playoffs you've been in the playoffs damn near damn near all your career yeah but every time you get to it I mean it's almost it's like it's like it's a no-show damn

1:05:00Chad Johnson:Hey, man. Let me tell you, K, as great as he is offensively, you know, playing at this high efficiency rate that he played at today, he is unbelievable defensively, Uncle Ocho.

1:05:14Shannon Sharpe:He is incredible.

1:05:15Chad Johnson:I'm talking about, look, I ain't even just talking about keeping the ball in front. I'm talking about blocking shots.

1:05:20Shannon Sharpe:Blocking shots.

1:05:21Chad Johnson:I'm talking about just making it difficult for you. It's hard. It's hard, bro, to compete with a dude who's – He playing 42 minutes a night. It's hard, man, because he gets everybody involved. He had a double-double 25 and 10. Yeah. 7 for 14 from the field. And then Tobias Harris playing that, you know, that robbing role where he's been pitching in since the last series. I mean, he's been ultra effective. You know, they just got a lot of guys. And then when I think it comes to James Harden and his turnovers and his low field goal percentage, man, I'm telling you all, man, They picking that man up.

1:05:59Chad Johnson:They wearing his ass down, bro. They ain't giving him nothing easy. Everything that he got to get them to come from the free throw line. Yep. You know what I mean? It's just, it's a lot to ask, man. It's a lot to ask. It's a young man's game. And obviously Detroit has hung their hat on defense this whole entire season. And this is how they play. If they can keep your ass under 100 points, they got a great chance of winning. And that's how they been playing all year.

1:06:26Shannon Sharpe:I need somebody to tell me what Eric Mobley doing. that man played 36 minutes and gave you one rebound at seven foot tall. Damn. One rebound, Ocho and Joe. Hey, I need somebody to offer me an explanation. He only had nine points too.

1:06:46Chad Johnson:Man, hey, look. I thought Jared Allen was super aggressive tonight. Go ahead, Joe. He was. But when I look at Mobley, offensively, we want him to be demonstrative and demand the ball and go at his man. Man, Uncle Ojo, that ain't his game, bro. We got to come to the realization that ain't his game. He had big games in that last series against Toronto. Yeah. But, man, Detroit got some girth down there. They got some guys who play hard as shit. And if he ain't asserting himself, it's going to be hard for him to be effective. Cleveland cannot win if he don't play well. I'm sorry. Joe, he got Tobias Harris on him.

1:07:26Shannon Sharpe:That man's seven foot tall.

1:07:30Chad Johnson:Tobias fighting his ass off. He fighting him.

1:07:34Shannon Sharpe:Well fight him back. You gonna let the man beat you up? Hey, hit him back. Right, right. Baddest man hit my hand. Whop. Hit him back. Yeah, yeah. How you seven foot tall? you play 36 minutes and you give me one rebound? One, Joe? Yeah, I see it.

1:08:01Chad Johnson:I don't know.

1:08:01Shannon Sharpe:Even on the box side, the ball hit the flow, you ought to be able to get me more, get me two.

1:08:05Chad Johnson:Yeah.

1:08:07Shannon Sharpe:They're making everybody. Every Mobley, 4-10. James Harden, 3-13. Donovan Mitchell, 11-24. I give you 31 points on 24 shots. Sure will. And when you look at it. Everybody else got to be playing well, though, Unc. You think about it. One for five, Trudeau. One for six, Trudeau. Three for seven, Tatum. One for one, Keon Ellis. Everybody got to wash everybody out, Uncle Joe, especially for the goddamn Cavs to have a chance. If goddamn, if Cunningham go off, then I need Mitchell to wash him out. If goddamn Duncan Robinson go off and play well, I need goddamn James Harden to show up and wash him out.

1:08:47Everything has to match, so somebody else is going to have to step up. Evan Obelie can't have a nine-point game. Hell, you can't have a goddamn game where you goddamn have one goddamn rebound. Jared Allen, shit, goddamn Jared Allen. Nigga, Jared Allen played goddamn well tonight. He had 22. He was 7 for 9. But in order for the Cavs to come back and even have a chance in this series, because if they go down 3-0, you might as well get the goddamn brooms out. I can't see them really even making a series.

1:09:15Chad Johnson:They may win a game in Cleveland. But, bro, when you don't get no contribution from your bench, it's hard. It's hard to win in the postseason, man, when you just relying on your stars, when you just relying on Donovan Mitchell and James Harden to kind of get it going, and they ain't really got no rhythm like that because the game plan is to take those guys out, for those guys to be less effective. You know what I mean? And I think Detroit is doing a great job. And Detroit, they got some pretty good contribution from their bench tonight. Jenkins. I thought Karris LeBert came in. Jenkins looked good tonight.

1:09:45Chad Johnson:Yeah, I think Karris LaVert came in and gave him some great minutes. They got multiple guys who could beat you, but their wins aren't predicated off them playing great offensive. Hell, look at Duran. He still ain't really playing no hell of a basketball. I mean, he playing pedestrian. Okay, Ocho. But, hell, it's good enough for him to get a win because guess what? They locking down defensively, bro.

1:10:09Shannon Sharpe:Yes. Hey, Joe, when you think about it, too, and the way both of these teams are constructed, When you talk about going to your bench and wanting to get a point for your bench, I mean, they not like the Spurs. They ain't like the Thunder. When you go to your bench, you don't miss a goddamn beat. You know, I mean, the Cavs got Schroeder here, come in. He didn't have a really good game today. I think it was 1-4-5. I forgot how many points he had.

1:10:36But your starters, your starters, they have to show up. Each player has to watch each player out in order for you to even have a chance. and then somebody has to come along, keep the game close, them last five, six minutes, shoot, you got to come to the party. James Harden got to step up though, Joe.

1:10:57Shannon Sharpe:They just careless with the basketball. You look at Cleveland, they get a rebound. Allen tries to pass the ball to James Harden. Duncan Robinson steps in front of him, uncorks a three. I'm like, James Harden got the ball. He dibbling down there in the front. The guy just reached right down there. Let me get this off of you.

1:11:20Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah. Hey man, you guys watching film, bro. They know - You think he hurt? Who? You think Harden hurt? Hell no. Hell no. Listen.

1:11:32Shannon Sharpe:How you gonna be hurt, Ocho, and this is a pattern? So he's been hurt every playoff series? Oh, I - Because he's a high turnover guy.

1:11:38Chad Johnson:Yeah. And Detroit, they know his tendencies, bro.

1:11:43Shannon Sharpe:Yes.

1:11:44Chad Johnson:They know his tendencies. They know his do's don'ts. They know what he like and what he don't like. And they crowd the shit out of him, just making it tough for him. He had the highest plus minus today. He had a minus 15. If you Cleveland, there's no way you're going to win a game if Donovan is inefficient and James Harden don't play well. I don't care how y 'all cut it, man. I think the rest of them dudes can be pedestrian, but if you can get both of those guys at least 25-plus efficiently, which is going to be tough because they hadn't really played like that this whole postseason, it's going to be hard for them to win a game.

1:12:22Chad Johnson:Did you say one game, Joe? It's going to be hard to win a game, bro. They may get close in Cleveland, Ocho, but it's hard. I mean, Detroit, their game is predicated off the defense. Like, you know, they're going to play great defensively. And then you got K, who's just a game changer.

1:12:41Shannon Sharpe:Yes, sir.

1:12:41Chad Johnson:You know what I mean? They ain't really – I mean, hell, I don't think they're making it tough on K, Uncle Ocho, if y 'all really want me to – They ain't got nobody to make it tough on him.

1:12:47Shannon Sharpe:You put Wade on him. Wade's not a defender. James Harden, Donovan Mitchell is not a defender. No. So, Jared Allen is your best defender here in Mobley, but they're big. They can't defend him. Yeah. So, who can you put on him? It's not like, think about what they got. They got Cade, who can defend. They got Thompson, who can defend. Even Tobias Harris, when he puts his mind to it, can defend. They don't have nobody like that on Cleveland.

1:13:11Chad Johnson:No, they don't. So look, so what you need to do is adjust your damn coverages. Stop giving him them damn switches and one-on-one looks and cage him in a trap and make him get a damn ball up. Yes. You got to. See, the playoffs are about adjustments and matchups. Hell, you got – Cleveland got a bad matchup right now. So what they have to do is try to alleviate cage productivity. Get the ball out of his damn hands when he run the pick and roll, bro. You got to make these other dudes make some decisions because if you look at it, Duren hasn't played great. Hell, hey, let's put the ball in his damn hands.

1:13:49Chad Johnson:Let's see what he can do.

1:13:50Shannon Sharpe:Joe, you took the words right out of my mouth. If it was possible, I'm going to make the ball end up in Duren's hand Because if you go back and think about it, he's played good in one game in the playoffs. That's game seven.

1:14:02Chad Johnson:Yeah. And while I'm watching him today, I think he kind of understands that too, Uncle Ocho, that he hasn't been playing great. And you can tell he's trying to pick it up. But him picking it up is him trying to do more offensively. It's just not his damn game. And it don't even look natural.

1:14:19Shannon Sharpe:Nope.

1:14:20Chad Johnson:You know what I mean? So they got to find a way, meaning Cleveland has to find a way, to put Detroit under distress to where they're not comfortable, bro. They're just too comfortable out there for me.

1:14:32Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, like I said, unless Evan Mobley comes in and gives you the 20-plus that he's capable of giving, James Harden is going to have to be – I'm not saying he needs to be, you know, 58%, 60%, but you can't be 3 or 13. and you can't lead the team in turnovers damn near every game. Think about it. Another game in which he has more turnovers than made field goals. I mean, he's got 45 in 182 games. He's got 45 or 46 in which he has equal to or more turnovers than field goals. That is crazy.

1:15:13Chad Johnson:Yeah. Yeah. Hey, if you Detroit, bro, James is a rhythm player. That's why when you always see him play, Uncle Ocho is tween, tween, behind the back. That's a rhythm that he's trying to get into.

1:15:27Shannon Sharpe:Yes.

1:15:27Chad Johnson:And Detroit is great at disrupting that rhythm. They're not letting him get into no damn rhythm. You know what I mean? That's why you see every time he drives to the goal, he's seeking for a foul. He's trying to get a foul because he knows that's the only way he's going to really be effective.

1:15:44Shannon Sharpe:He needs to see the ball go in, Joe. And right now, they're not letting him see the ball go in until really, really late in the ball game. And by that time, he's not in the rhythm. You let him hit his first couple of shots, you let him get a drive, you let him get a layup, or you let him hit a step back three, and you let him get to the little mini. You know, a lot of times he'll try to get all the way to the basket, and he'll pull a snatcher and pull up and hit it. But think about it. Most of the time, he'll probably get to the free throw line. He's out of rhythm. He knows it. He knows he's not playing well.

1:16:13Shannon Sharpe:He knows what's being said. When he get that sheet, Joe, and he look at it like, damn, three made field goals, five turnovers. Damn, again? Hey, hey, that damn Cade Cunningham and that Thompson.

1:16:29Chad Johnson:Hey. Yes. Them boys some dogs on their defense in here, man. Hey, look, Cade's showing me a lot. I mean, I'm talking about I can see why he was in the MVP discussion. Okay. You know what I mean? Yeah, and if he wouldn't have got hurt, we don't know because, you know, at the time when he went out, I think they had the best record in the league. Yep. They was right there with OKC. Yeah, yeah. So he's showing me that, man, look, I can be a hell of a two-way player because he's doing it on a night-to-night basis, fellas. Yes. Yeah, and I'm talking about at an elite and high level. Like, man, he's guarding two of the best scores to play this game.

1:17:07Shannon Sharpe:Right. It hadn't been a whole lot of players that have been asked to do what he does offensively, score, get others involved, and take the assignment on the other end. You know, Jordan had Pippen to do that. Yeah. Or Ron Harper. Or Dennis Rodman.

1:17:25Chad Johnson:Yeah.

1:17:26Shannon Sharpe:There haven't been a whole lot of guys that says, okay, I need you to playmate. I also need you to give me 25, but I also need to make sure that guy doesn't get a rhythm.

1:17:37Chad Johnson:Yeah.

1:17:38Shannon Sharpe:It's a rarity to have a guy that's capable of doing that. I agree. And Cade Cunningham is doing it. Cade Cunningham is doing it. Because if you think about it, when Kawhi, when they had Tim Duncan, Kawhi was never asked to be the leader of the offense. When they started asking Kawhi to be the leader of his offense, his defense did this, didn't it, Joe? Yeah. When he had to all of a sudden score and try to initiate plays for everybody else, he wasn't the same defensive player.

1:18:06Chad Johnson:Yeah. Yeah. You're right. You're right.

1:18:10Shannon Sharpe:So to ask K to get K to do what he's doing, and he's doing that on a nightly basis? Take my hat up to you, young man.

1:18:19Chad Johnson:Yeah. Take my hat up.

1:18:21Shannon Sharpe:I've watched a lot of basketball. I don't recall a guy being asked, you got that from LeBron when he was in Cleveland. You got it from him a little bit in Miami. And when he went back to Cleveland. but a guy that says, okay, oh, you that best player? I got you.

1:18:42Chad Johnson:Yeah. That takes a lot, bro.

1:18:44Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, and he playing 42 minutes.

1:18:48Chad Johnson:Yeah.

1:18:48Shannon Sharpe:He ain't playing no 30 minutes. He playing 42. They ain't but 48 in the game.

1:18:53Chad Johnson:Yeah, and the one thing I noticed, I know K knows is that, yeah, we may not be high power offensively, but, damn it, we got some guys who can sit in that chair and going to make a hell on you out here.

1:19:06Shannon Sharpe:Yes.

1:19:07Chad Johnson:And that's how they play, bro. I mean, I enjoy watching them play. You know, I know they had a little hiccup in their Magic series, but you can tell they've learned from that. And, man, they're playing great basketball against two elite scorers. And, bro, they giving them everything they can ask for. So, hey, if he was Jordan and Thompson the Pippen, if Thompson find any way to continue to beat – Get an offensive game? Oh, my God.

1:19:35Shannon Sharpe:Oh, my goodness.

1:19:35Chad Johnson:That wouldn't be fair.

1:19:37Shannon Sharpe:Man. Guys, guys, y 'all listen here. See, y 'all in the chat. I said, did they ask – if you think about it, how many times Pippen was the guy with the point forward?

1:19:50Chad Johnson:Yeah.

1:19:51Shannon Sharpe:He initiated a lot of the offense. Kobe, Derrick Fisher ran the offense. That is...

1:20:03Shannon Sharpe:What's the most assist Kobe averaged in a season? The most assist?

1:20:07Chad Johnson:Probably the highest probably maybe six.

1:20:10Shannon Sharpe:Five and a half, six?

1:20:11Chad Johnson:Yeah. If I had to guess. That's it?

1:20:15Shannon Sharpe:I know Jordan had one season where he averaged eight, I think he averaged 37, eight and eight.

1:20:19Chad Johnson:Yeah.

1:20:21Shannon Sharpe:What's the most assist Kobe averaged in a season?

1:20:276.3.

1:20:29Shannon Sharpe:What's Cade averaging? Cade averaged 9. Yeah. What he averaging is Kobe's most assist in the season. LeBron averages more of that for a 23-year career. So y 'all trying to say that Kobe was asked to initiate a run to offense like LeBron did?

1:20:48Chad Johnson:No, sir. Cade averaged 10.

1:20:51Shannon Sharpe:Cade averaged 10. Listen, it doesn't diminish Kobe because he wasn't asked to do what they're asking Cade and LeBron. It doesn't diminish. Y 'all got to stop this notion. If somebody doesn't put Cade, don't put Kobe in a thing, it's okay. It doesn't diminish him. He's a five-time champ. He's a two-time finals MVP. He's an MVP. It doesn't diminish him. But Derek Fisher ran the offense, and y 'all know it. Kobe was asked to score and defend, and he did those two things at an elite level. That's why he's a many, many times all-defensive player and a many, many times all-NBA selection.

1:21:34Chad Johnson:Absolutely. Absolutely.

1:21:36Shannon Sharpe:But he was not asked to run the offense like Cade Cunningham. He was not asked to run the offense like LeBron James. Y 'all know that. Y 'all know that. That's why LeBron James averages over seven assists a game. Kobe's greatest season is only one time. Only time LeBron James has ever averaged less than five or six assists a game was his rookie season. Yeah. So in other words, he has 22 seasons in which he's averaged more assists in a game than Kobe did in his best season. And y 'all want to say he was asked to do the same thing as LeBron. When y 'all know you're being disingenuous.

1:22:14Chad Johnson:Yep.

1:22:16Shannon Sharpe:It's okay, guys. It's okay. Pippen. was a point forward. How do you think Pippen got the name as a point forward if Jordan ran the offense? Yeah, you're right.

1:22:34Shannon Sharpe:See, y 'all just look at a guy and see the guy scoring points. There are a lot of guys that can score points but can't run an offense. But when you run an offense, look at Luka. Luka got a hot... You think they asked Luka to play defense? James Harden? James Harden scored 30, average 10, led the league in assists four or five times. How's his defense? Look at Luka. How's his defense? So for Cade to do that, there have only been a handful of guys that I can remember. And I remember basketball, I go back to about 77. There ain't been a whole lot of guys. There ain't been a whole lot of guys. There have been guys.

1:23:15Shannon Sharpe:But not like Cade. Not what they asked LeBron to do. up until last year, LeBron James had never not led his team in assists. Last year was the first time he didn't lead his team two years. So for 21 straight years, LeBron James led his team in assists. Let that sink in. 21 seasons. And it took a younger version of himself, which is Luka on the offensive end, because Luka can score, he can rebound, and he damn sure can playmate. Yep. He just could, I don't think he could guard me with this old bum knee right now. But y 'all got to stop this notion. Y 'all think somebody don't mention Kobe. No, you don't.

1:23:57Shannon Sharpe:Just because I say Ocho was great, that doesn't mean T.O. I'm pooping on T.O. Yeah. Two things can be true. Kobe was great, but Kobe wasn't asked to do what Cade Cunningham is being asked to do. He wasn't asked to do what LeBron was asked to do. It's okay. Look at the numbers. Y 'all watch it.

1:24:21Shannon Sharpe:I don't know why I don't admit it. Oh, Joe, has it always been like this or this came along with social media? No, it's always been like this. Okay. The comparison? Yeah. But we just couldn't see it because there was no social media. So we really didn't know what Tom in Des Moines, Iowa was actually saying. No. We didn't know what Paul in Brooklyn or somebody in Florida or other, we didn't know what they were saying. No, everybody has a voice. Everybody has an opinion now. But that's a good thing. I like it. It creates for healthy dialogue. It creates for healthy debates because everybody's opinion is not going to be the same.

1:24:59You believe one thing, then somebody else is going to believe another. Now, regardless of what facts you bring about, whatever it is you believe in, they're going to debunk that based on their facts and their opinions.

1:25:09Chad Johnson:Yeah. So it will be an ongoing debate forever, no matter what. even if everything you just said is factual, someone will still counter that and say, nah, this is why it's not true because of A, B, C, and D. That's what I love about social media, though. I love it. Just not when it comes to basketball because I can't talk the way y 'all do.

1:25:31Shannon Sharpe:Well, considering LeBron James led this team in assists for 21 straight seasons, one would deduce from that he was asked to playmake. Right, right. and go back and look at the series when D. Rose, they lost the first one. D. Rose won MVP. What did they do game two, Joe, and what happened? They put LeBron on him.

1:25:55Chad Johnson:Yeah.

1:25:59Yeah.

1:26:00Chad Johnson:I think Bron is a natural facilitator, though. He is. Now, I'm talking about, yeah, I think as great as he is scoring the ball, I think probably his best attribute is facilitating and making guys around him better. That's just who he is. Kobe was a natural-born killer, bro.

1:26:19Shannon Sharpe:Now I'm talking about he trying to get you fit to every game,

1:26:22Chad Johnson:period, point blank. He ain't studying no damn assists. Yeah, he may get something here and there. He wasn't studying no damn assists.

1:26:27Shannon Sharpe:He's like, hey, I don't trust you. He's like, I know what I put in to be great. I'm not so sure you put that same energy and effort. I'm not so sure you take care of your body. I'm not so sure you watch film like I do. So I don't know if I can trust y 'all.

1:26:42Chad Johnson:Right. Hey, he practiced with those dudes every day. He know they work ethics. That's how he was. Hey, look, Kobe wasn't studying that, bro. He took out the MJ. He was a carbon copy of MJ. He stole his moves, his walk, his style, every damn thing. The way he chewed his gum. Like, he wanted to be MJ, bro. And he was a modern-day MJ, I think, with a better handle and all that. So I think he became the player who he wanted to become. And he was nasty with it, bro. He didn't care if you liked him or not.

1:27:14Shannon Sharpe:No, he wasn't there to be liked. He came into the NBA with a sole purpose.

1:27:19Chad Johnson:Yeah, to be the best. Period. That's it. Period. And it's so rare that you get guys come out of high school at 17, 18 years old, bro, and to be able to think like that. I wonder, did that come from his dad Jelly Bean, him being overseas, you know, he was raised overseas in Italy, playing over there, probably being a loner because he, you know, I wonder, did all that play a factor?

1:27:48Shannon Sharpe:I think early on his favorite player was Jordan. He came out and then he thought, I mean, you listen to him talk, he's like, I thought I was better than the guys that they were playing. They were playing me four, five minutes. And he's like, I'm better than them. He got drafted where he got drafted. I'm better than these guys in the draft. And y 'all put me way down here. But if you listen to people talk, he's always had that mentality. He's always been about basketball. While other guys are looking to go out. And I was going to say, man, Kobe looking to go get some rest. Go to the gym. That ain't what I was trying to do.

1:28:25Chad Johnson:Right. When you got that kind of talent and you got that kind of work ethic,

1:28:30Shannon Sharpe:that's what made Jordan Jordan. Jordan, that man was that talented and he was working that hard. You think about it. When you take the best talent and they're the hardest worker, you get – and Tom is an anomaly because Tom is not the most immensely talented. He don't run fast, Ocho. He don't jump high. But what he has is this.

1:28:51Chad Johnson:That processor.

1:28:52Shannon Sharpe:That process at the speed of light.

1:28:54Chad Johnson:Yeah.

1:28:55Shannon Sharpe:And his work ethic. When you get that, bro, it's hard. The hard work, and I tell people, this is what I used to tell kids when I used to speak to kids. I say hard work doesn't guarantee you anything. Nope. I say, but without it, you don't got a chance.

1:29:07Chad Johnson:Hello. Hello.

1:29:09Shannon Sharpe:You're talented and you work hard? Boy, that's a hell of a combination.

1:29:13Chad Johnson:You're going to be damn near unstoppable, bro.

1:29:15Shannon Sharpe:Damn near.

1:29:16Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah. Because, and I know y 'all have seen this in football, too, because I've seen this so much in basketball. I'm talking about from here, from playing Little League all the way up to the pros. Hey, bro, I know some talented dudes who would never sniff the damn NBA or college just because of their work ethic. Now, talent-wise, they're some of the best people I've ever played against. But, bro, when you got a lot of talent and you got that work ethic to go with it, hey, man, you can't lose, bro. You can't lose.

1:29:50Shannon Sharpe:And that's what I tell guys. I say, guys, y 'all realize the NBA? Everybody's NBA has some level of talent. Now, there's levels to it, Ocho. You know you got some beginner, you got some junior, and you go up and up and up. But everybody's talented. How the F you think they got there?

1:30:04Chad Johnson:Yeah.

1:30:06Shannon Sharpe:This ain't college. You don't get no legacy in the NFL. I don't give a damn what your brother did. I don't care what your daddy did. Can they catch passes? Can they sack the quarterback? Can they block right now for you? Because that's what I got you for.

1:30:21Chad Johnson:Yeah.

1:30:22Shannon Sharpe:Congratulations. Your family produced some great athletes. Congratulations. but how does that help us win?

1:30:28Chad Johnson:Right.

1:30:30Shannon Sharpe:And when you get guys that are talented, like Kobe was immensely talented, and it drove him crazy, but you know what you have to love most about him? Even though as he airballed shots in the playoff game and everybody laughed, y 'all got a 17-year-old playing in the playoffs. Y 'all must be crazy. He took all that.

1:30:51Chad Johnson:Yeah.

1:30:52Shannon Sharpe:All he did was get his ass in the gym.

1:30:54Chad Johnson:Yep.

1:30:54Shannon Sharpe:He said, I'm going to show y 'all.

1:30:56Chad Johnson:Yup. And that's what it takes, bro. That's what it takes. When you fail at something, you gotta get your ass back up and get back to work.

1:31:05Shannon Sharpe:That's the greatest teacher.

1:31:06Chad Johnson:Yeah.

1:31:06Shannon Sharpe:Because a lot of times when you succeed all the time, what do you learn from that?

1:31:09Chad Johnson:Nothing.

1:31:10Shannon Sharpe:Cause you started.

1:31:11Chad Johnson:None.

1:31:15Chad Johnson:Hey, don't get me wrong. It feel good to win now, but them losses teach you way more than a win could ever teach you.

1:31:24Shannon Sharpe:and that's what happens a lot of times guys when you win you gloss over oh we won your technique was bad you didn't get your head around ocho hey you're supposed to do x y and z you have faster but you still made the catch and you won developing good habits is just as easy as to develop bad habits there you go people think Oh man, how you, easy, just like he developed the good ones. Yeah, yeah. It's just as easy for you to eat healthy as it is for you to eat bad. All it requires is a choice. Yep. Which one do you choose? Mm-hmm. Is your desire to be great greater than your desire not to be?

1:32:07Chad Johnson:Mm.

1:32:08Shannon Sharpe:Or will you succumb to the tell, like, I'm good for the day?

1:32:13Chad Johnson:I don't know. it's tough bro

1:32:18Shannon Sharpe:it is but I think the thing is that when you want something Ocho had a great desire to get out of Liberty City that man said I ain't trying to live I love it here I was raised here my grandparents did a great job for me but I ain't trying to live here I want to go I know there's something outside of Liberty City I want to go see what South Beach kicking like

1:32:37Chad Johnson:L-O

1:32:37Shannon Sharpe:I want to see what it really like out there

1:32:39Chad Johnson:L-O

1:32:40Shannon Sharpe:because everything that I need ain't here in Liberty City with the city.

1:32:45Chad Johnson:Hey, I agree with you on that because, boy, coming up in Little Rock, when I got stamped, Arcan Ocho, meaning, like, I would say I've really seen the NBA in my future when I was in 10th grade, bro, 10th grade. Like, you know, I seen how I was a lot more talented than guys, and at my height, 6 '6", 6 '7", we don't grow them like that. And at my height, at 6 '6", 6 '7", I was still a guard because I grew late. I grew four and a half, five inches going into my 10th grade year. Once I seen that, once I realized that, I said, oh, yeah, I ain't messing this opportunity up. I'm going to stay out of trouble.

1:33:25Chad Johnson:I'm going to do whatever it takes because, look, it's just me and my mama. She working two, three jobs. She working at the state hospital with these crazy patients. Like, listen, bro, I'm trying to give her a better life. So I understood that at an early age, man, you got to work hard, man. You got to work hard. So I was willing to put the work in. And everything else is history, bro. So once you see the light, you got to go for it. At CVS, it matters that we're not just in your community, but that we're part of it. It matters that we're here for you when you need us, day or night. And we want everyone to feel welcomed and rewarded.

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