Takes

Anthony Edwards wearing a microphone in Game 7 on the road proves he is fearless

He wore the microphone in game seven. Game seven on the road. I'll take that mic, put it right here. That before the game, he's like 'yeah I'm not worried at all, go ahead and record everything I say.' ... His leadership and his belief, I don't know, maybe he can carry it.

Most NBA GMs would choose Luka Doncic to start a team over Jayson Tatum or Anthony Edwards

Rank the players... Luca, Tatum, Ant, Halliburton... I think they probably take Luca because he's six-eight and he can be such a difference maker in a single game. And then Tatum and Ant is interesting because Ant defends, man. This is the thing... Ant wants it. He wants the ball, he wants the microphone.

The Nuggets' navy 'Altitude' jerseys are not suitable for a Game 7

I don't know what the fuck burn that nuggets jersey Never wear it again... you gotta have something more intimidating and then you let, that's not a Game seven uniform. That's a game two uniform.

Jason Tatum is better than Luka Doncic due to his playoff experience

I would, I'd say Tatum is better than Luca... More experience. He's played longer... they've more playoff games. I mean it's close. It's close. It's, its a, it's, it's a one a one B situation. Luca's very good. But, so I'd ride and die with Austin Cel.

The Knicks would never have beaten the Celtics even if healthy

Would I have loved for it to be, you know, Mr. Bing Bong versus Hank? I mean, yeah... the Celtics look, they would've never beaten the Celtics. It was just fun to get in Hank's face.

The Timberwolves should wear their throwback uniforms every single game

The wolves wore their throwbacks with the throwback court, which was the minute I turned on the game, I was like, oh, it's fucking on. I don't know. They should wear that every single game. I do not think they could lose in those.

Stephen A. Smith could score five buckets on LeBron James in a one-on-one game to 100

I'm going to say that Stephen A. I think Stephen A. could score five buckets on [LeBron]... Because I think that LeBron would, he'd just, he'd get tired. There's no load management in the game to 100 one-on-one.

The 'easy path' criticism of the Celtics' playoff run is an invalid excuse

I don't give a fuck about anyone that says that their path is easy. All they can do is beat the teams in front of them. It's not a valid excuse for people to be like, oh, Cupcake Mickey Mouse Eastern Conference run.

It is better to guard Nikola Jokic with average defenders than one elite defender like Rudy Gobert

I think it's almost better to guard Jokic with like one and a half slash two average defenders than it is to guard him with one good defender [like Rudy Gobert].

Bronny James is in a terrible spot and I feel bad for him

My Hot Seat is Bronny James... I feel bad for him. Like I, I he's he's in a terrible spot. I agree. He's in a terrible spot. He is at the combine this week. People are debating whether he should even be at the combine.

Bronny James would not be drafted or at the combine if his name wasn't Bronny James

I do agree with you because it's just a simple question. Would Bronny James be at the combine and be drafted if his name wasn't Bronny James? The answer's no.

The Lakers coaching job is a much better long-term opportunity than the Suns job

I think there's more of a runway with the Lakers. I think the Suns is like more of a, you know what happens in the NBA if you, if they have another season this year... you have this like very tiny window. ... The Lakers have, I think a longer runway. ... If you create a max salary spot with the Lakers, come on, you're getting somebody. Right. Guys are always [wanting to play there].

Tom Thibodeau did not cause the Knicks' current injury crisis

I don't think that he [Thibodeau] specifically has caused this situation that the Knicks are in... Julius Randall hurt his shoulder on a play... OG's always hurt and he was traded halfway through the season... Brunson was like 14th in minutes... I think this one situation, like it's kind of just fluke injuries and I don't know if you can blame him a hundred percent for this one.

Jayson Tatum has had nothing but success in his NBA career despite lack of a ring

I think [the critics] are wrong. I think Jayson Tatum just gets picked on. He's had nothing but success in his NBA career. He hasn't won a championship, but he's had an extremely successful career and people just try and shoot him down.

Rick Carlisle is being a 'gigantic baby' for his officiating complaints

The Pacers have had a bad whistle and they got, they got screwed up. I mean, game one that we, we talked about on Wednesday, that game one kickball call sucked. They've gotten a bad whistle. Rick Carlisle's being a gigantic baby.

Coaching an NBA 'super team' is currently the worst job in sports

That's gotta be the worst job in sports as a head coach right now is signing up to coach a super team because no matter what happens, it's never the player's fault. It's always the coach's fault. If you flame out in the playoffs with one of these teams with a big three or a super team, you are the fall guy every single time.

Anthony Edwards is the best young leader in the NBA

When it comes to the young up and coming superstars, I've never seen a leader like [Anthony Edwards]. And he's the best young leader in the game of basketball.

LeBron James should retire immediately to protect his 'GOAT' legacy

I wish [LeBron James] would retire because at this point I'm looking at it, what else is it for LeBron to accomplish? He have nothing else to accomplish... every single season that you don't win, then you give more animosity or more arguments to come at you about the GOAT debate... his legacy now is measured on the GOAT conversation and the firing of Darvin Ham does not look good on him.

Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson, and Josh Hart are the top three 'dogs' in the NBA

Number one is gonna be Anthony Edwards. Rotweiler. Now it's a certain type of dog. No teacup oodles. I'm gonna go Anthony Edwards, I'm gonna go Jalen Brunson... and number three, I gotta go with Josh Hart. He's the best rebounding guard in the playoffs... snatching them in traffic.

Miami Heat culture is in absolute shambles

Heat culture absolute shambles. Pat Riley did a press conference... asked about Jimmy Butler trolling when he wasn't playing and he said, if you're not on the court playing, you should keep your mouth shut.

Anthony Edwards is the hero that American basketball needs

He's the hero that American basketball needs. I was saying that you can really chart out with Jokic, Doncic, SGA, Giannis... a path to 2030 where we go a full decade without an [American] MVP. Anthony Edwards these last two weeks has had something to say to that.

The Michael Jordan comparisons for Anthony Edwards are not forced or crazy

He's an absolute killer. And people are throwing around the [Michael Jordan] comparison and like, it's not, it doesn't feel forced. It's not crazy.

The Clippers are a disaster franchise

The Clippers just went out, sat on Friday night... people just kind of forgot. Oh yeah. The Clippers are one of the biggest sports disasters. They're a disaster franchise.

The Knicks get the 'yips' whenever they play the Pacers

I'm very nervous about the Pacers. There's a history there... I think the Pacers actually... I think we just get the yips when we're around them.

The Bucks' 2021 championship was a fluke

Some people could argue that the Bucks Championship was a fluke because it was off the bubble and all the teams that had to play a long season deep into the next year got bounced and the Nets got injured and beating Chris Paul isn't that impressive.

Doug Gottlieb was right to question Caitlin Clark's shooting mechanics

I actually thought Doug Gottlieb got unfair hate for that... Every single professional athlete works on their mechanics constantly... It's not saying she's bad, she's incredible... He should have phrased it better. That there could maybe be a way for her to become even better of a shooter.

Nikola Jokic is already a top 15 player of all time.

Nikola Jokic to me is already a top 15 player of all time. And I know that that's maybe a hot take. I don't really care.

I am officially retiring the 'Cocky Hank' persona and giving up on 'Championship or Bust'

After the game one of the Bruins and the Celtics, I made a mistake and I'm here to admit and moving forward say that I will no longer be cocky. I've given up being cocky. ... Championship or bust is is no longer. It's just, it's Win this series. Whoa. And then let's win the next series. Whoa. Let's win the next series. Whoa. I'm not focused on the nuggets. I'm not focused on the Western conference. I'm just focused on Saturday against the heat.

Joel Embiid is one of the dirtiest players in the NBA

Joel Embiid was incredible. He also was maybe the dirtiest player I've ever seen on a basketball court. ... Joel Embiid basically did Draymond Green's career highlights in one game. The play on Mitchell Robinson, when he tried to grab him by the legs, that was, that should have been an ejection. And then he kicked Mitchell Robinson in the nuts. He kicked, he kneed Isaiah Hartenstein in the, in the nuts.

Nikola Jokic is one of the greatest big men of all time and plays like he's in a pool

Jokic plays basketball like he's in the pool with his kids. Like he's waiting above the water and he is like just putting it above him. Just the way he puts it back in his shot. ... He plays pool basketball... he's one of the best big men of all time. ... The Jokic family, all they wanna do is go race horses. And he just happens to be one of the greatest NBA players.

Devin Booker is a worse player when he wears a headband

I also have a vibe stat for this game. And it has nothing—it's based on absolutely nothing. I'm sure someone will actually give me the stats and say I'm wrong. I don't think Devin Booker's good when he wears a headband. I just don't. I don't know why... I think maybe his head is too constricted.

Therapy would make Luka Doncic a worse basketball player

My take was that Luka, I think Luka desperately needs therapy, but I also think that it would be very, very bad for him as a basketball player. I feel like that shit that he has makes him excellent, but he's just, he's always angry.

Jerry Reinsdorf is the worst owner in the NBA

The Chicago Bulls are a joke of an organization. Jerry Reinsdorf is one of the worst owners, if not the worst in the NBA. He's a fucking clown... the Chicago Bulls have made the playoffs two times in the last nine seasons. Two times they've back to back nine 10 game champions and that's it.

The Pelicans would have beaten the Lakers if Zion Williamson had stayed in the game

I think the Pelicans win that game if Zion stays in the game. They had, Brandon Ingram wasn't good... and Zion was like, I'm putting the whole team on my back. And he almost beat the Lakers by himself.

Kyrie Irving is the most talented basketball player in the NBA

I think he's the most talented basketball player in the NBA, maybe still. It's a weird thing to say because there's so many talented guys, but the things he does at his stature... he probably has like three of the top five things craziest things I've seen in practice of all time.

The NBA should allow the top four seeds to draft their first-round opponents

The NBA should do two new things the NBA should do. They should do a draft of who the top four seeds get to pick who they get to play in the first round. And also there should just be an automatic Weby makes the Playoffs clause.

The NBA Bubble Championship is a legitimate title that requires winning difficult games

Gotta still play. The games gotta still show up and win the game. So I mean, there's something to play for, you know, like the NCAA tournament. Yeah. You know, I mean, it happened... I would say just for the, just for like the, like all the extra stuff that comes with it. Right. You know, like being able to celebrate with fans afterwards, being able to have a parade... it would've been different having 16,000 people.

Approximately 27 to 30 NBA players could lead a 16-seed to a National Championship

I was gonna go like triple. Way more triple, triple that maybe. 30, maybe 40... guys in the NBA are so good, man. Yeah, yeah. Like you gotta automatically think bigs have an advantage 'cause it's college. So like the big is back, right? Yeah... We'll go with this. 27. 27.

The worst shooter in the NBA would be the best shooter on any college team

I've seen JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard go shot for shot from the three point line to five spots... and y'all would never trust them to shoot like outside in the game... the worst shooter on the NBA team would be the best shooter on a college team. Yeah. And like that's even including big men.

Paige Bueckers might be the women's basketball GOAT

Paige Bueckers might be my goat. Yeah. We love women more than any other podcast in America.

Quarters are a better format for basketball than halves

I think I like the format of the women's game better. The quarters. I like the quarters. fouls reset... my one knock against the NCAA tournament on the men's side, is that down the stretch... it just turns into a foul fest.

Russell Westbrook looks foolish for arguing with a fan in a balloon hat

Never get in a fight with someone who has nothing to lose. Yeah. That guy has zero to lose in life. He's a diehard Hornets fan in a balloon hat... Russell Westbrook looks like a much bigger fool than the balloon hat guy.

LeBron James would lead the worst team in the NCAA tournament to the Final Four.

Still, you put, you put LeBron on Longwood and they're, they're in the final four for sure. And it'll be so much fun to watch.

Caitlin Clark currently faces ten times more hate than Duke.

I don't even know how, how people have found this much hate in their heart for [Caitlin Clark] again. She she has like Duke Times 10 hate. Yeah. It's crazy.

American youth basketball has lost the art of the bounce pass

I've been able to get my team to throw bounce passes... in a radius of six to eight feet, you are not allowed to throw chest passes... it has taken so long because they've grown up without throwing a bounce pass. I don't think it's taught at the AAU level.

LeBron James provided the blueprint for NBA sustainability and professionalism

Every single day of every minute of the day, I was with LeBron James. He showed me how to do everything the right way... Be different. That foundation he gave me with the Miami Heat is probably why I'm sustainable now.

70% of big men in the NBA do not actually love basketball

50% of the NBA are guys that don't love basketball... Let's raise that number to 70 then for the big guys. 70% of the big guys... it's forced upon you because you're seven feet. Something wrong happened in your life [if you didn't play basketball at that height].

LeBron James is the second-best basketball player of all time

I also feel like we've done at least an okay job respecting the fact that he is an insane, insane basketball talent who is, you know, people will say he is the best of all time. I have him too. Which is, and I think the gap between two and three is huge.

It is significantly harder to score in college basketball than in the NBA

I think it's way harder scoring college than it is in the NBA... you have this no three-second in the key [rule in college]. So you got a big that's just sitting there. You also have like two or three people in college you can help off of.

Adam Silver is the number one cuck commissioner in sports

Adam Silver though. He kind of, is he the number one cuck commissioner now? He doesn't do shit. I mean, Roger Goodell, he does get bullied, but he gets bullied by the owners.