Paul George Recaps Game 4 vs Mavericks, His Tough 4th Quarter 3-Pointer, Kyrie's Wild Layup & More

Paul George

Podcast P Fam welcome back to another episode of podcast P presented to you by prize picks a wave, sports and entertainment original. As you can see, we are shooting this from the comfort of our home once again because it is playoff mode, and I could not do this episode without my dog, t man, joining the show, I gotta shout out my guys, Bunky, Jackie Long and Bunky, Dallas Rutherford. Yeah. Yeah.

Hey, and just a heads up, guys. Be sure to stay locked in with us on YouTube and hit that subscribe button. And, yeah, fellas, how we doing? How we feeling? Let's.

Let's get right to it. It's been a minute. It's been a week since the last episode. Hey. I love it.

Jackie Long

Cause you've been locked in. That's all I can say. I love it when you locked in. I'm ready for the show. I've been locked.

You've been locked in. You've been locked in. I'm glad we shooting today because you locked in right now. I could tell you locked in. Come on.

Come on, baby. How we feel. It's been quite. Quite the emotional roller coaster this week, but I'm glad we're here. You know, things are feeling good, so I'm happy to be back.

Paul George

Yeah, the ship was a little rocky, but, you know, we got a chance to come back and even this thing out. Two two going into game five. So we feel pretty good about where we're at in this position right now. Rocky is good, though. Rocky is good.

Jackie Long

I want to start good, though, Bunky. Rockiness is good. You need a little bit. You need a little bit of this. You got to go through that.

You got to go through that. You know? I like that. Get in on the playoff action and win up to 100 times your money on prize picks as you and the world's best players take the game to a new level during basketball's post season. You can now win up to 100 times your money on prize picks.

That's four correct picks. You could turn $10 into 1000. With basketball, hockey, and college basketball entries today on prize picks, America's number one fantasy sports act. All right, Jackie, let's make this fun. Do you want to do a couple more, more or less projections for the Knicks versus 76 ers game tonight?

Dallas Rutherford

More or less, Jackie. On Joel Embiid, 32 and a half points. Going more. Okay. Jackie's got more.

More or less. Jalen Brunson, eight assists. Where you going? I'm going more. Okay.

I like those picks. It's your turn, Dallas. I got one from the other two. Okay. More or less.

Jackie Long

Donovan Mitchell, 24 points tonight versus the magic. That's a lock. More. More or less. Miles Turner for 8.5 rebounds versus the bucks.

Dallas Rutherford

Ooh, Giannis is out. I'm going to go more on Miles Turner. Eight and a half rebounds as well. So I think we all took the over here. See how easy that was.

Jackie Long

I can make my picks and submit my entry in less than 60 seconds. Guys, go download the app today and use our promo code podcast P for a first deposit match up to 100. I repeat, download the app today and use code podcast P for a first deposit match up to $100. Pick more, pick less. It's that easy.

Easy, easy, easy, easy. I just wanted to rewind to game three. I know everyone, you know, we're going to talk about both games, but for, for game three first, you were in foul trouble early. Team was down double digits. Westbrook gets ejected out the game, which I don't know if you watched the replays pull, but it was.

Dallas Rutherford

Did you see when he looked into the camera that was like 2ft from his face. After all that, it was hilarious. I didn't see it. It was like he's, he's doing his thing. And then the last view you have of Russell Westbrook is like him looking into the camera.

He was right. He went right up into it and was just like mean mugging whoever that cameraman was. But I got Twitter or something. It's there. I'll send it to you.

But pee in that game. How do you, you know, kind of overcome that? You know, while, while you're in the midst of that, I'm sure, you know, it's probably a little bit more difficult. But looking back at that game, how do you stay locked in during that specific game battling the foul trouble, the fans are going crazy. And then more importantly, how do you, you know, rebound, which you obviously did, but, you know, the weight of the world, the clipper season, you know, is, is kind of on, on your shoulders now and James and obviously the other, the other part of the team.

But how do you, how do you get through that game and then how do you get past that game and ready for the next one? It was a lot to take in, right. Cause I came out, I felt really good going into game three because this is off a rebound if game two. Right. I wanted to be more aggressive.

Paul George

I wanted to be more assertive. I wanted to be in attack mode early. I wanted to find my rhythm early. I didn't like the performance in game two. Right.

So, and obviously they felt good beating us on our floor game, too. So going into game three, I had already had preset of how I wanted to come out and perform, and I felt good to start the game off. Obviously, I get in foul trouble, which changed the whole foundation or the landscape of how I played the rest of that game. And no excuses. I did poor, a poor job.

Cause fact of the matter is, I could have continued on trying to be aggressive and play my game and still assert myself, but there was a lot of overthinking, right? Because when you get in foul trouble now, you're not playing the minutes that you want to play. You're coming out early, so your rhythm is off, your timing is off, and then now the whole time you're behind the eight ball. And I was constantly picking up a file to put me back on the bench. Or, you know, it was just time and time.

Every time I stepped on the floor, I was picking up a cheap file. And so it's a balance of, like, trying to find that aggression, trying to find that assertiveness while, like, I didn't want to force anything and now throw everybody else off, right, taking shots just because now I'm trying to play catch up, you know, cause turnovers, because I'm trying to play catch up or pick up another cheap foul, being aggressive, going to the rim. As you saw, they were in game four. They were giving me cheap push off calls, which, let's be honest, there's a lot of that going on on the other team as far as using their body to shield defenders, right? And so they were calling me for those.

So that was in my mind of not picking up those cheap files, too. So it was a lot of overthinking going on. No excuses. I did a poor job of balancing that and being in position to not pick up those calls. Fast forward into game four, I had a mental note to just, you know, not be in bad positions to get, to give up cheap files, but also just knowing how I felt going into game three to carry that over into game four and just be extra aggressive and, you know, really take full advantage of the time I'm on the floor, especially with quiet, not being able to play.

And so I was locked in. I was locked in from the moment that ball was tipped up to go out and dominate, and I was able to do so in playoffs. I've watched every game, and it just seems to me as a fan that there has been a lot going on with the refereeing. Just from a player's perspective, do you feel like you've heard more chatter around your peers, the coaches, just the league in general on maybe some interesting refereeing throughout all the playoff series, not just yours. Yeah, I mean, I think there's been some challenging calls.

You look at what happened in that Knicks Philly game, there was a, you know, a controversial call. D low in the face, in the. Face with the Lakers and Denver. D low in Denver, that file being called back, which we all saw. Zubok attacked the couple.

Multiple files on, on Zubok that they deemed not files, but then, as you can see, off replays, our files, you know, and I. Who am I to, you know, this has been going on. This league's been around for multiple years, many years. This has always been a thing, right, of people claiming or thinking they're not getting the fair whistle, which, whatever way it goes, who am I to try to change that, right? All we can do is just play the game and try to go out and change the outcome the best way that we can and not rely on officials to change the outcome.

So is that that. But that's the thing, right? That is a thing of, you know, getting a fair whistle, especially in the playoffs. Yeah, it just, again, just. No, no comment from you after this.

Dallas Rutherford

It just seems to me like it's, it's, there's like a light on it this year, for whatever reason, at least in my opinion, watching, and I'm not even talking about your guys's game. I've watched every game and it just seems like. It just seems different to me this year specifically. Seems like there's a lot of. There was an out of bounds call where they challenged it, where the ref didn't even see it was out of.

They overturned like he thought the ball hit the line and it was like an. It just seems weird to me. But thank you for your insight on that. I was just curious. Yeah.

Paul George

And I think to your point, I think it's just a lot more people are invested. So I think it's the reason why there's a lot more chatter around it. A lot more people are invested in what's going on with where the NBA is and where playoffs are in today's league. I just think a lot more people are invested in what's going on. And, you know, if LeBron is unhappy about calls, you know, then I sure as hell don't got no room to say anything.

And so at that point, I just gotta keep playing. Well, p, you had mentioned after game three, you said you had a rhythm, but, you know, we all seen that you had a rhythm of fouls that game. But game four, your ass had a hell of rhythm going on with having 26 points the first half and making six of nine three pointers. I mean, damn, let me know, Pete, what games do you tell yourself? Like, I'm gonna come out this game and be more aggressive, because the way you was balling p like, game four was like, what the hell did you tell yourself?

Jackie Long

What? Yeah, I saw. I saw it. Game three, like I said, I started out. I had.

Paul George

I was getting into my spots. I was finding rhythm. I was finding places where I could get off to a good start. And then I got in foul trouble and wasn't able to play the way I wanted to play to start the game off. And so game four, I just knew, like, all right, you know, I got to come out and still try to hunt and find that aggression and find that comfort zone that I was in, and I was able to do so.

You know, I thought I was able to take advantage of the opportunities and played. I played my style of basketball. Like, all of those shots I was comfortable taking, it was in my rhythm, and it would just came down to me to just, you know, making the shots and knocking them down. But I'm always in attack mode. I try to start every game in attack mode.

You know, at times, it can be tough, right? Because we have so much firepower that, you know, trying to find that rhythm can be challenging at times, but, you know, I'm always trying to push, push the envelope in and just be aggressive to start games off. When you say you were in rhythm in game three, you said you felt like you had a good rhythm. Is that more like in warm ups, you were feeling good? And correct me if I'm wrong, but just watching it, you picked up those fouls pretty quickly.

Dallas Rutherford

I'm not sure you scored maybe. Maybe one bucket before. Was it just that before you got the two, was it just that one bucket that you felt like you had rhythm, or was it your warm ups that you felt good? Why do you. Why do you say you had good rhythm in game?

Paul George

Yeah, I felt great in warm ups. And then to start the game off, I hit a big shot, a big three ball on the right wing. And then I got into my dribble package with a step back, like at the free throw line. And those are the shots that, like, you know, I feel good about. I'm getting to my spots, and I know when I'm in control of the game and in control of my flow, and I just felt like I was in really good flow at that point.

And, yeah, I came out, I don't know, maybe seven minutes on the clock. And, you know, it was like every time I got back in, another quick whistle. And so it was. It was never a moment where I was like, all right, let me brush that off. Let me.

Let me try to find this rhythm again. It was always just like trying to play catch up and playing behind the whole time. Well, p, speaking of shots, I'm gonna take you back to game four, man. You hit a shot and it went viral, and I want to know. Come on, pull.

Jackie Long

Was this because PJ, Washington state three. Were you coming at him or what? Tell me, Pete, what was that all? No, honestly, it was. There was, like, some fans sitting courtside, and I'm sure y'all, I'm sure there's footage or maybe somebody can pull it up.

Paul George

There was fans that were sitting courtside and something that happened. Maybe it was like a loose ball or a scuffle, small scuffle, something that happened, and those fans stood up and they started doing, you know, the little mug shit. So it was after I made that three, it was literally in the same spot where those fans are sitting courtside. And so I looked over it and looked at them, and that was directed towards them. You know, I got nothing to do with him.

Jackie Long

Is that the new. It was more of those. Can it be the new. No, no, no, that's not my. That's not my cellie.

Paul George

That's not my cellie. Okay, that makes sense. I was going to call cap on this whole entire story, but that. That seems completely believable. But, Pete, you typically.

Dallas Rutherford

I've watched you play basketball a long time, since high school. You are not one to interact with fans. Chirping I don't see that a lot from you. And not only did you do it on the left side of the court in the first half, but you hit the pump fake. You said something.

It sounded like you were talking to JJ Reddick, saying, it don't matter. I was like, man, he's got to be feeling good out there because you never do that stuff. And even on the other end, on the big shot in the fourth quarter, you said something to those fans, too. Yeah. Was it just a feel thing?

And you were just in the moment, and even when you hit that shot, because, again, it was the fact that shot, that was a tough shot, but I think there was a foul called on the other end, and you were still talking either with the referee. I don't know what you were saying, but you just seem to have a different spirit during that game. And I loved every second of it, but it just didn't. I don't see that a lot from you. Yeah, I was in a pissed off spirit.

Paul George

Like, I was in a pissed off mood. I was in a pissed off, you know, kind of just attitude. And I wasn't going to be denied, you know, I was just locked in and, you know, at times, emotions get the best of you. And I was. I was emotionally fully invested in that game.

And, you know, I told JJ, yeah, it don't matter at that point. It does not matter. You can send two guys at me, three guys. Like, I had a will to win and I wanted to win that game and it mattered to get off to a good start. Yeah.

It's funny that after hitting that corner three, the person I talked to I was talking to was actually Kyrie's dad. So after I made that corner three, Kyrie's dad is sitting in that corner. And after I made that three, Kyrie's dad looks at me and he's like, right? So I'm like, yeah, pops, I got that, too.

Dallas Rutherford

Kyrie actually mentioned you in his postgame P and he's like, man, when I see Paul George, you know, when those guys get going and he hits a pump fake three, it's like you. You know, you're. You're in some trouble, basically. But that's. He didn't say nothing.

You just saw his reaction to the show. His dad was like, like, stank face. And I was like, yeah, pops, I got that, too. And, yeah, man. Shout out.

Paul George

Shout out. Cog, man. He's. He's one of the guys that I truly respect. You know, we work out and we had a lot of playing in the off seasons where we train at the same facility.

And so, you know, I got a great chance to just guard him and, you know, play against one of the best one on one players that you can play. As my training in the summers in the offseason, and I think it kind of helps in this position now where I've seen it, I've been able to fail in practice to where now I'm a little bit more comfortable in those situations of guarding them. But he is a shop maker, bro. What is he on? It's not fair.

Dallas Rutherford

It doesn't seem real. It does not seem like there is not another player in the league that. Does that stuff the same way. I said to JJ, it doesn't matter for Kai, it doesn't matter. You know, he is a shot maker.

Paul George

It's just, and like, some of the threes he's making are deep threes, and it's like, man, you're not even, like, you're not even known for that. But it's just he has that clutch gene and that clutch factor of, of, like, he. He's the ultimate confident, has the ultimate confidence that he can make and take any shot. And, you know, he's living with those results, but he's. He's special, man.

Kai is definitely special. I'm going to need you to lock in next time you're on help side. When the shot clocks winding down, I'm gonna need you to be a little bit more locked. I know you were mad at yourself on that play. I would.

I looked at Kyle. Fuck. Loud as hell. Like, I know I gave that one up, but it caught me off guard. I did.

He, the ball swung so fast, and then he caught it. And I'm preparing, you know, for him to take a quick drive at me. Yeah, that's what I was saying. There, there was enough time where you have to. I gotta respect the drive.

Dallas Rutherford

That's the best shot you could give him in my. Because he, he just launched it, and I. I was on my heels, like, I was ready to retreat and play defense. I was literally on my heels, and he just raised up and it was like, it was like I was stuck. He's crazy, bro.

Jackie Long

Wild Peter, biggest shot of that game was that step back three that your ass made. Please, Pete, just do me a favor, man, and walk. Walk us all through that, man. What was you, what was you thinking when you shot that? Yeah, that play was actually from a broken play.

Paul George

James threw the ball over top. I mishandled it. And so it was, it was going to be an easy layup because I had Derek Jones playing on my top side. And all I had to do was just turn around, catch, and go up for the easy layup. But I fumbled the pass, and that led the ball to almost go out of bounds.

And I was kind of aware of the clock at that time. I think the clock was winding down, and I know their defensive situations, right. They're going to tilt and force the player to kind of, you know, get the ball out of their hands because I saw their big man tilting over as I'm stuck in a corner. So I'm watching him. So I was thinking he was going to come to trap, so I'm kind of waiting to see what he does.

He didn't come to trap, so I knew it was a one on one with Derek. And, you know, at that point, all I saw was just the open space, and that open space was to that right corner. And I'm comfortable shooting any shot. Like, I can almost get to any shot I want to get to, whether it's running away to the right hand, running away to the left hand. I can almost free myself and get a good look going any direction.

And so I just knew I saw space to the right of me, and, yeah, I just hit him with a step back going to my right. You know, it's the shot I work on, cash money. I think that's definitely by far. And you tell me if you agree. Do you think that's what the best shot of your career, like, hands down?

It was definitely one of the bigger shots. I know it wasn't like a game winner, but it was a moment, I think, right after Kai took the lead with that tough layup. I think that was probably the next possession after we called a timeout. And so, yeah, you know, I missed that shot. Who knows?

They had momentum after that Kai shot. I think that definitely took some momentum from them because I don't think we. We lost the lead from that moment on. So that was one of the biggest shots of the game, for sure, and one of the biggest of my careers. Pete, I want to know, because it looked like it from tv.

Jackie Long

It looked like you shot the shot from behind the backboard. Were you behind the backboard when you shot the shot? I kind of was. I kind of was. So, like, the shot difficulty on that, and again, this is things I work on, a shot difficulty on that.

Paul George

I had to release the ball a little earlier than usual. Like, usually a fade. I can hang and hold it for a little longer before releasing, but because I knew I was fading out in that corner, the best. The backboard is kind of. It's kind of, you know, more forward so that, like, you can get stuck behind the backboard, and that ball could possibly hit the side of the backboard or hit behind the backboard and go out of bounds from that angle.

And so I knew that going to that. Right, that I had to kind of release that ball a little earlier, and I didn't want to get stuck trying to hold on to it. Now he's contesting, and then now I'm in trouble. So, yeah, it was. It was a little bit like I was a little bit behind the backboard when I made that shot.

Dallas Rutherford

Going right was the most, like, I don't think people realize, like, any shoot most. Most right handed shooters, they want to step back going left just most. But to be able to do this step back. And it reminded me of the pump fake shot because it wasn't like just a clean step back. You almost threw the ball out a little bit, like you did on that left side of the court.

It was the same type of shot where you didn't step back, one, two, and do it. It was like a step back, let it hang 2ft and let it fly. I don't think people realize how tough of a shot that is going to your right with a hand in your face. It was incredible, bro. Good job, man.

Paul George

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, buddy. Thank you. He knew that shit was going in.

I felt good after it released my hands. I did feel good about the shot. I ain't gonna lie. I felt good about it. Yeah.

Dallas Rutherford

Confident in the same game. You guys obviously started out hot, okay? And you guys end up going up 31 points. And I'm watching the game. I'm like, there's no way, like, we're feeling good.

Everyone's feeling good. And let's not forget about James here. Regardless of his floaters. He was hitting threes, too. You guys were cooking.

But the announcer, I remembered this vividly, but he, you know, when you guys went up 31, they spoke about how the biggest comeback in NBA playoff history, it would have tied 31 point. And I remember listening to that, right? I'm like, no, they didn't just say that. Like, here we go. And I even posted a photo p and this is, this is, this is good.

Yt the producer. But when you did this, this thing, it was all over the Internet. All over. And so I went ahead. I don't care if I'm peace, friend or not.

I don't care if it looks bad, if it's coming from me like that. It's all over the Internet. Anyways, I posted it. Whitey's at the game, mind you. Why?

He's at the game and sees my story. What do you say? And he, yt calls me, goes, take it down. Take it. Like, like, basically was like, why did you wait till in the game, like, take it down, bro?

Jackie Long

Everybody in the world see, and this. Is, this is while you guys are. The lead is dwindling now. And I'm sitting there like, should I take it down? Should I take this thing down, bro?

Dallas Rutherford

Like, man, I don't, I don't want it to be about, look, but I told yt, I said, they're gonna win the game. They're gonna win the game. But my question is, the announcers p we're talking about how loud it was. Was that one of the loudest arenas that you've been in that specific game? Like that game, how loud was it in there?

Paul George

It was pretty loud. It's not the loudest arena I've been in, but it was pretty loud. You know, when they were making their push and they started to cut the lead to down 20, down ten under ten, down under five, took the lead. Like, it was definitely going crazy in there. It was pandemonium that was allowed.

It was a hostile environment for sure. But I think, you know, people don't understand how difficult it is to keep leads in the NBA. It's the reason it happens time and time after, you know, again, teams lose leads because the opposing team, they have to do something different. Right? You have to play harder.

You have to, you know, change a scheme up. Like you're going to make adjustments where the team that's winning, you relax a little bit. You, you know, there's a little bit more of a cushion, whereas you're the losing team. There's not much of a cushion. So every opportunity, every possession matters and you key in on that.

Right? Whereas the other team, they become a little bit more relaxed. And so, you know, it's. And we've obviously felt good being up 31, but we knew that they were going to make a run and they were going to have a run of their own, and we didn't necessarily think they would cut it to being up one. But we knew that, you know, this game isn't going to be a 31 point blowout win, you know, especially with what they have over there, that firepower that they have over there.

But it's, it's one of the hardest things, especially during playoffs, is holding leads, especially big leads. How different is it now in this stage of your career compared to in the beginning of your career? Cause we've always talked about on the show how the NBA has changed. You know, it's a three point, you know, league that obviously contributes to how these leads are dwindling so much now is because it's a shooting lead. But was, was there a big difference earlier in your career being able to keep a lead rather than now?

Dallas Rutherford

Would you say it's more difficult to keep a lead now than when you first got into the NBA? Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, because you got to think, back then there was two bigs on the floor, so it wasn't, and then there wasn't volume three point shooters like you might have one volume three point shooter on your team. You might have a couple of, you know, decent three point shooters, and then.

Paul George

And then they were bigs, you know what I mean? And so there wasn't that. There wasn't that many possessions back then, and the game was played at a slower pace. And so, you know, I remember back then, like, you could take, like, if you were up 25, 30 points, you could pretty much take your starters out the fourth quarter. Like, coaches weren't playing their starters in the fourth quarter when you were a big crazy back then.

Now you have to keep your starters in probably until, like, three, four minutes on the clock just because of the three point line and teams playing faster and teams spreading the floor out, you know? And so it's. It's definitely a lot trickier and a lot tougher to maintain leads in today's NBA opposed to, you know, back at least when I first came in the league. I love it. Yeah, that was my.

Dallas Rutherford

I was. That I was drained, bro, at the end of that game. Like. Those be the most fun games to be a part of, bro, because it is for what it is. Like when you stand, when you take a step back and you're in that moment, and you're like, damn, Kai's going crazy.

Paul George

Damn, James going crazy. Damn. Lucas making tough plays. Like, it's just. It's so much going on.

And you get wrapped in the game, and it's like, yeah, this is like, I can't wait to step up. I can't wait to have a moment in this game. I can't wait to help my team win. Like, those are the games that you're like, man, this is fun. It was a movie.

It was a movie game environment. It was a movie game. It was a movie game. It was a movie. It was a movie game.

Dallas Rutherford

It was a win for the NBA. That was just peak basketball. It was awesome. Y'all did a lot of things. That game.

Jackie Long

Y'all made history. We already know you and James did y'all thing that game. You know what I'm saying? Y'all put that whole damn team on y'all back. But at the end of the day, nobody probably didn't even notice.

Y'all did something for the first time in Clipper history. Well, we did. Combined together in the playoffs. Both of y'all had points, five rebounds, and five assists. Now, you know, I gotta be noticing you and Jay have a direct conversation about game four or the fourth quarter.

Like, we gonna do the other brother. We gonna do the same thing. Like, tell me a little bit about that, Pete. Yeah, we did. Me and h definitely had a conversation going down the wire that fourth quarter.

Paul George

You know, I looked over at him and I was, you know, he had it going offensively down the stretch, and I looked over at him. I like, man, take us home. I'll get us the stops, you take us home. And he was like, bet I got you, p. And that was.

That was what was said. We went out from, like, four or five minutes on, and we. We put the game away. But we did have. I.

We literally had that conversation where I asked him, take us home. I will get you the stops. All right, take us home. And he went. He went delivered.

He went delivered. He definitely went delivered. Y'all killed out there, man. But all game, all series, h comes, h, you know, is, you know, like, p. Man, I need you to be a killer.

I need you to be a killer. Go kill. Go kill. You know, all series and all. Every game, you know, he comes up to me and tell me that that's.

Jackie Long

The type of game I wish I was there to see that in person. That was amazing. Like, how you just was. Oh, it was amazing. Pete, you're gonna have to watch.

Dallas Rutherford

I'm excited. I'm. I don't. I mean, maybe you've watched it or not, but you need to watch it on, like, tnt. Like that it was.

You would. You would enjoy watching that game again. Just that the broadcast was awesome. Like, I feel like that's a game when you're. That's a game you're going to show.

Vouch one day, bro, 100% that is a game. Like, if he's not sleeping in the. Second quarter, I'm a little disappointed. I got. I got to say I'm a little disappointed in Mike Breen, who you say, because I.

Is that one of the announcers? What did he say? I didn't. I didn't get. I didn't get a bang.

Paul George

You know, he does the bang. Yeah, I think he was so sure. Yeah, I didn't. I didn't get the bang for that corner three. You know, that was bang worthy.

I think. I think he just said. I thought that corner three was bang worthy. Confusing. Game worthy.

Dallas Rutherford

James summed it up well, p at the end of the game, and he said, and I quote, it's like watching elite, skilled, hall of fame basketball players going at it. There's only so much you can do defensively. Have you taken a moment? And I know it's got to be tough, but do you even realize the magnitude of. Of that moment?

When you're in it, you know what I mean? Like, it's one thing to watch it and be like, wow, that was dope. But when you were in that game, and you did mention it a little bit, you did. You know, that was like a classic. No, not from a viewership standpoint, but I think you felt.

Paul George

You felt how much that game meant to both sides. I think from that standpoint, being on the floor, you felt that of the magnitude of what that meant for both teams to win that game. But from a viewership standpoint, you don't really know or realize how good a game is until you actually watching it. And you notice, damn, that was a tough shot. Tough shot after tough shot.

Like, damn, if he misses that shot, that's a whole different outcome. And I felt like that for, like, the last five, six minutes when shots were going down. Any one of those shots changed the outcome for the next possession or the next minute or the next, you know, two minutes within that game, each basket was, like, so timely that, like, again, if we missed any of those, if Kai misses some of those shots, like, we easily might go up ten points again. If. If I miss some of those shots, we go down.

If James missed some of those shots, we, like, those shots were just so timely down the stretch that, like, you just, you recognize how much it meant to both sides, and we weren't like, each side wasn't afraid of the moment, I will say that. But it was definitely a clash of titans. So, Pete, you. You just mentioned that you told James you would get the stop, and there was a possession when Kyrie was going crazy in the fourth, where you were when you were able to block that three point shot. Walk us through that play, and what was going on in your mind at that moment?

It's actually funny, because after I blocked it, right, we go back down, and it was like a dead ball. And Kyrie goes to me, like, where were you? Like, did you go under the screen or did you go over the screen? And I was like, should I vanish? And I popped back up and I blocked it.

Dallas Rutherford

You told him you vanished. Because I didn't want to give him, like, I didn't want him to. Like, all right, he's going under the screens. Like, I didn't want to give him a little advantage. Like, oh, that's like, nah, bro, I vanished and then reappeared and blocked that shit.

Talk about magic, man. He was probably like. But no, he actually, it was in game one. I believe it was game one or game two. I can't remember but it was in LA, I had a similar situation.

Paul George

And it's crazy that, like, my. My mind processed it that quick. He had a play in game one or game two where he came off quick off a pick and roll and shot a three right behind the screen. And I was like, a second late. But it was like, it was one of those moments where you're pissed at yourself, like, pete, you could have went blocked that.

Like, you could have. You could have fought a little harder to get around that screening and got a hand on that. And so it was crazy how a split second I processed that going around this screen, and I was like, shit, this is that play again. And it was just like, fuck, I'm just. I'm a go for it.

And as he came off clean, he was wide open. He came off clean, but I was able to get around that screen, and I was like, man, just go for it. And so I reached out and was able to block it from behind. And I think we got a fast break opportunity out of that. But, yeah, it was on my mind that he made a shot on me previously in this series.

Dallas Rutherford

Yeah, I really enjoyed, you know, obviously, watching him, but I don't know if you got a chance to see his post game stuff, which I know can be difficult, especially after a game like that. There's a winner and a loser. You got to go in there, you're getting questions about Kawhi, and they're getting questions about what happened. But it was kind of a. At least in my opinion, it felt like a full circle moment because I remember when Kyrie was in Cleveland and LeBron was kind of the spokesperson for that team.

And LeBron is fantastic. Well, as of. It's arguable now, but LeBron's good at, you know, protecting his teammates and saying the right things. It's like, LeBron always says the right thing, it seems like. But I enjoyed just on a human level after a game like that.

He really protected, protected Luca. And I think that you could kind of just see a full circle moment where now Kyrese, the leader on that team, he is the leader. He's been in the NBA longer, obviously. Luca Lucas, a whole nother conversation, but I really enjoyed watching Kyrie speak well about his teammates after a loss like that. So.

So I've never met Kyrie, but that it made me even more of a fan just because it seems like he's just a good dude. But last, last kyrie, we got to touch on p that layup that he had, the Michael jordan, kobe Bryant, esque. I don't even know what you want to call it. Utman and james, walk us through that play. Did you even, like, it looked like you guys had him sandwiched?

Paul George

Yeah, honestly, I saw him driving down the lane, and t man is, like, right on his hip. So I'm watching it, like, where is he going with this? Like, t man is. Is on this. James is low man.

Like, where is he going with this ball? He took off, and it was kind of like. It was kind of like, yeah, I'm in the. In the vicinity. I'll just put a hand in just to throw him off even more, like.

And just be a body there. But he, like, showed it, and then I don't know how he had enough to get it over to the right hand to flip it up. He went to the poster store. I mean, that he just. He did.

He got some vc or something, but, I mean, that just. That. That just is another, you know, touch to his greatness and how good he is and how, you know, the legend grows of one of the most gifted finishers in the league history. You know, his. His ability to be 626162, his ability to finish and be that size is, you know, this.

There's no one I've seen finished on a level. Just last to the legend. We are lucky. We're very lucky. I think the announcer even said something like, man, if this guy was six, six.

Dallas Rutherford

And, you know, you always hear those guys like, well, if I was six foot nine, I'd be in the NBA. The announcer was like, if Kyrie was six, six, seven, I don't even know what to say. He might be considered. I don't know what would happen if that guy was six. Absolutely.

Paul George

But you got to take into account. You got to take into account. Lose a little speed. I mean, when you're that size. No, when you're that size, you learn different skill sets.

Right? And so him being smaller, him being shorter, I'm sure, develop that skill set because he's not going to finish over you at this point. He's got to finish around you, under you. So I think, you know, you develop a skill set because of your. Your physical abilities.

Like, and so, I mean, who's to say? I mean, he might still have that layup package. Okay?

Jackie Long

Like.

Paul George

That'S who Kyrie like, AI for. I mean, bro, that. The stuff he was doing, it. It was crazy. That was the craziest game I've ever watched, I think.

Dallas Rutherford

I mean, he was in the group. Check. What did I say? Stop. Literally, like, on a dime and did some move and did.

Jackie Long

I don't know how he be doing it, like, going that fast. He did the little where he thought he was gonna bring it up. The coldest play he did was game two in LA. He had, like, he was coming down the right lane. He did like a fake pass.

Paul George

He did like a fake pass to the corner. I don't. I don't know. I don't know what he did. Like a fake pass wrapped around, fake shot into a lobby.

And I think someone missed a lot. But, like, it was just. It was just so much wizardry going on.

Dallas Rutherford

He doesn't even have to shoot the ball. And you have, like, when I. When I've never really watched him. I've watched them live. But something about these last two games, he doesn't even have to shoot it.

He might just do something basic that you're just kind of looking at him like, oh, my gosh. But the best move of the game and all the IG refs might have a different opinion of this. I had a conversation today with someone about this. I didn't think it was a travel. It's right on that cusp of when you take that gather step.

But James Harden's footwork on that one. Where Luca was going like, that was tough. That was tough. That was tough. That was.

Paul George

That was like a sideways euro. Like, I don't even know what to call that. It was like a sideways.

It didn't. Brought it over here. It was tough. That was tough. It was crazy.

That was tough. All right, y'all, that was fun. Wrapping it up and talking, you know, playoff talk with y'all. But I got my dog t man, on the other line, so let's holla at my young fella. The connect is sponsored by at and t.

Stay connected to what matters most with at and t. As promised, we got my young fella, Terrence, man, to come join the set today. Team man. How we feeling, Brody? Good, man.

Better. Feeling better. Better after going to two right? Better getting that dub, coming back home to LA, even that thing out. Yeah, love that.

Love that. You at the crib? Where we at? I'm at the crib, chilling. Okay.

Terrence Mann

Vibing. We got. We got to get some, uh, we got to get some artwork back there.

Jackie Long

Better spot your house. No, we do gotta, you know, we do gotta. We do gotta shout t man out. We gotta congratulate him because he is an official first time homeowner. Hey, so we do gotta shout that out.

Paul George

We do gotta shout that out, you know? That's worth giving slow to. T man. What. What about the dog I thought I saw on social media?

Dallas Rutherford

Did you adopt a dog? No, no, I bought a cane Corso because. And I need somebody patrolling my house at night. Is he well behaved? Has it been difficult training him?

Paul George

Um, no, he's good. He's good. He's well behaved. It hasn't been that bad. He goes off to school for, like, two weeks at a time.

Terrence Mann

Comes back, so he's good. What kind of dog is it? Cane Corso. Do they shed? Do they shed a lot of fuck?

Jackie Long

I'll be over there. T Mac. Tongue start to get itchy?

Yeah, but, yeah, good, good. Good on y'all making it back to LA. But with all that said, you know, I got to be nosy. T man, this question go for you and P. Okay, team man.

Y'all know y'all just came off of back from spending five days in Dallas, which was good, you know, saying, y'all got to spend a lot of time together. And I wanted to know, between you and PG insight and the life of being on the playoffs, on the road. Well, for me, it's a. I feel like it's a lot more downtime than being home. Like, I feel like I'm more by myself, just chilling in the room, watching tv shows, YouTube, film.

Terrence Mann

Like, it's a lot more downtime than I. Than I feel like being at home. I don't know about for Pete, but. For me, for sure, yeah, it's definitely more downtime, as, you know, we'll probably see later. Little man might make an appearance, but at home, you know, kids want to kick it.

Paul George

They want to spend time and, which I love having family time, spending it with my wife, my little ones. But actually, on the road in Dallas, I actually got out and played golf two days while we were out there. You know, it was great weather there. I was able to get out there and play. I probably played like 1413 holes on.

On both days, nine holes on one day and then, like 14 on another day. So it was good. I got out and played some good golf and kind of just got out the room, got some fresh air. It was a lot of golf, but it was fun. A lot of fun playing golf out there.

They got some beautiful courses in Dallas. Did you play with Daniel tice? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Me DT, me DT, B. Shaw.

We got out there. Mark Marques. We got out there and we played a, you know, good, good little round of golf, man. It was. It was good times.

Dallas Rutherford

So, t man, a lot of NBA fans are recognizing your defensive skills this series. You're having to guard Luca. You're doing a fantastic job. But what's your internal approach to guarding a guy like Luca? And from a taxing standpoint, is it more like you're physically taxed, or is it more of a mental challenge when you're guarding him?

Um. Shit, it ain't easy, I'll tell you that. I think it's. I think it's more mental than anything with me, with him, because he's going to make the tough shots. He's going to take the tough shots, and you see them go in, you think you're playing good defense, you see them go in, it's just like, it's tough.

Terrence Mann

You know, the pump fake. He gonna get you a couple times in the series, he got peed a couple times. Couple times. I don't know why he got pee. I told him stay down on the move.

I told him to stay down on. We still jump, but, uh. But, yeah, I think. I think mentally, it's just taxing, but a lot of film is helping me out. A lot of film is helping me out and the coaches, for sure.

Paul George

Yeah, I think it's great that, uh, with so many, like, defensive minded guys on a team, it's. It's. It's kind of fun to kind of share. It's like we all have and take our own notes, and at the end of the quarter, end of the game, end of the day, we kind of, like, share notes with each other of what we've collected of, like, how to guard guys. And so I think that is kind of a benefit that we have and a luxury that we have with so many good defenders on our team is that we can, you know, hey, when he does this, look for that when, you know, when he has the ball on this side, he's looking to do more of this, like, so it is like a, you know, a cool thing that we kind of, like, we did this yesterday, we did this after game three of, like, coming together.

Like, hey, you know, if you do this, you know, we might have success with. With that. I won't give up too much of the other conversation, but a little tidbit behind that. We do talk and communicate and kind of share notes with each other. It looks like you guys have been playing each other tough, and I'm just curious how much background because Lucas had to play the Clippers throughout his playoff history, it seems like.

Dallas Rutherford

And it looked like there was a video of you guys getting chippy earlier in your rookie season. But is he the type of guy that's talking trash? Like, what's his vibe out there when he's playing? There's a lot of dialogue, but it's not as much trash talking as it used to be. I think over the years, everybody kind of gained each other's respect, and it's not as harsh as it was when it started.

Terrence Mann

So just a lot of random dialogue about the game, but it used to. It used to be crazy. It used to be real crazy. Them, too, used to get into it every game. Yeah, you can be a regular season game on a Thursday, January, where we're talking crazy, but, nah, it's not crazy.

Paul George

Now. Now PJ is on his list.

Dallas Rutherford

Who's on his list? Come on. We need to mention PJ Washington. Now. PJ Washington is on teammates list.

Terrence Mann

No, I'm not. I'm not messing with him. He got his little thing. He got his little pics off. He got his pics for the gram and stuff.

He's feeling good and stuff. So I'm gonna let him. Let me have that. Okay. Yeah.

Dallas Rutherford

Interesting. Look, it's been 24 hours since game four, and game five is scheduled for Wednesday. Now, I need to notice because I'm a little noise, a little nosy, and I'm curious. Pete, in the second half, you played 24 minutes. I want to know what is the recovery process that y'all go through when it's.

Jackie Long

When y'all got back to back games? Like, after, like, after back. And y'all doing this during the playoffs, man. Like, what's the recovery process? How do y'all handle this?

Paul George

The team travels with, like, a travel cold tub sort of thing. And so after the game, you know, I set in the cold tub for about ten minutes. Still trying to get t men to learn that ten minutes. Let's. Is that.

Dallas Rutherford

Is that accurate? I just want to. Ten minutes. Ten minutes straight. Okay, 1 minute.

Paul George

You know, so I sat in the cold tail for about ten minutes for recovery. I got a little massage. I actually started cramping a little bit on the flight back, taking a nap, and out of nowhere, my leg just started cramping out. Woke me up out of my nap on the flight home. But, you know, when it's playoff time, I try to, like, really lock into recovery.

I try to really lock in of, you know, getting mentally and physically prepared for the next game. I'm always looking ahead right after the game is over, so. But, I mean, to be honest, I wasn't really that. That tired, you know, playing 24 minutes straight in that second half, I wasn't really that tired. I guess since I didn't play that much game three, I had a little left in the tank to play game four, so I wasn't as tired as I thought I would be.

And then it helped, obviously. James got hot. James took over the game so I didn't have to exert much energy on both ends. It was more so just guarding Kai down the stretch that I could have saved some energy on offense. And what about you, team?

Terrence Mann

Man, I think everything he said, but the cold tub, I ain't doing that. But the normatex, the massages. Do you ice your knees at least? Like, do you do ice packs? Yeah, I'll do some ice occasionally, but.

Paul George

He don't understand that until he, like, 31, 32 years old, and you gonna be like, damn, I wish I was doing this a lot earlier, man. What about in college? Did you take ice? But it's not fun for me. It's a pain for 1 minute, and then after that minute, it just numbs up.

It goes away. 1 minute. Just take a towel, bite down on that towel for 1 minute, screaming, no. Ice baths in college. I feel like that's like a routine thing in college.

Dallas Rutherford

College. You didn't take ice baths in college? No, I do them sometimes. It's not like I'm not going into the cold tub, but I'm not doing them after games and before practice, you know, it's not in my regular routine. Okay.

Terrence Mann

I don't, like once every two weeks. Once every two? Yeah, that's, that's just gotta make a. You gotta make a bet with it. At that point is like once every two weeks.

Paul George

That's not giving you, like, if you did it, like, if you did it, like, twice, three times a week, your body would get so used to it that, like, it wouldn't, you wouldn't even think it's cold anymore. Your body would just be used to it. But once every two weeks, you don't even give your body a chance to get used to it anymore. Twice a week, though. I mean, twice a week.

Just do it right after the game. Just jump right in there. We got the hot tub at the facility. Jump in the hot tub first, warm your body up, and then you jump in the cold. Wait till y'all at the end to it.

Jackie Long

That's when he gonna get into it. Yes. That's when he gonna do it. At the end, y'all get into it. He must use all that new facility stuff.

I know how you do it, T man. You ain't.

Dallas Rutherford

Yeah, and T man, I actually remember P talking about it. I believe it was the new year's party, but he mentioned to you that, hey, it's a new year. You obviously didn't start off shooting the basketball. Basketball. Great to start this season.

But as soon as Pete told you at that new year's party that it was going to be a new year, a new you. You've been knocking down the three point shot, and this series specifically, you've shot over 50% from the three point line. I want to know what it's like having to guard Luca, but also be reliable to knock down those three point shots, because when I'm watching the game, it really defeats that opponent when. When P and James are doing their thing, and then they have the role players knocking down shots. Talk about that balance, how you're approaching the game on the defensive side and the offensive side.

Paul George

Yeah. I mean, shout out to my teammates, man. They stay on me. They stay on me every chance they get about. And staying involved on the offensive end, um, you know, that's just what it is.

Terrence Mann

It's my teammates, you know, they. They just stay on me. They want me to shoot it when I'm open. They want me to, you know, shoot them corner threes. And for me, don't.

It don't come second nature, you know? Cause that hasn't been my game my whole life. It's just, you know, I'm always used to either being a point guard, trying to get downhill, trying to go dunk the ball and stuff like that. But, you know, these guys, they believe in me. I believe in myself, and I'm just, you know, letting it fly every chance I get.

Paul George

But it's not. It's not easy. It's not easy for me. And Pete could tell you that, yeah. It'S good problems to have when you got guys mad at you for not shooting.

Those are good problems to have. We actually had a conversation yesterday at the game where he had a play where he could have shot the ball if he had stayed in the corner. And I just had to tell him, like, we know you love Duncan. We get it. We love you, Duncan.

Sometimes you just gotta, you know, accept the spacing and shoot those corner threes, and, you know, that's just gonna open up his dunks once he start knocking those down, guys running out at him now the world is in his hands. So, you know, we want t man to play his game. That's first and foremost, wherever he's comfortable at. But I think if he shot more threes. It'll open his old game up for sure.

Jackie Long

I like how you've been playing. You know, right after we had that conversation. After we had a conversation, I think I had like the next two. Yeah, cuz that was a half, right? Oh, this is a mid game conversation.

Paul George

We had this conversation at halftime. Shoot the ball, bro. Yeah, I literally. I literally told him, t, man, I know you like Duncan, bro, but you gotta shoot some of these threes too. Keep them honest.

Terrence Mann

Yeah, exactly how it went. I gotta ask, you know, because in the middle of the game, game one, I switched my shoes out just because of, you know, the way I felt. I can tell when I'm not connected to the game or to the floor, to the ground. Like, I can just tell how my body is when I'm not at a hundred percent of, like, feeling connected into the game. So I changed my shoes just so I can feel lower to the ground.

Paul George

We, of course, you know, we. In previous. In the previous episode, we talked about you having a rondo card in your. In your wallet. What game?

In game rituals or do you have any in game rituals during these playoff games? Is there anything that you go to that kind of is like, all right, I feel good once I do this. At this point in the season. Nothing specific. Nothing specific.

Terrence Mann

I feel good, you know, once I get my prayers in. Yeah. And I just lock in on the game plan. Once I go over the whole game plan in my head, and I'm just, you know, locked in, I. I go during, um, when they announce the starting five, I go look off into the crowd, get my mind right, go over the game plan in my head, say my prayers.

And after that, I'm just, yeah, I have to do that. I don't do that because I've been. Meaning to ask, but I know you're locked in at that particular moment, so I don't want to interfere of your process. But I do notice you. You like to hang back in the locker room a little bit, and you.

Paul George

And you kind of go through. You kind of go through a routine. What? Like, what is that? What does that routine consist of?

Terrence Mann

I think that's just me feeling my whole body out, you know, making sure my mind is right. Just talking to myself the whole time in my head, you know, listening to the music that they got going on there. And just. I feel like that's me grounding myself. Before I run out there.

Cause I used to run out there early and I felt like my mind would be everywhere. I didn't really ground myself yet before I played the game. Right. Okay. I think this year I started doing that.

You know, this is the first year I started staying back in the locker room and not going out as early, just cause I felt like my mind would be everywhere and I need to ground myself first before I just run out there and do whatever. Got it. Got it. Yeah, I did recognize that, but I was like, that's his process. I'm not going to interfere with this process.

Dallas Rutherford

T man, I gotta say this, pete, just because you mentioned the Rondo card, and I have it by my desk, I don't know if you remember this, but when we were in Vegas, I had you sign a card. And for all my card collectors out there, it means a lot to me that you sign the card. But what I do is I go and submit them, and they go get graded. So it's on a scale from one to ten, and one of the cards that I had you sign is your rookie card. It's kind of hard to see, but this is in your Florida state jersey.

There's only five of these cards ever made. Just so you know. Only five of them. And it came back a psa ten. So if you win the championship and you want this, you got to win the championship.

But I wanted to thank you for the PSA ten because of the Rondo card, and it's yours if you guys win. That's a bet that's love. I do want to shed a little light on the kawhi situation. We're not here to provide updates or comment on his situation, but I do want to talk a little bit about the narrative that surrounds Kawhi. Um, of that he doesn't want to play, which is simply incorrect.

Paul George

Right, t man, like, you talk about someone that is all about playing playoff basketball is all about. Even if he's not 100%, he. He wants to at least give whatever he can, and he did that in game, too. But just to drown the noise of that whole narrative, he was literally shut down because I guess the higher ups, I would say, didn't think that he was himself and didn't want to further harm himself by playing games with that. He was not 100% on.

So I just want to clear that up to all the fans out there. Kawhi is one of the most hard working, down to put it all on the line players that you can find. Sometimes it is better that, you know, someone can see it from afar and kind of just know when someone is not completely themselves. And so, yeah, we wish Kawhi the best on recovery. And, you know, this process.

We here with him. We gonna hold it down until he's back. But, yeah, we got. We got two. We're gonna take care of it, too.

Terrence Mann

Sure. On that note, t, man, we want to thank you for connecting with us. Stay close to the action with at. And, t, I want to ask you one more question. PNB.

Jackie Long

Nosy. Oh, you gotta. Go ahead. Fire. Fire.

Paul George

Tell me. Shut the fuck up. Shut the fuck up. Pete wanted to know what was the case that you got into with oh, boy at the game? I got to be nosy?

Jackie Long

What happened? Because they didn't show it on tv the right way. When you came, you wasn't even in the game, and you came in right here and some happened. Talk. You know what I'm talking about?

It's the only altercation you had. Tv. Talk to me. Tell me about it. This happened.

Paul George

This happened recently, Dallas. Yes. It was in doubt. It was your first game. And.

Tell it. Tell us about it, t, man. Tell me something, Joe. Joe.

Jackie Long

And they got each other's face, and then they. You know what I'm talking about? Go team, man. No, it was. It was just a lot of, you know, looking over at the bench and flexing, kind of like, you know, the series was over type energy.

Terrence Mann

They, you know, won the series type energy. A lot of talking, a lot of flexing, and I just lost it. I wasn't. I wasn't messing with it, so, yeah. I had to go, this is what a fan or this was with a player.

Dallas Rutherford

This is when. Okay, okay. Yeah. So, you know, the series was just to one, like, the way they know, the way some people were flexing. It was like, I would have thought we were down 30 or something, or like.

Paul George

Right, right. But there's something. So I'm. I'm like, yo, what's going on? It happened, you know, second time, third time, fourth time, I just lost it.

Terrence Mann

I'm like, yo, t, let me go in, t. Like, tv, they didn't lose eyes. Tv, they didn't show it like that. Yeah, that's why I was like, what happened? And the tv didn't even know.

Jackie Long

They just know. He got into it. They showed a little bit. So, you know, I had to ask you. I had to ask you, T.

I had to ask you. I met you. Let us know that. Well, there you have it. T man was standing on business like he's supposed to on business.

Paul George

Hey, t, man, we want to appreciate your time, bro. Thank you for connecting with us. Oh, yeah. Stay close to the action with at and t at home or on the go. At and t keeps you connected to the game you love.

We'll be back with rated pg after this break. Keep shooting that ball, T. Man, there. Are so many streaming apps, it can be hard to even find what you want to watch. But there's a way to outsmart the system.

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Jackie Long

My drive has got me to where I am today as an actor, okay? And Sprite is for the makers and the creators, like myself, the visionaries, putting in the work to build their dream. Whether you're shooting the cinematic masterpiece on your phone, filing notebooks with sketchers, or up all night turning your bedroom into the keep going. Because thirst is everything. Having equity and being a managing partner in my own mortgage company at the age of 35 has quenched my thirst to be as successful as I wanted.

Dallas Rutherford

But even that hasn't stopped my drive towards greatness. Sprite is made for those who thirst for success and are working to make their dreams a reality.

Paul George

So keep going. And remember to be true to yourself. Obey your thirst, sprite. All right, shout out to my boy t man for coming through the podcast. P.

Jackie Long

And guess what? P. I'm bringing a retro back to the squad, baby. I'm bringing back rated pg. Oh, yeah, baby, I had to do it.

And we got a new little sponsor this time. Because guess what? Rated PG is sponsored by guess who? You want to know by Pride video.

Paul George

We got pride video, baby. You're all in one destination for life. Love that hit movies and tv and plenty more. Okay? You can find your happy place right there, prime video.

Jackie Long

Now check it out. This is how rated PG works, is where Paul George highlights under the radar players around the NBA, okay? He raced them on their skills, and he breaks down whether we should be watching them or not. But this time, Pete, because you're on the west coast, we're not going to. Do you like that, where it's going to seem like it's some type of beef or something.

I want you to pick the Eastern Conference young players who you think right now in the playoffs, that's ball. Well, right off the back, I got a. I got a highlight. That young Orlando Magic team, this being their first playoff run in I don't know how many years, it's been a while since Orlando has played significant basketball. So shout out that Orlando Magic team out in the east doing their thing.

Paul George

That young squad, Paolo and Franz Wagner, have been incredible in their first playoff experience. Paolo has been an ultimate star. He's been phenomenal. He's been sensational, a true superstar, and he's playing against a tough team. That Cleveland Cavaliers team is very tough.

They're very battle tested. They have leadership. They have veterans. They have, you know, really all of the makings of being a good playoff team. But this Orlando magic team is holding their own behind Paolo.

He's been extremely consistent. He's been a scorer. He's been dominant. I love his tenacity. He's one of the most strongest players that I played against.

I remember we played them, and he had plays where it was just, you know, you think about man child. He. He is a man child. Literally playing a man, a man's game at such a young age. But, you know, he kind of reminds me a bit of mello from a standpoint of the physicality.

Mellow was kind of like that where. Where you knew you play against Mello, you was going to be banged and bruised up just from, you know, him constantly putting pressure at the rim and putting pressure on you to stay in front of him. And so I've been very, very impressed with his first playoff experience, and that Orlando Magic team is going to be good for a very long time. So shout out the Orlando magic, and you know where they're at in their series. Shout out to the Eastern Conference young players over there in the playoffs, man.

Jackie Long

So, yeah, I guess that's all for rated pg, then. Rated PG. But before we cut the show, we got to shout out our fellow superstar from the WNBA, Candice Parker, on an unbelievable career. Shout her out on her retirement. You know, Candace has been a friend of mine.

Paul George

You know, we've always had a friendly, cordial conversation and friendship. I wish her nothing but the best on her next journey, which she has been phenomenal in that next phase of her career, doing the tv analysis, you know? So shout out to Candace, who I think, man, when you think about that 2008 year, it was absolutely incredible. And she will be a hall of famer from that season alone. You talk about AP female athlete of the year.

The Naismith College player of the year went into second her second straight national championship at Tennessee. Second most outstanding or second straight most outstanding player awards. Then to go and get drafted. Number one to the sparks. End that season on the all WNBA first team.

Then the win rookie of the year and mvp in the same season. Damn. Keep going. Only two people have ever done that. Will Chamberlain and West on sale.

I mean, it's just she's in basketball greatness and basketball royalty and definitely should be celebrated and embraced for that. So shout out to you, CP three. You know, we've been big fans of yours, and again, we wish you the best on the next journey. Do you think that's the greatest basketball year by a player ever? That's gotta be.

That's gotta be. I mean, if you're in conversation with the man that allegedly scored 100 points, you are in. You are in basketball goldness. You know, that's gotta be one of the craziest seasons for a player. I mean, you list.

You. You heard all the lists are all the things that I just named. Like that. That's unheard of. To win rookie of the year.

And that's like. That's like Wendy winning MVP this year. Right? Right. Think about the year he would have had to have.

Yeah. For him to be the MVP hits. She's going to go down, like you said, as beyond. One of the greatest to ever do it. Beyond, beyond.

Jackie Long

And that's just what it is. And like you said, that's a big pound of back. We shout out to you, Candace, we love you over here. And we can't wait till you come on the pod so we could ask you a few questions. You know, since you don't, you know, we catch up with you, love.

You know, just hear that. Get that history on you. Let these young girls out there. That's coming up in the. In this basketball world.

Give up. Get some of that Candace Parker love on the podcast piece. So, you know, congratulations again. And hopefully I see. I see you.

Hall of Fame. Get a ticket.

Paul George

Hi, bud. Hi. What's here? What's here? Okay.

Okay. You ready to close it out? Okay. Yeah. You want your headphones?

Jackie Long

They can repeat after you pee. Let's see. Can we get a millie. Can we get a Millie bop? Like, can we get something today?

Dallas Rutherford

Like, there's some pressure on them.

Paul George

Hey, we appreciate y'all tuning into the episode. Before we cut, I had a special guest appearance. My little man wanted to come and bless the pod and do the outro with me. So y'all cool with that? Y'all good with.

Y'all good with that? We're ready. We're here for it. Hey, come on. Oh, son, can you give him a George?

Hey, ladies and gentlemen, appreciate y'all for tuning into the episode. It's been fun. Shout out t man for joining the show as well. And we'll see y'all on the next pod. Say peace out.

Jackie Long

Peace out. Peace out.

Paul George Recaps Game 4 vs Mavericks, His Tough 4th Quarter 3-Pointer, Kyrie's Wild Layup & More

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1: Opening Remarks

2: Game Analysis

3: Team Dynamics

4: Refereeing and Regulation

5: Closing Thoughts

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