Back To Life, Back To Reality

The podcast episode centers around the Lakers' recent win against the Warriors, exploring what this means for their season moving forward. The hosts discuss potential changes needed for the team, reflect on the departure from traditional basketball styles, and share nostalgic memories from their youth. 

• Analyzing the impact of recent victories on the Lakers’ season 
• Discussing the trade deadline and potential acquisitions 
• Importance of defensive strategies in shaping team identity 
• Reflecting on the legacy of the 2020 championship team 
• The evolution of basketball and the loss of traditional play styles
• Southern California wildfires and their impact on residents
• Nostalgic flashbacks to childhood memories tied to basketball 
• Optimism for the Lakers’ future despite current challenges

Chapters

• 0:18 Lakers Discussion
• 8:29 Critical Analysis of Lakers Team Evolution
• 17:11 Lakers Shooting Woes and Roster Decisions
• 22:06 Evaluation of Lakers GM Rob Pelinka
• 29:49 Impact of California Wildfires on Residents
• 43:10 Decline of Basketball Culture and Passion
• 46:56 The Evolution of Basketball Culture
• 58:16 NBA Shifts and Player Values
• 1:10:25 Return to Basics
• 1:15:35 Nostalgic Flashbacks of Childhood Days
• 1:25:12 Nostalgic Reflections on Childhood Freedom
• 1:31:24 Basketball Nostalgia and Conversations

Transcript

Christian Young: 0:18

all rise. The pod is now a session. Welcome back to another episode of the Supreme Court of Basketball podcast. Me and the fellas back for another episode here. New year, same us, we back yo.

Henri Taylor: 0:31

We back. We're back in the center, let's get to it. Shit, you know.

Christian Young: 0:35

You're welcome. Shit, yeah For real shit.

Henri Taylor: 0:37

Y'all get to peer into our everyday conversations and shit that we do, like it ain't even you know it's. It's the shit that we do.

Robaire Taylor: 0:43

It's a show technically At the end of the day, two of us being Laker fans. What's going on? I'm going to take that victory any way I can. Lakers against Golden State. We pulled out a victory on a Saturday night. What do you guys think about it? And San.

Henri Taylor: 0:58

Fran, I guess, got a good road victory, a solid road victory last night, yeah for sure.

Christian Young: 1:04

I think it's interesting because we still they're starting to play a little better, I think, as the trade deadline is getting closer. It's still kind of like what exactly are we? And then you got AD coming out basically begging for another big, like hey, I'm not getting off that horse, so it'll be interesting to see how they play that. But just from the game itself, the fact that they beat the Warriors, you know it didn't hurt their staff Only had 13 points shot, you know, fairly terrible from the field, so that that made it a little bit easier for us. But a win is a win, especially in the West. It's interesting because every game you can literally go from third or fourth place to play in in a couple of games. So you really just don't have that room for error. So any time they can get a win, especially on the road, especially against the Warriors, I'm taking it.

Robaire Taylor: 1:54

Yeah, yeah, same here. I think that you know these are starting to be crucial games, like you said, because it's so crucial to every game that you can jump from. We don't want to be in the play-in, I'm tired of being in the play-in. I think that with LeBron and his age, we don't need any extra games if not necessary. So you look at it right now, I think we can, if we keep things up and start playing a little bit better, playing better defense, and we'll see if we'll make a move. You know, before the trade deadline, which I don't know who we would go for, I think it is going to be needed for the playoffs, but I'll take this win, I'll take it and if we can somehow, you know, compete and take the take over from uh denver I believe they're in the fourth spot I think we'd be okay.

Robaire Taylor: 2:40

I just want to stay away from that bottom half to where we have to be in the playoff to the play-in, and you know I'll take any victory that we can, because it's not often you see Steph have an off night like this and AD, I think for the Lakers to be successful, he's going to have to play like this. You know, not necessarily 35 a night, but he has to be the one putting up the shots. Lebron James has to feed off of him the rest of the team. Lebron James, you know he can facilitate, but AD has to be that guy moving forward if we're going to have a chance. You know, and I think that you know, I agree, the big man. We do need it. You know we shouldn't be in this predicament. I still say why not Dwight Howard? That's a conversation for another time.

Henri Taylor: 3:27

I think that would be great right now? Yeah, definitely. But the good news right now, as it stands in January, where we are before the All-Star break, lakers are out of the play-in picture. They're clearly a playoff team. You don't have to worry about that at this point. If the playoffs started today, they'd be in a good position to have to worry about playing games. That's a bit of a plus. They didn't run off three in a row, shit. That's a hell of a start. Going into All-Star weekend, which is the next two weekends from now, I want to say I don't know.

Robaire Taylor: 4:01

There's something about the two-week game's difference from the play being in the playoffs. In the play it is a tight race.

Henri Taylor: 4:07

But I'm just saying right now, if the playoff started today, the Lakers are out of. You know, don't have to worry about a playing game, they'd be clear.

Christian Young: 4:16

I mean actually yeah, yeah, just keeping the momentum. One you you got to get, it was nice to see, you know. And then one you got to get, it was nice to see Max Christie contribute again. They gave the kid money. We all thought, okay, not a bad idea Trying to get him more involved.

Christian Young: 4:30

Dalton Connect kind of had a nice hot start, kind of cooled off, kind of fell out of the rotation a little bit. So for him to come back and he normally plays really well at home, so to get 13 points out of him, him shooting three for seven from three on the road. I'll take it again. I think the lakers have to really figure out who they are and what they want to be moving forward. The dorian finney smith pickup good, but where are you going with this? Like, if you have watched the lakers, if you're a laker fan, you realize that we have not been the best for lebron or ad. So I think they owe it to them to try and figure it out. The key is the balance and I think the challenge is going to be. You're still dealing with Rob Palenka and I think Rob got burned with Russ Brooke and he's now just like I'm not doing it, I'm not going all in. But if you don't go all in, eventually you're going to miss the boat. And LeBron, at age 40, to be still putting up 25 points, 12 assists, five boards in a game that that that's on her. There will be a study on that man someday because, oh yeah, the way that he is still able to contribute at a at an all-star level maybe not the superstar that we know him to be, but to be 40 years old and to still be windmilling on kids coming in the league, and it's like that's beyond impressive. So I hope they figure out something and really get into the construction of a team.

Christian Young: 5:57

Ad came on and in his interview, said that that bubble team was really the best construction of a team he's seen in terms of the Lakers, because you had a little bit of everything. You had your bigs, you had two bigs to play alongside them. You had your shooters who were I happen to be wing defenders, like in kcp's case. You get a guy like a jr uh jr smith who could come in and knock down a couple shots. You they that. Just that team, I think, was underrated because we got so focused on the bubble itself that we forgot to look at all the pieces, and I think the worst offenders of that were the lakers themselves, when they just let it all go away. So I don't know, we'll see where that. Yeah, they just dissolved that team without.

Henri Taylor: 6:37

Yeah, yeah I mean, that is, to this day, one of the biggest mysteries in basketball in recent years, like how they dissolved that team without trying to run it back first. That, should it, still boggles the mind, like they really had the perfect construction of a championship team. I mean, they literally won the championship. Now you can, you can try and and dismiss it, or, um, I mean, we've heard it. I mean, and let's be honest, man, I I won't even say dismissing it, um, because there is some truth to it. Let's be honest. Like the reason why the Lakers want to win outside of the bubble would be largely to legitimize that championship. It counts.

Christian Young: 7:14

Yeah, and it was a real championship.

Henri Taylor: 7:16

No doubt Other teams were competing Like people who were claiming that it was a bullshit championship, Like had you been in that position, you wouldn't be saying that the problem is you weren't competitive thing is the players are actually the biggest advocates of like.

Christian Young: 7:28

What you don't realize is that it's the first time in nba history where the playing field was even we, completely even, yeah, same yeah same place, yeah, same time, same opportunity. Travel from east coast to west. You know how we are literally sitting here and it almost feels like going to the park and taking your five and saying, okay, let's see who won the tournament, so right and but yeah, but but an actual championship.

Henri Taylor: 7:51

Outside of that would I mean, let's be honest, it will legitimize it like it still counts for sure, but it is a little bit different. I won't say lesser than, but it is. It's a different kind of championship, but but again, that's the thing because it's not the norm.

Christian Young: 8:03

So now we want to get to a normal championship, right?

Henri Taylor: 8:05

but that team could have competed in any environment and it would have been successful. That's why I still can't understand why they broke. It didn't make any system. Um, with the exception maybe, like a danny green, who his time had passed for the most part like, but he could still contribute on the perimeter defense, like he was still one of the better defenders. Um might not be able to knock down an open shot to save his life, but you know shit?

Robaire Taylor: 8:26

How do you get that system? I mean to me, for me, looking at it, I think we were very Golden State-esque in that the way we played defensively, offensively, the way we moved the ball with that team, the way that we could run the floor with the bigs that we had, because they weren't just some slumbering bigs that just sat in the paint, they can move, they can get up and down the court. We got a lot of fast break points out of that, out of our defensive sets.

Henri Taylor: 8:54

I just really loved that team and all you had to do was tweak it a little bit and run it back, but the fact I mean, it's so so minor tweaks would have been good enough for that team to run it back Some very minor tweaks.

Robaire Taylor: 9:05

Yeah Well for a championship team to really just got it and start after. Most people at least run it back a little bit, and there's always a few guys that won't make it to the next round. But the fact that they didn't run that back and let's see what it was, that's what's so mind boggling. And the fact we won't even go back to that, that's what's so mind-boggling. And the fact we won't even go back to that. We saw we had the most success out of that. You know, with that team with multiple bigs that are athletic enough to get the boards, and it took off the pressure of AD and LeBron, because we know LeBron he was older then and not to expect a certain level of defense from him, but we still were a great defensive team at that time.

Henri Taylor: 9:42

You and I feel like that lost opportunity. Running that team back has kind of haunted them the last four years, five years since the pandemic like they haven't been able to find their footing.

Henri Taylor: 9:51

Yeah, it just it's just been terrible decision making like again. Shit, how do I again? I don't want to be too critical of russ because he takes a lot of criticism and it's undue for the most part. Um, russ is one of the all-time great players. It just wasn't a good fit. I don't give a damn how great he is as an individual player or was it just we know it was a bad fit, it was just a bad place where he was still in his mind.

Robaire Taylor: 10:15

He still was that russ. You know what I mean?

Christian Young: 10:17

like that's, like you see how he's playing now I think they entertained that for a minute, but I think, because we see how he's playing now, it's clearly a bad fit. Clearly a bad fit. One you were home. Two, you were a Laker and you wanted to impress because you're home and you wanted to be loved at home, but at that point in your career you were not hitting shots.

Christian Young: 10:38

You go back to the games the Lakers played against them and you see LeBron sagging off and you've had this since Magic took over, where it was like shooting was just not something that you guys have prioritized, and so what you bring in as another ball-dominant person who gets downhill. You got LeBron. For that it was bad. It was bad conceptually, it was bad in execution, it was bad in the amount of resources it took to get him. And then, I mean, we went to those games. You literally would hear people plea. I've never felt so bad for a player in my life because you would literally hear people pleading as if their life depended on it, don't you? And it was like wow, this is actually. That was the first time I can genuinely say I felt bad for somebody playing professional basketball making millions of dollars, because it was like you're home, this is where you grew up. This is what every NBA player dreams of being able to play for your home team, and that home team is the Lakers. It was a bad fit. And then LeBron and AD let's be honest, they punted on them. You know what I mean. It was just like fit. And then LeBron and AD let's be honest, they punted on him. You know what I mean. It was just like this ain't working, this ain't working. So now it's like you're getting it from the fans. You can tell your own players aren't rocking with you. You get Darvin in and Darvin kind of okay, yeah, I'm going to ride with you, but bad is a bad fit.

Christian Young: 12:07

So I think the difference is, when it came to Denver, denver wanted him. Jokic arguably best player in the league wanted him and made it clear that I want this guy, and I think that alone changes your perspective on how you feel about what's happening and who you are as an NBA player. You know we saw it with people like Melo. We got Melo way too late and we relied on him entirely too much. If Mello had been a part of that bubble team or if that was one of the minor tweaks you made, you brought in a Mello to just hit an open shot and post. That would have been far better.

Christian Young: 12:36

But by that time it was, you know, dream team versus drill team and we out here trying to get Mello to put up 45. And it's like how, why? Drill team and we out here trying to get mellow to put up 45. And it's like how, why? So there's been some mishaps in in the front office that haven't been made up for and I think that's where why we are where we are. But these next moves, with these couple of uh, first round picks, are going to determine everything in the near future will that determine what we look, how we?

Robaire Taylor: 13:01

well, because I already have my stance on robin lincoln, I think, at this point right now, yes, you know he's done some good, but to me some of his missteps far outweigh everything that he's done as good, as far as even, because we have to go back and really look at this thing. When we say magic, well, see, magic was still a part when the bubble. I believe when the bubble's still around, there are some things that magic was able to do while he was there that helped bring this team. But since magic's departure it's like rob palinka, the moves he made. Coaching, you know coaching mishaps. We, you know, we'll see after this season we can go and reevaluate.

Robaire Taylor: 13:42

You know how our current coach is doing and what he's done, and so far, I mean, I guess, by the standards of the today's lakers, he's doing well. But I think we owe it to, you know, not only as a fan, but we owe it to ad and lebron, because ad, for the last two seasons, two seasons plus, he's actually been healthy. You don't want to squander that and I think you know I don't how long before AD kind of gets fed up, like you know what I'm wasting my talents. I'm being. I think we're there, so do we want to leave that? I mean, could we see a case where AD goes to a contender and I think it's possible, I think that it's very possible that he will go after this season if he doesn't see some of the moves, like some real moves, being made, because Golden State look at them they're still making moves, but AD and LeBron is not enough, and I think you know that is something that the Lakers can't take for granted at all, because if we take it for granted, ad is going to request a leave and I think we as an organization we would not come back for him.

Robaire Taylor: 14:46

I think you don't squander that, because lebron james will see. We know he's not going to go anywhere, but we're talking about a 40 plus year old lebron james. What do we expect really? I mean, everything he's given us right now is just like icing on the cake. You just hope that he can hold up for the next couple years. I mean, it's like something, nothing we've ever seen, so I'm not quite sure about it, but you know what it is, man.

Henri Taylor: 15:08

It's the expectations that kill you and not to harp too much again on Laker rosters of old, including that bubble championship team, but I only bring that up to say it was, if you look at this team now, like it's been a complete reconstruction. There are only two players from that championship team. If memory serves me correct, it's LeBron and AD. That's it.

Robaire Taylor: 15:29

That's it.

Henri Taylor: 15:30

Everyone else is new. It's a complete reconstruction, right? So in the cases of both Westbrook and Carmelo, too much was expected of them at that point in their careers and maybe Russ rightly so. So he was still kind of young um I wouldn't say he was in his prime um but russ was still capable of being a high level competitor and contributor, but just maybe, maybe too much was thrust upon him in terms of expectations. Uh, ad is one of those guys we've. I'm not sure if we expected too much or it's just he just hasn't delivered enough. I don't think our expectation of him is crazy or outlandish. I just think he has not lived up to it for whatever reason. But it's the expectation and the expectation of Laker fans and Laker brass to expect LeBron to be anywhere near this level.

Henri Taylor: 16:21

For all we know he could jump off the diving board in the second half of the season.

Robaire Taylor: 16:28

Right right.

Henri Taylor: 16:29

I think that so to expect LeBron going forward to be the LeBron he is even now, I mean that's a crazy expectation and that's what kills you.

Robaire Taylor: 16:42

Right. I think that the issue is on top of what we expect of him offensively, we still have some expectations of him defensively and he hasn't been lebron hasn't been that defensive guy for some time now. But the lakers, we're still looking for him and you know to your point, when we talked about westbrook, we we were expecting him to be the third option. But he plays a similar style game, the downhill game. They just wouldn't. It doesn't translate well for that lakers team. We needed someone that was, you know, a shooter that can really stand out in the perimeter and still play defense, and we didn't go after that.

Robaire Taylor: 17:18

And there were some guys that were available during that time, but I think it was just a big name, big splash. They were trying to wake something up. They were just trying to make any type of move, to kind of move the needle and get everything going, because remember what the previous season looked like. So I think that was more of the reason. But I remember do you remember being at the game? I think that was towards the end of the season after that year and they literally booed. I think West Westbrook, it was just like as soon as he touched the ball, and this is a home game. It was so shocking because I've never witnessed something like that as a Lakers fan, where we're just oh, he got the ball, like boo, as soon as he gets the ball.

Christian Young: 18:01

It's a homer too.

Christian Young: 18:02

Yeah not to that extent, and I think the bigger problem was you know we're sitting here and talking about who was available To me. Arguably the bigger problem is who we had, because you didn't have to go get Rush. You could have kept somebody like Alex Caruso. Yeah, you know what I mean. This guy has gone to Chicago, left his imprint, he's in OKC. That was homegrown. Who wanted to be here? Who was willing to take a price cut? Who was willing? And if you look at, you know because now everything's about analytics and eventually we'll talk about how basketball is dying and I'm sure that'll come up. But if you think about that, you know, in terms of a plus minus, he may have been LeBron's greatest teammate ever, so may have been LeBron's greatest teammate ever.

Christian Young: 18:46

So you couldn't argue that it wasn't working.

Henri Taylor: 18:47

You're saying it, Alex Caruso. Wow, that's a bold statement. His best teammate ever Shit. No, no, no.

Robaire Taylor: 18:54

Oh, you mean from a politics standpoint? Oh yeah, plus minuses.

Henri Taylor: 18:58

Yeah, of course, yeah.

Christian Young: 19:00

People love that.

Henri Taylor: 19:01

Yeah, no, not his best teammate but from that perspective he would bear out that he might be his best teammate.

Christian Young: 19:06

Because that was the one thing they were always harping on. He may have been the best, but it showed on the court. They had a chemistry far better. I mean even you yeah, we like Austin Reeves. He's good, but what Caruso was doing with him and how he spread the floor and everything it was mind-boggling.

Robaire Taylor: 19:26

All the spread, the floor and everything it was. It was mind-boggling. And then you all, movement was beautiful.

Christian Young: 19:27

I mean, yeah, like there was a game, yeah, yeah a different flair and I think, when you start to look back and you go back and go okay, kuzma, yeah you, you probably would want a guy like that right now, even, even, but it he's a plus minus nightmare though, like well, I was gonna say talking about metrics. But if you, if you look at, but if you look at just the guys that we've had, kcp is really who you would want back kcp, definitely lonzo I took him back in the heart.

Robaire Taylor: 19:55

He wasn't on that team still, and you can have a guy like him because he's one of those guys who impacts the game, like caruso.

Henri Taylor: 20:00

You don't really see it in stat sheet, it doesn't seem like it's tangible, but they completely changed the game and even, like you know, I'm a big KCP fan. I've always been an advocate for him, since Detroit Again. Everywhere he goes he kind of leaves his mark. I mean, we haven't heard much of him as of late, but he's one of them players where a good fit he can be a difference maker for you.

Christian Young: 20:22

Plug and play, yeah, yeah, he can be a major difference maker.

Henri Taylor: 20:26

But you're right, caruso, the Lonzo balls, the KCPs Again, even Danny Green as down as I was on him is a guy who can still get out there and defend on the perimeter and that's a major contribution. But the Lakers have not prioritized scoring. That's been part of the issue. And you bring in guys who aren't great shooters, like I mean not scoring, shooting in particular as part of the scoring. They haven't prioritized that and they've been, I mean, from the field. The Lakers have not really. They haven't really addressed their shooting needs since that time.

Christian Young: 21:01

Still guys in the league, like Luke, who has moved from place to place. You can't tell me you couldn't have made some strides to get some of these guys, even Doran Finney and Smith, where he is right now. He's a good fit. But I think we need to get back to specialized skill Because you have two guys who absolutely command a double team, who absolutely your defense has to prepare for you. Take a JR Smith right now, with this Laker team and even on his decline, where he was in that bubble, just being able to stretch the floor and be able to shoot is small things. I think the clock is ticking on Palenka because you just haven't. You're borrowing from Kobe Caché, in my opinion, where it's just like I'm not sold.

Robaire Taylor: 21:55

I'm just not sold. I think it's time to move on. But do you think that Genie, this might not be the time, but yeah, genie's guy, I mean, clearly we know that because, let's you know, we don't have to go back into it. But remember, you know the saga with with, you know magic and the infamous, you know down the tunnel to really sit back and look at that, because Rappaport is living off of you know Kobe's legacy but there's been some major missteps and I don't know if he truly has that foresight that's needed for GM to be able to see real talent, to know what pieces fit, to be creative, to go get the guys necessary. I don't think that he has that and that's something that was the lakers hallmark you know. Of course we had, you know the late great, you know jerry west and what he was able to do with the franchise for so long, and we had mitch cup check, which I mean I'd say you know, for all intents and purposes, he, he was good.

Christian Young: 23:03

I think Mitch was just more conservative in general. He had a very pure approach to and maybe it was boring for the Lakers and what the Laker brand is. But if you look at his tenure until you got to the Mozgovs and the Luau Dings where it was just like hey, I'm on my way out, let's sabotage this as best as possible.

Christian Young: 23:23

Until you got to that point. It was like his moves were were decent and they were conservative, but it was. You could tell that in those moments they built a team. Yeah, and there were pieces for a team. It wasn't this collection of avengers that were just gonna come together and make this all work, and I think that's where the problem was, where they, where they really tried to go. After um Hurley last year, I would have put that type of effort into Sam Presti.

Robaire Taylor: 23:48

Yeah.

Christian Young: 23:48

You know what?

Robaire Taylor: 23:50

If you've had too many options, let's not forget. I mean, the Clippers coach could have been the Lakers coach. It's like he doesn't going after the talent, whether it be a coach or he doesn't put that type of effort and I don't understand that and it's like you give a half hearted like effort towards it and it's very disrespectful to some of the guys and they're like OK, I see where this is and that goes back to an entire episode on that, like if we go back and think about the moves the Lakers did and didn't make and who they let go of, I think that's a full episode in and of itself because there are so many layers to that.

Christian Young: 24:30

You look at the Brandon Ingrams and all of that. So maybe that's something we'll revisit. But, man, when I tell you you, you you've got the opportunity to make more mistakes than, I think, anybody in league history.

Henri Taylor: 24:42

I mean, I don't even Rob Palenka, I don't even need them to bring the band back together. It's just a couple of those players that make all the difference in the world, and Rob Palenka has not been really. I mean, we criticize Mitch Kupchak, who was effective, but he wasn't a. He wasn't a. He wasn't about bold sweeping.

Christian Young: 25:00

He was?

Henri Taylor: 25:01

you know he was Tony Gwynn. He'll get you singles and doubles. He's not a home run hitter. Like, if you want a home run hitter of a GM to go out there, you want a Barry Bonds, you want an Aaron Judge. He wasn't that dude, like he wasn't gonna make those big, bold moves. I mean, though, he did get you Chris Paul, the NBA just kind of the NBA muffed that for the Lakers. That wasn't, that wasn't on him. I I mean, if nothing else, that is part of his legacy. You know what I mean. Like Mitch did make some moves, but did he make the most bold, sweeping moves? Like they weren't. He wasn't going out on a limb, he did kind of. He tended to play it safe, no doubt.

Henri Taylor: 25:32

But Palenka, my only issue with him is we might feel like he's run his course, but has he worn his welcome with Jeannie? Like that's my issue? I'm not. Has he kind of ingratiated himself into her circle to the point where she can't get rid of them, cause she seems like the type where, if you're cool enough with her, it'll supersede business, like her friendship and that relationship is more important to her than business, and that's the problem with her and that's why it's a bad look for her as an owner who happens to happens to be a female not a female owner, I'm not putting that on her, but an owner who happens to be a woman. It's kind of a bad look that she's kind of surrounded herself with a whole bunch of yes, men who are just her friends and her personal life. And I'm not sure if again, is Rob Plinker her friend, because if so, he's here for the long haul, much like the Ram body.

Christian Young: 26:22

I'm getting into all of those little things. It's Much like, much like the Rambon, all of those little things. Yeah, like I'm so attached to you personally. But yeah, I think, when you, when the brain trust of the Lakers involves a man who is known for broken glasses and clotheslines, you, you got to evaluate like he and his wife.

Robaire Taylor: 26:39

Nonetheless, yeah, yeah, we have to not forget that the two biggest moves in recent history with the lakers didn't come from rob belanger, ad lebron james. That was not his, that wasn't his baby, that was magic and that thing was set two, three years in advance. And that's what it takes. You have to start looking at the moves ahead of time and then and paying attention to the pieces and draft picks and knowing what you're going after and have some type of vision, if you will, for the future, and that I don't think that yeah, magic was a student of Dr Buss, clearly.

Henri Taylor: 27:16

Yeah, he wasn't awake until the summer, when free agency is up and we can go after the free agents. Magic was very much about having a vision to execute for the future where, as opposed to, maybe, a rob plinker who just kind of reactive and whatever we can get, whatever is out there, we'll try to snatch the top veterans and it's like, yeah, you ain't even getting that I'm even getting getting played.

Christian Young: 27:37

You know you get the ad trade.

Henri Taylor: 27:39

Josh hart was not necessary for that you know, I mean another, mean Another one of those.

Robaire Taylor: 27:44

Yeah, he's one of them.

Christian Young: 27:45

It's kind of like you threw that in. This man has basically told his entire team I'm out. This man literally wore a that's All Folks shirt on the last game. It was like and you threw that in to sweeten the deal, but that's the difference between an experienced GM and a Sam Presley. Yeah yeah, that was a James Dolan movie.

Robaire Taylor: 28:04

He threw him way too much Like yeah, the deal was already done.

Henri Taylor: 28:08

You still throw it. It's sweet. They're like why are?

Christian Young: 28:12

you doing it Right? Yeah, if this was, if this was sugared, we'd need water, because this is just entirely too sweet, because but look at what that's turned into for New York now and how much of a staple he is being playing almost 40 minutes. That's a guy you let walk out unnecessarily. So it's those types of decisions when you look back, whenever this thing is all said and done, you'll be able to look back and go on one end, you got the ring, but when you look over the body of work, it'll be questionable.

Christian Young: 28:42

But yeah, bringing it back to just what we see is, every time we get to see LeBron and Steph go at it, I think it's a treat. It is a treat. I think they are Place. Yeah for sure, they're in a place where they realize that these these days are numbered, and so every time we get to see that we just need to be a fan and just really soak it in and win, lose or draw is this, this will be something We'll look back at and be able to say we lived through, we were involved in. So good on the Lakers. We'll see how the rest of the season kind of pans out and see what happens before and after all start breaking, we'll just keep going.

Henri Taylor: 29:18

Yeah, I mean currently in fifth right now, seven games above .500. I mean that's a good start considering where they were Brand new coach.

Christian Young: 29:26

Yeah, absolutely.

Henri Taylor: 29:27

And we'll see how long that shit lasts. I mean, you know, yeah.

Christian Young: 29:33

And I mean even the fact that he got back to it Another year like this, they'll be calling for his head. Yeah Well, even the fact you know I will commend him on it feels like they have somewhat of an identity that he has in his mind. I don't feel that it's as disjointed as it was, but bigger than that. Just, I mean everybody's aware of the fires that we've been dealing with here in California to lose a home and granted, it wasn't a home he bought but he rented but his entire life being in a home and being able to still be able to compartmentalize that tragedy, that catastrophe, manage being a father, a husband and all these things and still come out and put that. I think that's commendable and I think it's just a good time to remind everybody. We have been going through it out here where we're from in California, but you know, people are resilient. A lot, of, a lot of efforts are going on, so shout out to, to Coachdick and everybody else.

Henri Taylor: 30:30

Oh, no doubt as a man you got to commend him for it. If nothing else, Maybe as a coach. You can't criticize him.

Christian Young: 30:36

Everybody who's dealing with the aftermath of that and prayers and thoughts with people as they choose and figure out how to rebuild.

Henri Taylor: 30:43

So shout out to y'all we wouldn't want to go without acknowledging, you know and as much as I want to bite the head off of our leadership in california local uh and state um, I mean, listen, your prayer has to be for them to get it together. Whether you like them or not, you got to be rooting for them because it's in our, it's in our own best interest right, yeah, like it's. It's a catastrophic failure that everybody can see, but you still got to root for them to figure something out.

Christian Young: 31:15

I understand.

Henri Taylor: 31:15

California is going to be ablaze every three or four years. That's just what it is, but we got to figure out a better way, yeah but what makes it bad is this is the winter time. Oddly enough, that is the most likely time. Forly enough, that is the most likely time for wildfires, because it is so dry.

Robaire Taylor: 31:32

It's the driest time of the year there's been no rain, except for last night. That was our first touch of rain. Oh no, it certainly doesn't help. That was a hot spit.

Henri Taylor: 31:44

The lack of rainfall certainly doesn't help anything. It contributes to that dryness, but yeah, but again, in terms of just the management of water, our water shelves and reserves, we got to be better with that kind of shit. There's no reason that firemen should be able to tap a hydrant and not have water. They're literally 19th century style, going in a line, an assembly line, passing down buckets and bags, like that's an. That's an embarrassment to the, to the entire nation, that california, who we always claim is like one of the richest economies, it can be its own country, blah, blah. I'm not sure how true that is. Now, I'm not sure what our gdp would be. I'm sure it's probably agriculture still, um, we, california still feeds the world.

Henri Taylor: 32:31

But the problem is that, again, events of this magnitude shouldn't be happening with the regularity that it does happen in this state. We should have figured out something like we got to have some sort of plan for our water and how to use it, for people to have access to it. No, you know, we're going to catch on fire Every few years. It'll be a real bad fire. Now it's all over the place. It's not just LA, it's San Diego, it's Riverside, which I believe some of this shit is flat out arson. I don't believe it. It's not just natural wildfire. I'm not falling for it. It's not like these embers.

Christian Young: 33:04

No, let's fly out to San.

Henri Taylor: 33:05

Diego, we done with Palisades.

Robaire Taylor: 33:12

I think that we know what makes this so different is because all the residential areas that were burned usually it's a lot of brush and it's a lot of a few homes that are way up in the hills, secluded area, but these are, I mean, like. Alcatina is like no more. You know we're talking about whole infrastructures of cities. It's just raised yeah completely raised.

Robaire Taylor: 33:36

And then, on top of that, you, you, you, you, to put that together with the issues that we've been having with the insurance, and you know, I'm pretty sure, yeah, they're going to probably pay out this time, but just imagine what's going to happen moving forward. They're going to discontinue fire insurance because it's so much of a liability, because it's happening at a rate that is, I mean, unseen and unheard of, and even in California history. That is the issue. Then, on top of that, I'm really curious to see what's going to happen with, you know, a lot of these corporations that are going to come and try to swoop up and take this land. You know.

Henri Taylor: 34:11

Los Angeles is going to have right.

Robaire Taylor: 34:13

It's going to have a totally different look than we're used to and it's so unfortunate because it was just all the people that you know had that a lot of elder people, you know a lot of Black communities on top of that, and now to be in historic black communities, totally gone. And we'll see over the next year or two. Are people going to come back and rebuild or are we going to have a, you know, somewhat of a mass exodus based off this? Because I mean, you have to start looking at it. It's going to come down to uh, you know, can I put up with this anymore? Can I even want to rebuild.

Christian Young: 34:47

Yeah, I mean, that's an inconvenient truth that we don't talk enough about the homes that we. Can I put up with this anymore? Can I even afford to rebuild? That's an inconvenient truth that we don't talk enough about the homes that we are living in now. If they went away today, we wouldn't be able to go buy them back, and I think that's what people are forgetting.

Christian Young: 35:00

You get the older couple who's in their early 70s, who bought this in the 80s, 70s. These are million dollar properties. Now they don't have this kind of capital, they don't have the type of money. So you literally couldn't afford your own home. And with the way this thing is burned down and bear to your point how insurance is structured. And you know, if you really don't know. Everybody talks about I got full coverage, I got, but what does that entail? And most people truly don't understand what their insurance covers. Until you deal with something like this and realize, oh, you weren't actually covered for that at all in some instances, or the cost of rebuilding. People don't understand how policies are written to say, hey, it's not what it would cost to rebuild today, it's what you paid for. So that number kind of becomes irrelevant.

Robaire Taylor: 35:49

Yeah, it's like okay, I can't rebuild this same house for $250,000, $300,000. And I think people that don't live in Southern California, those are multi-million dollar homes.

Henri Taylor: 36:02

But honestly, Robert, a multi-million dollar home doesn't mean anything in California. People don't understand. Outside of California you can live in a million dollar home and your neighbor's still crackheads. It don't mean shit. A million dollars is in the hood. Still you can spend that in the hood easily. That ain't even like you're living in the Palisades, You're not in Brentwood. You quite literally can pay a million bucks for a home and be smack dab in the hood.

Robaire Taylor: 36:28

You know, pay a million bucks for a home and yeah, and be smack dab in the hood you know what I mean. Literally, there was a home in palisades yeah, one bedroom, one bath, one bed, one bath, estimated seven million. Yeah, so we're talking about not just, you know, mid-level homes, you know million dollars. I guess that would be considered oh yeah, that's some really good.

Robaire Taylor: 36:42

That's prime real estate though, yeah, multi-million dollar malibu palisades, yeah, wiped out, and even those guys you know because we have to understand, not everyone you know had that money, some that you know, some of that was inheritance you know passed down and they're looking like, yeah, I'd rather take that money than I'm gonna get from the insurance company and I'd rather go elsewhere, you know, maybe out of state, and I'd have a choice they don't want to.

Henri Taylor: 37:08

I'd have a choice. That's the worst part, yeah.

Christian Young: 37:09

I would love to rebuild. This is the home I grew up in. It's what my parents left me, and I can't afford to stay here. So Texas, here I come.

Robaire Taylor: 37:23

Arizona, here I come and they're going to do this forward.

Henri Taylor: 37:26

progress of, you know, california city, 2028 huh you know what and not to be conspiratorial, but time will tell you won't have to be. You won't have to be conspiratorial, we'll know. You know what I mean. The proof is going to be in the pudding in the years to come. But I will say, another problem we had was the insurance companies who bailed on some. I mean, and listen, this wasn't just they didn't bail on people who were poor, who didn't have resources, they bailed in zip codes that are prime real estate in southern california prior to these fires, which is kind of weird and coincidental.

Henri Taylor: 37:57

But you know, again, not to be too conspiratorial, but you know, that's weird in and of itself that that they would abandon those zip codes in particular. Like we're talking about the malibus, we're talking about palisades, like I was being told by insurance companies that they were flat out just not offering insurance in those areas anymore. I'm like all of a sudden the state goes up in flames or you know a lot. You know I won't say the city in general, but parts of the city I never thought would be like the hollywood sign and up and like it like this the city was burning. This wasn't. It wasn't countryside, rural, this wasn't somewhere in the like this this city was burning. This wasn't. It wasn't countryside, rural, this wasn't somewhere in the mountains Like this was. I mean, it was way too close to home. I had never seen that before in my lifetime.

Christian Young: 38:36

The interesting part about that being, as someone who is a former licensed insurance agent, when you think about insurance, where people get in trouble is that you know, know, everybody looks at the insurance company themselves as, oh, you guys are trying to get over. But you got to understand, from an insurance standpoint, you, insurance is nothing more than risk and it's reactionary, right the way policies are written, all this stuff it all comes from something that has happened in the past that has cost companies millions and billions of dollars to where it's like we won't get caught with that again. You decide to build a house in a hillside covered by dry brush because you want to overlook a cliff. Yeah, when you think that, just from a risk standpoint, if an earthquake comes, knocks, that you get a mud slide or something, okay, part of this house is coming down if you're surrounded by brush, not going to be easy to get to you. So there's levels that are just kind of weird, but you're right, yeah.

Henri Taylor: 39:35

Yeah, underwriters certainly take that into account. No, doubt.

Christian Young: 39:38

Yeah, sure, yeah. There were a lot of people who, all of a sudden, it was like we ain't doing this, no more, we're done. I mean we've seen, in California specifically, we, we ain't doing this, no more, we're done. I mean we've seen, in California specifically, we've seen insurance companies simply leave the state, like we're done here, because the risk isn't worth the reward.

Robaire Taylor: 39:58

Policies only work when we can make a profit. And there's no profit to be made if this goes up. So at a clip that we're having fires, how often we're having fires, I mean it's like clockwork. And that's where I can understand. I mean being homeowners ourselves. I don't like it, but I can understand from a business standpoint. Like you know, we're on the losing end every time, like clockwork in California. So I get it, but it's more of a situation.

Christian Young: 40:22

We've got to take care of the people.

Robaire Taylor: 40:29

You have to figure something out because, well, you heard, you know the fire, the fire chief, you know that was one of the things where she just flat out like we were. They failed us. You cut the budget when california has grown, you know, exponentially over the last 10 years. Plus you cut all the funding, knowing that we're having fires. You know almost twice the amount that we have annually but we're not, which means you don't have enough personnel to go ahead and clear, brush things like that and to you know, kind of discover hot spots that could be potential hot spots at least, and deal with it before it gets bad. So all those budget cuts play a role in that. But it doesn't make any sense. I'm like, why would you knowing I mean, if you were you're talking about just a mayor and the governor you know California when it comes to, you know a lot of these fires it's happening quite often why would you cut, you know almost a billion dollars in budget cuts to the fire department? It doesn't make any sense.

Robaire Taylor: 41:21

And, like you said, I'm not trying to be a conspiracy theorist. You know we can proof of being the put and we'll find out in the next couple of years what will be, you know the end, all with that, but it's just it. It seems kind of funny because we're getting closer to that 2028. Here's 25. It takes about three years to get everything in play. Yeah, I'm just saying, and you saw it coming, we knew about the insurance the prior year. I mean you have, you know, major hitters like Allstate State Farm just discontinuing, like you are no longer underneath our care, wow.

Henri Taylor: 41:51

It won't be anybody's coincidence at all. We find ourselves in the middle of Smart City and Olympic Villages. What did you?

Robaire Taylor: 41:59

say On your homeowners insurance? Have you guys received any type of revision in your plan recently due to the fires?

Henri Taylor: 42:08

No, but thank God we would know. We have a great relationship with our insurance company and our representatives speak to her quite frequently Every time I mean shit, there's always going to be increases. We just got an increase in our car insurance and I'm like God damn, when does it end? They're going to bleed you dry out here in California one way or another.

Robaire Taylor: 42:31

Whether it's home insurance, whether it's auto insurance, they're gonna bleed you dry out here in california one way or another. Home insurance, whether it's auto insurance, they're gonna bleed you. They're gonna nickel and dime you to the death. But um, not to mention, you gotta pay for the olympics. We're gonna see the fallout after that, like we'll see when it's here, but afterwards you got three years to get together.

Henri Taylor: 42:40

I mean it certainly don't help anything, or maybe it does help, I don't know. I don't know what the plans are.

Robaire Taylor: 42:44

Time will tell. There's some money that's going to be shelled out during that time, that's for certain.

Christian Young: 42:55

We'll have to see how it all plays out.

Henri Taylor: 42:58

Fingers crossed, prayers up for everybody affected again, including the leadership, because again we've got to be rooting for them, whether you like them or not. Hope they get it together. Totally agree, we don't have this problem the next year, two years, yeah, yeah.

Christian Young: 43:10

As we've been sitting here talking, we kind of started with basketball and the kind of segue into the fired thing. But we were talking basketball and I mentioned those two names, bronwyn and Steph. I feel like we're at a point where basketball is starting to die. Slow down, I think it's. It's it's been a slow burn, but it's it's coming to that place of this. This is not the sport we loved when we grew up. You know, we met each other when we were walking to go grab shoes at footlocker. There was there's just a different feel. So I wanted to kind of just throw that out to you guys. Hey, why is basketball dying? Because it is. It is. It's not a question of is it? I, you know, you guys know me love, absolutely love basketball, coach 20 years, played a little bit in high school. But even my appetite for basketball, which is something I never thought I'd say, is Minimal. I'm just not. I'm not there anymore. So I'm interested to hear from your perspectives why do you think basketball is dying?

Henri Taylor: 44:13

Well, let me start with this because, in the spirit of full disclosure, anybody under the command of my voice, who can hear me, who will hear me in the future, I'll be honest enough to say I have not watched the game in its entirety, with the exception of being at one personally. Like I have not and I haven't had much interest in it, and I cannot tell you until the playoffs start that I plan on watching many basketball games because it's completely unrecognizable from the game I grew up watching and loving from them.

Henri Taylor: 44:38

Nbc oh my God, that was the prime. You just you really had to be on. You had to have been there from Marv Albert broadcasting from the from the Madison the uh, madison square garden against the bulls, especially in his excitement. You can tell whenever jordan hit the court marvel's gonna be fired up on tens. But yeah, it's a. It's a far cry from the game we grew up watching. The anticipation of going out and getting player signature shoes and trading cards and I mean jerseys. Like there isn't much, like you gotta.

Henri Taylor: 45:06

The mere fact that we're watching Steph Curry slowly take his last breaths in terms of like his NBA life, I mean I didn't think we'd see his decline this soon. I mean maybe it's not, maybe he just had a bad night. It's been a series of them, but you can tell Steph has lost a step. He ain't the same Steph he is. Maybe he's being overused so it's burning him. I'm not sure exactly what the problem is. He's being dependent on too much, but as one of the marquee players and KD has been relatively quiet in the last few years, we ain't heard much from him in terms of like Not shocking for whatever reason.

Henri Taylor: 45:39

Three of your marquee players in the league of this era. Kd LeBron is the. Lebron, at 40 years old, is still kind of the poster boy. He's still the pitch man for the nba. That in and of itself is problematic. Like somebody else should have been taking that torch. And anthony edward tell, give me one of the foreign guys, for christ's sake. Like somebody has to step up and be the nba's new pitch man, because it can't, you can't keep count on lebron.

Henri Taylor: 46:06

But yeah, in terms of the style of play, everything about the game and again, this conversation, chris, we talked about a million many times. That's a multi-layered onion. I don't even know where to start to peel that one because I don't know. Yeah, what is what contributed to the downfall of the NBA? What was it? Low management? Is it the lack of competitive? The competitive nature and the fire and that, that passion? Is it? Uh, players being paid too much and not having the same hunger? Is it? Is it? I mean like I don't even know. Like they say, a snake rots from the head down, a fish rots from the head down, but I'm not sure. Is it from the head down?

Henri Taylor: 46:39

Is the nba affecting all the other levels of playing basketball in general in this country? Or does it start at the root, at the beginning stages, at the aau stage, at the high school stage? Does it start there and work its way up to the nba? Like, I'm not sure, I'm not. How does that flow work? You know what I mean. Like that this conversation is. There's so much into it from you might even argue there was a time like when you might have said like it's not available, it's not as available as it should be. I might argue now it's oversaturated. You can find a game on just about any network, any streaming service, like they they're got. The nba is all over the place and we're still having a problem. Maybe it's much ado about nothing here in the states because we're looking at it from a very uh, myopic view. We, we look at it from our perspective as as, as americans, we don't see how the game is playing out on the world stage. Maybe there's far more enthusiasm for the game now because of the foreign influence.

Henri Taylor: 47:33

Maybe, if you look at, France maybe when being his contingency is is fired up about basketball, maybe a Yoko? Uh, yoko and other foreign players have got their country Luca, yeah Right, but maybe, maybe country luca, yeah right, but maybe, maybe, maybe worldwide it's not suffering as much as we think it is. It's actually, it's actually in and it's still in a growth phase, but it's so hard to figure out what is the? What is the cause and what, like we, there are plenty of symptoms, but what is the cause of the problem and it's it's hard to get down to and I've wrecked my brain thinking about it, but I know one for me is the style of play.

Henri Taylor: 48:07

The three-point marathon back and forth, is just not it for me. Um, that's just not. I mean, I can finish on nba 2k like I ain't gonna watch that and I mean these, these are skilled players, or at least they should be. So I don't know, man, I gotta turn over y'all because I I can't tell you exactly what it is. There's so many different symptoms. I don't know what is the root cause, what is the sickness and it I don't know how, if we'll ever get down to it in in one discussion and certainly not on one show. We can't do it.

Robaire Taylor: 48:33

We got to break this down over a series of shows this is many pieces to it and I'm going to go in a different direction. Um, I want us to really sit back and look at the style of play from the 90s, 80s and 90s and, and really, you know, early mid-2000s and maybe up to about 2013, 15. There is a. This was a man's sport. I'm not saying it's still, that it's not now in its current form, but when you think about, you know we were talking about, you know, the Garden and you know those Bulls versus the Knicks teams and things like that, the Pacers these were full grown men playing on the court and it was a much more physical game. Yes, it was, and there was, you know, for the fan to watch that, because we want to think they're talking about scoring and scoring this. We want to get the score scoring, get the numbers up. But I think that a competitive game was just more, if not more, exciting than watching a high scoring game to see the defense, to see, you know, the roughing it down to the paint and and have to fight and be more efficient for your shots, because at the time you did. You know, I think that steph curry, you know obviously he's an outlier because he's just the greatest shooter ever.

Robaire Taylor: 49:50

But when you watch those games you had specialists. That guy you know he can play some defense, but he was a shooter. He can shoot, he can hit the outside shot. You had rebounders. You had guys that you know and I hear you hear the talk about these guys are more athletically gifted than you know the players of the past. But we're talking about IQ, I think, iq-wise. That's why LeBron James, steph Curry and you know, kd are able to still flourish in the league today, because I think it's easier for them. I think it's that much easier for them because they can see it. It's like you guys yeah, you're athletic, but you don't have anything to go with it. The IQ and I don't know if that's due to your point does that go back to the NBA? Because I think that the NBA dictate the styles in high school and in college. I think the NBA when you think about it, because you're coming up, you're looking at the game and saying, well, this is what type of player I need to be to make it to the league.

Christian Young: 50:47

This is where I want to get to Right.

Robaire Taylor: 50:49

So I have to play this style and you have coaches, because money, I think? Well, it's not. I think the money and the incentive to be a better player is gone because they're getting, I mean, and including now the NIL that's happening in college. These guys are seeing money at a younger age and the motivation is it money or is it the will and motivation to want to be a great player? Guys like Kobe and LeBron it was about legacy always. You know the money's going to be there, they're going to get the big contracts and things like that, but the money wasn't the factor. And I think that you're starting to see a lot of guys, because there's no way, henry and Chris, that we should still see LeBron, the NBA riding off of that.

Robaire Taylor: 51:33

And let's go back to the Dream Team. When you think about when you know the Dream Team did it with Magic and Jordan and everything we were, I mean obviously we were dominant. We were, I mean obviously we were dominant. But you see, in the years to come, later, you know you start moving into the LeBron era and you know you had Duncan and everybody on that team and Carmelo and we ended up losing. You saw that the world had started playing a game that almost looks, you know, reminiscent of the past games, how we used to play it. They started to become more physical, but we backed off the physicality we off of. You know, getting back to the fundamentals and you're starting to see, you know the benefits of it in other games, in other countries, how they started off there. Obviously they're playing basketball at a younger age, more professional ball, but also they're still working on the fundamentals and it translates now because they're playing a much.

Robaire Taylor: 52:28

You know the European. You know we used to talk about the Europeans. We used to say they were soft, they couldn't play in the league. You know now that's not even the case. Now what's going on? They seem like they're the more aggressive style player and with a great base and a great footing.

Robaire Taylor: 52:43

I just don't. I'm trying to look at at it. I'm trying to really understand it for what it is and still be appreciative, because I still love the sport. But it's hard when you just when you've seen Jordan, when you've seen Magic, when you've seen Cody, when you've seen the young LeBron, when you've seen the D-Wades and the Mellos, and you saw that style of play and the competitiveness to it and you see how they went hard, how defense was played, versus now it's just getting up and down the court and we can look at that and say it's part of it is because Golden State they had so much success, but nobody really speaks of the defense that they played.

Robaire Taylor: 53:21

It was always about at the click they can score and at the rate they can put up shots and it became contagious and everybody bought into that, not really sitting and saying, unless you have a clay and staff, it's not going to work. These, they're exceptional shooters. These guys are two of the best ever. So to mimic and try to take away from that and say we're going to do that because it was successful for them, I think that was part of the downfall and we started.

Robaire Taylor: 53:47

You know, you start looking at some of the. You know when you think about some of the rule change and how that affected the game to allow a faster paced game to get up and down. I think that played a role into it. And all of this, as you look at it now, culminates to what you see and I don't know. You know, like you said, there's so many layers, appeal. I don't know if this plays a role into what's going on with and I'm going to go there a little bit to go on with the young men. You know we're talking about leadership in the household and leadership in our communities play a role into what you're seeing as far as the mental toughness of, you know, the player, the physical toughness and us giving out these prizes for every little thing without having to go with, like, through any type of adversity, coming up through high school and, you know, in college, like I think there's so many.

Robaire Taylor: 54:42

I think there's not a wrong answer, honestly, because there's so many factors in the playing into this. It's not just, you know, we can say high school and AAU and things like that. There's so many pieces to this puzzle that we can't just sit there and negate one and say no, that's not the reason. I just truly believe that. And ultimately, too, environment is playing a role. Ultimately, I mean, you can say what you want. That is, I think that may be a major factor as well the environment and what these kids coming up playing basketball, what they're saying.

Robaire Taylor: 55:18

I remember that golden era of just being able, like you said, to hear Marv Albert 4-3, just to know a triple header with the Lakers and Lakers, celtics, Bulls, you know all these things of the 90s. That really what we're still. I believe, honestly, the NBA is still living off the 90s. We're still living off that Jordan era. We're still living off that you know we're talking about.

Robaire Taylor: 55:42

When it comes to shoes, when it comes to any type of, you know, jersey sales, things like that I remember I mean you know us trying to figure out and get the latest shoe, not because it's a Jordan retro, but because it had that. You know that it had that power to know what was coming out, whose new shoe, who you know, nike apparel, all these different apparel, all that stuff. You can't tell me that today, me that today, and I don't, you know, I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I don't think that it's stronger today than it was yesterday, yesteryear, like in the 90s and early 2000s. I don't think that we're there and it's just so unfortunate because the product that we're putting on it looks so bad. You know, yeah, I mean I and it's sad because, chris, here it is. We're now the older men saying the same thing. You know, we used to have those talks. You would hear the young, the older men say when we were younger, like you know.

Robaire Taylor: 56:38

Oh, man, back in the day this is too flashy and this is yeah, but I to some degree I understand it now but I didn't agree with it then because I still would say you know, between the 80s and 90s it's some of the greatest basketball I've ever played, I've ever seen and I'll take that to the grave, but you know it is what it is. A couple of things have happened though.

Christian Young: 56:58

I think when I look at this yeah, I think from my standpoint you know, being somebody who has been tied to basketball in a lot of ways and coming from a role player perspective let's not pretend in any way shape, form or fashion I was. You know I'm not going the Al Bundy route, but back in my day when I no, that's not who I was and I understood that and I think there's value in understanding that. But when I look at it, one of the major things, specifically from the NBA standpoint, is you now have franchises within franchises and that dynamic changed a lot. Because if you look at how the rules are constructed, you know, in a Jordan era, when Jordan started getting funky and getting down the middle of the floor, he was guaranteed to be on his back within the next play or two, within the next play or two, all right, and that was perfectly acceptable. There was a physical league, it was a, there was a sense of pride, there was and, to that point, okay, was that necessarily right or wrong? Yeah, that's up for you to decide. But the league itself is saying that's not an option because there's an owner paying this man 258 million dollars. So if you think you're about to, you know, knock him down and have a hip replacement on the, on the, on the, on the docket coming up for him because you, your pride was hurt. We're not doing that.

Christian Young: 58:16

I think that shift did change some things in the league one. Two you mentioned the warriors. Both you guys brought up the warriors and and how play and what they were. The problem with that is we started to romanticize and we made the exception the rule, and the proof in that is, if you look at the NBA today, when you look at the guys who are vying for MVP, it's typically back to what it was when we first started to like basketball. It's the big man, I mean the Joel Embiid, the Jokic. We've gotten back to a fundamental understanding of hey, the one thing we can't teach is this size. Now big men are more refined than they were back in the day.

Christian Young: 59:03

You know, you look at a Shaq. Shaq was brute force. He understood how to use his body, he understood what he was and, yeah, you can go to a Kareem who had an amazing skill set and a shot that's never been replicated. I don't think there is a signature shot. That is the one signature shot in basketball that, in my opinion, nobody's ever come close to coming to Everybody has a Jordan fadeaway. Nobody has a Kareem hook shot Nobody, yeah. Coming to Everybody has a Jordan Fadeaway. Nobody has a Kareem Hookshot Nobody, yeah, they haven't even attempted to mimic that at all.

Henri Taylor: 59:30

Maybe, because, it's not sexy for whatever reason.

Christian Young: 59:33

Well, I mean, it's just something that, for whatever reason, hasn't been replicated and that in and of itself, gives it something. The other side to that is there is a two-way issue here, because we both mentioned NBA and that's kind of what the focal point of my question was. But fundamentals made a difference. You listen to a guy like Kobe talk. You know Kobe went to seek out the Hakims of the world because he understood that Dream Shake was magical and deadly. You know what I mean. Tracy McGrady same thing.

Christian Young: 1:00:05

You started to have guys who understood hey, these guys have a skillset. Tim Duncan, for as boring as he was, you know people will argue with you hey, was Tim really better than Kobe? I don't know. Yeah, and what? What does that come down to? He was highly effective, but Tim Duncan understood. I'm not the most athletic, big, but I can get this footwork going. And I mean, even if you think of guys who, when you look back and you're just talking about footwork, skillset and dedication, you look at a defender like a Tony Allen, where are those guys that you look like? A versatile big like a Zach Randolph, where are more of those guys at? Yeah, you know what I mean.

Christian Young: 1:00:45

There were just components to the game back then and you look at just the overall sell One. We live in a social media, internet-driven society, so the probability of you walking to a shoe store and going to stand in line to get the new summer edition shoe, the new Barkley that came out we took that walk with Rita go grab that Barkley because he had to have it fresh off a paycheck that's not happening. These kids don't have that because it's not something that has to be that way. I think the NBA did a disservice to itself when you got rid of things like Christmas jerseys, signature shoes. When's the last time you saw a really nice MLK Day shoe come out or a Christmas edition of a shoe? Those things drove engagement and so, even from that perspective, what they tried to do is speed the game up because of the Warriors.

Christian Young: 1:01:34

But that that was a very well run system. That was plug and play and it was predicated on defense. That led to easy offense. But to the casual viewer you see they hit 25 threes. But from a coaching perspective, one more looking at this team has something going on to where they were open for 20 of 25 threes People aren't taking that into account where it's like these shots aren't highly contested and nobody. No, they're getting the ball up and down the floor. They're lulling you into playing their style because they do it all day. For four quarters yeah, you led at halftime. Yeah, you led at the end of the third.

Christian Young: 1:02:13

And then how many times have we looked up and it was a tie game, and now the Warriors win by 18? And it's because they stuck to their system. And the system was great, so much that it can go from Harrison Barnes to an Iguod dollar, to Andre Wiggins, to, you know, just plugging guys in. And I think that's what we forgot, because the style was so infectious and really what they played on was your dream of basketball. They played on looking up your five, going out, bombing and having a good time at it.

Christian Young: 1:02:48

But the nuance of defense was not something that was advertised nearly as much, and so the league said this is what is driving engagement. We saw that because Steph all of a sudden became the highest selling jersey. All right, the Warriors were everywhere. It was the Splash Brothers, all of these little things that came as a result. You made the exception the rule, only to realize it wasn't sustainable, because people don't shoot 40, 30 for their career, at a clip to where you know there were specialized guys. You used to have a michael red, you used to have a chris molyne, you used to have a ray alley, you know you, you had guys who were just this was kind of my calling card and that was perfectly fine. But we got into a space where now we basically got rid of a dwight and a javel because you couldn't pull from three, yeah, and now we're begging to have those guys back and I think that, yes, fixing the three-point issue, whatever that means, but I don't know how do you talk about I'm?

Christian Young: 1:03:47

going to fix and I'm like what are you going to do? You're going to put the line back further right, yeah yeah, so I think you have. You're in a catch 22 with that because it's it's so far out of control. But it's more than just three point. It's a lack of skill set. The physicality isn't there anymore, so it drives this high scoring. You know it's a simple change you could bring back as a hand check.

Robaire Taylor: 1:04:11

Yep, when you stop?

Christian Young: 1:04:14

being able to touch players. The scoring went through the roof Because no point guard can guard anybody. Kyrie can't guard Luka to save his life. They happen to be on the same team. Now, good for you, but Steph can't guard Kyrie. Like, come on, that's not even what we're trying to accomplish anymore. We've made it so much so that we've adjusted the rules to ensure that there's not an advantage. But that's not true. The big man will always have an advantage if he is. I mean, you put Shaq. You drop Shaq in any air and tell me where he wouldn't thrive. You could put Shaq in today's air and where it'd be hard is on defense, cause now somebody has to pull up from three, so you'd have to figure out a mismatch and everything, but just brute force down on a block. You still wouldn't be able to do anything. You couldn't counter, chat at all.

Henri Taylor: 1:04:56

There's nothing you'd be able to do, pull that out and go two for three.

Christian Young: 1:05:01

They he gets a dunk, we get a three in that and that's kind of what got you to where you are today. So it is. It is more nuanced, it is a bigger issue that they need to be able to really get back to some of the basics, not even just on the court, but how they advertise the commercials.

Henri Taylor: 1:05:18

Everything right, yeah yeah, I'm talking about a complete overhaul, like there needs to be some kind of return to what worked back in the 90s because, right, there was a reason it worked now. Granted, you had, you had the actual, you had the marquee players, you had the michael jordans, you had the charles barkley, shaquille o'neal, you name it like an nba was really good about marketing those players and building their brands.

Christian Young: 1:05:38

But you ask players now and the goat is is paul george right? Right for a lot of these kids. And don't get me wrong, I love paul george's game. It's fluid in it, but it just shows the shift in what what they value is his fluidity versus yeah right, which is crazy to me that and I get it.

Henri Taylor: 1:05:55

There's one thing to see that and appreciate it. That means these kids understand enough about the game that you can appreciate it. The problem is like, if paul george is your goal, what are your real aspirations? And that's not shittingitting on Paul George, that's asking a legitimate question. Like we shouldn't be looking at guys who, I mean, it's one thing to be fluid with your play and have finesse, but what did it result in for his career? Like I mean, do you want to be a winner or do you want to look good?

Christian Young: 1:06:20

playing Aspire to four contracts.

Henri Taylor: 1:06:22

Cool Four contracts. I want to look fly, you know, I want, I want his movement, I want to mimic his movement, but yeah, but what does it get you in the long run? But, um, back to what you were saying. I know I've been guilty of it too in the past. I've laid, I've laid blame at the feet of the golden state warriors and steph curry in particular. We, a lot of us, have done this, um, errantly, because you to blame him is super reductive and it's a it's over, it's um, it's an oversimplification, to say the least. Um, because, again, it's not their fault.

Henri Taylor: 1:06:54

That the only thing, other teams, because, like anything, whether it's the nba, nfl and music industry, everything is kind of a copycat league. When something is working, people are going, people are going to try to replicate that. That's just how it should work. So that's, that's how, that's how things go and business, whatever, whatever's working, people are gonna try to replicate that. That's a given. You should expect that. But the problem is, uh, a lot of these kids, other teams, players, the only takeaway was the high scoring, the three-point shooting, the action, the, the, the ball movement, the back and forth up and down, but again, like you mentioned, like the philosophy, yeah, not the transition nothing not the defense easy not the players they can plug in.

Henri Taylor: 1:07:35

Yeah, the plug and play the high iq uh players that they had, because I mean the warriors were targeting certain kind of players and they literally I mean we tend to overlook their bench. I mean they had guys like andreala, sean Livingston, leandro Barbosa. They had guys come off the bench who would be starters anywhere else, who accepted their role, and just all kinds of guys. Oh my goodness.

Henri Taylor: 1:07:59

They can plug them in and they can contribute, and I mean even now, to some degree they're getting contributions from guys you wouldn't expect them to be average and double digits of who anywhere else. They might be seen at the end of the bench like flat out, yeah, but um there's a I don't know man.

Henri Taylor: 1:08:15

Again it's so multi-layered I don't know, I don't even know where to start, like the, because again the anticipation isn't there for anything, any of the products, the players, like the signature shoe thing, I mean that's something. That else completely, because sneaker head culture has kind of fucked that up. Um, it's hard to anticipate a shoe release nowadays, if it's not a jordan right?

Christian Young: 1:08:38

yeah, it's like ron has been dominant, yeah yeah, there ain't.

Henri Taylor: 1:08:41

There's nothing to really be excited about. Yeah, I've been like, yeah, I need to have that shoe. Yeah, that too, in terms of the design innovation. I mean, a lot of these shoes are for performance. Where the shoes we were buying were performance and they can be worn with an outfit, they were fashion as well, but the focus now is on these shoes. Yeah, now these shoes are pretty much just for performance, and that's not a problem with that. For ballplayers, the problem is, we ain't all ballplayers, you know.

Robaire Taylor: 1:09:16

They're not a problem with that for ballplayers. The problem is we ain't all ballplayers. You know Nike used to have something for everyone, if everyone's fourth Jordan, but you had different levels and they were still cool. Now the question I would ask you guys is this do you think we'll see a time where we'll get back to basketball how we used to love it as far as where the big man games worked from inside out? Because I'm looking at now we're talking about when Steph Curry and the Warriors were playing and winning.

Robaire Taylor: 1:09:35

There was a time where, you know, the big man role was diminished. So you had to try to create a different style of game. And of course you had, you know, your world-class backcourt. But when you think about it now, because you see the big guys that are coming back into play skilled big men, they never left. You have to right. But when you think about it now, you see if you could have a person like wimby with you know, let's just say he had a younger chris paul. Imagine if wimby had a younger chris pa Paul and you had a system which can still play and set out, because, you think about it, when you have a dominant big man, you can still. It still opens up shots, it still opens up the perimeter, you still have lanes, there's still a great system that you can run out of an offensive set, that you can get up out of that, and I think that was the thing. There was a lack of big man talent and the league we kind of panicked and they were trying to figure out how do we keep the game going and keep it exciting with lack of a big man. But now the reemergence of the big man is happening. I think that some of the rules need to reflect that and we need to get back to it because I want to see that.

Robaire Taylor: 1:10:46

I think that if you look at the champions, I mean there's always a big man. The last couple of years it was a big man's game, even if you look at it dealing with you know he's not a typical big man, but you still had. You know you still had the Timberwolves. They had big men, they still were playing a big man game. I just think that, looking at the game moving forward, they're going to have to and that's going to be up to the commissioner to start implementing. You know, something that would allow a little bit more physicality. You know went away.

Robaire Taylor: 1:11:25

That really opened it up, where it was just like free lanes all day. You can just get to the basket who was good. You know we're tired, we're worried about fouling it and even if it does, because they were trying to stop going to the you know, the free throw line they're trying to keep the fast paced game. It's just looking forward and moving forward. We can't continue because I think even you know the new fans, because we're still all living off. Honestly, even you know the kids today they're still looking at the Kobe era, but today's game don't look like the Kobe era. That don't look like that at all. And you know we do have to get back. I think back to the basics. I think that's where it's going to start, getting back to the basics. That's just my opinion. I think that's where it's going to start getting back to the basics.

Christian Young: 1:12:09

That's just my opinion. History repeats itself in some sense. So my answer to that is I think we'll get closer to what we used to see, but it won't ever be fully back there, because the amount of money that players make alone dictates how you're able to play them. You have gotten to a point to where, like I said, you play for the Lakers but LeBron is a franchise, ad is a franchise In and of themselves. So it's kind of like and you see that even just the relationship between GM and player, where it's like, I can't really go against you without fear for me getting knocked out the window. So I think we can get to a better place, but I think what we were accustomed to is gone, and that may still be okay because we still have the benefit of the nostalgia and being able to live through that.

Christian Young: 1:12:59

But this product that they have on the floor now, when the players are like, why are we playing this all-star game? That one right after Kobe, was magic, like. That was just a perfect kind of retro. But you notice the difference. It took for that man to have to leave us, for people to find a reason to ignite their passion in playing again and that's all that was. It was back to true, traditional. It felt like look, it felt like us getting up on a Saturday morning and walking to the park and being like, hey, there's six teams out here. If we don't win, we're done, because you've got to wait for four more teams to get off the floor again. Nobody got that time. Hey, we've got to win this game. You might not see the court for the rest of the day.

Christian Young: 1:13:42

Right, we've just got to win this game, because if this game, because, if not, yeah, if we want to keep this team, because, yeah, somebody might pick you up, a guy has to leave, but we we used to get out there and just we have to win this game. And I think that's what that felt like, and that there was a level of competitiveness, out of respect for what he did and who he was, that superseded their own desire, because now players will tell you like I'm actually being punished, the rest of the squad is in Miami or Cancun or Tulum or wherever they're at, and I'm out here answering yeah, so what do you think this game is going to be? Like Whack as hell, like all the other ones have been. We just put up about 485 points, but I could have been on a beach somewhere, and so I think there's a way to be better. But you know, in another episode we'll have to discuss what that MBA, because even you know the way that there's a several episodes, yeah.

Christian Young: 1:14:38

There's a lack of teaching that is going on at the lower level because they're looking at a James Harden step back, not realizing that's not legal in high school. But I'm not going to touch that today, that's a whole other conversation.

Robaire Taylor: 1:14:49

A cup of coffee. But yeah, your old step like okay, am I putting in three more steps and the shot would have spent.

Henri Taylor: 1:14:57

And a lot of it and part of it is and I got to say, for us now we're in that unk generation, we're the old heads For sure A lot of it is probably the nostalgia and we're comparing and contrasting it to the game we grew up watching and we love so much. But to speak to that nostalgia, I want to switch gears a bit but stay in the same lane. Yeah, because we are at a certain age and we have an appreciation for the time we grew up in. It was that you really had to be there in the 90s. It really was kind of like the pinnacle of human existence, if you ask me. But I think there might be scientific research to back that up. But, um, uh, speaking of nostalgia, what's the flashback y'all have in that era, back in the 90s, 80s, that y'all whether it's a shoe, it could be a player, a jersey, uh, a television show, like what's something that y'all that at least that's been maybe in recent days or weeks that has you know that there's been a new mind.

Henri Taylor: 1:15:50

You've thought about that. You know it's kind of come up in conversation and something that yeah. So just to follow up question is it just basketball or just no, it can be. It can be just a flashback, in general, I mean, to a moment in time. You know what I mean. I'm going to go.

Christian Young: 1:16:04

Yeah, Because it was so funny. I was having this conversation with my daughter and it was such a weird feel. So we get an ice cream truck that comes out here like at 8, 9 o'clock at night and I'm just kind of like it's raining. I have no clue what type of ice cream you're selling, my man, but I was having a conversation with my daughter. Oh, I know what kind of ice cream.

Henri Taylor: 1:16:26

Yeah, Y'all got an idea. I was having a conversation with my daughter.

Robaire Taylor: 1:16:28

Oh, I know what kind of ice cream I had. Ice cream man, yeah.

Henri Taylor: 1:16:30

Right, we all got an idea. Yeah, we all. Good, we know what time that shit is.

Christian Young: 1:16:34

Right. So I was talking to my daughter and I was like when we were kids playing outside, there was a donut truck that came through. Mm-hmm oh, some of the best donuts I've ever had in my life as an adult. I was like I have no clue where these donuts were coming from. There was a gutted van with just racks put in it with donuts as sweet and as soft as they could be. I was like that was such a time to be a kid and to have a dollar, not 15, not 20. A dollar, a dollar, yeah. When if you had three or four friends who had a dollar too and y'all just y'all out, yeah.

Henri Taylor: 1:17:21

As Gil Scott Heron would say, yeah, back when the buck stopped here, you could actually buy something with it Like, yeah, let's get these Boston baked beans, let's get these lemon heads, let's get these nachos. Alexander the Great.

Christian Young: 1:17:34

Listen, and a buttermilk and a maple bar, and that was just something recent where I was like it goes back to you just had to be there. So for me, that flashback is just being able to be a kid with a dollar, a dollar, and to be able to Lottery winnings back then. Yeah, we grew up. You went in the house. Yeah, it's a good chance. That was a death sentence. Yeah, don't get thirsty. You better grab this water hose because if you go in, you're going to have to clean up. Yeah, you're going to have to clean up. Such and such is coming over, so go clean the kitchen or do this. And you just feel like, nah, at all costs, if I had that dollar, don't let me have saved it, because everybody used theirs before and I got two. You'll see me tomorrow Two whole dollars, shit.

Henri Taylor: 1:18:20

That's a small fortune for a young boy back in the day A lady at the casino.

Christian Young: 1:18:25

Yeah, you know. But yeah, that's my flashback man, just meaning, just remembering how simple it was to be a kid with a dollar or two and to be adequately fed and or entertained, you know, with a dollar or two.

Robaire Taylor: 1:18:41

So that's, that's mine for this week in the words of Wu-Tang can it be that it was all so simple? Can it be? Yes, okay, I'm going to go in there. I know you guys remember this Summertime it's hot outside. Do we remember the flip-flop Nike jerseys and wetting the jersey because it was so hot outside and wedding the jersey because it was so hot outside, putting on our Nike jersey and Nike shorts with some Chris Rebbers or whatever Nike shoes you had on and your Nike hat or visor and making a run. We're going to the basketball court. It's Saturday morning and that was the place to be, and they go up there. Now, mind you, I don't know, you know, with this new generation, but back then you playing with grown men 13, 14, it didn't matter. You want to get on the court, you had to go up against grown men and I think you know this word young blood, oh yeah.

Henri Taylor: 1:19:37

Yeah, pretty much. Yeah, wake up.

Robaire Taylor: 1:19:40

And for us not to. It didn't intimidate us at all.

Christian Young: 1:19:44

It was like no, it was just learning.

Robaire Taylor: 1:19:50

It was learning the game, yeah, and you got roughed up a little bit and he was like, oh no, you know, just to be able to get a rebound on that grown man like, yeah, I got that to be able to box out and get them right. It was the competitive nature in us to want to play because, like you were saying earlier, andre, if you lost you had to wait at six, seven games before you had another chance to get your run.

Henri Taylor: 1:20:08

You might wait till tomorrow In all reality.

Christian Young: 1:20:13

We'll do this again Sunday.

Robaire Taylor: 1:20:15

But just to do that, walk to the park, get hungry, go to the donut shop or go to Burger King because they have them dollar whoppers. And to go and get something to eat, go to Thrifty, get to get a squirt bottle top, get a two liter of Dr Pepper and go home and just eat until our stomachs busted. And to have a two liter each.

Christian Young: 1:20:42

Just to do that on my stomach, laying on my stomach on the floor. And we had a video games, but that was on the floor, and then you know it would be young.

Robaire Taylor: 1:20:49

And we had our. You know, we had our video games, but that was after the fact, that was like after the day was gone. You know, we had our, got our runs in and we would play some NBA live.

Christian Young: 1:21:00

More of a consolation prize if we tried All right. We got to go in the house, let's do it. Dare I say house?

Robaire Taylor: 1:21:05

let's do it. Yeah, there I say, let's go before that. What about bulls versus blazers? We? I mean, we get some ncaa super nintendo, come on now, let's. You know, let me go ahead and get nostalgic on you guys, but yeah, it was a good time, but it wasn't nothing like. And also, one thing, too, was to wake up and that nike commercial came on when they went through their campaign of, like, entering all the sports you know. Remember I think you had the song you know and we all shine on. Do you remember my goodness?

Henri Taylor: 1:21:35

oh, bear man yeah that yeah man, you're gonna trigger something.

Robaire Taylor: 1:21:38

Yeah, yeah, that was magical saturday and you knew that you could see for people that are be listening. We come from a generation where being in a house and not being able to go outside was like death sentence. Saturday mornings, you had to be on the court and be outside and be ready to do everything with it. Oh yeah, that was just like putting shoes on. That was the first thing. So that's what I remember Just. I mean just thinking about it and hearing that Nike commercial in my head To this day.

Henri Taylor: 1:22:08

I mean just thinking about it and hearing that Nike commercial in my head To this day man it still, it triggers something. It was a magical time yeah.

Robaire Taylor: 1:22:12

Because you know what you're going to hear. You know, marv Albert, you know too, and they're going to just remind her. You know, I think of Duke basketball like my yeah.

Henri Taylor: 1:22:20

It reminds me of my early days of falling in love with Duke basketball and Christian Laettner and Grant Hill were they were. They were gods to me at that point. But yeah, that was yeah, definitely that triggers that.

Robaire Taylor: 1:22:32

It's the thought of it, guys. That's what I'm saying.

Christian Young: 1:22:39

Side note, we used to hoop with the armor. God on that. I mean to think about how the the amount of clothing we had on when we would go play. You got on a heavy t-shirt, sometimes a jersey on top of that, and we used to actually play in our NBA jerseys. Not, hey, I'm going to the ball Like we. Actually, you got this Zoe and these shorts on and you are literally playing in official NBA gear. But I think back, and a lot of times we had on two pair of shorts.

Henri Taylor: 1:23:08

Kept a pair underneath, whatever we were wearing.

Christian Young: 1:23:12

We didn't know where we were going after. Yeah, we're literally pulling off jeans, basketball shorts at the ready, two pair of shorts under.

Henri Taylor: 1:23:22

Under your nylon sweats and shit the swishy ass nylons. You got shorts on. You had to have your basketball shorts on. Yeah, you had to. You had to have your basketball shorts on underneath you, whatever I tell you we were bulletproof, yeah, yeah no doubt what's yours.

Henri Taylor: 1:23:36

For me, man. Uh, you made an interesting point. I was thinking of something a little bit different. Um, not so much the value of a dollar back then, but I I always talk to my kids about the value of the freedom that we had was more. I mean, that was way more than a dollar. I mean monetarily, before a kid again back then you're talking about 80s, late 80s, mid to late 80s. Yeah, a dollar was everything. Like you, you thought you could buy your own house and a car with that money back in the day.

Henri Taylor: 1:24:06

But what I value the most I remember is a conversation I had with my daughter last week about how we'd get up and go out and play and I'm not sure if it was just because our parents weren't aware as much Maybe it wasn't in the news cycle about the dangers of kids being outside, left to their own devices and their little friend groups and the potential of adults harming children. Maybe it wasn't as prevalent or it just wasn't as talked about. That it was kind of something that wasn't on our radar. So for that reason our parents afforded us a level of freedom that we understood it. I mean, we appreciated it back then. But I have a. I value it a whole lot more now. It may have been too much freedom, but literally we'd be able to get on our bikes knowing good and hell. Well, we shouldn't have been leaving the block or our, our little you know our community but we'd end up.

Henri Taylor: 1:25:04

You know, yeah, don't leave this street or don't go past this street. We damn near at fucking santa monica beach. You know, yeah, don't leave this street or don't go past this street. We damn near at fucking Santa Monica Beach. You know what I'm saying. Like, yeah, mobbing a group of kids on bikes and skateboards and scooters several miles away from home. Way too young to be out that far away from home. No cell phone, no way to get in contact with anybody Right To put in a pay phone.

Henri Taylor: 1:25:28

Yeah, you might have to dial collect if you were thinking about calling home like that, which would. It really wasn't on our mind for the most part, but we had no way to be contacted in a case of an emergency and that never, that never even occurred to us, obviously because we didn't have the foresight to know about cell phones and, uh, any any kind of mode of communication at that time, but it was just the ability to go outside and the world was literally like it was your oyster, like it was the new adventure every day and you were given the freedom to go outside and explore, and that may have been doing part to the fact that there was still some semblance of community. It was still. I think we were the last generation to grow up, Nosy neighbor?

Christian Young: 1:26:08

Yeah, we still. It was up at six o'clock with her cup of coffee looking at everything where everybody was.

Henri Taylor: 1:26:13

I still say we're the last generation to have some semblance of a neighborhood. Before it just became the hood, you actually had neighbors that you knew and in some cases you trusted them.

Robaire Taylor: 1:26:23

You trusted them. You knew them by their names. Right, you knew them by their names first and last name.

Henri Taylor: 1:26:26

You knew the entire family so you can trust that your kid was safe at their home around their kids. You knew those kids as well. The community kids, the adults actually looked out for the kids. I remember we talked about this all the time living in the jungles, how we would be outside and we would. Our mother would basically use the local gangbangers as a page to go and retrieve us. Hey, homie, you so-and-so son, your mom wants you back at home. You need to get back home. It's getting dark. Like I don't even know this dude, like who the fuck did you tell me to get back home? You know, you know your mom's friend, right well, she wants you to go back home because y'all, y'all been outside all day. It's seven o'clock, it's getting dark. You need to head back, little homie it was valid.

Christian Young: 1:27:06

Yeah, you got my mom's first name. You actually right my time right. You've been outside since 8 35 hell okay, I gotta go to some degree.

Henri Taylor: 1:27:12

this is just an adult telling you what to do. You minded that instruction, because what else are you gonna do? But I remember like there was some level of care, like there was some looking out for the kids in the neighborhood. Adults would not let you wander aimlessly and just do what you wanted to, though we did anyway. Yeah, because we just weren't supervised all day, but we took our freedom and ran with it and we had a blast. I mean just thinking of all the shit we did in a day.

Christian Young: 1:27:38

Yeah, it was. We'll have to recap some of that for the rest of the show. Yeah, man, just yeah, yeah, yeah.

Henri Taylor: 1:27:44

One day is yeah. One day is a lifetime for these kids. Nowadays, it's like you couldn't imagine the shit we got into the mischief.

Robaire Taylor: 1:27:52

The fun, and all that on the verge of jail.

Henri Taylor: 1:27:55

Yeah, for real. And some of that stuff was just good, old, clean, harmless boy fun. It was pretty standard stuff. But that's what I remember is just the amount of freedom that we had and we were afforded at a very young age, at a time where our parents again probably were were naive to the possible dangers and the threats that were lurking, or they just you know, again they, they grew up like us, being outside playing, so they they took it as as it was.

Henri Taylor: 1:28:22

so it is yeah kids, kids will be kids and we'll go out and play. So that's, that's my flashback, man, just the that time and this before even I want to say this is I'm talking about a time before being a, an adolescent, but the time before being a teenager I'm talking about being a small child outside. You know, this is back in the late 80s and mid to late 80s.

Robaire Taylor: 1:28:41

We outside just roaming, you know what I mean in the world yeah, let's not take for granted, for those that didn't grow up in Southern California, the 80s, and not the late 80s going into the 90s, this was the emergence of you forget about that to the drugs of the gangs oh, definitely that was the height of the gang culture in Southern California some of the best times of inner childhood.

Robaire Taylor: 1:29:05

That's the irony of it right it was. It was a great time, some of the best times of inner childhood. I know it sounds crazy. Yeah, that's the irony of it. Right, it was a great time. It couldn't have been any better.

Christian Young: 1:29:13

For sure. Yeah, man, I think that I like that. I think we should bring that to make that a reoccurring segment because it was a good little flashback there. But anything in closing fellas, I think this was a good one.

Henri Taylor: 1:29:33

No, I'm just happy to be back in the saddle man uh, same here trying to get to, I mean, a level of mastery. You know it'll take some time, but I want to put in again my you know, some hours towards that 10 000 to get to that level where we kind of mastered this game. We figured out exactly who our market is, who we're serving, who we are. Get more comfortable on the mic, you know what I mean. I hope a day comes where I'm, I'm not even being mindful of having a mic in front of me and having an ear set on and we're just having a conversation like we do when we're on the phone.

Henri Taylor: 1:29:53

We and that can go on for hours about any and everything from eating out to, you know, traveling to whatever it is. That that's on the docket fair day that we end up just talking, going into organically and naturally. But, um, it's just good to be back and, uh, familiarizing myself back in these settings again, which is my own garage, quite frankly. It ain't like I'm going to a studio or nothing, but it just getting familiar with this environment again. Not yet, yeah, being back here on the mic tinkering with my, you know, tinkering with my mics and shit like that and all my equipment, which is that can be fun in and of itself, but it's just fun to get back with us doing this because we needed it.

Henri Taylor: 1:30:27

You know, maybe everybody else does too, for that matter, I hope. Hopefully, everybody else feels like they need it too. They want to hear from us more often, so that's just going to be back today I was so excited and so happy.

Robaire Taylor: 1:30:41

I don't know it's been a long time. I'm not saying that I wasn't happy, but I have something to look forward to on a Sunday Other than you know. Know, I love my family, but just something for us, you know, because we're older and you know, of course we have our own families and lives. But just to do this and you kind of give people a peek into our world, you know, and just to be here and doing what we actually like, doing this, you know, and it for you guys, you'll start hearing some of the slang and words that we use that we've kind of came up with over the years. Like, if I were to sum today up, it was I know I'm taking back, you know, in the words of Uncle Ron dope is the day you guys dope is the day, you know, and you know.

Robaire Taylor: 1:31:24

I think that's fitting because we were in the conversation about, you know, watching basketball in the 90s and growing up and things, and Uncle Ron and his back-of-the-day shot just reminiscing about that and us having those conversations. It was dope as the day.

Christian Young: 1:31:42

So I fully concur, man, it's just good to be back. What you guys don't realize is we would literally five, six, seven, eight hours of full-on conversation like this and we finally decided to bring it to the mic. So just looking forward to getting back, to giving it to you and growing in this thing, man. So everybody be safe, take care, we'll see you next episode.

Henri Taylor: 1:32:03

Y'all, we out y'all.