Transcription
All right man, peace. You know what, brothers? To this day, probably the most memorable playoff performance by a single individual, it still stands out to my mind so vividly, was LeBron James's Game 6 performance against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals of 2012.
Because heading into the game, the Miami Heat were down 3 games to 2 after giving away Game 5 in Miami. And LeBron James, his critics were all set to swoop down on him as the biggest choker ever. And they were also set to skewer the Miami Heat because they had all banded together to form a super team and try to defeat the Boston Celtics and win a championship. And it appeared as if it was not going to happen.
But LeBron James went into his own. That I'm not quite sure I've ever seen another player go into, especially when it comes to focus and intensity. Just, just looking at his countenance, the look on his face, I'll never forget. The man looked like he was under mind control, to be quite frank with you. And I was joking about it with a brother. I told him, LeBron James had a look on his face like before the game, somebody called him up, one of his MK handlers or MK programmers called him up and said, "The Leprechaun must die tonight," and just hung up the phone. And the man just snapped to attention.
So when LeBron decided that he was going to use the term "activation" for the mode that he's going to go into or try to seek out for himself for the remainder of this regular season with the Los Angeles Lakers, it certainly stood out to me. I said to myself, "Hmm, of all the terms that he could use, he would use a term that would denote that he's some type of Android or robot or a programmed object."
So anyway, they're gonna talk about it. I'm gonna chime. Let us cut out the very soul before Sam. All about being uncomfortable. Well, we know that, we know that. All about being uncomfortable. And he's going to delve into his philosophy on being uncomfortable in the third episode, I really, I should say the first episode of the second season of his show, "The Shop." And he's going to expound on it to a degree that helps you understand where he's coming from more.
But I don't think that that concept, that philosophy of being uncomfortable and enjoying being uncomfortable, it's something that you can transition into every aspect or every walk of your life. Because other people are not always going to be comfortable with you purposefully trying to create a chaotic environment. I don't think that he'd quite grasp that. But to me, what his statement about loving being uncomfortable, what that really reveals is that he came from a very chaotic background. So he's very much accustomed to anarchy all around him.
Three games out with 25 games to play, which is forcing LeBron to go into playoff mode early. Max, you trust LeBron with his own health? Let me say this very quickly before Max Kellerman enters. No, I do not trust LeBron James with his own quote-unquote health. But I don't think that it's up to the athlete to be trusted when it comes to their health. You're supposed to hope that the Lakers medical staff will be monitoring LeBron James and understanding that he's a 34-year-old athlete and therefore he has to be getting the appropriate recovery time and the appropriate treatment.
But not only are the Lakers going to be aware of that, LeBron James is also going to be aware of that. But all in all, LeBron James cannot be trusted with his own health because he believes that he's a superhuman. The same way that Kobe Bryant did, the same way that Michael Jordan did. Absolutely not. I trust that LeBron will make sure that the Lakers won't miss the playoffs. But well, he's gonna try to make sure.
Before I was in LA doing afternoon, afternoon drive for yesterday and radio in LA with Marcellus Wiley. And it was supposed to be a dream team in Los Angeles with they've just gotten Dwight Howard. And people forget that. I brought that up in another video. That 2012-2013 LA Laker team was supposed to be another super team. They gave Kobe, Steve Nash, they gave him Dwight Howard. Kobe decided he did not want to use either one of them to join Kobe Bryant. Empowers us all. And it was not D'Antoni who was the coach, which is an odd choice given the talent. You know, other than Nash.
No, it wasn't an odd choice. The reason why Mike D'Antoni was brought on to the Lakers is because Kobe Bryant wanted then to be his coach. So that if he won another championship, he will be able to differentiate his legacy from Phil Jackson's legacy. Contrary to popular reports, Kobe Bryant loved Mike D'Antoni until he became his actual coach. It's like somebody who thinks that they have a great friend until they're roommates. So someone who thinks that they're in love and so they lived with the chick and find out what she's really about. That's what Kobe found out about Mike D'Antoni. It's also what Mike D'Antoni found out about Kobe Bryant.
Kobe Bryant is a control freak. He's a borderline sadistic, megalomaniacal psychopath when it comes to basketball. He really is. And he's someone that you do not want to be around unless you have high-level MK handler abilities like a Phil Jackson. Mainly because Kobe wasn't buying in. And eventually, Kobe staged essentially a mutiny. I was like, "No, I'm running the point." And it was Steve Nash was out. And even when Steve Nash came back, Kobe Bryant still, he still maintained his mutinous behavior. "I'm gonna do it my way, and I'm gonna make sure we make the playoffs." And Steven A. You all sensei.
D'Antoni ran him into the ground. That's not my memory of it. I was up close back then. Kobe ran himself into the ground. Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. Oh, Kobe wasn't hearing it. He was going to make sure the Lakers made the playoffs, and he did. But in the process, he blew out that tire. They off. Period. There was no way Kobe was gonna make the Lakers miss the close. And they, they won something like 26 out of that. Like it was an incredible run. They went on to put themselves in position to make the playoffs. And you know what happened? Kobe's Achilles went, and that was the end of his career. Don't let the 60.9 at the at the last game of his career. He was never Kobe Bryant again. Agreed.
So they made the playoffs. Put an end to his career. Remember, I talked about John Henry. Stephen A. He beat the steam drill. But then, but but die would be in the exertion. That's the danger here from LeBron. I trust that he will make sure they make the playoffs. But he cannot be trusted with his own health. And I've seen this before with Kobe Bryant. He has to be monitored carefully. We'll see what happens with LeBron James.
I agree with you. I agree that he could not be trusted because LeBron is very concerned with his legacy, the same way that Kobe Bryant was, particularly in their late 30s. They understand that Michael Jordan won World Championships at the age of 33, 34, 35. So they're constantly trying to use him as a barometer for where they believe their their career should be going at the same age. So there may be a moment where LeBron tries to push himself too hard offensively, and who knows, his body might give out. We don't know.
But we do know that LeBron James is going out of his way to rest on defense. So maybe that might help him conserve some of the, you know, the overall, the overall constitutional health of his body so that it does not tear in any more places that he does not want it to tear. But there's no doubt that his body is compromised right now with either the groin issue or the sports hernia that he's alleged to have. Who knows what's really going on with the brother? But I do believe that he is still injured to a degree. We'll probably not find out fully until the end of the season.
Kobe Bryant has played. There were a bevy of injuries throughout his career, right? But Kobe Bryant's physique and his body has never been up to the par of a LeBron James or even a Michael Jordan. Kobe's always had degenerative shoulder, knee issues, ankle problems. So, you know, you give him credit for the great willpower. But to compare his body to LeBron James, no chances. Some would have deemed unnecessary. He did it because he loved to play. He loved being a marquee. He loved answering the call of expectations. And if you did it better than he, that he did, there's no question about it.
But LeBron James is a different animal. LeBron James is an extraordinary physical specimen. At 6'8", 6'9", about 250 to 260, fluctuating between those pounds. This brother has taken care of himself and his conditioning arguably has been unrivaled with the exception of maybe our Russell Westbrook. And Russell Westbrook had some injuries. LeBron James has missed 18 games. Dish because of that hampered injury suffered on Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors. This not the hamstring, the groin, quote-unquote, the groin. That is the most significant injury of his career.
Now, one would use that as an excuse to say, "Hey, you know what? That's proof that you can't trust them at this point with those kind of things." Because the groin injury. Yeah, I say no. He's done everything that you can possibly do. We talked about the money he's invested in his health, his own fitness center in his homes, and all of this other stuff. This dude, that I've been told, is out like an LA Fitness for crying out loud. I believe it is. This house like the LA Fitness is also like a biochemistry lab. Had little doubt about that. Allegedly, that's for damn sure.
Me, you can't trust LeBron about knowing his body and knowing himself. What he is and it's not ready for. You might not be able to trust 99% of the folks out there. But LeBron James is that one physical specimen that you listen to when he tells you where he stands and what he's capable of, right? But that's not really the issue. I don't think that the question is how honest LeBron James would be about his physical health. The issue is, can he be trusted that he's not going to push himself too far trying to execute a Don Quixote quest to make the playoffs just so that they can get blown out in the first round so that he can look back at his career and say, "Look what I did with that Laker team, my first year there." That's, that's what the question is pertaining to in my view.
When it says, "Can you trust him with his own health?" Is he going to forsake or disregard so an issue that maybe he should tend to so that he can try to get the Lakers in the playoffs and use that as another feather in his cap? They trust. They trust that he could withstand stuff. But they didn't always trust that Kobe was honest about what his health situation. Watch velvet cutting. I understand another. What you're saying. LeBron will be forthright about what he's experiencing and manage it responsibly. Yes. Kobe had that warrior massage. I'm gonna let you know. Yes.
There, what about the idea that what we just saw happen to Zion was different with the sneaker than other people? Because Zion's a different kind of physical specimen. At his size, moving like he moves, that sneaker might just bust, right? What about LeBron? It's kind of the same thing. LeBron is different physically than other players. He can monitor himself. Only one per week. This is, this is uncharted territory. That I've never been a guy who's been still been the best player in the game this deep into its career. Little.
Well, the question is, is he really still the best player in the game? That's the real question. The way he plays. Well, my response to that would be, you can't compare those apples and oranges. And Zion Williamson, he doesn't deserve to be compared to LeBron James. Well, I don't think that Max Kellerman is comparing Zion Williamson to LeBron James when it comes to physical exploits. I think he's more so doing it based on body type and the explosiveness that each player has in conjunction with how much mass they're able to move. Okay. Right. But he's also 6'7", 280 with a 48-inch vertical. LeBron James is a grown man who's been through the terrain. And because he knows how to take care of himself better.
Well, Stephen Smith, why the hell did he miss so many games for them? That meant he missed a lot of games for load management. He's been doing so for the last five, six years now. Father Time is undefeated. Father, son, I've even eventually got Bernard Hopkins, by the way. And he's coming for Tom Brady. [Applause] Grass. But the point is that it's fun to see it. It doesn't always mean that you just little by little lose your seat or whatever. A lot of it is injury, catastrophic and otherwise. I would agree with that. Ice. It starts to limit mobility and explosiveness and all of that. And sometimes it is something like an Achilles snapping simply because you put too much mileage on your legs. I'm saying Pete.
LeBron will play them into the playoffs. They better monitor those minutes. The minutes, you got to also monitor the style of play. But LeBron dictates seconds. Guide the ball in his hand. So he'll dictate pace of play as well. But the biggest thing that I'm saying is this. LeBron James, where you talk about the Los Angeles Lakers, nobody cares about LeBron James's health more than LeBron James. He's proven that, right? But the real issue is, what does he care about more? His health or making the playoffs? Yes. The woman to guarantee conjugal matter. What he is the one guy that has proven he is more concerned about his health than anybody. And he's gonna do what he needs to do so his team survives in this tough Western Conference race. Makes it so. That's basically it on that. We'll see what happens.
I just was very intriguing. LeBron James chose to use that term "activation." It hearkened me back to his performance in Game 6 against the Boston Celtics and how he appeared to be a Manchurian Candidate. So we'll see what happens with LeBron James for the remainder of this season. It's a piece.