Mo Bamba On The Ricky
The Opening Tip
Hello & Happy Almost Weekend - It's the Corner Three!
T-Shirt Deadline
If you want the Tribe Called Ricky official Bark In The Park shirt, join the team by Sunday. That's all we're saying. We need a count. Just join the team, raise $50 for homeless animals. Seems easy!
JOIN HERE.
Oh Yeah, The Sixers
As you may or may not know by now, Dame Lillard got his wish (sort of) and is now a Milwaukee Buck, and Daryl Morey is (still apparently) a liar. Thank you lovely hostess at James Harden's Houston party.
Instant Reaction!
For Dame:
Not what he wanted but I guess in the end, what he wanted. Moving from a stagnant situation to one where he’s instantly got a chance to win a championship and conceivably won’t have to do it alone.
For the Bucks:
They heard Giannis all summer say he wanted more signs and more action from the front office that everyone’s goal was another chip and man did they show and prove. This stuff is always so fluid and obviously there's a magnitude of variables but finding yourself as the odds favorite to be next year's champion after one move has got feel incredible if your goal is to send a warm message to your franchise anchor.
For the Heat:
Whatever fuck off
For the Sixers:
Nice and Snug as a very distant 3rd or 4th best team in the East pending Harden trade/possible Jrue acquisition.
For Joel Embiid:
The mountain just got higher and man does that suck for him. This year is going to be the greatest test of his patience as the best player on this team.
For Me:
D’Andre Swift and Olamide Zaccheaus are Eagles
MO BAMBA ON THE RICKY
Tonight at 7pm on the Ricky YouTube channel, we debut Mo Bamba on the Ricky. We talked to Mo Bamba about lots of things, his relationship with Joel Embiid, the Harden situation, playing for Nick Nurse, his workouts with Tyrese Maxey.
But most importantly, yes we asked him about the JJ Redick podcast where JJ saw the person in a cage.
Debuting at 7pm live on Ricky YouTube (it's a YouTube premiere so it's sorta live), and then in your normal pod feed. But watch with us!
Mike's Corner... Get Me Jrue
Every week Spike or Mike will give you something that's on their mind. It's Mike's week, and he is demanding we bring back Process Prometheus.
Maybe the WGA strike being resolved (successfully, I can proudly add) has me sentimental, but there’s something beautifully poetic to The Process starting with a Jrue Holiday trade and concluding victoriously with a Jrue Holiday trade. That’s good story!
Obviously I’m yadda yadda-ing over the “victoriously” part, and the first thought narrative on Jrue’s Return is that he raises their floor but lowers their ceiling, but I am prepared to plug my ears and believe. He’s a very good 2-way player. He’s old enough to know what it takes but not so old that any integral body parts of his have been declared legally dead. He fits with Lead Guard Maxey but also takes creation pressure off Maxey if, like most studio executives, he can’t create. He’s provably not haunted by ancient malicious demons since he’s already won a title.
He’s also… Not James Harden! On the court - yea defense, yea cutting - but especially off it. Jrue is a famously good guy, good teammate, good leader. My mom got a Bobby Taylor jersey for herself once, and I think the trio of Maxey-Holiday-Melton is enough to make her seek out the nearest Modell’s.
Much has been made of the vibes, which are held up by a few likable or intriguing players. But you can run the Vibe Analytics as many times as you want, it’s still gonna spit out VIBES: BAD at you. Swapping Jrue for Harden in a 3-teamer with LAC would change that. Sure, Harden raises their ceiling more. But that’s only hypothetical at this point both due to his own consistent playoff failure and because the only thing anyone’s raising is a sign in a club that says “Daryl Morey is a liar.”
Basketball angle? a top 8 defense plus Maxey protection on a creation level. check.
Well-written narrative arc? Jrue returns home to finish what he literally started, thus making The Process a success. check.
Vibes? Harden gone, Jrue nice. check.
It’s not shooting for the moon in next summer’s Great Cap Space Humping Expedition, but it will help now, and lifts their holistic competence level exponentially. I’m not willing to write off the idea that MVP Joel with an innovative new coach and enough high IQ players who don’t suck on either end can get you on a playoff run. Let’s vanquish some old foes with an old friend.
Peace, Love and Process On the Way to 4-0
-Zo