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Bad Organizations Win Championships.
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A Chicago Bulls podcast with Jason and.
A
Dan Bernstein on 312 Sports. Welcome to it. It's the OWC. Organizations win championships on 312 Sports. Episode 11 7. Dan Bernstein, Jason Bernstein. And we're in the Double Jason formation. Because the one in the middle, the man in the middle, needs no introduction. I'm going to give him one anyway. Just to say, I can't necessarily speak for my partner, but Bulls games aren't quite the same without that little, that little subversive crackle, that, that wink and that grin that tells us that it's just basketball. That tells us there's. We know what's going on out there. And I miss it. So I hope things are good in your world because my little Bulls basketball TV world isn't quite the same.
B
Yeah, I miss it too, man, and it's good to be with you guys. Thank you for having me. But yeah, I miss it as well. I was looking forward to what was to come in terms of, you know, modest and some of these cats who are growing up right in front of us. But yeah, I had a good six year run. We had a ball. It was something that I never anticipated doing. And one day Kevin Cross hit me up. It's like, hey, you want to do this? I'm like, okay, if you're willing to get fired. And we had, we had ourselves a good time, shout out to Cross for believing in me and all this other stuff. And then Kendall Gill and Will Purdue like this. Those guys were, you know, I won't say stuck in their ways, but they, you have a show for a certain amount of time and then somebody gets dropped in, they got to kind of prove themselves. And those first couple of years where I'm going back and forth with getting emails from the Bulls about what I was saying, this, that and the other. And then it kind of settled into the point where it's like, oh, I'll just let Billy talk about everything that's going on on the court that isn't up to standard, up to snuff. So it was, it was a fun ride. We had a good time. Naomi is terrific at what she does. Mark, He is on this pod, but your own pod, DB and he is, he is one of those cats who. People need to know how important he is. So I'm glad you mentioned it as much as you do. But yeah, I miss it. I miss it. But now I get a chance to be at home a little bit more with the kids and, you know, on to these other ventures. But I'm still, still keeping my eyes on it. If not watching pre and post and halftime.
A
What are you seeing? What are you seeing in this team that right now is number two in the east at five and one, their seventh or their fifth out of 30 in offensive rating, they're 14th in defensive rating with a net of plus 5.3, seventh in the NBA in net rating. And playing a brand of basketball that certainly keeps you watching, it's hard to tell who's out there all the time. And the cool thing is it hasn't mattered all that much who's been out there, because with. With Josh giddy and. And. And pace their overwhelming opponents.
B
So what's going on in Memphis right now on the wrong side of things with Ja and his new coach is what's happening around the NBA that a lot of people aren't talking about it. You know, the substitution patterns in the NBA over the last couple of years, they've changed. And the intensity that, that these guys want their players to go, it's kind of like hockey ships now where you're out there for a shorter amount of time and you got to build chemistry with cats who you haven't played with well last couple of years. What has Billy Donovan done? He's thrown 10, 11 guys out there at night. So they. They've already built a certain level of trust and understanding people's weaknesses. And also another thing that's happening in the league that I appreciate from the playoffs, they said, hey, we're not going to really get after you on the perimeter defensively in terms of physicality, right? You saw that in the. In the postseason and how much it shook teams up this year. Teams are pressing, and the Bulls have a couple of dudes who could press, right? Trey Jones compress Iota. Sumo can press. Next thing you know, fourth quarter, guys are worn down. These. These point guards who have these high usage rates, higher than ever, right? You got like 15, 20 guys who before would just be, you know, set the offense up and go stand in the corner cats who have the ball at all times. So the Bulls are kind of using some. Some science on their side, some analytics on their side. Whereas, push the pace. Shorter substitution patterns. And you don't have a dude, right? Like, difference from Memphis and the Bulls out, they got a dude who's like, wait a minute, all this something me out and not playing in certain positions and not. Not playing in certain portions of the game. That's not happening with the Bulls because they don't have that guy, right? They don't have. They don't have to worry about Zach appeasing him anymore. They don't have to worry about appeasing Demar anymore. Not in a bad way. It's just, you got lead dogs. You got lead dogs. They got a bunch of guys now who are on the clock contract wise and one dude who just came off the clock and Josh Giddy who's happy to be getting 100 mil. So there's a different, there's a different level of understanding with where this team is chemistry wise and also player wise. They, Kobe White has been out and their defense has been, I think it's shown to be better when he's not on the court, but also at the end of the games. At the end of games or who's going to hit the shot, who's going.
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To make the shot.
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Like I love the, this many different scores in the, in the first five or six ball games, but we all know in the end that roles have to be defined. When Kobe comes back, he's going to be the guy that goes and gets a shot in the fourth quarter. So I'm looking forward to seeing how, you know, not only against this Philadelphia team that they got coming up, you know, because Tyrese and VJ and Jerry McCain is coming back like they're going to put them through it. Like the Bulls. The Bulls have a very cool way that they play with a bunch of really good, hard working dudes. Now after that first punch has been thrown, people aren't going to be surprised by what they do. So I'm looking forward to seeing how they, they kind of adjust over this next couple of weeks.
C
Yeah, and I was going to say something about the rotations because it almost reminds me of college basketball when coaches are throwing out guys within five minutes of the tip off. And that reminds me of watching a lot of college ball. I mean, I covered a game last night and I and I watch it throughout the season and now, especially with the transfer portal in college ball, it's the same thing where you're trying to get to know new guys and especially with this Bulls team. I mean a lot of the guys came at the deadline last year, such as Tre Jones, Kevin Herder and Zach Collins has been out. We haven't been talking about him a lot and he's arguably their best rim protector on the roster. And I think that, and I know that because of the goaltending against Northwestern in that tournament. But it reminds me, that's right, that was Zach Collins, wasn't it, with Jim Phillips Kid, right?
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Wow. Great call.
C
And it's interesting to see often they're summing guys on and taking them off the court. And it's really cool to see how they've been working together. And, man, speaking of Vijay Edgecombe, he's a dog, and I just hate that he's a full year younger than I am.
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Jay, do you think that Patrick Williams can earn his starting job back, or.
C
Are you talking to Goff?
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I talk to you all the time. I don't need to know what you think. The idea of Williams in the second unit is great, and somehow he's jumping. He's actually jumping and running and still.
C
Missed a dunk the other night, though.
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He did. He asked. It's his signature. He's got it sponsored, I think. Yeah, he's got a donut where he can't quite get it in the cup of coffee. But I do like the fact.
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Disappointed.
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I like what he can do spacing wise. And if he's able to defend a big and help out near the basket a little bit, he's just a better basketball player than Isaac Coral. And unfortunately, every time the Bulls get into their ball rotation, no one's guarding Okoro. They don't want to guard Okoro. I figured out who Okoro is. He is the reincarnation of Keith Bogans somehow. Somehow. If you remember the Keith Bogan on the Good Bulls, that he was a guy and he was okay defensively and he was responsible enough, but you just didn't mind when they put him on the bench.
B
Get him up out of there. Get him up out of there. Yes.
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I don't know if it's fair or unfair to make a Bogans. He's a Bogan. He's Keith Bogans. So.
C
Yeah.
A
Is he. Shout out.
C
I guess we just crapped on you for a good three minutes. Yeah, but.
A
Shout out to you.
B
He's that dude.
A
But is this. Is Williams a starter or not?
B
No, no. Only because he doesn't behave like one. You know, sometimes you gotta believe when guys are telling you what they are. And if Patrick's the dude that's gonna come in and give you that, oh, Patrick's in the game vibe instead of where's Patrick? Right. Like, that's. That's what it's been for four years, where it's like, where's Patrick? Like, he should be. He should be impacting this thing a little bit more. The. The issues that I have had with Patrick Williams that hopefully got remedied this year, the body and all those things. That he. That he's naturally gifted with. I just didn't see the skill work. Like, I didn't see over three or four years, him get better at any discernible, you know, marketable NBA trait, right? Whether it be, oh, he's got this in his game. He's got, like, when people showed me his three point numbers, and he's like, okay, well, he's taking 1.6 a game because he can't get him off. Like, he can't. The release wasn't as fast as it needed to be. All right, well, should he rebound more? Well, guess what? You gotta. That body is cool, but you gotta improve on that body. Then, like, I think Patrick has had so many different lanes that he could go, and I don't know which one he ever picked in terms of, okay, my handle's got to be tighter. Like Kobe. The league told Kobe, you put that on the floor these first couple of years, you gonna take it. And then after that, he. He got tighter. You know, Johnny dribbled too much. And all these other people that he hired, like, the skill work that I was hoping to see and that you hope from a guy like Patrick, because Patrick is a good dude, right? But it didn't. It didn't come to fruition the way that you would, like, for two before you had to pay him, and then after you pay him, it's like, all right, well, the ticket is the ticket. So now how do you make this thing work? I think Modest coming in and immediately, immediately putting the flag. Like, all right, I'm gonna stop playing around because I'm sorry, man. I thought we talked to Thad Young, Patrick's first year in the league, and Thaddeus Young was like, hey. He pulled him to the side one time in the lunch line, was like, hey, nobody literally should be eaten before you. On a team that had the fourth pick in the draft. Like, you should be. You should be asserting yourself. You should be out here taking jobs. And for three or four years, he heard that from a different veteran. And it took a younger dude to come in and say, all right, I'm not waiting on anybody. We saw the summer league with Modest. Modest was dunking on people and screaming on people in summer league like, all right, this dude is built a little bit differently. He's sliding the draft because I don't think a lot of people trusted the competition. He was playing in his. In his first. I'm sorry, his year before, his first professional year. Patrick is. Patrick is a solid player, man. And the more you look at the NBA draft. Is the minor league draft, minor league baseball draft, or like, all right, after a certain number of picks, we, we. We just. We throw.
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Yeah. Look at, look at what they're doing with a Senge now. I mean, Isenge is a developmental player who is going to have to learn how to run pick and roll with the ball in his hands. He's going to have to learn the, the entire NBA ball screen game at both of those positions. And he can't do it with the minutes he's getting.
C
For that reason.
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Right?
B
Yeah. And by the time, by the way, by the time he, like, I don't know if y' all are watching, getting some real nerd basketball here.
A
This is the place to do it.
B
The pick and roll. The pick and roll is. I love the fact that styles are coming back in music, in movies, in basketball and football as well. Like, all right, everybody want to be light in the ass. We gonna beat your ass with this run game. Teams doing that in the NFL. What's happening in the NBA right now is everybody doesn't have that pick and roll maestro. Like, there's a lot more Alonzo balls out there than there are d' Angelo Russell's. Whereas, like, it's certain dudes who are just like, put together in a basketball lab to run pick and roll offense, and then there's certain cats who just want to get out and run. You look at what the Miami Heat are doing. Like, Noah Senge is very, very interesting to me because this is what, 6 foot 9, 6 foot 10 dude who's a buck 95, 200 pounds? So what are you going to do with him pick and roll situation until his jump shot comes to whatever level that he needs to come to. And I don't know in the long run if he's even. If he's even slated to be some kind of pick and fade, pick and pop guy. And then if you talking about getting into pick and roll initiation, you know, it's 6 foot 9 and doesn't have the tightest handle. Like, I think, I think you're finding now that so many coaches in the league are looking at the players that don't play the kind of game that they've been asked to coach, you know, Eric Spoeter, they run two, three plays a game. If you watch the Miami Heat now and with Victor Wenbanyama and with. With a lot of double big lineups coming back out here that I think the pick and roll game is, I won't say it's. It's going to go by the wayside, but I think we're going to see a drastic decrease in how many pick and rolls people are actually putting teams into because of one, how long it takes these days and two, I mean, in the end you got dudes opening the wrong way. Like the pick and roll fundamentals just aren't there. People just running it and defensive possession. So. But yeah, you were talking about the same game. Patrick Williams and I kind of veered off there. But yeah, man, P. Will, I'm happy for him. I'm happy he's playing well. And it seems like he's in a space where like certain guys don't want all that smoke and it's not in a bad way. It's not like, you know, you calling them out to be not tough. It's just the, the starting line veterans who have proven something was just not his vibe. Right. He's not going to ask Zach Levine to give him. He's not going to ask DeMar DeRozan to get him the ball. And then you look around and everybody's your age, those guys get cleared out and they've established themselves. Madison's established himself on his team. Kobe has established himself on his team. You know, when V goes are going to be somebody they replace him with and that person is going to assert himself. So I think Patrick's one of those cats who, you know, he comes in handy, you know, in a friend group. Right. But you're not, you're not counting on him to lead the way. You feel me?
A
Yeah, It's. That's worth 19 million on a good team.
B
Hey, if he can defend, knock down a couple of shots. Yeah, 19 is. 19 is not what it used to be.
C
Right.
A
That's what it used to be.
C
18, I think. But also, I'm just glad you didn't. When you mentioned Noah Senge in this, in summer league because you mentioned Bottas as well. I'm just glad you didn't bring up that, that Australian dude just absolutely yamming on him. That picture.
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Mr. Furfy.
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Johnny.
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Johnny Furfy. Johnny Furfy.
C
I didn't, I didn't know he could.
A
He could do that.
C
I'm not saying he's nasty, dunk that. But that let me just pull some like Chris Collinsworth or Troy Aikman bullshit and say it's sneaky, athletic.
B
No, no, white dudes, you know, that shit is out the window, man. Like, yeah, white chicks got ass. White dudes could jump. Like, this is a different world these days, man. You know what I Mean, I can't.
A
Make hide nor hair of it. I am not a crackpot, but I'm writing a letter to the editor to say I don't understand things any.
B
Yeah, Johnny first. Only thing Johnny Furby has issues with is the old bounce pass and defense. He's got issues when it comes to identifying, like, he is what a lot of. Because I was talking to this dude who's on the Thunder staff the other day, and I actually brought up Johnny Furfy just messing around with him. He goes, you know what we call guys like that? When I watch him on tape, I was like, what? He goes, we call him the most important guy on the defensive end. And I'm like, oh, tell me more. He goes, yeah, yeah, yeah. We. That guy, he's called the Mig in every offensive set. And I've heard this from Boylan and other cats I've been around in these last couple.
A
Don't quote Boylan.
B
This person actually explained it.
C
Don't quote Boylan on this show.
B
He's on that staff. Yeah. Most most important guys, where you just go, okay, we're gonna make his life hell for the next three or four possessions and have him go take a seat next to.
A
Well, that was Josh Giddey. That. That was Josh Giddey for. For a long time. The guy you attack, the guy that he's out there, it's like, immediately you'd see the coach jump up and whatever position he's playing, he's going three or four or whatever it is, and there. And I will say that giddy still. He doesn't quite get in a defensive stance the way I want, but he'll bend. He's bending his knees a little. And some of. At least he understands his length and he understands his size and some of his closeouts under control. And if there's no excuse to not face guard, just go up and get a hand up, do something. The effort has not been horrible to this point.
B
Yeah. Yeah. Him and Kobe are the dudes who you look at and go, they tried. Right? Like, trying as opposed to not trying is a huge difference. You see cats who are really good defenders who don't try to the fourth quarter when they know the lights are on them. Josh. I think Josh did some. Some sneaky good things this offseason, too. Like, he came back stronger. I don't know. Like, he is. He is penetrating in a way where it's not just a probe anymore that Cats get into the line like, what, six, seven times a game. The first five, six games of the season. Right. So he's doing things a little bit differently. You know, I, I, Josh Giddey is so interesting to me because there's certain cats who you feel like, all right, if this team gave up on them, then aren't they telling you something? And he was that dude at the end of that Oklahoma City Thunder bench when it's like, all right, we got Shaker Alexander, we got, we got the other cast that we running with. You an afterthought here, and the jump shot and all the other stuff that was surrounding his name and the defense, you're like, all right, we could forget about Josh Giddy. He could just be another, you know, a lottery bus. And then you, you look up and he's only, what, 22, 23. He, he's got all these triple doubles. By the way, Stacy, my man, 50 grand. He started the Knicks Bulls game the other night by saying, this is the guy who's going to lead the league and triple doubles. And I'm like, I heard it. Nicola Jokic, right?
A
Or Giannis, I mean, Webb, he's gonna get quadruple doubles. Yeah, I just, I, I, I heard that same thing, and I kind of thought that top 10, that's what you want.
C
I think you can be top 10.
B
Yeah.
A
That's when you probably.
B
Yeah, but come on, man. As long as, yeah, Wendy Wemby and Giannis and all these other cats out here doing, doing good business now. But Josh, well, Luca Lucas, you know, I know how people feel now because I felt the way that I felt the way about James Harden when he had his Houston run in the beginning, that I feel now about Luca, where it's like, hey, do you know, you know, we're witnessing here, and people, you know, don't like the style of play. People don't like how he's talking all crazy to the refs all the time. People don't like how he's bitching all the time. But, like, every once in a while, you gotta zoom out and realize there's some different happening. And with that dude, I don't care how you feel about it. Like the Lakers, first of all, LeBron James is, is, is making a bad bet right now because this, this whole sciatica thing is just him looking at the Lakers organization saying, screw y'.
C
All.
B
You gave this team to, to Luca and the white boys, which is my favorite, you know, band. Sky. Sky.
A
Well, don't, Don' Austin Reeves that he's not the star.
C
Don't tell who Anthony Edwards, who's number 12 in a game where Jake LaRavia dropped 27 effing points.
B
Yeah.
C
Then he captured his Instagram post.
A
Who's number 12?
B
The crowd said, who's this 12 guy? And it's like, that's what I'm saying. Nah, man, Austin Reeves is nasty. He's. He's definitely one of those cats who got out to LA and got with the right people, felt himself. And then next thing you know, you know, you got yourself a Tyler hero kind of situation where he's like, all right, brother, you can get away with this for a little while. Like, Austin, the league is. That's why this gambling shit is so ill timed, because the league. The first week of the league, everybody was on crack.
A
They had 550 burgers.
C
Aaron Gordon, right?
B
You got. You got. Wimy is out here being an extraterrestrial. Lucas put up 40 a game like. Like the Bulls are five and. Oh, like all this shit is happening. Meanwhile, you showing me Damon knows and Chauncey Billups dad getting perp walked. I'm like, you see what's happening out here? Yeah. Shout out to Scary Terry. We already. We always knew something bad was gonna happen in the end there. Like, let's keep it a buck.
C
Hold on.
A
That's my.
B
That. That.
C
That's one of my guys' guy. That's one of my guys's guys. So I can't. We can't say too much. RJ Hunter is really close with Terry, so.
B
No, no, listen, I rock with Terry. But, you know, hey, the jigging's up. You know what I mean? Like, it's certain.
A
Look, here's the thing, though. Pay your taxes. This is what I don't understand. Who thinks of taxes as optional. They're not optional. This isn't something you just decide to not do. I don't care whether you like the government or don't like the government. You can't just be like, I don't think I'm gonna pay my taxes. I don't want to. I'm a sovereign citizen. I don't have to. These laws don't apply to me.
B
Sovereign citizen dudes who get pulled over like, no, say, read this. Read this piece of paper that says I can speed it without a license, right?
A
Your laws do not apply to me. Well, why don't you come with me for a second and we'll work it out while you're in this cell for a while.
B
But no, Sam, Sam, Uncle Sam wants his Pay your taxes, man. Jeez.
C
Yeah.
B
Nah, Scary Terry, he's. He's One of those cats where you're like, if it wasn't for hooping, you know, like, I'm just happy the brother was able to make that much money, to be honest with you, because they got him in a bind.
A
Jason, what do you think the impact of Wes Unsell Jr. Has been? I keep hearing people say, hey, you know, this West Unzel Jr. That was a great hire. And I wonder, do you agree? And if so, why and how so?
B
I was one of the dudes who thought the first go around when it was Stephen Silas and him and Billy Donovan, like, when they were looking for a new coach, I thought he might be the guy that was tab to be the next Bull's head coach. He is one of those cats who can explain, relay and make people execute defense in a way that very few dudes do in the NBA, where it's like, hey, man, you know, you can either do it or not, and it's gonna come out like, yeah, I ain't gonna yell at you. I'm not gonna. Not gonna berate you. We ain't gonna have a standoff. You know what I mean? Like, mo cheeks, cool as the fan. Like, I enjoy being around mo cheeks. There's too many NBA players who have stories of not getting along with mo cheeks. And it's just though, there are certain guys who come across like, yo, I. I've been here. I've done this. If you don't do what I say, then to hell with you. And I'm not saying Mo was like that, but that's what. The opposite of what I hear. Wes Unsell Jr. Is. He. He's just straight shooter, you know, has fun with you, but when it's time to work, it's time to work. And you also got a crew of really, like, this is where having the. I won't say choir boys, but this is where having the good guys in the locker room pays off, right? Whereas, like, all right, nobody in this locker room is going to tell the coach, you know, f off, right? Like, nobody. And Wes comes with that. That kind of, you know, that understanding of how to talk to some of these younger cats as well. So now he's. He's one of those amazing. And he's not one of these dudes who's trying to steal your gig. There's always two dudes on an NBA bench who are like, you know, I was over there drawing up all this, but, you know, you know, really politics, you know, those kind of cats.
A
That's why I always resented Boylan. That's Why? Because. And Boylan, the backstabbing and the, the cozying up.
C
You want to talk about it?
A
Talk about him. I don't.
C
So then stop spending a segment talking about Jim Boylan.
A
Fine.
B
He was.
A
Yeah, we don't need that. You don't need that. You're right.
B
Remember Jim's app?
A
Jim Havert wanted a cephalophoid. Well, there's the punch clock. I remember cephalophoid. Yes, he called Chris Dunn octopus. Yes, he called himself right with the gills, the blinks.
B
Also challenged the entire team to push ups in Milwaukee one time center court.
A
Was airad Ilya Sova there.
B
Don't either.
C
I'm, I'm just trolling now, dude.
A
Yes, you are. See, I, I, I do think that the respect. I challenge them to push ups.
B
I mean, you know, it's better than Ron a, you know.
A
Well, if you challenge him to naked push ups, that's different. But see, if, if I'm an NBA player and the coach is challenging players to push ups, mine would be the, the, the Tony Dawson response. Coach, it's gonna rain in this before I run.
B
Actually, I thought you're gonna go with the Darren Williams because Darren Williams said that to Avery Johnson the year Avery Johnson got coach of the year. Said my guy Sam Mitchell was on the, on the, the staff. And Avery asked Darren to hurry up and go get taped up so they could practice. And Darren wasn't having it. And Darren came out there with no shoes and said it's gonna rain in this before I practice. So, you know, I'm glad to see generation to generation has been handed down and I'm looking forward to John Morant continuing that.
A
And your guy Avery, your guy Avery as, as a broadcaster, that is right where he should be. He should be right. Yeah, yeah, right there. Calling games with that, with, with his enthusiasm, his voice. I love him.
C
It's perfect.
B
Every's good people, man. You know, the NBA life is not for everybody in the coaches on side of things, man.
A
So let me also get your, you mentioned modest before. Everybody is all over the map when it comes to Modus's ceiling. And there are some days where I watch him and I, and I picture his, his grown up body, his man body. And I'm thinking, you know, there's, there's a real player in there and is he, is it, is it, is he, is he a fringe all star? Could he be a more like a better ball handling version of Lowry? Markkanen?
B
Oh, oh, Lowry is. Lowry had like a thicker base yeah, obviously, I don't. Larry can stroke that thing.
A
I know he can, but he's. But he can't block shots. Like, Modest has a nice knack for timing. So, I mean, there's some things there. I just. I don't know if he's ever going to be able to shoot as purely like that, but I'm just looking at size and. And if he could thicken up.
C
That's why I'm said. That's why I've said Pascal Siakam. That is why I've said Pascal Siako.
B
Well, he's not as oc as Pascal. Pascal's got a lot of going on with the herky jerky. Like, the. The thing I like the most about Modest is he. As soon as. As soon as he gets his way around the league where people. All right, we got to start calling this he. His rip through speaking to James Harden. His.
A
He.
B
He does things that, you know, when you're watching basketball, all right, He. He saw somebody do that, and he's trying to perfect it, and he's on Demar.
A
I was gonna say he probably saw demar do it.
C
The idea of. And then he's. But he switched hands in the middle of that layup, too.
B
And that's the thing, too. Like, he's got. He's. Dude, he's freaky. Like, modest. Modest has. Modest has every. And I'm so happy about it because finally you get a dude who's NBA size who we're talking about being the best player on your team at some point, as opposed to 6, 4 and under, 6, 5 and under, or 6 foot 6 and 185 pounds soaking wet in your 11th year. It's like, what the hell? You've been. You've been walking past the weight room for a decade now. Like, you can't put some weight on. Like, and I'm not speaking of anybody in particular, but it's like, come on, fam. Like, you know, there's more to being a pro than just coming out here and putting up points. And I think. I think Modest has that. That. That umph to him, too. Like, he says all the right things, but there is a. A level of disrespect that he has for anybody who's trying to guard him that I truly appreciate that. Like, the competitive cats do. He doesn't believe that you should be able to guard him. And I think it started. You go back to last year against the Lakers in la. I think it started there where he's like, oh, I'm on the court with LeBron James and there's a couple of possessions. Yeah, but more specifically LeBron, because him going at LeBron, you know, means something different. You know, Lucas, everybody. Hey, Turnstile. We saw having that last Dallas finals. Hopefully things change. They probably. Well, you probably have to put four real defenders around him. But him going at LeBron a couple of years ago really showed me okay. This dude, this dude doesn't. He doesn't think like the normal young player where it's like, I'm gonna take my time. He says those things. Right. Well, out there, I think there's a lot more, there's a lot more assertiveness and a lot more assuredness in his game. And, and he's got tricks and he's got things that. If his ball handling, when his ball handling gets cleaned up. Cause it's, it's decent now out. But when his ball handling gets cleaned up, he's going to be able to do whatever he wants. Then they're going to tell him to shoot the jump shot. Then the NBA defense is gonna be like, all right, you got to knock down some shots because you ain't bringing that in here and dunking on me. So I, I'm looking forward to seeing the progression of it. He, I definitely think he could be an all Star, but we all, I mean, and right now in the NBA, you know, there's so many guys who, that, that phrase that we used to use, we used to talk about all the time, like best player on the champion. There's a bunch of hall of Famers running around right now who, who won' a different championship. Right. Because of the third apron and all the other things. Second apron and all the other things that are happening in the league economically. So you just gotta be, you just got to be big two, little six. You know what I mean? And if he could be one of your big two, then cool. Then, then you're going, I, I feel like he can be like a 22 point per game guy, you know, a more athletic Franz Wagner. Although that Orlando thing is a little, little dicey because they got two dudes.
A
They need shooting, they really need shooting.
B
They need their best player to stop shooting.
C
True. He takes too many threes, he settles and there will be possessions where he'll just go to the basket and just get off me and get an easy two points. And I'm not saying shooting threes is bad. Don't get me wrong. I think it's great.
B
But I, when the right guys do.
C
It, rely more on that. Yeah.
A
Right.
B
If you look at his, his numbers over the last couple of years, he takes, he's getting to that weird Josh Smith territory where if you see how.
A
Much there is no other Josh Smith territory.
C
NBA Jam legend.
B
Well, if you look at it, look at his shot charts there. There are very few players who get the volume of mid range to, to long range jump shots up, up that miss the amount that he does. Palo Ban. Caro gets a lot at the rim and a lot at the free throw line. He takes a lot his shot. You talk about skill work. His shot is not where he thinks it is. And NBA teams just asking him to shoot these days because now you know the book is out. Hey, he's tough as hell. He's big. He can put the ball on the floor, but he can't shoot that thing like the Eastern Conference. This is why this year was so interesting to me. You got Indiana takes a step back or you think we'll take a step back with no Tyrese, you got Boston which is a mess out there there. Even though they still, you know, they got that crazy man as the head coach. So they figure it out. But there's so many second tier teams that could take a little sniff. I don't believe in New York and I'm never going to believe in Cleveland because they got two little people in the back core. Until that changes, I'm, you know. And also the, the force feeding of responsibility to Evan Mobley offensively where it's like, hey guys, he can be a max player. Just doing the, that he does on the, on, on the defensive end. The Bulls, Bulls have put themselves in a nice little conversation of okay, we can get back on par with the Atlantas and the Orlandos and the Indiana's that laughed a couple of years ago.
A
Atlanta, I like. They're. I mean Quinn is, Quinn is running some fun stuff.
B
He's great. He's a great coach, man.
A
He's.
B
He's a great coach.
A
Let me. I know you got a couple of minutes left here. I want to get to the showdown because I'm including you both in my showdown question that we do at the end of every show. Bernstein, why don't you start with yours and I'll get to mine and we'll just try to rattle through this.
C
All right. Are we doing the music, Maddie?
A
No. I don't know. Just, just go ahead. There it is.
C
All right. All right.
A
It's a.
C
There.
A
All right.
C
So this is for both you guys as well. What I'm gonna do is just go through every year since 2000. And you have to, and you have to name me the player on the Bulls who scored the most 30 point games that season. And they're. I'm not, I'm not saying, like if there's a repeat name, I will skip, I will skip other years because there are a bunch of repeats.
A
Okay.
B
All right.
C
2000, 2001 season. All right, can you guys name Elton Brand? No. This is the hardest one on there. He had eight 30 point games.
B
That wasn't Ron Mercer year.
C
It was Ron Mercer.
B
Oh my God. My guy. That's the first game I actually covered. Was his first game as a Bull.
A
That man could not wait to get the paper score sheet in his hand.
C
When he got back to the locker. That is a score sheet guy. Yeah.
B
All right.
C
0102 and, and 0203 are the same guy. In O2 he had eight. In 2003 he had 14 of these.
A
Is that Brand?
C
No.
B
Chris anstey.
A
Our test.
C
No.
B
0102. Jamal J.
A
Oh, 102.
B
Jesus. Why are we even watching him?
A
I don't know.
C
Jalen Rose.
B
Oh, still to this day, the greatest Gibson steakhouse entrance I've ever seen in my life. He had a Peyton Manning throwback all with a big white, furry Kangol. And they were like, right this way, Mr. Rose. I'm like, that's a guy who wants a steak right there.
A
Are you sure he wasn't applying for a score job sitting out there in the front lobbies?
C
All right, 04. This is a one off year and his, his name was already mentioned once in this pod and just, just kind of bounced around the league for a while. For a while. Really good player.
A
Not Eddie Robinson.
C
Just a score Pierce.
B
Oh, not E. Rob Salmons.
A
No, no, it wasn't E. Rob.
B
Brad Miller.
C
O4.
B
No, Brad wasn't there.
C
Better. Like, like better all time time. I would say this like pure score just got buckets forever for guy.
B
Buckets played with the fools.
C
Oh, yeah.
A
04.
B
I. I give up.
A
I don't know.
C
Jamal Crawford.
A
Oh, he said J.
B
Not bad.
C
I said he was mentioned earlier. All right. 0505 through 09 are the same guy.
A
Through 09.
C
So it's five straight years.
A
Is it Heinrich?
C
Nope.
B
BG.
A
Oh, that's right, that's right, that's Right. BG.
B
Okay.
C
Yeah. 2010 through 2012, same guy three times. This should be pretty, pretty easy right here. And then 2013 and 2014, there's one guy that tied both years so that like there are A bunch of names right here.
B
Here.
C
Because in 2013 there were only two. Nope, not Jimmy. He was 2015 through 2017. So that's. I'll do that one.
B
Okay.
C
But this is kind of the. The dark ages because this is when Rose was hurt.
B
Oh, Nate Rob.
C
Nate Rob was 2013, not 2014 though. But Nate Rob was tied in 2013 with two. And then there are three.
B
Oh, this is.
C
Yeah.
B
Joe.
C
Nope. Lu. All dang. Had one 30 point game. The guy that did it both years was Carlos Boozer. And DJ Augustine also had a 30 point game.
B
Of course, Tim's getting little people paid. Let's get it.
A
JL3 up there.
B
Oh my God. Mike. Mike James.
C
All right, we are. We already got 2015 through 17 with Jimmy Butler. 2018. We actually talked about him a good amount during this podcast.
A
2018, when did. That's pre. Zach.
C
No, this was Zach's first year, but he was hurt. Lowry Marketing.
A
Larry Marketing.
C
And then Zach Levine for the next three years. And then the guy after. Was that the other one in that demar. And then the last two years were Zach and Jabar as well. All right, all right.
B
Over the last decade.
A
Okay, now we're gonna. This is real quick. We always used to make fun of Jason for his. He has multiple college teams that are considered his teams. Obviously there's. There's Southern Illinois, but ever since Ashraf Amaya and Chris Carr, we're done playing, so we can't count them. So his. Jason's other two teams are Northwestern and Michigan. Okay, so I'm asking you right now, including two ways. First, name all former Northwestern players currently in the NBA.
C
Nick Martinelli. That's an easy one.
A
I don't.
C
Martinelli. No, no. Marnheiser. Sorry. Right.
A
Correct, correct.
C
I got him confused.
A
That's one.
C
Scrappy white guys.
A
That's one. They're all in. They're all in two way contracts.
C
All of them are on two way. There's two more.
A
Nope. Oh, God.
C
Vic Law isn't in the league anymore. Scotty Lindsay.
A
No.
B
Jesus.
A
Are they.
C
Are they recent?
A
One I've never heard of. The other is the son of a. Of a great player.
C
Oh, Pete Nance.
A
Yes. Pete Nance is on a two way with the Bucks. And this last guy, I've never heard of him.
C
Saw that recently.
A
Have you ever heard of Pat Spencer? Yes, yes, yes.
C
Oh, I would have gotten that. I would have gotten that. Okay.
B
Pat Spencer, 65.
A
All right, now, now fire away real quick and we'll be done. The 13 former Michigan players currently on NBA rosters.
C
All right. Gonna see one to nine. Jordan Pool.
B
Cool.
A
Yep.
B
Danny Wolf.
C
Yep. Is Trey Burke still in the league? I don't think so.
B
No.
A
Blessing on your head.
C
Oh, Caleb Houston.
A
Caleb Houston of the Jets? Howard Jet Howard of the Magic.
B
Nice.
C
Oh, God. These are. Yeah, this. Yeah, there's.
A
There's some good players. One was mentioned already.
C
I mean, Jamal Crawford isn't playing anymore.
B
I know that.
A
That this guy was mentioned. Dad, Anything? Anybody? They're brothers on the same team.
B
They're brothers.
A
Cause they're brothers.
C
Brothers on the same team.
A
The brothers have another mother on the same team.
B
Same mother on the same squad.
A
Yes.
B
Oh, well, the Antetokounmpos didn't go to Michigan. I know that.
A
No, these just.
B
Jesus.
A
They are Europeans. They are Germans. These are.
C
Oh, Wagner.
A
Franz and Moritz.
C
Wagner. Should have gotten that one. How did I get Jet Howard and Caleb Houston before Wagner?
B
All right.
A
There's some good ones here, too. All right. These are the ones you did not get. You did not get. Colin Castleton of the Magic. Musa Diabate.
B
Yeah.
A
Of the Hornets. Pelicans Center. You'll see him tonight. Jason Hunt. Hunter Dickinson.
C
Yeah.
A
Yeah. Not Forget Tim Hardaway Jr. Yeah. No, nobody said.
C
Makes it harder now, though.
A
Nobody said Isaiah Lives. Of the sun. Tim Hardaw Jr. The Nuggets. And lastly, Duncan Robinson.
C
No, wait.
A
No. Probably the. Probably one of the better players on here, Caris Levert.
C
Yeah. Oh, there was a chirp the other night with Caris Levert. Carrot Lavert was talking. Talking some shit. What do you say to Jonathan Kaminga? It might have been last year, actually, but it was just a hot mic. And Trey, I was just like, everybody calm down. Come on, guys. And Caris alert goes, you asked, bro. To Jonathan Kaminga. And drama goes, you've been traded effing seven times.
B
It's real.
C
All right.
A
As this has been Jason Gough. This was an absolute delight. Thank you so much for taking the time to join Organizations Win championships. And maybe as the season wears on, we will do it again.
B
Anytime, gentlemen. I truly appreciate you guys. Thank you.
A
And you. That is Jason Goff. That is Jason Bernstein. I'm Dan Bernstein. Don't forget to subscribe like rate, do all of the things and really appreciate the amount of you that have come out and joined us here so far as we have resurrected. Organizations win Championships on 312 Sports. Thanks to Maddie for producing and we will catch you next week. Organizations Win Championships. A Chicago Bulls podcast with Jason and dan Bernstein on 312 Sports.
Podcast: Dan Bernstein Unfiltered
Host: Dan Bernstein (A), with Jason Bernstein (C) and Special Guest Jason Goff (B)
Episode: Jason Goff – The Athletic Show on Amazon Fire TV and The Full Go Podcast
Date: November 4, 2025
Theme: A deep, unvarnished look at the Chicago Bulls’ present and future, featuring candid reflections from ex-Bulls analyst Jason Goff on team development, NBA trends, coaching dynamics, and franchise evolution.
This episode reunites longtime Chicago sports voice Dan Bernstein with Jason Goff, cherished for his prior Bulls coverage. The discussion delivers raw, witty, and insightful commentary on the Bulls’ early-season performance, player development, coaching nuances, and NBA trends. The conversation also zooms out into league-wide observations—peppered with memorable stories, offbeat analogies, and the crew’s trademark banter.
| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |-----------|-------|---------| | 00:56 | “I had a good six year run. We had a ball. It was something that I never anticipated doing.” | Jason Goff | | 05:16 | “Roles have to be defined. When Kobe comes back, he’s going to be the guy that goes and gets a shot in the fourth quarter.” | Jason Goff | | 08:50 | “Sometimes you gotta believe when guys are telling you what they are.” | Jason Goff | | 14:53 | “He comes in handy, you know, in a friend group. Right. But you’re not counting on him to lead the way.” | Jason Goff (on Patrick Williams) | | 19:03 | “This is the guy who’s going to lead the league in triple doubles. And I’m like… Jokic, right?” | Jason Goff | | 21:55 | “Who thinks of taxes as optional? They're not optional.” | Dan Bernstein | | 24:56 | “He’s [Unseld Jr.] one of those cats who can explain, relay and make people execute defense in a way that very few dudes do in the NBA…” | Jason Goff | | 28:51 | “He’s freaky. Modest has every… a level of disrespect that he has for anybody who’s trying to guard him that I truly appreciate…” | Jason Goff | | 35:20 | “That man could not wait to get the paper score sheet in his hand.” | Dan Bernstein (re: Ron Mercer) |
This episode is an essential listen for Bulls fans—or any NBA follower—craving sharp analysis, real talk about player roles, and the personalities that make (and occasionally break) teams. Come for the deep Bulls insight; stay for the stories and laughter.