EQUIPMENT

How Professional Athletes Find Motivation In The Dog Days



How do professional athletes drag themselves out of bed for those games in February and March?

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P you mentioned how being a pro and how you know as a fan we sit back and some guys you know 30 million a year how can you not get up for a Wednesday night game against the Washington Wizards place you know very very well now we understand the Wizards are an org

Organization that is you know not button up we’ll be nicer not a buttonup organization but you mentioned how sometimes it may be tough for a player to maybe get up for a two Tuesday night game take me through it well I wouldn’t know Bonte cuz I never won a

Championship so my thing is is if you’ve been to the top of the mountain right climbing back up there and getting motivated for a game that’s not say the NBA Finals is hard but nobody wants to hear that hey this guy makes this he should be able to it’s a thing called

Professional Pride right but sometimes you just get a little comfortable you know sometimes you get comfortable where you know you walk in a lock room you’ve been doing it for so long you know you’re trying to find a place to go to to get up for that game sometimes the

Three shots of espresso doesn’t work and you’re just trying to figure out how do how do I mentally get myself fired up for this game and then you know if things aren’t going your way and there’s kind of a a poll over the season and I’m not talk I’m talking about before coach

Decky died right I’m I’m talking about like you know here we go again mentality another tough loss and you can kind of see it happening again and here we go again it’s like it’s starting to be a self-fulfilling prophecy like turning that momentum around and doing a 180 and

What they’re doing right now and all they’ve been through like sometimes you don’t find moral victories at the highest level but sometimes you admire athletes for being able to get through what these guys have gotten through so now that we’re excited about a team they could have folded up shop they could

Have said this just isn’t our year we’ve lost all these big leads we’ve lost all these one run onepoint games we’ve all the lost all these close ones I said one run onepoint games uh and and you could just go the other way and the the fact that they’ve fought and scrapped and

Clawed and found a way to give that effort on a daily basis and get up for that game that so-called game against the Wizards and give us as fans an effort I think when you talk about fans like what do you want from your team we’re really spoiled in this region that

We have so many championships and so many parades but if I’m a a pain fan going to a game I just want to see my team give it everything they have on a nightly basis like that guy’s like selling out that guy’s diving for a ball loose ball that guy’s taking a charge

That guy’s playing with his hair on fire that’s what I want to see I want to see I want to see you gave me my money win or lose you gave me my money’s worth and when I leave I’m like damn they sure played hard tonight that team that team

Wants it I wonder if Travis Irby and Sao on YouTube feel like that cuz Sao immediately oh my god dude it’s basketball and Travis I don’t care care about how you can get up for a game people get up for work they don’t feel like doing every day for way less money

I get all that but we all have choices we all have choices of life right well actually some we don’t I get it I get it but some no think about it you’re playing the basketball game you’re a 10y year Pro and it’s a random Wednesday

Night in Oklahoma City and I don’t care how much you’re getting paid the human element does come into play it does ah man I’ve I’ve won three rings already I’m playing OKC they’ve won 20 games now this year obviously OKC is a lot better than they have been in years prior but I

Get why guy you know what man I gosh maybe it’s a stats game for me or maybe this game does nothing for me maybe I’ve already clinched an Allstar birth maybe I already clinched an all NBA birth or maybe I can’t play for those NBA births or those all individual teams or you

Know accolades that I can get after the season okay I’m not going to dog it but maybe that 50-50 ball I may not get to it that would probably tick me off but I understand why a guy who’s deep into the that’s why it’s special that’s why I say

We got to embrace Stephen Curry these guys don’t come around too often think about Steph Curry if he averages over five threes made per game he’ll break his record for most threes in the season we watched him Saturday night against Sabrina he still plays like he’s that 10-year-old kid in the driveway guys

Like that don’t come around very often that’s why we should definitely Embrace Steph Curry what he’s doing right now over the last two games Sheron 315 and five and we f just say oh that’s just Steph like that doesn’t happen you play with Barry that’s what it was like right

You just it’s like man this guy’s going to do something today that I didn’t think was possible that’s what Steph Curry does every single night there’s two things you can control attitude and effort on a daily basis there’s so many things in sports or in life that you can’t control but you can

Control your attitude and effort every single day and when you watch these when you watch these guys play like yeah you have a Professional Pride to get up and you know the best teams do Bonte they police themselves it’s not Steve cerr coming in the locker room and going like

You guys need to play harder it’s Steph Curry it’s Draymond going like dude that’s unacceptable we we’ve set a standard here that’s this and you guys are doing this and you’re bitching about this and you’re moaning about that and you didn’t die for that ball the best

Team I was on was the 2001a and we policed ourselves AR how had nothing to do with anything in the clubhouse we policed ourselves if we got on guys that that weren’t going well and it was the veterans the young guys and that that’s how you build a a atmosphere that’s

Conducive to success when you hold each other accountable when you can have that tough conversation with Barry Zito because he was out till 4 in the morning the night before he started he gave up five runs in the third inning like you got to have those tough conversations

Right and I don’t know I don’t I don’t know if the landscape has changed so much in our world and in sports that you can have those anymore I don’t know I feel like a guy like Draymond could like pull somebody aside and be like dude

Come on yeah got to pick it up police yourself and then the profession Pride takes over it doesn’t matter to me and I know it matters a lot to fans that you’re making 30 million you have to get up for every game you have to go out and

Dive for loose balls every single night because you’re making 30 million like I understand the responsibility that comes with making that much money but like then there’s the human element of it like that’s a human being and some fans will never get that some days you come

In at 6:00 in the morning I bet you’re like how am I going to do it oh yeah today but you’re a pro you’re a pro you work you work the post game you sleep hours you come in and do the morning show you have you have an obligation you

Feel like to be in a great mood every day so that people in their cars driving to work can be entertained ex exactly and and that’s the same thing that goes along with it God forbid I wake up like gosh I want to see lman in an hour

Nothing like starting your day with Sam Lin that my girl but Sam lman waking up gosh I gotta go see Sam Lin when that when that phone rings at about 6:30 p.m. at night God say love me to talk about the show tomorrow we got a show tomorrow

It’s a high point of your day be real it’s up you love talking to me you love listening to me talk it’s up there but you march on WE march on he just be a pro we be a pro know why we have to March out to get those Gucci FP to wear

Those Gucci dto Dior yeah come on FP you you you were ah I wish you played in today’s era when they’re doing all the videos of players walking into the stadium with the outfits stuff like you you know how much money I spent on suits for television

When I first started cuz I’m like I’m My Own Corporation it’s okay to be bougie and I would spend way too much money then you get a little sponsorship and you start and then I got I got like a photo shoot in a magazine for being best

Dressed D oh yeah I’ll bring it tomorrow oh my god Pocket Squires too pocket squ it was like oetkin and then me like we’re just like doing like things like yeah see this is awesome this is the stuff I’m talking about right here I got so many tailored suit just walking into

The stadium on the lapel inside stitched in I got my suits Taylor for uh I got my suits Taylor before the there’s zipper on one of my suits that says FPS fly oh my gosh oh my go BRS right now oh my gosh I don’t want to know the location

Of that zipper I need a job just to support my my clothes habit my clothes habit see that’s the thing when I walk into Chas in her sometimes I got the suit off like oh I know I feel good I play good the show’s going to be good I

Always man that’s the one thing I get jealous about not the well the Budd F has stepped up his suit game lately Fus has been on point lately point I mean he’s always been good but he stepped it up next L he’s on another do the pocket

Squares the pocket square I can’t do all that the tie he had like had a baby blue outfit on he had a Carolina blue outfit on the other night like that’s dope are you are you a tittis shoes with a suit type of guy no I don’t I don’t

Understand that yet and that’s something I got to get I rock the Jordans with the suit last week I know it’s a good look it’s a good look but I don’t know if it’s me yet yeah I can see that yeah I could see that I I like the nice shoes

The nice Italian shoes but the do like I am looking for some I am looking for some more I’m not going to lie man look at D to your point to your point though we we the last like three years in DC we went to like the golf shirts on air and

I just didn’t feel big dude like when you come on and you got the makeup on you got the tie you got the knot just right you got the pocket square you’re just feeling sexy about yourself on there there is something about that I lost when I started wearing golf shirts on

TV from a comfort level in a packing for a road trip that was great just fold up like five golf shirts instead of like doing the whole suit bag and the garment bag n see when you get to bring out the peac coat and the suits man I’m not

Going to lie you’re you’re not lying when I put on that suit and that button up and I throw that tie on I just feel different you feel big I feel different like when when heart surgeons scrub up and they put and they they they put they

Put and they walk through the door to do hard they better walk through that door standing as tall I want them I want them driving a Porsche I want them to come through the door see you’re my type of guy you got to get big dude when you

Step in that batters box you got to get big when you got the camera that red light goes on you got to get big you got to get big see I like this I like talking to you man see I like talking cuz you get it you get it you’re you’re

Cut From the Same Cloth as me you got to wear a right fits when you don’t wear that right fit it’s like taking a shower to B I don’t feel right if I don’t take that shower to B it just it throws me off I it throws me off you didn’t no

That’s not good I can’t get up at 5:00 come you can’t take a quick shower like 5 minutes your game took last night oh you must feel crapp and I’m going to work out after this and then I’ll take a shower you must feel crappier no I feel

All right feel all right yeah you’re my shower fonte oh God I don’t know how that sound I don’t know how I feel about that we’re going to take a call let’s go to sha in Oakland save the show please Sean in Oakland good morning man you’re

On the roast what’s happening Sean where you at where you at there we go thanks for taking my call anytime okay cool hey so you know overall what I want to see is winning basketball now there’s some sub chapters in the CL underneath that uh individually I would say consistency um

You know you never know what you’re getting for this dubs team from night to night these guys got to come out and bring the same level of effort and energy every night two um i’ say attention to detail we’ve always had turnovers years after years but the

Margin ER is a whole lot less so with this veteran Squad folks have to make sure that they’re button up each and every night that that comes with the veterans that comes with the coaching staff and then lastly no more all these blown leads I mean they lead the league

And 15 or 15 points or more with blown leads and so to me that’s a sub plot of coaching that’s a sub plot of being not being button up and so uh you know if you got a team up by 15 in the fourth quarter you gota you gotta close that

Game out and my bonus Point um you know we talked about or you talked about Steve cerr earlier in the year to me he’s had a subpar coaching year I mean anytime that you blow this many leads you make decision where you know Moody’s on the heater you take him out you lose

That game the two blown games at OKC those were just travesties you’re up by four and then Draymond fouls with a three-pointer with two seconds left I mean that’s just ridiculous and then lastly I’ll just say when I called into this show about three months ago question was about what’s Untouchable

Who’s Untouchable and I said Steph and JK and you guys said ah JK is not Untouchable hey unless you get a top five pick uh player back I guess I think you’d agree now JK’s a real deal and you got to hold on to him if for Cur need a

Blown a suspension to figure that out that’s on him so that’s all I got fellas all right good call Sean a lot there a lot there to un pack there all right call Steve Kerr’s job so far I don’t think it’s Steve Kerr’s best job we disagree on that1 FP because I do

Believe you got to have a feel for your team it goes back to last year you’re playing Anthony LA and Tai Jerome I want to see what John the kaminga has he’s my seventh overall pick a lot to repick who could be the bridge to the future he

Could be here what Steph Curry rides offens to the sunset or Draymond Green or Klay Thompson and you didn’t get to see him last season so that got taken away from him kind of like Casey SMI Yankee Stadium to start the season last year you took that moment away from him

Then he doesn’t come up right away JK I thought should have been playing in that Lakers series okay he’s making mistakes and I get you want to win a series but you got to let this kid play through the mistakes that’s how he learns that’s how he gets better possession by possession

Minute by minute now he’s plague and the fact that he wasn’t plague and it was out of rotation at one point this year that’s a knock on Steve Kerr that’s a knock on him now he’s figured it out and he started him and he has a look back

Andrew Wiggins I he dealt with him go ahead what if I argue that Jonathan kaminga has figured it out and that’s why he’s playing I do believe what if I put it what if I put that on the player I put it he has figured it out you know

Why patience he’s not settle it for threes he’s not just jacking up threes but but that making a right basketball Bonte it’s a chicken or egg thing chicken EG so that’s why he’s playing more but also but he wasn’t doing that early in the season but then you could

Say well he wasn’t given the opportunity I I don’t think he was given OPP you earn your opportunity dude nothing is given to you and you can’t develop and win at the same time so when you have a franchise in an organization that’s worth 7.7 billion has won four rings

It’s hard to let a kid play through mistakes we’re trying to win a championship no I hear it this team got off to a rough start though and last year they definitely weren’t a championship team and then you look at this year I just thought JK played the

First part of the season I thought he played looking over shoulder like boy if I make a mistake Steve K is going to pull me boy if I if I make this path the raw he’s going to pull me and you can’t play like that so that some of that’s on

The player no doubt about that psky didn’t play like that he didn’t play he didn’t play like that shoulders like I’m I’m good enough I got this I’m good enough but then he was also outed rotation for a minute now he didn’t sulk because it was his first year here JK’s

Been here for now three years and he’s thinking boy when I’m about to get my shot I watch Moses Moody get an opportunity I watch Jes wisman get an opportunity I’m watching paj and TJ De get opportunities I’m in year number three what can I get my shine what can I

Get my spot and finally I thought jk just stop playing and thinking he stopped thinking I’m just gonna play my game I’m G let it slow down I’m G be patient but also I think Steve Kerr’s given them that lency to play and make mistakes saying I’m not going to pull

You JK you’re going to get your 30 minutes let’s see what you do with those 30 I just thought at times Steve Curt didn’t allow him to make mistakes and know and and understand what you’re saying but wouldn’t you rather that that from here on out that you have the

Formula that you feel comfortable in and confident in No Doubt with this rotation and no doubt but it always felt like JK should have been part of the rotation I’d rather them I’d rather i’ rather them have it figured out now going down the stretch keep playing like they are

No doubt than doing it now and still trying to be tinkering no now that we figured it out and it took a Draymond Green suspension let’s not let’s not forget it took a suspension for JK to even be to even start playing it starts starting and also Steve Carr I think on

This team and what you lack athleticism guys playing above the rib think about the free throw discrepency they’re going to play the Lakers tonight and the last time they played the Lakers the Lakers were plus 27 on the free throw line in terms of made free throws

What does JK bring you he brings you a guy who could get to the free throw line who could at least Flo a game down hey I need a bucket one of the big buckets in the game against Phoenix Midway through the third quarter Phoenix is going on a

Run they’re looking to go ahead blow past the Warriors are up four they’re starting to streak JK says give me the ball I’m going out to the rack I’m getting this some bucket I’m getting to the free throw line they didn’t have that and so you get that element with JK

It was like it’s right there for you Steve he gives you an element that you don’t have because guys are in the mid-30s they’re getting a little older they’re less athletic even Chris Paul as well as you played this year you still one of the slowest players in this

League JK gives you a an opportunity a player where you get up and down the floor now you can get running now you can go Above the Rim JK the Open Court FP come on he can’t be stopped in the open court no I I agree and I’ve love to

Watch his his his development over the last month and a half is like most people over two or three years and and it’s happened quick why do it happened quick you could make the argument that he’s getting a chance to play but I I feel like there’s things that have

Happened behind the scenes where they’ve had talks and discussions doubt and like here like you do you like let’s go they’ve had to have talks with them no doubt behind the scenes say hey JK if you do this they’re going to play more and this is your game and I think that

Was more so the three-point line JK you don’t need to shoot about five threes a game one of the most impressive stats I’ve seen FP over the last 12 games is JK and Andrew Wiggins are combining to shoot just six threes a game that’s six threes between the both of them what

Does that mean they’re both attacking the glass they’re both getting downhill they’re both getting easier buckets and they’re allowed to Splash Brothers and psky to shoot the threes but they’re using that spacing that Steph clay and piski have provided and they’re going down Lane and they’re attacking downhill

I think that’s been a big adjustment for those two players there I yeah aggressive Fearless approach but but but but bont like if we were sitting here with Steve Kerr off the Record and he was one of our best friends and we’re having a beer yeah I think and this is

Just pure speculation and experience of how things go behind the scenes I think he would say something like yeah you’re you’re right like early in the season I’m searching like I don’t know I’m try I’m trying to find the right combination of this Rubik’s Cube to put a winning um

Formula out there late in games early in the games I’m trying to figure the rotations I was searching but on the other hand Jonathan kaminga finally gave me the excuse to play him more and let him go and early in the season I wasn’t seeing things in practice I wasn’t

Seeing his attitude on the airplane on the bus in the locker room doubt I don’t know this is just speculating obviously when the report comes out FP the attitude’s not there right yeah so now all of a sudden he’s giving me reason to play him he’s left

All the variables out of it like where I I want to play him now I have to play him now P jsky same way like he’s still feeling his way he’s a 20-year-old kid first go around the NBA now all of a sudden he’s giving me excuses and he’s

He’s letting me let him go out there and just do his thing where early in the season maybe I couldn’t so when I didn’t have the confidence in these guys that I have now I’m sitting here trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together and

Maybe I overthunk it a little bit maybe I was a little bit uh in my own head and maybe I could have done better like any coach that’s as good as Steve Kerr is accountable right maybe not publicly all the time because if you keep wearing it

Publicly fans are go yeah he doesn’t even have confidence in himself how much do you think him not having a contract has had to do with his decision I think rat ass about think he can ride off in the sunset tomorrow and if the Warriors don’t sign him back he’ll be the first

Guy on everybody’s list in theba doubt if I’m Steve cerr I could couldn’t care less so coaches and they they don’t think about that lame duck ears whatever Dusty well when you have the status that Steve Kerr has no yeah if you’re just another coach D you watch have you

Watched uh the Dynasty on Apple TV I watched the first couple episodes D bill bich was nobody when when he had confidence in Tom Brady y he he had been fired from Cleveland nobody even knew who he was really in New England was like the best friend of the

The the owner craft and he had the wherewithal and the guts for lack of a better word on air to see something in Tom Brady that maybe nobody else did so the behind the scenes stuff does matter like where Patriot fans are going blos are guy like he’s a100 million

Quarterback he’s and but behind the scenes Brady is like commanding the Huddle He’s Got Confidence he’s got Swagger he told Robert Craft he said I you know when they met each other he’s like this is the best decision you’ve ever made by drafting me in the sixth

Round like so he had that confidence in that Swagger to give bich who has forgotten more about football than we’ll ever know the confidence Ence right to say he’s my guy even when he threw the interceptions against the Rams and they lost to the Rams he’s still my guy he’s

My starting quarterback so there’s things that go on behind the scenes that we don’t know about that I wish we I wish we knew about right that there there’s reasons why everyone was pissed that kaminga wasn’t playing there’s reasons why you know Moody’s playing

Well and he’s not in the game like I I don’t know those and I’m not going to pretend to know them uh I’ve just never been a guy in my life that’s never blamed a coach I feel like I feel like it’s the players and those they’re accountable and I understand you’re

You’re mad about you know the the coin toss and overtime I know you’re mad about this you’re mad about this decision here you’re mad about the rotation late in the game but I feel like so you’re not you’re anti coach well I don’t like bashing coaches either

A son of a coach so it’s s it’s tough for yeah like steiny and referees I used to hear people in the stands yelling at my dad with his play calling and I I just feel like our society today we we want to blame somebody we always have to

Blame somebody like why can’t just things be how they are we got to blame Shanahan we have the one of the best coaches in the NFL people want to fire Shanahan we have one of the best coaches in the NBA and people want to fire better than those two guys well

They wanted to fire Cur some better than those I got nothing there and I have nothing on firing Shanahan but boy I got critiques on Shanahan left and right look Shanahan’s a damn good coach oh I don’t even want to think about the Super Bowl I watch the sounds of the

Game one sideline felt like they were winning it and one sideline felt like they were just surviving it was actually the sounds of the game made the Niners look embarrassing in that big game and Shanahan has a lot like I I don’t want to get started let’s go to

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