Daniel Theis On ‘Podcast P With Paul George’

PG speaks on Giannis game-ball fiasco plus Daniel Theis talks idolizing Kevin Garnett on “Podcast P with Paul George”.

Today, we share this week’s episode of “Podcast P with Paul George”–presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment–featuring newly acquired Clippers big man, Daniel Theis.

In the episode, Paul gives an update on his sore left hip and why he doesn’t expect the issue to cost him more missed games, as well as the Clippers’ 7-game winning streak and what has the team playing so well.

PG and the guys go on to discuss James Harden’s 25K-point milestone, and the game-ball fiasco involving Giannis and the Indiana Pacers and reaction to Draymond Green’s latest suspension.

Lastly, Daniel Theis drops by the studio to share his journey to the NBA, growing up idolizing Kevin Garnett over Dirk Nowitzki, winning the FIBA World Cup Championship, and more.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• 6:57 – PG ON THE CLIPPERS 7-GAME WINNING STREAK AND WHAT’S CHANGED FOR THE TEAM AND WHAT THEY STILL NEED TO FIGURE OUT

“Honestly I think it’s just we got reps. That’s been the biggest shift, we got reps. We’ve got games played, we got to see what it looks like. We’ve tried out different lineups and now we’ve found a formula that works for us…Now everybody kinda knows what part of the game, and where can I be effective in figuring this out. There’s just consistency, I think that’s been the biggest thing we’ve been able to wash away is being consistent to how we’re going to play and who we’re going to be and that’s just been working for us…We haven’t necessarily started games off great and that’s what we gotta continue to work on but we’ve figured out how to win.”

• 8:30 – PG ON THE TEAM NOT CELEBRATING JAMES HARDEN’S 25K POINT FEAT

“Yeah, we didn’t necessarily celebrate either… you know everybody congratulated him and was happy for him and proud for him…thinking of it now we should have had more of a moment, should’ve had the water, champagne, you know water shower in the locker room, we should’ve done something for him, thinking about it now.”

• 10:35 – PG GIVES AN UPDATE ON HIS SORE LEFT HIP THAT LED TO HIS FIRST MISSED GAME OF THE SEASON

“Yeah, it was something minor. For the folks out there, no, PG is not hurt, it was just…I mean I played 41 minutes the night before…it was just a small little thing. Talking to doctors and trainers I think it was just my hips weren’t aligned and it was causing a little irritation on my pelvic bone– I don’t wanna say the wrong shit. It was something to do with my alignment being off and it was pulling at my groin and causing irritation there.”

• 33:15 – PG WEIGHS IN ON THE BUCKS – PACERS GAME BALL SITUATION AND WHY ROOKIES SHOULD GET THE GAME BALL FOR THEIR FIRST NBA POINT

PG: “Yeah [giving a game ball to a rookie who scored his first point] is definitely a thing, that’s most important. Yeah, like that’s your first basket, you should get the game ball. That triumphs everything, everybody knows that.”

Jackie: “But what do you do in a situation when Giannis, and you score 64– say for instance you did it– and a rookie scored your night, two points and you scored 70. Whatchu goin’ do P? Don’t you want that memorabilia too? That ball?”

PG: “Not really.”

Jackie: “So you think Giannis overreacted?”

PG: “I can’t say he overreacted because maybe he values that. I don’t value that so I can’t be like ‘He overreacting.’”

Jackie: “I think he was more upset, it being a rookie.”

PG: “That’s more of like a home team thing. For Indiana to take the ball, they’re a road team, that’s where the problem lies. You don’t get that right to just take the ball, you’re the road team. The home team gets that ball. So, under that light, that gives Giannis the reason. And I’ve heard it’s beyond this game right here.”

• 39:40 – THE GUYS DISCUSS DRAYMOND IN LIGHT OF

Jackie: “I just don’t know what Draymond can do at this point…he’s a great guy, great husband, great friend. I guess I would say he’s a great teammate.”

Dallas: “Even from a teammate’s perspective, I’m not sure that situation is the best example of being a good teammate. The Rudy one, I can understand that one. I would appreciate that.”

PG: “…honestly I’m like speechless, I don’t even know what to say about it. It’s just crazy.”

Jackie: “And then it sucks because social media, oh my god, they just make you not like a person even more.”

PG: “I don’t like that they’re painting him like he’s crazy now, though. I don’t like that part. Let’s stop the narrative that he’s crazy or something’s wrong with him…like come on we gotta chill with that.”

Jackie: “We’ll just say he’s overprotective.”

• 1:03:56 – THEIS ON LOOKING UP TO KEVIN GARNETT

“I think that when I got into basketball, just watching KG’s mindset. The craziness he had on the court, he went into every game mentally like ‘I’m going to destroy whoever I play.’ He [was] winning battles in his mind before the game even started. Talking his shit against people, just getting into them. It was like for me it’s crazy, it’s nice. The intensity, he treated every game the same whether it was going into the finals or a regular season game. He went to war.”

• 1:10:25 – THEIS ON MISSING FIBA CELEBRATIONS WITH TEAM

Theis: “For me, I planned my flight home a little while ago. I didn’t see my kids or my family for like the whole summer basically. For like five or six weeks so I was like ‘Yeah, I gotta go home.’”

PG: “There was like no FOMO to that? I mean you said it yourself, this is the first time y’all done this.”

Theis: “So I think like…nobody really expected us to win. So nothing was really planned in the beginning and my flight was booked home back to Boston. They told me like a day before or something, ‘Yeah we might have like some people come to the airport.’ And I was like either plan it the right way or not. In a way I was like I probably could have gone home to Germany to celebrate it for a little longer but…I had my own little party at home…Party at home with my kids, my wife, everything.”