Rick Mahorn Talks Wild Bad Boy Pistons vs Celtics & Today’s NBA with Cedric Maxwell

Cedric Maxwell sits down with Rick Mahorn for a raw old-school NBA conversation.

Mahorn breaks down how the Bad Boy Pistons defended Michael Jordan, why playoff basketball is still about physicality, how he would guard Joel Embiid, Victor Wembanyama, Giannis, Nikola Jokic, and Karl-Anthony Towns, plus stories about Dennis Rodman, Isaiah Thomas, Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and the Celtics-Pistons rivalry.

From the Jordan Rules to today’s injury concerns, Maxwell and Mahorn compare the toughness of the 80s NBA with the modern game.

The two friends also dive into the 2026 NBA Playoffs, giving their thoughts on the Celtics-76ers and Magic-Pistons series. Then they reminisce about their careers and the NBA’s evolution since then. Cedric puts Rick on the spot, asking him how he’d fare against today’s big men and about the Pistons’ famous plan to stifle Michael Jordan. Rick also discusses his relationships with Isiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman and shares stories from the Bad Boy Pistons era.

⏰EPISODE TIMELINE⏰
00:00 Intro
01:37 Magic-Pistons recap
05:14 Rick and Cedric remember facing each other
07:44 What can the Celtics do to defend Joel Embiid? Recapping Celtics-76ers
14:13 How would Rick Mahorn play against Wembanyama?
16:57 PrizePicks
18:35 Evolution of the NBA, how the game has changed
27:02 Today’s NBA big men
33:07 Mahorn on facing Michael Jordan and relationship with Isiah Thomas
39:00 Mahorn on playing with Dennis Rodman
44:23 Achilles injury epidemic, how did we get here?
49:28 Evolution of player salaries
52:30 Thanks for watching!

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