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Speaker 1: The volume.

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Speaker 2: This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. What is up?

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Speaker 2: Straight Fire, fam, It's me Jason McIntyre.

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Speaker 3: Straight Fire for Tuesday, June sixth, And due to the

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Speaker 3: extra day between Games two and three of the NBA Finals,

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Speaker 3: we've got kind of a one of these slow news

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Speaker 3: weeks already emerging. Listen, this is what happens in June

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Speaker 3: and sports ladies and gentlemen, it gets a little slow.

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Speaker 3: So we decided we bring in a good guest today

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Speaker 3: to break it up. It just so happens. He has

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Speaker 3: spent a lot of time in Miami, done radio there.

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Speaker 3: He's now at ESPN Radio out here in La George Sodano.

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Speaker 3: He of course is a big, big, big Miami Heat

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Speaker 3: fan and has spent a lot of time around the team.

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Speaker 3: He's very optimistic. He picked the Heat to win the finals,

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Speaker 3: and for a moment he did not look good after

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Speaker 3: game one, after game time, all of a sudden, he

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Speaker 3: looks kind of decent, and we'll break that down. We

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Speaker 3: obviously will talk about the massive and I'm putting up

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Speaker 3: air quotes here story about Kyrie Irving recruiting Lebron James

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Speaker 3: to the Dallas Mavericks. Long story short, let's be real, folks,

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Speaker 3: that ain't happening. And it's kind of sad that Kyrie

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Speaker 3: Irving would be trying to push this on the media.

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Speaker 3: They would lap it up, which they kind of have

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Speaker 3: to do. When two reporters are putting out the same

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Speaker 3: exact story at the same exact time, come on coordinated

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Speaker 3: and now you see that. You know, Lebron's in the

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Speaker 3: middle of this weird situation. The Lakers are getting roped in.

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Speaker 3: We all know the Mavericks do not have anything to

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Speaker 3: offer the Lakers for Lebron. I think the real story

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Speaker 3: here is Kyrie Irving. Does he want to go back

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Speaker 3: to Dallas? Is he getting the offer from Dallas that

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Speaker 3: he wants, which is a four year max deal? Is

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Speaker 3: he trying to leverage the fact that, like, listen, we're

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Speaker 3: not that good. We've got me and Luca, Like what

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Speaker 3: exactly is going on here? Did he notice the Frank

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Speaker 3: Vogel move to the Phoenix Suns And that probably means

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Speaker 3: DeAndre Ayton is staying like there's a lot of play here.

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Speaker 3: We get into it with George Sodano and enjoy it.

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Speaker 1: You know, A guy Jason likes to think he knows

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Speaker 1: everything when it comes to sports.

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Speaker 3: I know what sports fans want, but for.

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Speaker 1: Everything he doesn't, he knows a guy who does. Let's

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Speaker 1: just say I know a guy who knows a guy

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Speaker 1: who knows another guy.

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Speaker 2: All right, let's welcome into straight fire.

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Speaker 3: I guess we've had on the podcast before, but the

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Speaker 3: timing now could not have been better.

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Speaker 2: He is a Miami guy.

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Speaker 3: He picked the Heat to beat the Nuggets and now

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Speaker 3: is looking kind of like a genius with Miami becoming

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Speaker 3: the first team to win in Denver in the playoffs.

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Speaker 2: George Sadana, How.

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Speaker 1: You doing, George, I'm good, buddy. Good to see you.

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Speaker 3: I thought I would detect a little more excitement from

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Speaker 3: you with Miami stealing one in Denver, but you just

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Speaker 3: seemed pretty laid back, like you almost knew this was coming,

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Speaker 3: Like you had an idea, you had a notion that.

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Speaker 2: To be able to pull this off.

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Speaker 1: Jason, at some point after two months, you stopped being surprised.

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Speaker 1: I think you know. I know that you've According to

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Speaker 1: my friends who have told me you've called them fluky

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Speaker 1: a few.

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Speaker 2: Times, they're happy.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I've heard You're on like their list. You're like

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Speaker 1: on the most wanted heat list at the moment. So

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Speaker 1: uh yeah, I mean, it's not fluky when you've been

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Speaker 1: doing it for two months. I think that. I mean, look,

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Speaker 1: let's take last night's game game two into account. That

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Speaker 1: was only the fifth best night they've had in regards

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Speaker 1: to shooting over expected shooting percentages. Like, think about that

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Speaker 1: for a second, Like they've had even better games in

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Speaker 1: this postseason from a shooting perspective, and yet they were

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Speaker 1: able to still beat Denver for the first time at

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Speaker 1: home since March, like somebody nobody had beaten them since March.

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Speaker 1: Miami had won there since Gorun Dragic, Rodney mcgrudersh McRoberts,

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Speaker 1: Luke Babbitt and Hassan Whiteside were the starting five in

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Speaker 1: the last game they won.

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Speaker 2: Is that before Lebron got there? Is that after Lebron?

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Speaker 1: Like after twenty sixteen, that was post Dwayne Wade injury,

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Speaker 1: Chris Bosh, Blood Clotts, like all that stuff.

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Speaker 3: So yeah, I guess, I guess the people who were

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Speaker 3: upset with me, Like we have an eighty two game

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Speaker 3: sample size of what the heat were this season, and

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Speaker 3: we know they were not a great three point shooting team.

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Speaker 2: They were not a great team.

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Speaker 3: They barely got into the playoffs. They lost the play

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Speaker 3: in game at home to Trey Young, and then they

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Speaker 3: rallied in the final three minutes to beat my guy,

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Speaker 3: Zach Levine, and then all of a sudden, they've turned

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Speaker 3: into basically Steph Curry from three, whether it's Caleb Martin.

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Speaker 2: Or Duncan mean.

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Speaker 1: They were the number one three point shooting team with

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Speaker 1: the same roster the previous season, and I think that's

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Speaker 1: where what people seem to just continually omit when they

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Speaker 1: talk about that. It's not like they're not capable of

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Speaker 1: shooting threes. They I had an incredible shot quality chart

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Speaker 1: this season. They just didn't go in for one reason

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Speaker 1: or another. Now, they also dealt with I believe, the

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Speaker 1: fourth most lineup changes of anyone in the sport, So

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Speaker 1: you know, there wasn't a lot of continuity there. Guys

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Speaker 1: were in and out of the lineup, so that explained

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Speaker 1: some of it. I don't believe that they're the best

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Speaker 1: three point shooting team, but I think they're closer to

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Speaker 1: the best than they are twenty seventh, which is where

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Speaker 1: they were ranked, because we saw that as a representative sample.

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Speaker 1: And you know, again it's no longer a fluke when

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Speaker 1: you're doing it for two straight months and you're shooting

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Speaker 1: the way you're shooting.

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Speaker 2: You could argue, So which are they?

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Speaker 3: Are they the team that was great at threes last year,

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Speaker 3: the team that was bad at threes this year, the

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Speaker 3: team that's been great at threes for about twenty games

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Speaker 3: in the playoffs.

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Speaker 2: Like it. It's tough for me.

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Speaker 1: They're closer to the top of the three point shooting

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Speaker 1: arc than they are the bottom of it. It was

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Speaker 1: infuriating for most people to watch them this year because

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Speaker 1: to the point I mentioned a second ago, they got

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Speaker 1: quality looks all season long. They just didn't fall for

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Speaker 1: one reason or another, and maybe the continuity was the issue.

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Speaker 1: But ultimately, this team come playoff time, has the best

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Speaker 1: coach in the sport, a guy who can certainly get

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Speaker 1: guys open, and he've got really smart players. And I

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Speaker 1: think that the fact that these guys have been there

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Speaker 1: in three of the last four years in the Eastern

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Speaker 1: Conference finals and now two of the last four finals,

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Speaker 1: for the most part, a very similar roster is back

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Speaker 1: in the finals. There's a sense of, hey, we know

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Speaker 1: what it takes to win at this point, right like

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Speaker 1: it doesn't matter what happened in the regular season, that

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Speaker 1: doesn't mean anything. It's what Eric Spolster has been telling

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Speaker 1: people forever. Another thing Eric Spolster has been telling people is, Hey,

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Speaker 1: we've had the most clutch games of anyone in the

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Speaker 1: sport this season. I think they're over sixty some odd now,

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Speaker 1: Like they're well over sixty five games now at this

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Speaker 1: point where they've been within five points with five minutes

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Speaker 1: to go and they've won I want to say, the

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Speaker 1: nearly seventy forty four of them. So like that's that's

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Speaker 1: not a small number. Most teams don't even you know,

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Speaker 1: most teams in a regular year are hovering around five

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Speaker 1: hundred at best in those scenarios. Yeah, so while they've

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Speaker 1: had those crushing losses too, they've had a lot of

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Speaker 1: experience in these moments and they're just not phased when

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Speaker 1: the game is close.

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Speaker 3: And then the counter to that would be, well, they've

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Speaker 3: had a lot of close games, are they a good team?

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Speaker 3: And then they have the negative point differential. I know

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Speaker 3: it doesn't matter negative point differential for the season. Meanwhile,

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Speaker 3: the Nuggets, I think it was like maybe tops in

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Speaker 3: the in the West, or maybe second whatever it was,

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Speaker 3: but they're used to blowing teams out, and it looked

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Speaker 3: like a blowout was coming.

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Speaker 2: In Game two.

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Speaker 3: At the end of the third quarter they go up

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Speaker 3: eight and then the Duncan Robinson show takes over. But

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Speaker 3: you mentioned a lot of numbers there, and then you

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Speaker 3: said they're a very smart team. And this is what

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Speaker 3: I think angers like the calculator crowd, you know, the

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Speaker 3: analytics folks, because Miami's.

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Speaker 2: Breaking them, literally breaking the people they are. They are outraged.

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Speaker 2: They don't know how to handle this.

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Speaker 3: And I got a number here, So I just saw

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Speaker 3: this stat the heat point differential through twenty playoff games.

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Speaker 3: First quarter they're minus one, second quarter minus eleven, third

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Speaker 3: quarter minus twelve. In the fourth quarter, and twenty playoff

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Speaker 3: games they are plus ninety. Nothing about their resume would

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Speaker 3: detect their plus ninety. And this is the one thing

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Speaker 3: that the calculator crowd can't quantify, is like the undrafted players,

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Speaker 3: the guys who really had to fight and work hard

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Speaker 3: just to get here. I mean, I know they have

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Speaker 3: Kevin Love, who is a top five pick, but and

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Speaker 3: bam Adebayo is a lottery pick. But by and large,

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Speaker 3: they got a bunch of dogs. They got a bunch

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Speaker 3: of guys who are working their tail off. Caleb Barton,

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Speaker 3: Max Strus, Gape, Vincent Jimmy like no quid in these

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Speaker 3: guys because they know what it took to get to

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Speaker 3: the league. Now, I'm not saying that Denver has a

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Speaker 3: bunch of cod old guys. I mean Jabal Murray's super

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Speaker 3: high pick, porter Gordon Jokich's second round.

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Speaker 2: But is there something to that that we can put

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Speaker 2: a number on.

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Speaker 3: To heart and desire and grit and all this like

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Speaker 3: the stuff that you can't really quantify.

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Speaker 1: This is gonna sound like I'm mythologizing them, but it's

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Speaker 1: the truth. I mean, they are open and honest about this.

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Speaker 1: When Eric Spolstra and everyone there says we're not for everybody,

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Speaker 1: it's the truth. They have guys that they know that

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Speaker 1: they can identify certain traits in them, right, and it's

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Speaker 1: not just the basketball stuff. It's a mental toughness thing

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Speaker 1: to not everybody can play there. I mean, remember that

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Speaker 1: there was this viral video like a year or two

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Speaker 1: ago of Jermaine O'Neil talking about how he had a

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Speaker 1: chance to play with Lebron, Wade and Bosh because remember

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Speaker 1: he was in Miami the previous season, and then he

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Speaker 1: made the joke I like Oreos too much, right, I

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Speaker 1: didn't want to. I didn't want to have to deal

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Speaker 1: with all the the the weight stuff and the way

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Speaker 1: they just kind of do things there. It's military school.

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Speaker 1: Even Lebron after the fact, left to Cleveland, what did

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Speaker 1: he do? He in a bunch of Miami guys, James Jones,

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Speaker 1: Mike Miller. I mean, there's a ton of guys on

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Speaker 1: that on that Cleveland roster that he brought in to

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Speaker 1: help establish a culture. So I think that that's one

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Speaker 1: of those things that they do really what they do

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Speaker 1: really well at They know how to identify certain guys

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Speaker 1: that not only physically will fit what they want to

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Speaker 1: do on the floor schematically, but mentally that they can

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Speaker 1: handle dealing with military school. And that's exactly the way

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Speaker 1: I describe it. So I think that's part of it.

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Speaker 1: And that's a credit to Adam Simon, who is their

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Speaker 1: vice president and assistant GM. I believe he's the guy

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Speaker 1: that mines all this talent going way back. Okay, this

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Speaker 1: isn't something that that is just a recent phenomenon. If

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Speaker 1: you look at their history, they WoT I mean, you

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Speaker 1: Donnas has them for God's sake, right is in this

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Speaker 1: twentieth season, he was playing in France after being at

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Speaker 1: the University of Florida. So they just are really good

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Speaker 1: at identifying this stuff, and certain teams are. Toronto is

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Speaker 1: another team. I think that's great at that. They've identified

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Speaker 1: a lot of guys over the years, Fred van Vlee,

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Speaker 1: Pascal Siakam, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. The Spurs

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Speaker 1: were once great at it and perhaps can be good

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Speaker 1: at it again, but they certainly had a knack for

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Speaker 1: that for a long time. I think it's just that

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Speaker 1: they just know what they're looking for in a particular player.

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Speaker 1: They almost treat it Jason like a football team. They know, Hey,

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Speaker 1: this guy fits this role, this is what we want

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Speaker 1: him for. He's got the mental toughness to be able

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Speaker 1: to deal with what we need to deal with or

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Speaker 1: we want to deal with, and where we want to

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Speaker 1: be and the expectations that we have. And that's it.

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Speaker 3: I mean, as a Miami guy, I'm wondering, have you

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Speaker 3: ever been able to drill down on what is in

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Speaker 3: that secret sauce for identifying grit, toughness, mental fourth quarter

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Speaker 3: capabilities because you know you can see it, like Jimmy

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Speaker 3: Butler's history, Like Jimmy Butler his story is incredible.

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Speaker 2: I've been a big Jimmy Butler guy.

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Speaker 3: I've been saying Jimmy Butler over Kawhi Leonard from my

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Speaker 3: Fox Sports radio show before Kawhi won the title in Toronto,

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Speaker 3: and I got so much hate for it, and I

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Speaker 3: would stand by it today. I know as a talent,

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Speaker 3: give me Jimmy Butler any day.

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Speaker 2: He's a dog.

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Speaker 3: But I don't know has anybody in Miami ever elaborated

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Speaker 3: to you as to what exactly goes into identifying these

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Speaker 3: undrafted gems. I mean, I looked up Max Struse, he

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Speaker 3: went to Lewis College, and then De Paul gave Vincent

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Speaker 3: UCSB played in the G League. I don't know what

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Speaker 3: it is, but I would love to find it.

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Speaker 1: Well, I think I'll give you Gabe Vincent as an example.

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Speaker 1: Gave Vincent Santa Barbara, a gaucho was a scorer in college.

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Speaker 1: But when they saw him, they saw the handle, right,

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Speaker 1: they saw the poise, they saw the fact that he

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Speaker 1: was the guy in college, right, and they they he realized, Okay,

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Speaker 1: I'm going to small school, right, I'm going to try

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Speaker 1: to do my best to go through the G League,

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Speaker 1: the NBA, all that stuff. They identified him and they said, hey,

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Speaker 1: we know this is what you're already good at. Okay,

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Speaker 1: you're good at scoring. We know you can put the

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Speaker 1: ball in the basket, you can shoot it, you can

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Speaker 1: your three level scorer. We're gonna teach you to be

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Speaker 1: a point guard too, and we're gonna teach you to defend,

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Speaker 1: because the way you're gonna make it in this league

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Speaker 1: from the G League is by being able to do everything,

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Speaker 1: being as much of a Swiss Army knife as possible

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Speaker 1: and playing a role. And not everybody is made for that. Mentally,

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Speaker 1: think about it, you're the man, right. Basketball for sure

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Speaker 1: is tough, I think in a lot of ways because

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Speaker 1: from when kids are very young, we tell them they're

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Speaker 1: the best player. Of course, you're the best player on

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Speaker 1: your team, and you know in aau, you're the best player.

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Speaker 1: In high school, you're the best player here in the

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Speaker 1: travel team, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, you're the

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Speaker 1: best player in college. And then you hit past college

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Speaker 1: and it's like, oh, this is different. There's only four

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Speaker 1: hundred and fifty of these spots, and a lot of

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Speaker 1: these guys take one of those spots up for a decade, right,

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Speaker 1: So it's hard to break through. And I think for

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Speaker 1: certain guys they just can't come to grips with it mentally,

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Speaker 1: and other guys they buy into it. They say, how

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Speaker 1: am I going to make a living playing basketball? I

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Speaker 1: got to buy into a role. And the Heat, for

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Speaker 1: whatever reason, are really good at selling these guys on

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Speaker 1: these roles, and they're good at player development. It starts

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Speaker 1: with their head coach. Okay, Eric Spolstra was a player

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Speaker 1: development guy. When Dwayne Wade came into the league. Do

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Speaker 1: you know who was working with him on his shot?

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Speaker 1: Eric Spolstra every day was the guy working on his shot.

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Speaker 1: It's why Dwayne, you know, not the only reason Dwayne

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Speaker 1: gets the most credit for it, but Eric was there

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Speaker 1: when he was developing that mid range game as a

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Speaker 1: young player. We knew how explosive he was and how

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Speaker 1: he can get to the rim, and but he helped

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Speaker 1: him find his balance with his shot. And that's just

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Speaker 1: what they've always been. They've always been good at just

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Speaker 1: mining talent. Forget about the Heat, go back to Pat

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Speaker 1: Riley with your beloved Nicks, John Starks, Anthony Mason, finding

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Speaker 1: those guys in the CBA that people look at pat

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Speaker 1: Riley and they say, oh ARMANI slick haare showtime. All

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Speaker 1: those things are true. But at the core, pat Riley

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Speaker 1: is Schenectady, New York. Pat Riley is lunch pale. His dad,

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Speaker 1: you know, worked in a factory. He you know, had

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Speaker 1: a rough upbringing. Yes, he was a star in college,

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Speaker 1: but pat Riley was more Bruce Bowen in in the

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Speaker 1: NBA than he was Lebron James or Dwayne Wade.

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Speaker 2: I don't disagree with any of that.

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Speaker 3: I mean, it's really unbelievable what they've cultivated there in Miami.

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Speaker 3: That being said, I've got to be point blank, you

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Speaker 3: had no clue this was coming coming into the first

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Speaker 3: round as an eight seed versus the bus No correct.

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Speaker 1: Right, I had Milwaukee in six, and then from that

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Speaker 1: point on, I'm like, I looked at the path because

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Speaker 1: I thought if they get Boston in the first round,

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Speaker 1: I thought they could upset them. I was very I was.

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Speaker 1: I mean on TV and radio, I kept saying, if

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Speaker 1: they can get the seventh seed, they've got a shot

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Speaker 1: to get to the finals. But if they don't, then

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Speaker 1: it's gonna be way tougher. But they beat Milwaukee, and

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Speaker 1: I know everyone's gonna say, well, Yiannis was hurt, this,

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Speaker 1: that and the other. Great true, no question. Yeah, listen,

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Speaker 1: when Giannis was off the floor, the Heat won by

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Speaker 1: ten points per one hundred possessions. When Giannis was on

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Speaker 1: the floor in that series, they won by sixteen points

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Speaker 1: per one hundred possessions. So they beat Yiannis too when

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Speaker 1: he was on the floor. But once they beat Milwaukee,

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Speaker 1: I was like, all bets are off. They can get

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Speaker 1: to the finals, and they can win a championship depending

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Speaker 1: on what happens. Now, look, there's a long way and

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Speaker 1: a long path from there. But I text you you

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Speaker 1: didn't respond. I felt like maybe you thought it was

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Speaker 1: a five.

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Speaker 2: I might have missed its where I said.

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Speaker 1: Your boy Tims is next because I saw you talking

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Speaker 1: about talking about it.

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Speaker 2: I liked the Knicks in that series.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and uh and and I listen, there was little

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Speaker 1: doubt I thought they were gonna be the Knicks, like

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Speaker 1: I was. I was surprised.

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Speaker 2: You're a favorite. I believe in Vegas. I believe Nicks

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Speaker 2: were slight favorites, not big.

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Speaker 1: They were not even on the They're not. This notion

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Speaker 1: that the Knicks were the more talented team was silly.

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Speaker 1: If Jimmy Butler doesn't turn an angle, it's a sweet point.

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Speaker 3: Well, well, Julius raydol now has surgery, so he was still

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Speaker 3: not one hundred percent.

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Speaker 2: But I digress.

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Speaker 3: So let me oh, okay, So we said nice stuff

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Speaker 3: about Miami, buttering up your heat, audience, because I got

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Speaker 3: to hit you with this, okay, and.

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Speaker 2: I have it in my phone here.

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Speaker 3: So in Game two, they had the heat, the I believe,

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Speaker 3: third best fourth quarter shooting the basketball in the last

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Speaker 3: twenty five years, eleven of sixteen from the field, historic stuff.

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Speaker 3: They needed Duncan Robinson to go off, Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin,

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Speaker 3: who is sick his little flu game, hits a big

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Speaker 3: three in the corner. I mean, it was a historical

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Speaker 3: fourth quarter and they survive when Jamal Murray misses a

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Speaker 3: game tying three that was online looked good at the buzzer.

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Speaker 3: So as excited as we are about the heat, let's

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Speaker 3: put in perspective. They needed a historic fourth quarter to

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Speaker 3: and survive a Denver game tying shot with no time

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Speaker 3: left on the clock.

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Speaker 1: That's who they've been the whole season. In the postseason, Jason,

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Speaker 1: they have survived or come back. They have seven wins

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Speaker 1: this postseason when trailing by ten points or more. That's

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Speaker 1: tied for the most. You know who's tied who they're

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Speaker 1: tied with? The Warriors. I'm talking about all time, Oh,

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Speaker 1: all time Warriors last year and the Heat twice with

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Speaker 1: Wade and Lebron and Bosh. Okay, that's what they that's

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Speaker 1: what they've accomplished.

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Speaker 2: Which of those is different?

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Speaker 3: Huh yeah, Lebron, Lebron and two Hall of famers, Curry's

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Speaker 3: Hall of Fame team, which what I would argue is

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Speaker 3: the greatest team of all time, and then the Miami.

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Speaker 2: Heat of twenty twenty three.

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Speaker 3: Right.

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Speaker 1: But again, this is this team is built like. This

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Speaker 1: is where I should This is where Colin needs to

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Speaker 1: be on to help you here. This team is built

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Speaker 1: like a football team. Okay, everyone plays a role. Jimmy

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Speaker 1: and Bam are the stars, the star running back or

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Speaker 1: the star quarterback or the star wide receiver and the

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Speaker 1: pastor however you want to however you want to label it.

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Speaker 1: They're the two guys. They're the central figures. Everyone else

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Speaker 1: plays a role. That's how this thing works. And again

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Speaker 1: it's still only the fifth best three point shooting night

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Speaker 1: they've had based on expected expectations per second spectrum. Right Like,

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Speaker 1: it's not even despite all the stuff you mentioned, which

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Speaker 1: is one hundred percent true, it's not even their best opportunity,

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Speaker 1: their best three point shooting opportunity. The two teams, by

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Speaker 1: the way, that were ahead of them, the Lakers in

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Speaker 1: two thousand, barely above them, I think, less than a

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Speaker 1: percentage point. And then the Spurs against the Heat when

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Speaker 1: I was watching that game, and that was game one,

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Speaker 1: if you recall that one, that was the air conditioning

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Speaker 1: game in San Antonio, Oh right, right, right right yeah.

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Speaker 1: And and even in that series, I kept saying to myself, Man,

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Speaker 1: are the Spurs ever gonna miss? Yeah? Sometimes it doesn't

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Speaker 1: happen that way.

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Speaker 3: It's listen, it's possible that Duncan, Robinson and company, the

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Speaker 3: undrafted guys, whatever you want to call him, they keep

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Speaker 3: up this in Fuego and stun everybody. And I mean,

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Speaker 3: Denver was the third largest favorite I believe this century.

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Speaker 3: After was it the Warriors obviously with KD and Curry,

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Speaker 3: and then the Spurs team that.

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Speaker 2: Faced the young Lebron Calves if you remember like two.

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Speaker 1: Thus it's funny you bring that up too, because ESPN

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Speaker 1: Stats and Info had this a couple of days ago,

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Speaker 1: where if you and it was in our slack I believe,

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Speaker 1: I don't know if they posted it, but basically, Eric

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Speaker 1: Spolstra is either three or four and one as some

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Speaker 1: of the biggest Like he's like, he's got like four

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Speaker 1: of the biggest upsets as far as Vegas was concerned

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Speaker 1: in postseason history. One of them was Milwaukee obviously this

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Speaker 1: year and then Boston, but he's got two other ones

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Speaker 1: from previous seasons too, So it's like again like everyone

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Speaker 1: wants to sit here and just like is befuddled by this,

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Speaker 1: but you know, the parts fit, the coach is great,

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Speaker 1: and they've been doing this for two months right like

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Speaker 1: this season. Here's some more numbers for you, because I

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Speaker 1: know you love numbers, and I know the calculator folks

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Speaker 1: as you like to.

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Speaker 2: Call them calculator crowds. Thet's so direct.

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Speaker 1: But here's another thing. This postseason alone, the heater a

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Speaker 1: shooting forty percent on open threes. Okay, by the way,

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Speaker 1: that's within a player within three feet right, a player

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Speaker 1: within six feet which are called classified as wide open threes.

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Speaker 1: They're forty five percent Like these guys are. This is

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Speaker 1: who they are. This is closer to who they are

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Speaker 1: than what they were in the regular season. What people

432
00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:17,760
Speaker 1: need to stop focusing on is an eighty two game

433
00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:21,280
Speaker 1: regular season which was completely disjointed for them in a

434
00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:21,919
Speaker 1: lot of ways.

435
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:24,439
Speaker 3: I've compared this team to the New York Giants with

436
00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:26,960
Speaker 3: Eli Manning when they were just a pedestrian team in

437
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,280
Speaker 3: the regular season. Then they get to the statoffs, Eli's unstoppable.

438
00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:32,879
Speaker 3: They go three to zero and win the Super Bowl twice.

439
00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:35,439
Speaker 1: And the parts, but the parts fit right when you

440
00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:38,280
Speaker 1: watch that team. The parts fit on that team, Michael

441
00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:41,320
Speaker 1: Strahan right, all the defensive line. They could rush Tom

442
00:21:41,359 --> 00:21:44,240
Speaker 1: Brady with four right, which was always the key to

443
00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:47,960
Speaker 1: having success against Tom Brady. So, yeah, like I could

444
00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:49,080
Speaker 1: give you something like that.

445
00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:51,639
Speaker 2: Sure, let's quickly pivot to the other story.

446
00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:56,520
Speaker 3: We're recording this Monday afternoon, the other big story. And listen,

447
00:21:56,560 --> 00:21:58,960
Speaker 3: this doesn't involve inn ESPN reporter, So we could be

448
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:02,040
Speaker 3: real here with each other at about the same time

449
00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:06,040
Speaker 3: Monday morning, choms of you know, yeah, he worked for

450
00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:08,520
Speaker 3: like three places, and Chris Haynes.

451
00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:08,960
Speaker 2: Who I'm sure you know.

452
00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:10,600
Speaker 1: Yeah, I saw those.

453
00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:14,119
Speaker 3: Both of them at the same time. Reported Kyrie Irving

454
00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:17,199
Speaker 3: reached out to Lebron James. Hey, Lebron want to come

455
00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:20,560
Speaker 3: to Dallas. George, Listen, We've been doing this a long time.

456
00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:24,720
Speaker 3: This is some really pathetic stuff, not from the reporters,

457
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:26,879
Speaker 3: from Kyrie Irving, because you remember last week he stood

458
00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:28,480
Speaker 3: on his soapbox, went on Instagram live.

459
00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:30,280
Speaker 2: Hey to all my fans, the.

460
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:32,880
Speaker 3: Kyrie Hive or whatever he's pretending to be like Beyonce

461
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:35,240
Speaker 3: with her beehive, don't.

462
00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:36,960
Speaker 2: Listen to the reporters. Don't listen to all this stuff

463
00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:41,560
Speaker 2: out there, George. We know Kyrie Irving directly fed this

464
00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:43,480
Speaker 2: to the reporters. Why, well, I don't know.

465
00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:47,560
Speaker 3: Monday morning capture the news cycle, extra day off between

466
00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:50,760
Speaker 3: Games two and three, and now Lebron is the big

467
00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:55,240
Speaker 3: story when we know what zero percent chance of this happening,

468
00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:58,359
Speaker 3: negative percents of this happening. There's no way Lebron is

469
00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:01,280
Speaker 3: taking a pay cut because they can't afford him with

470
00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:03,679
Speaker 3: the Max deal take a pay cut to go to Dallas.

471
00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:05,959
Speaker 3: Dallas doesn't even have any parts to send to the Lakers.

472
00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:07,560
Speaker 3: This is asinine stuff, is it not?

473
00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:11,360
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's crazy, but no, the reporters did their job.

474
00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:12,320
Speaker 1: They have to do their job.

475
00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:14,280
Speaker 2: Kyrie Irvan calls you a text. You you got you gotta

476
00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:14,879
Speaker 2: rub And I.

477
00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:17,800
Speaker 1: Don't know if it's Kyrie directly, but fair enough, it

478
00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:21,760
Speaker 1: could be someone in his circle. Clearly who they these

479
00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:24,240
Speaker 1: guys trust and I would I would understand why they

480
00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:26,840
Speaker 1: would trust a source like, you know, depending on who

481
00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:29,480
Speaker 1: it was. So if they're reporting it that clearly it's

482
00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:32,600
Speaker 1: a trustworthy sores And to your point, they both did

483
00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:37,240
Speaker 1: it within seconds or minutes of each other. Yeah, so yes,

484
00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:42,359
Speaker 1: it's silly. Kyrie is not. Lebron's not going to Dallas. Okay, Now,

485
00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:46,080
Speaker 1: could Kyrie still end up on the Lakers that I'm

486
00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:48,440
Speaker 1: still not ruling that part out of the equation out.

487
00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:51,960
Speaker 1: But I don't see Lebron. I know Lebron loves Luca.

488
00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:54,520
Speaker 1: I know Luca loves Lebron. But to your point, there's

489
00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:57,400
Speaker 1: no way to actually make this work without Lebron doing

490
00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:01,800
Speaker 1: something that is completely unpressent from a financial standpoint. First

491
00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:03,320
Speaker 1: of all, you'd have to ask for a buyout. Let's

492
00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:05,520
Speaker 1: start with that part of the equation right, because I

493
00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:07,720
Speaker 1: don't see to your point, the Lakers aren't making a

494
00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:10,720
Speaker 1: deal with Dallas, and Dallas has really nothing to give them.

495
00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:15,000
Speaker 1: So it's great for us for content, but then at

496
00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:16,679
Speaker 1: the end of the day, it's just us putting the

497
00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:18,720
Speaker 1: pin in the balloon, because as much as we could

498
00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:21,160
Speaker 1: talk about it, there's really not a lot of there there,

499
00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:21,920
Speaker 1: if you know what I mean.

500
00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:24,720
Speaker 3: Now, the other angle that I would take is just

501
00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:28,879
Speaker 3: what percent a chance? Let's say that Kyrie and Lebron

502
00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:30,560
Speaker 3: got together and hatched this plan.

503
00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:31,480
Speaker 2: How do we get this out?

504
00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:36,119
Speaker 3: There Is there an agenda where they are trying to

505
00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:40,159
Speaker 3: use this to send a message to Dallas, Hey, Kyrie,

506
00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:41,960
Speaker 3: don't want to stay unless you can get more guys.

507
00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:45,840
Speaker 3: Or is this Lebron's way of saying, Hey, Lakers, I

508
00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:48,600
Speaker 3: want Kyrie. Is there a world where Lebron is in

509
00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:51,600
Speaker 3: on this with Kyrie to get this message out?

510
00:24:52,040 --> 00:24:56,160
Speaker 1: That's pretty Macavelian, But I don't know if I would

511
00:24:56,160 --> 00:24:59,919
Speaker 1: go that far. I would say that those two clearly

512
00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:04,679
Speaker 1: have a relationship again, and I would say that the

513
00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:09,480
Speaker 1: Kyrie stuff with Dallas, to me, that's more plausible. Look,

514
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:11,360
Speaker 1: I think Lebron wants help. I don't think there's any

515
00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:13,760
Speaker 1: doubt about that. I think Lebron looks at himself at

516
00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:17,240
Speaker 1: thirty eight years old on two busted feet right, one

517
00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:20,520
Speaker 1: of them which may need surgery according to certain reports,

518
00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:25,400
Speaker 1: and I think he thinks to himself, I only have

519
00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:28,040
Speaker 1: so much left to give, like I've got to have

520
00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:32,280
Speaker 1: one more shot at this. And as much as there

521
00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:34,640
Speaker 1: are players on this team that I think he likes

522
00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:38,359
Speaker 1: Austin Reeves clearly Ruyachimura, I would imagine that adding Kyrie

523
00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:41,760
Speaker 1: would be something he would want. He has not been

524
00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:44,480
Speaker 1: shy about that in the past. So do I think

525
00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:47,439
Speaker 1: that him and Kyrie are on the phone actually this

526
00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:51,400
Speaker 1: out you text Sean's and Chris Hanes. No, I don't

527
00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:54,560
Speaker 1: think that, but I do think that there is. It

528
00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:57,800
Speaker 1: seems fairly clear that they would be open to playing with.

529
00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:01,119
Speaker 3: So you said Lebron wants help, Okay, what world is

530
00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:04,639
Speaker 3: Kyrie Irving helping? Because I don't know how you're getting

531
00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:08,919
Speaker 3: him without giving up a D and is that well.

532
00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:10,480
Speaker 1: I mean he'd have to come, he'd have to come.

533
00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:15,800
Speaker 1: They'd have to basically renege everyone right on, renege on

534
00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:19,440
Speaker 1: everyone on their on their balance sheet outside of Lebron

535
00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:22,520
Speaker 1: and ad which they can't right and then sign Kyrie

536
00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:24,920
Speaker 1: into space and then they could go over the cap

537
00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:27,960
Speaker 1: for certain guys like an Austin Reeves because they have

538
00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:29,879
Speaker 1: the bird rights, et cetera, et cetera. But then you're

539
00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:32,680
Speaker 1: looking at a lot of minimum veteran minimum guys.

540
00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:36,080
Speaker 3: After so you're you're envisioning Lebron, Kyrie and a d together.

541
00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:40,000
Speaker 1: Yeah. The only way they can do that is by

542
00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:43,199
Speaker 1: renouncing the rights to pretty much everybody that is not

543
00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:48,200
Speaker 1: available or that's not that's that's not under contract going

544
00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:51,520
Speaker 1: into this offseason, and then re signing a couple of

545
00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:54,359
Speaker 1: those guys who they can sign to their bird rights,

546
00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:56,760
Speaker 1: like Austin as I mentioned, I think they've got one

547
00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,080
Speaker 1: exception they could play with potentially, and then you're looking

548
00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:00,560
Speaker 1: at a lot of veteran minim Yeah.

549
00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:03,399
Speaker 3: So you know, I don't know if you like to

550
00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:04,760
Speaker 3: put yourself in the role of GM.

551
00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:07,560
Speaker 2: It's one of the most fun things ever. Is there

552
00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:10,080
Speaker 2: a world where you would want to add Kyrie Irving

553
00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:11,520
Speaker 2: to your team right now?

554
00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:16,440
Speaker 1: Only if I could line it up with Anthony Davis's contract.

555
00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:18,920
Speaker 1: I'm not giving him more than the two years or

556
00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:20,080
Speaker 1: whatever Anthony Davis.

557
00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:22,440
Speaker 2: Kyrie doesn't want that. He wants for it because Dallas.

558
00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:24,159
Speaker 1: But that would be the only way I would do

559
00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:27,880
Speaker 1: it if I were in charge. Unless here's the other

560
00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:30,919
Speaker 1: part of the equation, And I don't think the Lakers

561
00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:33,600
Speaker 1: will go down this path necessarily. I do think that

562
00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:37,159
Speaker 1: they are open to everything because they have to be

563
00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:39,720
Speaker 1: at this stage because they're in the Lebron James business.

564
00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:42,160
Speaker 1: And when you're in the Lebron James business, they understand

565
00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:43,920
Speaker 1: that you have to push your chips to the center

566
00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:46,399
Speaker 1: of the table every season. That's anyone who's been in

567
00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:51,119
Speaker 1: Lebron James business, particularly for the last decade plus, understands

568
00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:55,480
Speaker 1: that that's part of the job requirement. So, but Anthony

569
00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:58,760
Speaker 1: Davis is due for an extension, that's another part of

570
00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:02,320
Speaker 1: the equation that you have to factor in. What's that

571
00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:06,080
Speaker 1: going to look like, what is the expectation from him

572
00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:08,960
Speaker 1: from the Lakers, et cetera, et cetera. There's more to

573
00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:14,000
Speaker 1: this stuff with the Lakers roster beyond this offseason that

574
00:28:14,119 --> 00:28:16,919
Speaker 1: needs to be answered here sooner rather than later. And

575
00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:19,919
Speaker 1: I believe I'm not one hundred percent sure on this

576
00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:25,480
Speaker 1: that AD's extension is they can they can offer to him.

577
00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:28,080
Speaker 1: I believe either in you know, in the fall or

578
00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:30,720
Speaker 1: somewhere like that, before the season starts, they can offer

579
00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:32,719
Speaker 1: to him. I just don't know the exact timeline, but

580
00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:36,520
Speaker 1: it's definitely before the season they can potentially offer him

581
00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:37,119
Speaker 1: another extent.

582
00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:39,800
Speaker 3: I think Giannis has a similar situation, and so you

583
00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:42,400
Speaker 3: got to wonder, like Giannis is wondering what's gonna happen

584
00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:45,080
Speaker 3: in Middleton and Lopez in a holiday.

585
00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:47,360
Speaker 2: I don't.

586
00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:49,520
Speaker 3: It's tough for me to extend Davis, but it's even

587
00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:52,200
Speaker 3: tougher to envision a world where you give Kyrie Irving

588
00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:55,120
Speaker 3: four years. Lebron will definitely be going in four years,

589
00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:57,560
Speaker 3: and then Ad who the hell knows what his body's

590
00:28:57,560 --> 00:28:59,360
Speaker 3: going to be like in in his thirties, and then

591
00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:02,520
Speaker 3: Kyrie Irving is your main guy going forward. And that

592
00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:07,000
Speaker 3: is not something I mean again, you know, which is

593
00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:08,840
Speaker 3: why I would only do he Bus more than I have.

594
00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:12,120
Speaker 1: But I don't really talk to Genie Bus that often,

595
00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:14,600
Speaker 1: to be honest with you. I've occasionally run into her

596
00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:17,560
Speaker 1: and we've exchanged pleasantries, but I don't I don't really

597
00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:20,520
Speaker 1: chat with her very often in regards to basketball stuff,

598
00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:23,640
Speaker 1: you know. So I don't like to pry like that

599
00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:24,040
Speaker 1: first of all.

600
00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:25,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I want to ask, do you want to

601
00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:27,040
Speaker 2: get him get Kyrie over here?

602
00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:30,720
Speaker 1: Yeah? I don't. That's yeah, there's plenty of other people

603
00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:34,080
Speaker 1: I can find information from around the league without having

604
00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:35,560
Speaker 1: to go directly to the owner and put her in

605
00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:41,240
Speaker 1: a compromising position. But the in an uncomfortable position because

606
00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:43,560
Speaker 1: what is she going to say. She's not gonna you know,

607
00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:45,360
Speaker 1: she's not gonna say yes or no to any of it.

608
00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:51,200
Speaker 1: So but he ultimately, man, I just think that the

609
00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:54,160
Speaker 1: Lakers are in a tough spot, like they they clearly

610
00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:57,440
Speaker 1: are close, right they were in the Conference finals, and

611
00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:02,320
Speaker 1: I think though they have to look at their situation

612
00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:04,880
Speaker 1: with their two stars. And I'm a big believer of

613
00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:08,000
Speaker 1: the biggest predictor of future injuries past injury, and we're

614
00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:11,360
Speaker 1: now at the point, particularly with Lebron right where we're

615
00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:14,040
Speaker 1: now seeing this becoming more and more regular. With Anthony

616
00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:18,240
Speaker 1: Davis has always been things that he's dealt with, none

617
00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:20,560
Speaker 1: of them outside of the one Achilles thing he had

618
00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:23,280
Speaker 1: that one year that kind of terrified people, and understandably

619
00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:26,320
Speaker 1: so have I felt like there's been like this crazy injury.

620
00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:29,640
Speaker 1: But if Lebron were to have surgery this offseason, it

621
00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:31,840
Speaker 1: would be his first, at least to my knowledge. So

622
00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:34,000
Speaker 1: and at thirty eight years old, that stuff you have

623
00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:36,479
Speaker 1: to wonder. So that Lakers are not in an easy position.

624
00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:38,880
Speaker 1: They have to balance trying to win with an aging

625
00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:47,360
Speaker 1: superstar and also having to deal with what the rest

626
00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:51,960
Speaker 1: of that looks like beyond his time there, and that

627
00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:55,240
Speaker 1: I just don't know if you can strike that balance well,

628
00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:58,640
Speaker 1: is what I would say. Most teams can't balance that.

629
00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:00,920
Speaker 1: And that's not a knock on, right Polinka anyone. It's

630
00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:02,520
Speaker 1: just really hard to thread that needle.

631
00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:03,479
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, all right.

632
00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:08,680
Speaker 3: George Sodano seven ten in out here in La ESPN Radio,

633
00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:11,560
Speaker 3: Miami native, right right, native.

634
00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:16,920
Speaker 1: Actually you'd be surprised. Born in Manhattan, grew up in Miami,

635
00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:18,560
Speaker 1: moved when I was six years old.

636
00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:21,600
Speaker 2: Oh okay, nice, So there is some Knicks fan.

637
00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:24,840
Speaker 1: No, no, no, not at all. Actually, yeah, not one bit.

638
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:26,680
Speaker 2: Wait, shut that down, all right, man, Hey, thanks for

639
00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:27,560
Speaker 2: taking the time, buddy.

640
00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:29,840
Speaker 1: Good to see you, Bud. Thanks for having me on