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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Dan Patrick's Show. I love Dan Patrick. Away,
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Speaker 1: and Rob Parker. All right, it is Chris Brussard and
Speaker 1: Rob Parker. We are the Eye Couple and we're filling
Speaker 1: in for Dan Patrick. This is the Dan Patrick Show
Speaker 1: where company live from the Fox Worts Radio studios and
Speaker 1: Rob Huge News. The nets LaMarcus Aldridge, perennial All Star,
Speaker 1: was toward the end of his career obviously, but retired
Speaker 1: just today in a statement he released on Twitter because
Speaker 1: of an irregular heartbeat and first of all Man. Praise
Speaker 1: God that that was found out that you know, I mean,
Speaker 1: I have nothing but support for him. And this is
Speaker 1: similar remember Rob the Caress Lavert trade with the Nets
Speaker 1: when they that that's what brought him James Harden. That
Speaker 1: is where the physical is, where they found out Laverte
Speaker 1: had some health issues and that that could have saved
Speaker 1: his life. So, um, I guess if you're looking at
Speaker 1: it from a basketball standpoint, Rob fortunate thing this is
Speaker 1: secondary obviously to just his general health. But the good thing,
Speaker 1: at least we can say he had his full career,
Speaker 1: you know, I mean LaMarcus Alldres played a full NBA career,
Speaker 1: left his mark, you know, made several All Star teams.
Speaker 1: This isn't his second or third year where he really
Speaker 1: didn't get to fulfill his basketball promise and potential. He
Speaker 1: was able to do that, thankfully, And it's still unfortunate.
Speaker 1: But um, you know, you just you just keep him
Speaker 1: in your family, his family and your prayers absolutely and
Speaker 1: health his number one. We know that, Chris. Nothing else matters.
Speaker 1: You know, it doesn't matter people. Oh you know, can't
Speaker 1: you play out the season? No, you can't play out
Speaker 1: the season. You know, like he could have been Kevin Durant, right,
Speaker 1: or some other great player. I don't gonna throw out
Speaker 1: the name, but you know what I mean. And you
Speaker 1: still gotta put your health ahead of this. I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: I know, I know. You know, people think that athletes
Speaker 1: can do whatever they want. No, he's smart. Now we
Speaker 1: know why he didn't play, okay, And it wasn't COVID relay,
Speaker 1: to remember, they put that out there, Chris, So it
Speaker 1: was like, why is he not playing that? That was interesting,
Speaker 1: you know, and we were trying to figure it out.
Speaker 1: And now we know, and uh, I'm with you. He
Speaker 1: had a great run, LaMarcus did he really did a
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame rather you know, but he had a
Speaker 1: great career. I think seven time All Star. Yeah, he
Speaker 1: was a he was a guy who we all know
Speaker 1: played really really well and and uh, it's a shame
Speaker 1: that it had to and he had a chance to
Speaker 1: win a championship maybe, right, Chris is which could have
Speaker 1: been his final year, but it's not gonna happen. And
Speaker 1: I'm sure he was happy he got the opportunity. But
Speaker 1: once you once you get a scare like that and
Speaker 1: you know you have a real issue. You just you
Speaker 1: just retire, and I bet you, and I bet you anyway,
Speaker 1: the Nets will probably still either a welcome him around,
Speaker 1: Chris and then probably if they do win, give him
Speaker 1: a championship run. I wouldn't say, And it all depends
Speaker 1: on him. He's got a family, so he may just
Speaker 1: want to you know, he probably his family, I would guess.
Speaker 1: I'm not I'm just saying he's still in San Antonio.
Speaker 1: He blably just want to go back and be with him.
Speaker 1: But I hear you, like you know, we know, Rob,
Speaker 1: the camaraderie is a big part of sports which a teammates,
Speaker 1: and I'm sure there's a part of him that would
Speaker 1: like to stay around the team and hang around and
Speaker 1: and be with him in the playoffs. And you know,
Speaker 1: if they if they won the ring, I think it'd
Speaker 1: be great if they gave him a ring, because you know,
Speaker 1: I'll count on his record, you know, but I think
Speaker 1: that'd be great. We saw that with David Price with
Speaker 1: the Dodgers. Chris right, he opted out because of COVID.
Speaker 1: What happened. The Dodgers finally won a World Series after
Speaker 1: thirty two years, and and David Price is a member
Speaker 1: of the team even though he didn't play one inning.
Speaker 1: He got a ring and then he donated it to
Speaker 1: the Players Alliance, which was even class here, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean. But he did get a from the Dodgers.
Speaker 1: So I'm just saying it could happen. Do you uh,
Speaker 1: what do you do you think? How do you think
Speaker 1: this impacts the NETS chances? You know, if winning this championship.
Speaker 1: I'm not trying to poo poo his career or his impact,
Speaker 1: but it's about those three big horses, Chris Durant, Hardened
Speaker 1: and Kywee. Those are the guys that are ultimately going
Speaker 1: to get it won for them, you know. And LaMarcus
Speaker 1: Alders would have been a nice addition, but he's not
Speaker 1: going to be the X factor of whether they win
Speaker 1: or not. I agree. I mean when he joined the team,
Speaker 1: it was gravy, it was icing on the Kegan and yep,
Speaker 1: I don't even without all that great biscuits, right. I
Speaker 1: was told they were actually a bit surprised because he
Speaker 1: wanted to play for them. You know. It was like,
Speaker 1: I mean, they had just signed Blake, so they're thinking, man,
Speaker 1: I mean, with the cupboard is full, the covers overflowing,
Speaker 1: and then he wanted to play with them. He's close
Speaker 1: with DeAndre Jordan. You know, they both are from Texas,
Speaker 1: and so I think that played a part in him
Speaker 1: ended up with the Nets. But Rob, I agree with you.
Speaker 1: I mean, look, as we said, he was a terrific player.
Speaker 1: He was on his you know, towards the end. He's
Speaker 1: thirty five. But I don't think this impacts them. Now.
Speaker 1: He was playing center and he's a guy that at
Speaker 1: this point had become a stretch five, you know, or
Speaker 1: a guy that had those abilities. He hit some threes
Speaker 1: with them, and so he was good in that role
Speaker 1: for them, which would have given them a crazy unique offense.
Speaker 1: But Rob, I also think, you know, DeAndre Jordan's minutes
Speaker 1: were gone right when we saw him play last night
Speaker 1: against him bid Chris and then Bead had a big night,
Speaker 1: but his presence was there. You saw that he made
Speaker 1: him work absolutely, and that's all you gotta do. You're
Speaker 1: not gonna stop Joel embiid Okay, so let's not let's
Speaker 1: not be ridiculous. And he's gonna get his and Ben
Speaker 1: Simmons is gonna get his. But but it's about the
Speaker 1: Nets big three, and if they get theres, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean? Will that add up more than their
Speaker 1: two big guys? So right, I think that's where it's
Speaker 1: all about. When when you talk about the nets. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so they should be fine on the court. But prayers
Speaker 1: out to LaMarcus Allgigen his family. Um, let's stick with
Speaker 1: the NBA Rob Steph Curry. I mean, I don't know
Speaker 1: if you saw last night, but my man, this dude
Speaker 1: is on a tear. He dropped another forty two last night,
Speaker 1: eight dimes to go with it. Did they win? Yeah,
Speaker 1: they blew out kid. They actually you saw it. They
Speaker 1: won by almost forty I'm just kidding. It was Oklahoma City.
Speaker 1: So but fifty three to night before. He's averaged forty
Speaker 1: points this month, forty point seven rebounds, surprisingly two fifty
Speaker 1: seven percent shooting. Here's what I want to throw. And
Speaker 1: we talked about this, right, remember when Brian Horse of
Speaker 1: ESPN put out a couple of weeks ago that Lebron's
Speaker 1: already recruiting Steph to the Lakers. And we talked about
Speaker 1: it immediately, and it was like, and I was on
Speaker 1: board with you, like there's no reason for him to leave.
Speaker 1: You know, he's won his rings, his legacy is set
Speaker 1: so on and so forth. But I gotta be honest, Rob,
Speaker 1: as time and it's obviously not a lot of time.
Speaker 1: I mean just we're talking about a few weeks. But
Speaker 1: as time goes on, the thought of Steph leaving Golden State,
Speaker 1: to me becomes less and less egregious. Like I really
Speaker 1: am starting to think, you know, depending on how things
Speaker 1: work out, I'm starting to think it might not be
Speaker 1: a bad move for him. And and here's let me
Speaker 1: I'll explain my point and then I know you got
Speaker 1: out a viewpoint on this. He is still clearly at
Speaker 1: the top of his game. If they were winning more
Speaker 1: and they're twenty six and twenty one when he's healthy,
Speaker 1: they're won in seven without him, So he's he's bawling
Speaker 1: thirty one points a game or thirty points seven. I mean,
Speaker 1: he's doing this thing. That's right, but it's obviously not
Speaker 1: him because when he's on the floor, their record is
Speaker 1: actually pretty strong. But he is still at the top
Speaker 1: of his game. Some some would argue he's playing better
Speaker 1: than ever. I won't go that far, because to your point,
Speaker 1: they're not winning even when he's playing, and they're winning
Speaker 1: at a decent clip, not like they used to um.
Speaker 1: But he's averaging. You know, he's getting double and triple
Speaker 1: teamed at times even, and so he's doing it with
Speaker 1: not nearly the help he's had before. So that's the
Speaker 1: argument for him playing better. But that bottom line, he's
Speaker 1: still playing really well, still in his prime. If I'm Stephan,
Speaker 1: he's an under contract for next year, I'm coming back
Speaker 1: to Golden State next year, I would think about not
Speaker 1: signing in an extend in this summer and go back
Speaker 1: next year. You know, he's got to buy and ride
Speaker 1: with Clay Thompson and dre Mind Green. I mean, they've
Speaker 1: done great things together and so you want to play
Speaker 1: with them. But if the team struggles, maybe Clay's not
Speaker 1: what he used to be, maybe dre Mind's really starting
Speaker 1: to show his age, and they're a seventh or eight seed.
Speaker 1: Even with those guys, they go out in the first round.
Speaker 1: But Steph's still clearly clicking at the top of his game.
Speaker 1: Then my thinking is he doesn't have to leave, he
Speaker 1: doesn't have to go get rings. But do you want
Speaker 1: I won't fault him if he says, you know what,
Speaker 1: the last five years of my career or whatever, I
Speaker 1: want to compete for championships. I've been competing for championships
Speaker 1: the bulk of my career, and I don't want to
Speaker 1: just be mediocre. I as a team, I want to
Speaker 1: be somewhere where we have a chance to win. Not
Speaker 1: because I need more rings, but I'm competitive and I
Speaker 1: wouldn't fault him for that. It's you can't in this
Speaker 1: era where everybody's bouncing around, even the best players. And
Speaker 1: so look if they come back next year and Derek
Speaker 1: Clay's playing great, Drey's playing great, and they're a third
Speaker 1: or fourth seed, they go to the second round, they
Speaker 1: get beat maybe by the Lakers or Clippers in a
Speaker 1: tough series, but they look like we're right there. We
Speaker 1: can win another ring, you know, next year or the
Speaker 1: year after at a piece or two. Then I'm fine stay.
Speaker 1: But I think just based on your individual competitiveness, just
Speaker 1: based on I still want to win championships. I can.
Speaker 1: I'm starting to see rob and opening for him to
Speaker 1: maybe leave. I'm totally in disagreement with you. I think
Speaker 1: it would be a colossal mistake for Steph Curry to
Speaker 1: leave Golden State and the legacy that he's build. I
Speaker 1: just don't think he should wear anybody else's uniform. I
Speaker 1: think he could be in a class like a Derek Jeter,
Speaker 1: who played twenty years for the Yankees, never put on
Speaker 1: another team's uniform. Jeter won five championships, He's won three,
Speaker 1: He's won three. He had a great run, they went
Speaker 1: to five straight NBA finals. You know, he didn't need
Speaker 1: to do anymore. Then he's already done. And I'm not saying, like,
Speaker 1: you know, to just play the string out and I
Speaker 1: try to win. But Matt, imagine going somewhere else and
Speaker 1: not winning. It's not a guarantee that if you go
Speaker 1: somewhere else you're gonna win. Michael Jordan never should have
Speaker 1: war a Washington Wizard uniform. Chris he never should have,
Speaker 1: and he did, and he never won, and he went
Speaker 1: and he didn't even make the playoffs. So I don't
Speaker 1: like that idea. I think his legacy said step should
Speaker 1: embrace what he has. If I'm a Warriors fan, I
Speaker 1: would be bothered by it. I would I would really
Speaker 1: be bothered that this wasn't enough that from most players
Speaker 1: in a great career to win, you know, two MVPs
Speaker 1: and a unanimous MVP, and to win three championships and
Speaker 1: go to the finals five years in a row, that
Speaker 1: that wasn't enough, that somehow he would feel empty and
Speaker 1: would need some other uh some other accomplishment to feel
Speaker 1: good about what he's done. Most people Chris could call
Speaker 1: what he's done already a career and be way happy
Speaker 1: and and you do it, and they do have a
Speaker 1: bond with Clay Thompson and Draymond Green and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: you know, and and the idea that those three three guys.
Speaker 1: Uh No, he wants greener pastures, that he's he's outgrown
Speaker 1: this and he wants to move on. I think the
Speaker 1: testament would be if the band stayed together and Steph
Speaker 1: Curry somehow, some way could eke out one more you
Speaker 1: know what I mean, to cap off their career. Uh
Speaker 1: there at Golden Better. Yeah, I think that. I think
Speaker 1: that's a better story to me. Let's throw it out
Speaker 1: to you guys eight seven seven ninety nine on Fox
Speaker 1: eight seven seven nine nine six sixty three sixty nine.
Speaker 1: You're turned away in on this topic as we continue it,
Speaker 1: do you you know, how would you feel about Steph
Speaker 1: Curry leaving the Warriors? Should it be something he at
Speaker 1: least considers Robs I'll say this because I don't think
Speaker 1: like you painted it as a Steph leaving would be like,
Speaker 1: I'm not satisfied, I'm still lacking something. I don't think
Speaker 1: it has to be that way like, because I don't.
Speaker 1: It's not just playing for legacy like guys played for competition.
Speaker 1: Guys play to win in the I mean Tom Brady
Speaker 1: is a great example of that. He could just relax, Oh,
Speaker 1: I got my legacy, I'm set. But he just wants
Speaker 1: to compete in the moment. And that's what I'm talking
Speaker 1: about with Steph. You're right, I don't think he feels
Speaker 1: a need that I need more rings, and I don't
Speaker 1: know that. I don't know this, but I think it's
Speaker 1: possible if he went on another got two or three
Speaker 1: more than you start moving him up the rankings. But
Speaker 1: maybe a few more rings don't even move in past
Speaker 1: the guys that are ahead of him in the all
Speaker 1: time rankings. So it's not even about that to me,
Speaker 1: it's just about the competition. I'm still at the top
Speaker 1: of my game. I want to win more rings, and
Speaker 1: I think rob in this era, Durant's been on three teams.
Speaker 1: Lebron's been on three teams or four teams in three
Speaker 1: different cities. You know, they're the best players of this
Speaker 1: generation and they hopped all over the place and it's
Speaker 1: not hurting their legacy. So I disagree. I think that
Speaker 1: there's some people look at Durant and he'll never fully
Speaker 1: get the credit he deserves and as a great player.
Speaker 1: And we've heard some former NBA greats who have knocked
Speaker 1: Durant from moving around or joining the Warriors, and I think,
Speaker 1: you know, obviously the rest of his career has to
Speaker 1: be has to be written, Chris, but there are people
Speaker 1: who who who frowned upon that, and you know, don't
Speaker 1: give him full credit. So I just I don't think
Speaker 1: there's anything the game for Steph Curry. I think he's
Speaker 1: got a wonderful legacy at Golden State. They all adore
Speaker 1: him and love him, and I think he should be
Speaker 1: like Jeter and stick with his team until until the
Speaker 1: very end and never wear another team juniform. That's just me, yeah, yeah, no,
Speaker 1: And there look, there's a case obviously to be made
Speaker 1: for that, and I see the merit in that. And
Speaker 1: if he decides to stay, more power to him, and
Speaker 1: to your point, you know, they can try to build
Speaker 1: toward another championship. But I'm I just gotta admit I'm
Speaker 1: really starting to feel like and I think too, Robin.
Speaker 1: I threw this out. If let's say Brooklyn runs through
Speaker 1: the league this year, right, you know, let's say it
Speaker 1: all works out. They wouldn't lose one playoff game in
Speaker 1: the East, maybe win the finals in four or five,
Speaker 1: and and maybe do it as similar thing next year,
Speaker 1: like they become Golden State, Right, they become that next
Speaker 1: Golden State. Then you're going to have guys, rob I
Speaker 1: don't know where. I mean, obviously the Lakers, but who
Speaker 1: knows if Lebron will still even be at the top
Speaker 1: of his game at that point, but there will be teams.
Speaker 1: What if maybe Milwaukee and that Steph could go to
Speaker 1: and say, you know what, this is ridiculous. We gotta compete.
Speaker 1: Somebody's gotta compete. I hear you, but I don't you know,
Speaker 1: I understand that, but I'm not sure if it's Steph.
Speaker 1: Because we got a couple of people want to chime in.
Speaker 1: Are you ready for that? Yep? Let's do all right,
Speaker 1: let's do it. Hank in Virginia, You're on the Dan
Speaker 1: Patrick's show Fox Sports Radio. What's up? Hank, gentlemen, so
Speaker 1: glad to hear you guys early in the day. Um,
Speaker 1: thank you. Is no free agents go to like Indiana.
Speaker 1: They don't go to Memphis, they don't. So why don't
Speaker 1: we just contracted the eighteens since everybody wants to join up? Right,
Speaker 1: I mean they're actually talking about expanding. I hear you
Speaker 1: that we can't add any more teams, right, you know
Speaker 1: they're talking about that, Rob, Right, But okay, I mean
Speaker 1: you know, I'm gonna I'm gonna say a little something, Hank,
Speaker 1: Yanni State in Milwaukee. Give him credit for that. I
Speaker 1: love that move, Chris. I love west Brooks State in Oklahoma,
Speaker 1: as did Paul George. Remember Paul George State in Oklahoma.
Speaker 1: Aldridge went to San Antonio. Now they were a great team,
Speaker 1: so maybe that's a little different, but he still he
Speaker 1: went to San Antonio, which is a small dollar. You
Speaker 1: know this, Rob, Dame Damian Lillard wants to stay in Portland.
Speaker 1: So I think it's Rob you said it earlier. It's
Speaker 1: only a few guys, right, Hank, thanks for the call,
Speaker 1: appreciate it. Right, It's not as many, KD Kyrie, you
Speaker 1: know it's not everybody will in Texas. You're under Dan
Speaker 1: Patrick Show, Fox Sports Radio. What you got, Will? I
Speaker 1: ain't got a big fan and a big fan of
Speaker 1: the couple. Thank you for a time in here with
Speaker 1: you know what I think, step Rings you got any
Speaker 1: of them. But if you wanted to move to a
Speaker 1: good team, that's ah, you know, more a smaller franchise
Speaker 1: and probably could get a ring be something like san Antonio.
Speaker 1: San Antonio needs a definitely good point guard, and I
Speaker 1: think he'd be a great I think Rob if he will,
Speaker 1: I would if I was if he moved, I would
Speaker 1: really only do it if I was going to a
Speaker 1: team that was right there and I knew I would
Speaker 1: be the guy to help get them over to get
Speaker 1: him over there, I wouldn't go to just another good team.
Speaker 1: He's all right, no, no, you gotta do something. But
Speaker 1: I didn't have to be to push them over the top.
Speaker 1: One last one, Chris, let's squeeze in. Stephen in New York.
Speaker 1: You're on the Dan Patrick Show, Fox Sports Radio. What's up, Stephen? Stephen?
Speaker 1: All right, let's do Nate Nate in Texas. Nate, You're
Speaker 1: on the Dan Patrick Show. Hey guys, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1: You're the last show. I listened to you yesterday in
Speaker 1: the first one. I listened to you this morning. You
Speaker 1: got a blessed life, man, Thank you. It's a real treat.
Speaker 1: So I just rob, I think you hit the nail
Speaker 1: on the head last night on the Odd Couple. He's
Speaker 1: already won some titles at Golden State. I think it's
Speaker 1: best for him to stay there. You know, if he
Speaker 1: hadn't won any titles with them and he wanted to
Speaker 1: go get a title somewhere else, I'm okay with that.
Speaker 1: But I love him staying in Golden State and being
Speaker 1: true to that organization. You just don't see it enough
Speaker 1: these days. It's true and they love him there. He's
Speaker 1: making Chris was he making forty million, fifty million dollars
Speaker 1: a year or something? He'll be making more? Yeah, no, right,
Speaker 1: I mean, and and he's the king of that city.
Speaker 1: I will say, helped build that new arena in San Francisco.
Speaker 1: And you know, yeah, that wasn't a big They weren't
Speaker 1: a great franchise. You know, they hadn't one of forty years. Right,
Speaker 1: But here's the look he would I imagine Golden State
Speaker 1: fans would be down on him for a little while
Speaker 1: you know, but you know it will wear off and
Speaker 1: when he retired, or even late in his career, when
Speaker 1: he went back, it would be all love. But all right,
Speaker 1: it is the Eye Couple. Chris Bruce R. Rob Parker
Speaker 1: filling in for Dan Patrick. This is the Dan Patrick Show.
Speaker 1: Our good friend Howard Beck from Sports Illustrated will join
Speaker 1: us in a few minutes. Keep it locked, Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to The Dan Patrick Show podcast. Be
Speaker 1: sure to catch us live every weekday morning nine to
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Speaker 1: Find your local station for The Dan Patrick Show at
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Speaker 1: or stream us live on the Peacock Act. All right,
Speaker 1: this is the Dan Patrick Show. I'm Chris Bruce Had
Speaker 1: alongside my partner Rob Parker. We are the Eye Couple
Speaker 1: and we're filling in for Dan on the Dan Patrick Show.
Speaker 1: We're coming to live from the Fox Sports Radio studios.
Speaker 1: Now get ready, folks, The Fight of a lifetime with
Speaker 1: Chriiller Fight Club is coming up. Ben Ashtren, the former
Speaker 1: Bellatour and One Championship champion, is one of the headliners
Speaker 1: of a Great Night of Fights from Atlanta, April seventeenth.
Speaker 1: That's this Saturday. It's on pay per view, and beyond
Speaker 1: the fighting, it's gonna be an iconic music event because
Speaker 1: they've got Justin Bieber, Dip Low, Dojakat, and the debut
Speaker 1: of the supergroup Mount Westmore featuring Snoop Dog, some of
Speaker 1: the icons of hip hop, Snoop Dog, ice Cube, two Short,
Speaker 1: and E forty. Come on, you need, not want, you
Speaker 1: need to get in on this action. It's this Saturday,
Speaker 1: April seventeenth, nine Eastern only on pay per view. Order
Speaker 1: the fight now at Chiller fight club dot com. That
Speaker 1: it's a supergroup for you, Rob, big time, no doubt.
Speaker 1: It sounds like it's gonna be something and people will
Speaker 1: be hyped so much. You know, it's more than just
Speaker 1: a fight, Chris, You know what I mean. You got
Speaker 1: all the entertainment, all the other stuff around it. It's
Speaker 1: an event, Rob, I don't know, did you hear? Snoop
Speaker 1: Dog was hilarious when he called the Jake Paul Nate
Speaker 1: Robinson fight, and I felt for Nate. I mean, that
Speaker 1: wasn't funny, But Snoop Dogs commentary was hilarious and so yeah,
Speaker 1: Rob's a little I've been told a little birdie whispered
Speaker 1: in my ear. Rob's not down with Mount Westmore, He's
Speaker 1: down with Motown. Motown. You already know it. Come on now,
Speaker 1: I spent twenty years in that city. I love Detroit.
Speaker 1: So you got Emminem and Royce the five nine, that's
Speaker 1: your mount. Yes. A matter of fact, I had a
Speaker 1: local sports show on local TV and Detroit Chris called
Speaker 1: Sports Rap r Ap. It was sports and hip hop
Speaker 1: right right, and Royster five nine he performed on our
Speaker 1: show Can you want Yes? Now? Was he out already
Speaker 1: or he wasn't that big? He was? He was out,
Speaker 1: but he wasn't as big as he got, but he
Speaker 1: came on and when we would he came into the
Speaker 1: studio and y'all gonna beat and no, he would we
Speaker 1: would have a rapper. I did the show with Ron Rice,
Speaker 1: who used to play for the Detroit Lions, and Reggie
Speaker 1: Redd was a big DJ in UH radio DJ in Detroit,
Speaker 1: and Uh these guys would come in and we would
Speaker 1: do give them the last four minutes Chris to perform
Speaker 1: on the show. And when I knew the show was
Speaker 1: a hit was because all the rappers wanted to be on.
Speaker 1: You know, if it's corny, you know they would be
Speaker 1: like that. Yeah, so we had is that Is that unbelievable? Cool? Yeah? Yeah?
Speaker 1: All right, all right, okay, well we're gonna welcome in
Speaker 1: our next guest. He's a Sports Illustrated NBA senior writer,
Speaker 1: good friend of both of ours. We go way back
Speaker 1: in the business. Howard Beck. Howard's gentlemen, good, good morning.
Speaker 1: I'm not used to talking to you this time of
Speaker 1: the day all over. I know you're like what they're
Speaker 1: here too. I'm used to talking to him midnight. But um, yeah,
Speaker 1: so Howard, letting look the news of the day. Obviously,
Speaker 1: LaMarcus Aldridge, we all support his decision. It's just very unfortunate,
Speaker 1: but at least he's you know, healthy. Um. Do you
Speaker 1: think this impacts the nets, you know, march for a
Speaker 1: championship on some level? Yes? Um, I know. You know
Speaker 1: people were all over the map about you know, was
Speaker 1: it unfair they could get Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge
Speaker 1: on bios. You know those guys are washed. It doesn't
Speaker 1: make a difference. You know. My view of it has
Speaker 1: been all along Obviously they weren't getting the All Star
Speaker 1: version of LaMarcus Aldridge. You know, it's been a couple
Speaker 1: of years, but you know he did make the All
Speaker 1: Star Team as recently as two years ago and twenty
Speaker 1: nine team. It's not that they were getting another All Star,
Speaker 1: It's that they were getting a steady hand, an experienced
Speaker 1: veteran player who's seen it all, done it all, who
Speaker 1: still has a skill set, who can still bang with
Speaker 1: the bags, who can still hit mid range shots, who
Speaker 1: can rebound a little, and provide some stability in an
Speaker 1: a front court that needed some reinforcements in the wake
Speaker 1: of the Harden trade back in January when they gave
Speaker 1: up Jared Allen. And he's not that he's not Jared Allen,
Speaker 1: but anybody they could get to fortify their front court,
Speaker 1: especially when you figure there eventually probably going to have
Speaker 1: to go through the team that they played last night,
Speaker 1: the Sixers. And Joel Embiid. Yeah, I think he matters,
Speaker 1: and I think now losing him to retirement suddenly and
Speaker 1: unexpectedly will potentially matter. Now, Look, there's a number of
Speaker 1: different ways to deal with a guy like Joel Embiid.
Speaker 1: No one stopping Joel Embiid. That's a given. But the
Speaker 1: more you know, experienced physical bigs you have around to
Speaker 1: deal with guys like him when necessary, the better off
Speaker 1: you are. So like, they didn't just lose an All star. No,
Speaker 1: they have, when healthy, the most potent three star lineup
Speaker 1: in the league. But that doesn't mean it doesn't matter
Speaker 1: that you've lost this guy. Let me let me last
Speaker 1: night you talked about Philadelphia and Chris and I were
Speaker 1: anticipating and wanted to really see that game, and I
Speaker 1: wound up watching the Golden Girls rerun instead. But just
Speaker 1: the NBA, you know, with the guys sitting out and
Speaker 1: resting and you know, not playing in these big national games.
Speaker 1: And I know it was addressed a couple of years ago,
Speaker 1: but Howard, uh, this is bad business for the NBA
Speaker 1: when when guys sit out and don't play in these games.
Speaker 1: How can we get this corrected? Because last night I
Speaker 1: think the Clippers also sat down four guys. I know
Speaker 1: they were playing the Pistons in Detroit and they won
Speaker 1: the game anyway without their four main players. But this
Speaker 1: is a problem I think in the NBA. Am I wrong? Yeah,
Speaker 1: You're not wrong? And Rob, it's I just I don't
Speaker 1: think that we can have this particular debate in a
Speaker 1: meaningful way in the midst of this particular season, because,
Speaker 1: especially in the second half of this season, the league
Speaker 1: has jammed in as many games as possible to make
Speaker 1: up with the games that had to be postponed in
Speaker 1: the first half the season when they restarted during the
Speaker 1: absolute worst part of the pandemic, and as a result
Speaker 1: had to have a lot of postponements because of either
Speaker 1: infections or contact tracing. So what happened now is a
Speaker 1: combination of things. We've got too many games packed in,
Speaker 1: We've got guys like Jamal Murray going down, and you know,
Speaker 1: we never know, you know, was it because of too
Speaker 1: many games and too many minutes or two the schedule?
Speaker 1: I will never know, right, But teams are trying to
Speaker 1: and players are trying to be careful when they can.
Speaker 1: And let's not forget nobody has Kevin Durant in his
Speaker 1: first season back from a two year layoff after tearing
Speaker 1: in his achilles, the worst injury in the NBA, and
Speaker 1: so it's reasonable on the second night of a back
Speaker 1: to back that he was going to rest. Harden was
Speaker 1: already out because of injury. So it's not like they
Speaker 1: were trying to rest two of their three stars. It
Speaker 1: just happened this way. And you could say, well, they
Speaker 1: shouldn't have played Durant the day before at Minnesota. But
Speaker 1: like you can't tell coaches how to plan out the
Speaker 1: rotation from day to day. You know that he's gonna
Speaker 1: miss one of the two games. And if you think,
Speaker 1: look without him and Kyrie's not on the road trip,
Speaker 1: we don't want to lose a game to Minnesota, of
Speaker 1: all teams, in this weird day game that you know,
Speaker 1: I was postponed from the night before, and there's just
Speaker 1: so many circumstances. I know, but even before the pandemic award,
Speaker 1: and I'm of course, it's just that we've had this before.
Speaker 1: I remember when Popovich was was fine two hundred and
Speaker 1: fifty thousand dollars by David Stern. You remember he sent
Speaker 1: home Genobly and Duncan and Tony Parker and Danny and
Speaker 1: even half Greeny. Do you remember that they all went,
Speaker 1: They sent him on a plane and that was a
Speaker 1: game against Miami. You know, it was a big national game,
Speaker 1: and this has happened, you know, Howard, don't you think
Speaker 1: the owners will address this and the league, which obviously
Speaker 1: address it well. So they already they already did address
Speaker 1: it in the wake of the incident you're talking about
Speaker 1: with the Spurs back in the day. Um. That feels
Speaker 1: like a thousand years ago by the way, UM. And
Speaker 1: and they did create new rules in the wake of that,
Speaker 1: and I think they tightened up again even a couple
Speaker 1: of years ago about um, you know, not resting guys
Speaker 1: on national games and you know a certain or not
Speaker 1: resting multiple guys in national games, UM, and a certain
Speaker 1: amount of notification that has to be done beforehand with
Speaker 1: the league. You know, what the Spurs did was was
Speaker 1: kind of thumbing their nose that time that that was
Speaker 1: like an extreme example, and it was done in a
Speaker 1: way that that you know, it irked the league because
Speaker 1: it also wasn't done in a respectful way where they
Speaker 1: notified people ahead of time. Anyway. UM, they have tried
Speaker 1: to do some things. And whether they need to get
Speaker 1: back to making the rules even stricter or finding other
Speaker 1: ways to induced teams to play their guys, especially in
Speaker 1: games like that, I think that's a question they can
Speaker 1: address after the season perhaps, But I think as long
Speaker 1: as you have, you know, three games and four nights,
Speaker 1: which they're not usually doing anymore in four and five
Speaker 1: and five and seven and all those situations. They eliminated
Speaker 1: all of that through just smarter schedule creation over the
Speaker 1: last several years, they really maximized, optimized the schedule, and
Speaker 1: so it decreased the need or perceived need for teams
Speaker 1: to do stuff like this. And that's what you do.
Speaker 1: You try to eliminate the circumstances that cause teams to
Speaker 1: need to rest guys in the first place, that's the
Speaker 1: best way, and then the rest the rest of it.
Speaker 1: On the discipline side, there are some things already in place.
Speaker 1: Like I say, I just don't know that you can
Speaker 1: judge anything based on what's happening this season. Howard with
Speaker 1: the MVP race, I think this is this is one
Speaker 1: of the strangest MVP races ever because guys that a
Speaker 1: lot of people had near the top, Joe lmb Lebron James,
Speaker 1: James Harden, they're all missing a lot of games and
Speaker 1: so and a lot of people had Yokis at the
Speaker 1: top already. I didn't I had one of those, all
Speaker 1: of those three at one point um. But I think
Speaker 1: they've missed too many games in my view, Um, he's
Speaker 1: playing well, but he's still missed almost twenty games. Like
Speaker 1: nobody's won it missing that many games since media started
Speaker 1: voting in nineteen eighty one. I think a Yokich even
Speaker 1: though they're only a four seed, and maybe they even
Speaker 1: fall back a little, but he still could win it.
Speaker 1: Damian Lillard's name is being mentioned because he's you know,
Speaker 1: but they're a sixth seed. Um, Chris Paul who doesn't
Speaker 1: have great number sixteen points, eight assists, but what he's
Speaker 1: done in Phoenix. Where are you at right now on
Speaker 1: this this MVP race? Maybe you you look at an
Speaker 1: mbid even though he's missed a lot of games, and
Speaker 1: still like him, Like, what are your thoughts? Where am I?
Speaker 1: I'm passed out on the four or that's where I am.
Speaker 1: It's not just one of the weirdest, it's it is
Speaker 1: absolutely at least the in the twenty four years I've
Speaker 1: been doing this, this is the strangest, muddled, most muddled,
Speaker 1: just impossible. Like every couple weeks, the whole thing changes
Speaker 1: because of injuries, because of circumstances. Yogi has probably the
Speaker 1: best statistical case and the analytics guys have been saying
Speaker 1: it's Yokich for months already, but I wasn't prepared to
Speaker 1: put him there, guys, because the Nuggets early in the
Speaker 1: season were six seventh in the West. I'm not taking
Speaker 1: an MVP from there, like I believe, in the precedent
Speaker 1: in the last forty years, there have been only two players,
Speaker 1: Russell Westbrook and Moses Malone way back when the one
Speaker 1: MVP outside of being in the top three in their
Speaker 1: conference and with a sub fifty wins or the equivalent
Speaker 1: in a shortened season, right, So you have that factor,
Speaker 1: that precedent, which I think matters a lot. The other
Speaker 1: precedent is the one that you already alluded to. Games played,
Speaker 1: no one's won it with less than seventy percent, going
Speaker 1: back to Bill Walton. That was a player vote, but
Speaker 1: since the media started voting, there hasn't been anybody below
Speaker 1: I think seventy eight percent of games. And you already
Speaker 1: have guys like Lebron and Ambide who have already you know,
Speaker 1: or will be soon dropping below that threshold. So that's
Speaker 1: really tough. Um. Jannis has now recently missed a bunch
Speaker 1: of games. Um, I don't think Harden is even eligible
Speaker 1: for reasons we can discuss, and so a lot of
Speaker 1: obvious candidates already off the board. So we get back
Speaker 1: to Yoki. So Ambat and Ron with the front runners
Speaker 1: until they went down. Yoki, I think by getting up
Speaker 1: to fourth, although that's still outside of the top three,
Speaker 1: I think there's still on a pace that would be
Speaker 1: the equivalent of a fifty win season in a normal season.
Speaker 1: So I'm okay with Yoki. But now they've lost Jamal
Speaker 1: Murray and people are gonna say it's not fair to Yoki.
Speaker 1: But if if the loss of Murray causes the Nuggets
Speaker 1: to fall to fifth or something, I'm gonna come up
Speaker 1: again these these uh, these pres since that I usually
Speaker 1: value very highly, which is you've got to be one
Speaker 1: of the top teams. So it's gonna be it's sometimes
Speaker 1: it's process of elimination. And now everybody's being eliminated. Are
Speaker 1: you thinking at all about a Donovan Mitchell? I haven't
Speaker 1: really much at this point, or maybe Rudy Gobert. I mean,
Speaker 1: so it's funny. I always think about you guys will
Speaker 1: appreciate this because like me, you're old. Um. I always
Speaker 1: think about Chris Weber and those Kings teams, like Chris
Speaker 1: Webber was clearly the best player on those Sacramento Kings
Speaker 1: teams in the early two thousands, and there was a
Speaker 1: year they won sixty one games. They were the best
Speaker 1: team in the NBA. They were, you know, several games
Speaker 1: ahead of the Lakers in the standings, and they were
Speaker 1: just awesome. And Chris Weber was the reason, the primary reason.
Speaker 1: But that was an ensemble cast. He had the best stats,
Speaker 1: but it was Webber and Divots and Bibbie and Page. Look,
Speaker 1: it was everybody. And the problem for the Jazz is
Speaker 1: that it's really hard to parse out because Donovan Mitchell
Speaker 1: doesn't have Jannis type stats or Yokis type staff. Is
Speaker 1: there success about him or is it about Rudy Gobert's
Speaker 1: defensive anchoring. Is this for the Suns. Is it about
Speaker 1: Devin Booker who has MVP type stats, or is it
Speaker 1: about Chris Paul being that lynchpin who push pushed them
Speaker 1: over the top. Because the Restless Crew was already there
Speaker 1: last year when they weren't in the playoffs, and now
Speaker 1: that the second best team in the West, it's hard
Speaker 1: sometimes to parse out or to say that it's due
Speaker 1: to one guy, and so I don't know where to
Speaker 1: to to land on those guys. Um. I mean, if
Speaker 1: guys keep going down left and right, we may just
Speaker 1: end up with them right. And I'm with you, man,
Speaker 1: And uh you got something else? Route, Yeah, one last thing?
Speaker 1: How we got about them? Minute we go? Yeah? Yeah,
Speaker 1: one minute? Just just where are the Clippers? I mean,
Speaker 1: I know they're under the radar. People wrote them off
Speaker 1: after they choked last year to the Nuggets. But they've
Speaker 1: they've put together a nice run. They play them well
Speaker 1: in the West. Can they come out of the West.
Speaker 1: And by the way, if if Kawhi plays well enough
Speaker 1: or there doesn't miss too many games heat in the
Speaker 1: MBP discussion too, Yes, I think I think the Clippers
Speaker 1: can win the West, especially as screwy as the West is.
Speaker 1: Right now, your guest is as good as mine. But
Speaker 1: when healthy, the Lakers are still a favorite. Okay, all right,
Speaker 1: that's our man, Howard Beck, Sports Illustrated NBA Senior writer.
Speaker 1: Great stuff, man, We appreciate, appreciate you appreciate a fellows.
Speaker 1: Thanks all right, see you keep it locked right here.
Speaker 1: It is Chris Bruce, Alredy, Rob Parker, the I couple
Speaker 1: in for Dan Patrick. This is the Dan Patrick's Show.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to The Dan Patrick Show podcast. Be
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Speaker 1: Dan Patrick Show. I'm Chris Bruce Hard alongside my partner
Speaker 1: Rod Parker. We are the odd Couple and we're filling
Speaker 1: in for Dan, wrapping up a great Dan Patrick Show.
Speaker 1: Has been a lot of fun, and we will be
Speaker 1: back on the air tonight. Rod. We play hurt, we
Speaker 1: play through injury. That's right, Hey, we know that people
Speaker 1: want to hear the odd couple on here on Fox
Speaker 1: Sports Radio. So yes, it's okay, Chris, we'll do the
Speaker 1: morning show filling for Dan, get rested up, you know,
Speaker 1: do what else we gotta do and it we'll be
Speaker 1: back seven to ten pm Eastern right here on Fox
Speaker 1: Sports Radio. So I'm looking forward to it. That's right,
Speaker 1: It's gonna be a lot of fun. There's still so
Speaker 1: much stuff to talk about and get into. Um, their
Speaker 1: news just came down that the Seattle Seahawks Drive have
Speaker 1: signed Alden Smith. Um, it doesn't float my boat. Um,
Speaker 1: you know he was he was on that vaunted Dallas
Speaker 1: Cowboys defense last year and obviously didn't make much of
Speaker 1: an impact. It was bad. It's not bad. It's a
Speaker 1: one year deal. I mean, maybe he'll do something, but
Speaker 1: you know it's well, you know, I get it with
Speaker 1: these teams, Chris, is just like the Clowney deal. You know,
Speaker 1: like you take a flyer right, you never know, maybe
Speaker 1: the guy can resurrect his career and right and have
Speaker 1: an impact. So it's it's not like you signed him
Speaker 1: to an eight year contract and you're really that's a
Speaker 1: role in the dice. You know, this is yeah, no,
Speaker 1: one year and like you it's probably I don't know
Speaker 1: what the money terms are. I don't know if they've
Speaker 1: come out yet, but you know, it's probably not a
Speaker 1: ton of money. It's probably very incentive based, just like
Speaker 1: I'm sure clowneyes is um. Were talking with Howard Beck,
Speaker 1: who we just got off the phone with Sports Illustrated
Speaker 1: NBA senior writer. I tell you, man, this MVP race, Rob,
Speaker 1: And I'm sure Howard's a voter. I'm a voter. No,
Speaker 1: it's all over the place, right man, He's right, like
Speaker 1: president is one of my criteria. How about Janni's winning
Speaker 1: it again Chris for the third year? No, man, I
Speaker 1: mean he started like like he had missed too many games,
Speaker 1: but like Howard said, he's starting to miss games it Rob,
Speaker 1: if they were, if they were first in the East,
Speaker 1: I think he'd probably be the front runner right now,
Speaker 1: I really do not probably right, You're probably right. And
Speaker 1: because they're third right in the East, right, it takes
Speaker 1: a little luster because the last couple of years they
Speaker 1: were first and he put up great numbers. We talked
Speaker 1: about it a lot on our show that last year
Speaker 1: when he won was better. His numbers were better than
Speaker 1: the year before. But he can't say that this year,
Speaker 1: like his numbers aren't better, and they what they've done,
Speaker 1: and some of this is I mean, this is smart
Speaker 1: as some of this is maybe what Lebron was doing
Speaker 1: in Cleveland his second go round. But they've robbed, they've
Speaker 1: experimented more, you know, defensively right because they're working through
Speaker 1: the regular season to see what they want to do
Speaker 1: for the playoffs. So that's why their record is not
Speaker 1: as good, but they're probably out. You look at top three,
Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, Utah, I'm sorry, and look Chris Webber.
Speaker 1: Howard brought up that example. Rob Chris Weber could have
Speaker 1: won an MVP like he was dominant in Sacramento. He was, Yeah,
Speaker 1: he was dominant there. It wouldn't have been a travesty
Speaker 1: at all for him to win an MVP. I don't necessarily,
Speaker 1: I don't put Donovan Mitchell on that level, as great
Speaker 1: as he is not yet. But I don't see an
Speaker 1: MVP in Utah, Phoenix. I mean, people thinking Chris Paul.
Speaker 1: But you can make an argument that Devil Booker is
Speaker 1: there MVP. I know they were bad last year with Booker,
Speaker 1: but remember they were good in the bubble. Right now
Speaker 1: when undefeated in the bubble. But Chris, you could look
Speaker 1: at that and say, uh, to kind of give Chris
Speaker 1: Paul some some Jews, but not all of it, because
Speaker 1: you know, yes, uh, he did help that team get
Speaker 1: to another level. But I just I think Devin Booker
Speaker 1: is a big part of that and as well. And
Speaker 1: that's where you split that. Remember we always talk about
Speaker 1: that sometimes when you have two good players, sometimes you
Speaker 1: could split it and then that takes you out of
Speaker 1: the running. And I think that's what happens in Phoenix.
Speaker 1: Chris could benefiting. Yeah, this shouldn't be a factor, but
Speaker 1: we know it is at times. At times, maybe it
Speaker 1: could be some again through the process of elimination. Maybe
Speaker 1: it's some something some people start thinking lifetime achievement. No,
Speaker 1: we're against that. We're against life. Remember remember when what
Speaker 1: Carl Malone I think got one. That way, some might
Speaker 1: argue Kobe's the one he got um, I mean he
Speaker 1: had never one. Yeah, which obviously you can't have Kobe
Speaker 1: Bryant not have an MVP. Chris Paul's not not Kobe.
Speaker 1: But it's it's interesting. I'm I'm with Yokis right now, Rob,
Speaker 1: I got Yokis right now. Before Seed isn't bad um
Speaker 1: Kawi's missed. He hadn't missed too many games, but he's
Speaker 1: missed a good number himself. He's been out, but he's
Speaker 1: got legit injury, you know, just soreness. Um. So it's
Speaker 1: it's crazy, man, and it's gonna be interesting to see
Speaker 1: how this thing plays out. But it's been fun, rob Um.
Speaker 1: I'm sure you got a busy day ahead of you.
Speaker 1: I know I do. And then I'll see you to night,
Speaker 1: my man. All right, couple tonight. That's right, Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1: We've enjoyed it. Hopefully you have too. Peace