Speaker 1: It is my honor and privilege to have my next
Speaker 1: guest to talk about the NBA. We used to work
Speaker 1: together at ESPN on NBA shoot Around, that's what it
Speaker 1: was called.
Speaker 2: Then.
Speaker 1: Obviously he's moved on the bigger and green of Pastors,
Speaker 1: tn T, the NBA, the whole nine, calling games all
Speaker 1: over the place. Being the astute expert basketball and analyst
Speaker 1: that he is. He's my buddy, the one and only
Speaker 1: Greg Anthony. What's up, big time? How you doing man?
Speaker 3: How's everything?
Speaker 2: Steve and A.
Speaker 4: I'm doing good, brother, No complaints man, just enjoying the
Speaker 4: start of the season.
Speaker 1: I feel you on that, man. It's always great to
Speaker 1: talk to you. First things first, I mean when when
Speaker 1: you heard let me get before we get on the court,
Speaker 1: before we get the news on the court, let's talk
Speaker 1: about inside the NBA, because those are your compadre, Shaquille O'Neil,
Speaker 1: Charles Barkley, Kinny Smith, Ernie Johnson. We heard the news
Speaker 1: months ago that you know what they weren't gonna be.
Speaker 1: You know, they lost the NBA deal and this would
Speaker 1: be there last year. Now we've learned they're gonna be
Speaker 1: carried ESPN, but still being produced in Atlanta by TNT.
Speaker 3: It's a big, big deal. I love it.
Speaker 1: I'm happy for us as basketball fans. I'm happy for
Speaker 1: the public. I'm happy for them.
Speaker 3: How are you How did you feel when you heard
Speaker 3: the news?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 4: I was excited because Steve that you know that that's
Speaker 4: probably the most iconic sports show in terms of a
Speaker 4: pregame show we have in America.
Speaker 2: It doesn't matter the sport.
Speaker 4: I mean football is king, obviously, but there is no
Speaker 4: show show that really resonates more with the fans of
Speaker 4: sports and more entertaining than what they do on the
Speaker 4: inside the NBA show. So the fact that it's going
Speaker 4: to survive, I think is awesome. Uh the fact that
Speaker 4: they also get to basically keep everybody employed that's involved
Speaker 4: with the show in Atlanta, because I know for Ernie
Speaker 4: that was a big deal.
Speaker 2: I think that's also incredible.
Speaker 4: Listens like, you don't have to be a huge basketball
Speaker 4: fan to be a fan of that show. You know,
Speaker 4: the chemistry those guys had, the entertainment value you get
Speaker 4: from that. I have a lot of friends who aren't
Speaker 4: necessarily basketball fans, but they're fans of that show. So
Speaker 4: the fact that that's gonna continue on I think is
Speaker 4: an awesome feat for them, and I think the fans
Speaker 4: are gonna be the biggest beneficiaries.
Speaker 1: And Greg Listen, man, may I have people asking steven A,
Speaker 1: what about you? Whatever I like, I'm gonna be fine.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna be all right. Don't worry about me.
Speaker 3: But I know this.
Speaker 1: But I know this much for somebody like me who
Speaker 1: used to do shoot around along with you, we had
Speaker 1: Kevin Fraser and then the late John Saunders. God rest is,
Speaker 1: so we have Bill Lambia and then Tim Leagler. I
Speaker 1: don't know of any basketball fan, any basketball.
Speaker 3: Pundit who could have a problem with this.
Speaker 1: We know that's the A team and that that's just
Speaker 1: a chemistry you don't mess with.
Speaker 2: Now, I think you hit it right on the head. Listen.
Speaker 4: You obviously have a huge vehicle with which in platform
Speaker 4: with which to state your case and offer your opinions
Speaker 4: on a variety of subjects. But that into it too
Speaker 4: itself is a unique, iconic show and the what they've
Speaker 4: established over all these many years. I am glad, Listen,
Speaker 4: you know how much I love you and appreciate what
Speaker 4: you do for the for the sports world in general.
Speaker 4: But that niche that they've created. I'm glad to hear
Speaker 4: that they're gonna keep it unique because listen, even as
Speaker 4: talented as you are, it would be really difficult for
Speaker 4: anybody to kind of ingratiate themselves within what they do.
Speaker 4: So you know, let that be its independent entity. I
Speaker 4: think ESPN's gonna benefit. I think the NBA he's going
Speaker 4: to benefit, and the fans as a whole are gonna
Speaker 4: benefit with the fact that that show is and that's
Speaker 4: it's gonna stay the same. They're not gonna tweak it
Speaker 4: or change it. That's the beauty of it. And I'm
Speaker 4: gonna wish those guys the best because you know, all
Speaker 4: those guys that there's not a better and closer group
Speaker 4: of guys like their chemistry, uh, their their humility, and
Speaker 4: the fact that they can laugh at themselves man like
Speaker 4: even for me.
Speaker 2: Like I might miss the game, but I'll still watch
Speaker 2: their show.
Speaker 4: You know, I got a youngest, so I can't always
Speaker 4: watch every game, but I always I'm gonna be able
Speaker 4: to tune in and check those guys off. There's never
Speaker 4: been a time they've been on air that I haven't
Speaker 4: found myself crying from laughing.
Speaker 2: And so I'm excited.
Speaker 3: Ga.
Speaker 1: Listen, man, if you're asking about me, Hell, I benefit
Speaker 1: by not being on the show.
Speaker 3: Could you imagine me being.
Speaker 1: Subjected to Charles Barkley and that Shack.
Speaker 3: And the fool Oh.
Speaker 1: I mean to just see what Shack and the food
Speaker 1: did to me last year in Vegas.
Speaker 3: It was hilarious.
Speaker 2: But look, and that would be weekly that they would
Speaker 2: get you every threek.
Speaker 4: Listen, you got enough fun lest somebody else execs, you're gonna.
Speaker 2: Be all right.
Speaker 1: I am all right, trust me on that. Let let's
Speaker 1: get to the basketball court right now, because I gotta
Speaker 1: tell you. The Boston Celtics are reigning defending NBA champions.
Speaker 1: But the story of the season thus far, particularly in
Speaker 1: the Eastern Conference, has been the Cleveland Cavaliers. I can't
Speaker 1: deny it. I mean they won their first fifteen games.
Speaker 1: When they were lost the other night to Boston, I mean,
Speaker 1: they came back from a huge deficit, was in a
Speaker 1: position to win the game, but it didn't work out.
Speaker 1: What the hell has made Cleveland so much better this
Speaker 1: year than they were last year with the same roster
Speaker 1: essentially all being a different head coach.
Speaker 4: Well, I think Kenny Atkinson has tweaked a few things
Speaker 4: in terms of what they do. Listen, this is very similar.
Speaker 4: I'll take you back to the beginning of the Golden
Speaker 4: State Warriors dynasty. Okay, you know when Mark Jackson was there,
Speaker 4: and Mark had done a good job. They got to
Speaker 4: the second round, lost and sixth with San Antonio, and
Speaker 4: they decided to go in a different direction. And it
Speaker 4: wasn't that Mark wasn't a good coach or a great
Speaker 4: coach for that matter.
Speaker 2: It's just that.
Speaker 4: Sometimes you need a different set of eyes that can
Speaker 4: see something that you may not be able to see
Speaker 4: from the inside. And so I just think he's I
Speaker 4: think Kenny's made some subtle changes in how they approach offensively,
Speaker 4: but I also think the biggest adjustment has been the
Speaker 4: fact that their players have all gotten better, you know,
Speaker 4: and the Donovan's even gotten better, Like, even though his
Speaker 4: numbers aren't as good, he's a better player because he's.
Speaker 2: Able to trust his teammates more. You know. Evan Mobleagu's
Speaker 2: gotten a little bit better.
Speaker 4: There is Garland, he's gotten better, Jared Allen's gotten better.
Speaker 2: Their bitch has been terrific.
Speaker 4: And you know, one of the things that's happened to
Speaker 4: the NBA is that because of the three point shot,
Speaker 4: it's created a dynamic now where you just can't physically
Speaker 4: overwhelm teams. And I'll take you back to like when
Speaker 4: I was in college, like one of the advantaged. Basketball
Speaker 4: is a game of possessions. That's what it all comes
Speaker 4: down to, right, And when we were in school, we
Speaker 4: could dominate the backboard and we could turn you over,
Speaker 4: so we could create an extra fifteen eighteen possessions a
Speaker 4: game because of our physical gifts. Right when I was
Speaker 4: with the Knicks, we could shoot thirty nine percent from
Speaker 4: the field and win by twenty because we could out
Speaker 4: rebound you by twenty we could force eight more turnovers
Speaker 4: against you.
Speaker 2: So we would create all those extra possessions.
Speaker 4: But now with the advent of three point shooting and
Speaker 4: the fact that now guys can play the court so
Speaker 4: much bigger, it's harder to impose your will physically, and
Speaker 4: that's that's brought about more skill in the game. And
Speaker 4: so that's one reason why they've been so good and
Speaker 4: one reason why Boston's been so dominant as well. And
Speaker 4: while Cleveland is the story, I would also say Golden
Speaker 4: State's the story or in the Western Conference what they've done.
Speaker 4: You know, nobody saw them potentially being up at this stage,
Speaker 4: maybe having the best record in the Western Conference.
Speaker 2: But those two teams, in a lot of ways, they
Speaker 2: marry each.
Speaker 4: Other in that regard and that they they win the
Speaker 4: possession game and they have that tremendous thread of the
Speaker 4: three point shot.
Speaker 2: Plus with Cleveland they do.
Speaker 4: Have with that two headed monster down low, the ability
Speaker 4: to own the paint. And Mobley's gotten better. And the
Speaker 4: last thing I'll say about those guys, they're the team.
Speaker 4: Much like Boston. Every guy on their roster loves their role.
Speaker 4: They don't have anybody that's doing something that they wish
Speaker 4: they weren't or wishing they could do something else. They're
Speaker 4: all comfortable. Evan Mobley's not a first option. He's comfortable
Speaker 4: in what he's doing. Darius Garland's not a first option.
Speaker 4: He's comfortable with his role like all their guys are comfortable.
Speaker 4: And one thing, and you play sports, you know this.
Speaker 4: I always tell people you never want to ask an
Speaker 4: athlete to do something they're not comfortable doing.
Speaker 2: You know that that's a recipe for a court disaster.
Speaker 4: Right now, they got a bunch of guys that what
Speaker 4: they're asked to do on a nightly basis.
Speaker 2: They are in love with well.
Speaker 1: I gotta tell you, I would have been more in
Speaker 1: love with Golden State if I didn't sit at home
Speaker 1: and watch the game from start to finishing.
Speaker 3: Them be down by forty in the first half against Cleveland.
Speaker 1: I know they got the record, I know they are
Speaker 1: number one seed, but damn, I mean that was a
Speaker 1: beat down that particular way. And in the case of Cleveland,
Speaker 1: what I've noticed is that Atkinson has put the.
Speaker 3: Ball more in Mobley's hands.
Speaker 1: So Mobley's averaging about eighteen the game, more than he
Speaker 1: ever has in his career. He's shooting nearly thirteen shots
Speaker 1: a game, and he's being allowed to make decisions, which
Speaker 1: is taking some of the on ball pressure off of
Speaker 1: a Donovan mitchew Anda Darius Galland even though that's your
Speaker 1: backcourt to a lesser degree, my question to you would
Speaker 1: be this, based on what you do broke down in
Speaker 1: terms of the athleticism because of the shot, the three
Speaker 1: point shot that has been implemented into the game and
Speaker 1: how that's car sort of changed the game to some degree.
Speaker 1: And they're not asking anybody in Boston or Cleveland or
Speaker 1: to do something they don't want to do.
Speaker 3: How am I to feel about my New York Knicks?
Speaker 1: Will call Anthony Towns at the five essentially with Mitchell
Speaker 1: Robinson being out. I know he's been playing well, but
Speaker 1: how am I to feel about the Knicks based on
Speaker 1: what we've seen thus far? They're nine to six, third
Speaker 1: in the Eastern Conference, but still something seems to be
Speaker 1: missing compared to what we saw last year in the postseason.
Speaker 4: Oh listen, I feel great as a Knick fan right
Speaker 4: now because the chemistry is being developed and they're still
Speaker 4: able to win games without a whole roster. Because even
Speaker 4: when Mitchell Robinson comes back, you know he's not gonna
Speaker 4: play forty minutes tonight. He's gonna take up another twenty
Speaker 4: four minutes for you. So you're still gonna have much
Speaker 4: like you see with Anthony Davis with the Lakers. Anthony
Speaker 4: Davis is embraced playing the five, and that's what you
Speaker 4: see Carl Anthony Towns doing, embracing that position. You know,
Speaker 4: they're not having that old school mindset where listen, at
Speaker 4: the five, you're not banging anymore, right, Your BIG's got
Speaker 4: to play in space today and so if I'm the Knicks,
Speaker 4: I love the fact that you got two guys that
Speaker 4: can comfortably create a situation where the defense has to help,
Speaker 4: Like nobody's guarding Jalen Brunston, Orkarl Anthony Town's single handling.
Speaker 2: So I think they're gonna be terrific.
Speaker 4: I love what og is doing, Bridges Josh Hart, Like
Speaker 4: the only concern in some of its injury is their death.
Speaker 4: And we all know that Tom Thibodeau loves to run
Speaker 4: his main guys. He's gonna play them heavy minutes, So
Speaker 4: there is the concern of injury and them wearing down
Speaker 4: a little bit.
Speaker 2: But I love where they are.
Speaker 4: And the other thing to keep in mind, like you
Speaker 4: gotta really throw records out. The NBA is at a
Speaker 4: golden era. It's it's getting a lot like the NFL.
Speaker 4: It's parody, man, Like anybody, we only have probably two
Speaker 4: or three, what I would say, are bad teams. You know,
Speaker 4: where you don't have to play well to beat them.
Speaker 4: You know, when I I played, you might have six
Speaker 4: or seven, maybe eight of those. You don't have that anymore.
Speaker 4: And so because of that, you're gonna lose more games
Speaker 4: in the regular season than most would like. But that
Speaker 4: doesn't mean you can't get it done. Come posting. And
Speaker 4: that's the reason why we've had six consecutive different champions
Speaker 4: right and I wouldn't be surprised if we had a
Speaker 4: seven this year.
Speaker 2: You know that, just because of the parody, I have.
Speaker 1: To transition to a team your son is playing on.
Speaker 1: That's the Orlando Magic. I tell your son, being courage,
Speaker 1: he's not getting much playing time. I'm only averaging about
Speaker 1: nine minutes right now, but he'll be fine. Don't worry
Speaker 1: about it. Keep working, Keep working on your game, like
Speaker 1: your daddy taught you, you'll be just like But you
Speaker 1: look at the Orlando Magic. They've won seven of their
Speaker 1: last eight. It's all been without their best player, Paulo
Speaker 1: ben Kiroll, who's a bad brother. This brother's gonna be
Speaker 1: something special. I'm looking at Orlando right now and ga
Speaker 1: I walked into the season thinking Philly.
Speaker 3: New York and Boston.
Speaker 1: Now I'm thinking Boston, Cleveland, Orlando in New York.
Speaker 3: That's what I think. That's what I'm looking at right now.
Speaker 1: Why is Orlando, led by Jamal Mosley's second years coach,
Speaker 1: doing the damn good job? What is it about them
Speaker 1: that makes them look so good right now.
Speaker 4: Well, I think the first and foremost they are head
Speaker 4: and shoulders above everybody else defensively, like they have the
Speaker 4: best defensive back court accord in the league. They have
Speaker 4: the best And people don't talk about Franz in this regard,
Speaker 4: but Franz Fagen is a hell of a defender. And
Speaker 4: then they've got great defense on that back line. Like
Speaker 4: right now, think about it. They went into LA and
Speaker 4: beat up red hot Lakers team without three starters. Wow,
Speaker 4: they didn't have Polo. You talked about him and we
Speaker 4: know his brilliance, but they didn't have KCP last night.
Speaker 4: They didn't have Wendell Carter Junior last night either, and
Speaker 4: they were still able to go there. And that was
Speaker 4: also the second of a back to back. So they're
Speaker 4: a really good team. And there's something else about the
Speaker 4: league today. Young players are not in awe of others.
Speaker 4: You know, they respect great players, but this Orlando team,
Speaker 4: they understand who they are and no matter who they play,
Speaker 4: they say, look, if we do abs C, if we
Speaker 4: execute our game plan, we're gonna have a great chance
Speaker 4: of winning. And so you've seen this natural progression and
Speaker 4: Jamal Moseley's the biggest reason why, as the coaches and
Speaker 4: powered as young players they bought in.
Speaker 2: Each year they've gotten better.
Speaker 4: You know, they they've gone, they've grown and wins I
Speaker 4: think twelve games each of the last two seasons, so
Speaker 4: they went so twenty two to thirty four to forty
Speaker 4: seven thirteen lasts. So I expect them to be about
Speaker 4: a fifty win season, fifty game win team, but they're
Speaker 4: gonna be hard to be because they're starting to get
Speaker 4: comfortable winning. They're starting to get comfortable playing against great teams,
Speaker 4: and so I'm really looking forward to them one getting
Speaker 4: healthy and then seeing how they stack up against Boston
Speaker 4: against Cleveland, who if you remember, they took Cleveland the
Speaker 4: seventh last seak they did in that first round, So
Speaker 4: they're for real and they're gonna be there.
Speaker 2: And the other thing that's scary about them is.
Speaker 4: That their two best players, their best basketball is in
Speaker 4: front of them, like they're they're still you saw last night,
Speaker 4: We're Franz. He just was the Eastern Conference Player of
Speaker 4: the Weeks last week. He's gonna probably be an All
Speaker 4: Star this year. If Polo gets back in time, he'll
Speaker 4: be a two time All Star. If he's able to
Speaker 4: get enough games in. But they're legit, man. They're a
Speaker 4: great young team. They got depths, they're long and athletic.
Speaker 4: The shootings still have work in progress for him, but
Speaker 4: it's getting better.
Speaker 2: Once they get healthy and they're legit.
Speaker 4: Man, it's gonna be fun to watch them on this
Speaker 4: journey here moving forward.
Speaker 1: Los Angeles Lakers was the team they beat last night.
Speaker 1: I guess the question would be, first of all, I
Speaker 1: got Anthony Davis as my leading candidate for MVP.
Speaker 2: Right now, I'm with you.
Speaker 1: I think I'm right an absolute monster. He deserves credit
Speaker 1: where credit is due. He's finally embracing the role that
Speaker 1: Lebron and the Lakers have wanted him to embrace. I
Speaker 1: can't throw shade on JJ Reddick. I think that he's
Speaker 1: doing a damn good job as a rookie head coach,
Speaker 1: certainly paying a lot more attention to detail, is very
Speaker 1: very passionate holding cats like D'Angelo Russell accountable, which I
Speaker 1: think is important. Connect I was a real big tom
Speaker 1: fan of them after him number seventeen. I watched him
Speaker 1: in the NC Double Tournament last year for Tennessee. I
Speaker 1: believe Lebron has as well, even though people are accusing
Speaker 1: him a line of watching Connect, I don't want to
Speaker 1: hear that everybody's saw Connect if you're watching the n
Speaker 1: CUAA tournament. But what are we to make of the
Speaker 1: Lakers in light of how Lebron has looked, how Anthony
Speaker 1: Davis has looked, but still looking at and purviewing the
Speaker 1: landscape in the Western Conference, how are you viewing the
Speaker 1: Lakers right now?
Speaker 4: I like where the Lakers are, you know, and last
Speaker 4: night listen, they just they they they laid it there
Speaker 4: at the free throw line. You know, I wanted to
Speaker 4: say something else, but we're doing. I don't want to
Speaker 4: get in trouble for using some bad language.
Speaker 3: Well you ain't got to worry about it, but go ahead.
Speaker 4: Yeah, they shipped the bad last night. They missed four
Speaker 4: or six free throws down the stretch. You make, they
Speaker 4: make two of those, they win the game.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 4: And Ad as great as he's been, and he has
Speaker 4: been brilliant this year too.
Speaker 2: You know, he missed those last two.
Speaker 4: You missed three of his last four, so that that's
Speaker 4: why they lost that game.
Speaker 2: But they are right where they want to be.
Speaker 4: In part of why they're there is because if you
Speaker 4: look at the last kip of the West, you know,
Speaker 4: Okayse's dealing with all the injuries.
Speaker 2: They just got Harry steinback.
Speaker 4: They've still been good obviously the twelve and four, but
Speaker 4: they're still a young team.
Speaker 2: You know, Dallas who everybody you think about.
Speaker 4: Dallas and Minnesota two teams that played in the conference
Speaker 4: finals a year ago. They're both struggling this year because
Speaker 4: of the weight of the expectations. In the Minnesota's case,
Speaker 4: I just don't think they're quite as good. They're not
Speaker 4: as deep as they were a season ago. And that's
Speaker 4: why if you look at the Lakers, you know how
Speaker 4: Lebron thinks. He's not looking at Golden State or OKC
Speaker 4: feeling like, man, we can beat them now.
Speaker 2: He might.
Speaker 4: They still might struggle if the matchup were Denver and
Speaker 4: Denver is healthy. But Denver's roster doesn't scare you either.
Speaker 4: And so if I'm a Laker fan, I feel like
Speaker 4: they got a great chance. I could literally see them
Speaker 4: being a top four team in at Western Conference and
Speaker 4: the team that we should we talked about Orlando seeming
Speaker 4: they don't sleep on Houston.
Speaker 2: I think they're gonna win.
Speaker 1: I was sitting that I was getting ready to go there.
Speaker 1: What the hellthy the third seed? What the hell's going
Speaker 1: on with them?
Speaker 4: Yeah, they're really good. They're a great defensive team. Remember
Speaker 4: they were five hundred team a year ago. Yeah, and
Speaker 4: they've got again, Like you gotta the thing about the
Speaker 4: league that you got a factor in is that young teams,
Speaker 4: their players have the most room to grow. Like they
Speaker 4: don't have to go out and make wholesale move to
Speaker 4: get better. They can just let the evolution of their
Speaker 4: talent grow. And so you look at it, even though
Speaker 4: he got hurt, but a ched holmgerm. You know, even
Speaker 4: as Ga his best basketball, he's still getting better. You know,
Speaker 4: Jayalen Williams, all these guys are getting better now. They
Speaker 4: did go out and address some issues because they were
Speaker 4: a horrible rebounded team. So they go get Hartstein and
Speaker 4: then they bring in a dog and Alice Caruso on
Speaker 4: the perimeter for his defense.
Speaker 2: So they're gonna be there.
Speaker 4: But they're still a young team, and so in the playoffs,
Speaker 4: you could see why team like Dallas could beat them,
Speaker 4: because all you gotta do is still a game in
Speaker 4: the postseason. You know, you can get blown three times
Speaker 4: in the postseedon still wins serious, that's right, you know,
Speaker 4: So like with veteran teams, they're not gonna put a
Speaker 4: lot away. In fact, you'd rather get blown out. It's
Speaker 4: the fifty to fifty games. You go look at that
Speaker 4: Dallas OK Series. It was the close games. That's what
Speaker 4: Dallas won. They won the close games. And that's why
Speaker 4: a team like the Lakers now that they've got this
Speaker 4: newfound shooting with connect and.
Speaker 2: Think about it, the Lakers Reeves hasn't been very good.
Speaker 4: D'Angelo and Russell's been benched, yeah, and yet they're still
Speaker 4: playing well. They don't have a backup center in essence
Speaker 4: right now, you know. But you talked about j. J.
Speaker 4: Rex He's done a hell of a job. And I
Speaker 4: just think again, because of the parody, there are just
Speaker 4: so many good teams, and it's gonna be hard to
Speaker 4: string together these long win streaks for teams right now,
Speaker 4: and I think the Lakers are gonna be there.
Speaker 3: Let me try to peel some quick answers from you.
Speaker 1: You say, like you do you talked about Minnesota not
Speaker 1: being a better team.
Speaker 3: Are you saying that? Do you see? Do you feel
Speaker 3: the same way about the Knicks? Do you think the
Speaker 3: Knicks are a better team with.
Speaker 1: Karl Anthony Towns since you think Minnesota is not a
Speaker 1: better team without them, Yeah.
Speaker 4: I do, And I don't think that Minnesota's not better
Speaker 4: because just because they lost car Anthony Towns, they don't
Speaker 4: have as much depth as they had last year. And
Speaker 4: I think with the Knicks it's the different. Remember, the
Speaker 4: Knicks aren't whole yet. They still you know, they don't
Speaker 4: have everything in place, but the core of their team
Speaker 4: they're fine. The Knicks are trending upwards. You know, they've
Speaker 4: won four in a row. They're a really good offensive team.
Speaker 4: I can make the argument because Porzingis is out that
Speaker 4: they got the best starting five in basketball, because they
Speaker 4: got five guys that can all make plays, and.
Speaker 2: So the Knicks are. The Knicks are gonna be fine. Man.
Speaker 4: I'm telling you, we got a long way to go
Speaker 4: with this season. But man, this postseason because of the parody,
Speaker 4: and it's gonna be some really good teams that don't
Speaker 4: make it right. You know, we not even you talk
Speaker 4: about think about Memphis. Don't sleep on Memphis.
Speaker 3: I don't know yet. It's like watching John Moran.
Speaker 1: I know what this brother can do when he's healthy
Speaker 1: and he's on the basketball court. And I'm a huge
Speaker 1: fan of a guy like a Marcus Smart. But obviously
Speaker 1: they made their trade, they made them.
Speaker 3: More, their changes and what have you.
Speaker 1: And I'm wondering about how Memphis is going to look
Speaker 1: and then I bring this up about Boston the reigning
Speaker 1: defending champions.
Speaker 3: Is their real parody ga or.
Speaker 1: Is it just looked that or does it just look
Speaker 1: that way because Porzingis is not healthy yet?
Speaker 4: No, No, I think there is real parody. I do
Speaker 4: think the Boston is the best. I still think even
Speaker 4: though Cleveland's had to start, I do think Boston healthy
Speaker 4: is the best team. But I don't think that they're
Speaker 4: over that They're not. Last year, I thought they were
Speaker 4: heading shoulders better than everybody else, and it proved to
Speaker 4: be that way with how they played in the postseason.
Speaker 4: This year, I still think they're the better team, but
Speaker 4: everybody now, once you're the top dog, everybody then starts
Speaker 4: figuring out how they got to beat you, and so
Speaker 4: they start building out the roster accordingly. And so that's
Speaker 4: why I think now while Boston is the best team,
Speaker 4: there are a lot of teams that nobody fears them.
Speaker 2: Like of the elite teams. You know, New York won't
Speaker 2: fear them.
Speaker 4: I don't think Cleveland after even after that loss, the
Speaker 4: way they came back in that game and the fact
Speaker 4: Darius Garland was three or twenty one, They're gonna feel
Speaker 4: like they've gotten closer. Orlando's gonna feel like they've gotten closer.
Speaker 4: So and it's gonna be similar in the East. Man,
Speaker 4: we've never had this much depth in the NBA since
Speaker 4: we've gone to thirty teams. Bro, Wow, we have it.
Speaker 4: We've never had this much. Think about who's at the
Speaker 4: bottom of the East right now. Philly is two and twelve,
Speaker 4: Milwaukee six and nine. No, those are two great young talent,
Speaker 4: great team, not young, but great team. Same thing in
Speaker 4: the East. In the West. That's you said.
Speaker 1: You're a savanna in that regard, because that's exactly where
Speaker 1: I was going. Number one, what the hell are you making?
Speaker 1: What on earth is going on in Philadelphia? Not only
Speaker 1: is Embiide hurt, not only is Paul George hurt, but
Speaker 1: they having team meetings, player only meetings and then diming
Speaker 1: out to the media. How Tyrese Maxi called out Joel
Speaker 1: Embiid for tardiness and being laid and hurting the team
Speaker 1: and what have you. This is not good. What are
Speaker 1: your thoughts about that?
Speaker 2: In Philly?
Speaker 4: Well, I give Tyrese, who I know pretty well Max
Speaker 4: a lot of credit for being willing to be a leader,
Speaker 4: but I think that's part of the problem.
Speaker 2: He shouldn't be the leader.
Speaker 4: And if what we're hearing is true, then that also
Speaker 4: means that MB hasn't been a pro because there's just
Speaker 4: no excuse for you being late to everything and not
Speaker 4: feeling like you completely invested. And I'll tell you what,
Speaker 4: quite honestly, I put this on the organization because if
Speaker 4: you've allowed this stuff to manifest, then that's on you.
Speaker 2: Shame on you that you've.
Speaker 4: Allowed this to happen, because that's the one thing I
Speaker 4: learned playing with some truly great players. In fact, like
Speaker 4: generally your best players are your hardest workers. Like if
Speaker 4: you go to Boston, I guarantee you they will all
Speaker 4: tell you that Tatum and Brown are the hardest workers.
Speaker 4: If you go to OKC or Golden State, I guarantee
Speaker 4: you they will tell you that Steph Curry SGA are
Speaker 4: the hardest workers. And that's really the formula for success.
Speaker 4: If you want to have a championship level team. You
Speaker 4: don't think Joki is the hardest worker in Denver. Like you,
Speaker 4: great players set the tone with their by leading by example.
Speaker 4: You don't have to have a big voice, but you
Speaker 4: lead by example. And the fact that we're hearing that
Speaker 4: and we haven't really gotten any pushback, I think their
Speaker 4: season is probably I don't see that they will.
Speaker 2: I don't think they even will make the plan. I'm
Speaker 2: gonna be honest with you, and it's early in the season.
Speaker 4: But I'm not feeling good. And Paul George doesn't look right.
Speaker 2: Man.
Speaker 4: These two injuries had it looks like his body is
Speaker 4: starting to fail him, you know, because those are injuries
Speaker 4: that your body wouldn't normally allow to happen if you're
Speaker 4: sharp and you're and you're right. And I just think
Speaker 4: he's had a lot of miles is the reason why
Speaker 4: the Clippers didn't want to give him that extra those
Speaker 4: extra years. And Philly ran out there and did it,
Speaker 4: And I just don't know if we're gonna see Paul
Speaker 4: get back to that level. I'm pulling for him because
Speaker 4: I love the guy. I want to see him get there,
Speaker 4: but I'm worried about the city.
Speaker 3: I love him too. I'm worried about his health. I'm
Speaker 3: definitely worried about.
Speaker 1: The sixers or and be owned what Ti Max he
Speaker 1: said In terms of his accuracy, he said, I gotta
Speaker 1: do better, make no mistake about that. And obviously the
Speaker 1: only thing that I don't want to hear about the
Speaker 1: Clippers damage and then pay Paul George. What the hell
Speaker 1: you doing paying Kawhi Leonard either? He just is hurt,
Speaker 1: if not more so, So don't get me started with that.
Speaker 3: What's going on with your boy? Doc? Rivers and Milwaukee?
Speaker 1: They won two straight, but they're three games under five hundred.
Speaker 3: They obviously started out slow.
Speaker 1: I don't know how much faith I'm to have in
Speaker 1: Milwaukee right now.
Speaker 2: Well, I will say this, Steved, and I've said this
Speaker 2: on there.
Speaker 4: Listen, when your two best players are playing as well
Speaker 4: as they are when they're healthy, and you don't win games,
Speaker 4: that means your team ain't that good.
Speaker 2: That means the rest of your roster isn't very good.
Speaker 4: Now they don't have Middleton, so that obviously makes a
Speaker 4: huge difference because once you if you can, if Middleton
Speaker 4: can get back to what we have seen from him,
Speaker 4: and I don't know if he can't.
Speaker 2: Let's be real, he's coming off two ankles surgeries.
Speaker 4: But if he can get back to even just being
Speaker 4: a legit third option, now they get interested. Now they
Speaker 4: can get interesting because I feel like Dame and Gianni's
Speaker 4: chemistry is really finally where we would have liked it
Speaker 4: to be, you know, because you remember, they ain't talked
Speaker 4: about it.
Speaker 2: He didn't his first time in his career.
Speaker 4: He didn't really train in the offseason because he was
Speaker 4: afraid of getting hurt because he knew he was getting traded, right,
Speaker 4: And so now he looks like he normally looks. Gianni's
Speaker 4: you know, we talked about Anthony Davis. If Milwaukee had
Speaker 4: a better record, Giannis would be the MVP favorite right now.
Speaker 4: I mean, he just been off the charts, how good
Speaker 4: he's been. So I feel like they're trending in the
Speaker 4: right direction. And again because of the parody, you know,
Speaker 4: you talk about they're six and nine, bruh da ain't
Speaker 4: but three.
Speaker 2: Games out of the fourth spot. So they're fine. They're fine.
Speaker 2: I'm not worried about it.
Speaker 4: I don't see them as a championship team because I
Speaker 4: don't think they have enough athletes or and when I
Speaker 4: say basketball players, you know, on a great team, your
Speaker 4: guys gotta be great at what you ask him to do.
Speaker 2: And I just don't know.
Speaker 4: If they're supporting Kaz can be great at all those
Speaker 4: other things anymore, you know what I mean? Brook Lopez
Speaker 4: has got no content slow down there. Young guys aren't
Speaker 4: quite quick.
Speaker 2: Question.
Speaker 3: Put you on the spot.
Speaker 1: What's the chances you think that Jannis asked out of Milwaukee?
Speaker 3: I don't ye after the season, after the.
Speaker 2: Season, after the season, I could see it.
Speaker 4: Listen if for them, they may have to make a move,
Speaker 4: because otherwise you're gonna waste his ability, you know, if
Speaker 4: they if they get knocked out in the first round
Speaker 4: this year, and he's brilliant. They don't have a roster
Speaker 4: with a lot of flexibility. They don't have a lot
Speaker 4: of young guys that others are gonna be interested in.
Speaker 4: So it's gonna be really hard for them to make
Speaker 4: moves to bost of that roster. Like what we saw
Speaker 4: the Knicks just do right. You saw the move and
Speaker 4: to get cars of the towns. They had flexibility to
Speaker 4: make moves.
Speaker 2: I don't think.
Speaker 4: I don't think Milwaukee's flexibility is there, and I think
Speaker 4: that you might see a scenario where you'd have to
Speaker 4: move him because you're not gonna be able to get
Speaker 4: off Dame and they just don't have enough.
Speaker 2: Now, having said that, they.
Speaker 4: Could still get high and come by the time we
Speaker 4: get there and find themselves in the conference finals, because
Speaker 4: those two guys are playing at a high level. And
Speaker 4: if we see Middleton come back and play at a
Speaker 4: high level, then then it's a different ball game.
Speaker 3: Two more questions for I'll let you get on out
Speaker 3: of here. One. Who's your rookie of the year?
Speaker 4: Oh man, far I'm gonna tell you right now, I
Speaker 4: don't have one. I don't think nobody's really separated. I
Speaker 4: think we've seen a lot of young guys have flashes.
Speaker 4: You know, Recha Cher has had had some good games,
Speaker 4: dunk connects, had as good as stretch as anybody.
Speaker 3: That's who I was gonna go with.
Speaker 2: Don't you know?
Speaker 4: He came into last night averaging in the last five games.
Speaker 4: He's almost twenty five games. That's who with, So he's
Speaker 4: up there. But that's my point. Though nobody set them
Speaker 4: nobody's differentiated themselves. No one set themselves apart. So I
Speaker 4: really don't have a Rookie of the Year right now.
Speaker 4: I didn't think it was a great draft to begin with,
Speaker 4: and I think that that is yet to be determined.
Speaker 4: Like we could talk MVP right you you already have
Speaker 4: a sense of that like I do. I don't have
Speaker 4: a sense on the Rookie of the Year. And the
Speaker 4: fact that you could say Dalton, I think that speaks
Speaker 4: volume to the fact that nobody else is really elevated
Speaker 4: yet at this stage.
Speaker 1: Last question relatively delicate one. We saw Rich climb In
Speaker 1: a month ago tweet out about the negativity of the
Speaker 1: media and how you know, he wishes things were better
Speaker 1: and sports are supposed to bring us together. We saw
Speaker 1: yesterday we learned that Lebron James retweeted that tweet from
Speaker 1: a month ago and basically announced to the world that
Speaker 1: he was stepping away from social media for a little while.
Speaker 1: My attitude is this, first of all, I don't want
Speaker 1: to hear about the national media being thrown under the
Speaker 1: bus when y'all are part of it too, you know,
Speaker 1: acting like they ain't a part of it, when you
Speaker 1: got podcasts and all this other place, No you in
Speaker 1: the moucking mind with the rest of it.
Speaker 3: That's number one, number two. And I want to be
Speaker 3: very respectful when I.
Speaker 1: Say this as a father, a former NBA player who's
Speaker 1: a father and your son is now playing in the NBA.
Speaker 1: When I saw that from Lebron James, I'm like, Lebron James.
Speaker 3: Approach at age forty is still playing like a top
Speaker 3: five player on the planet.
Speaker 1: So ain't nobody talking about negativity towards him? If they're
Speaker 1: doing so, they're talking about Bronny and that's what Lebron
Speaker 1: must have been alluding to to that.
Speaker 2: You say what I would have to agree.
Speaker 4: Listen, and you know this, we have never had an
Speaker 4: athlete as accomplished as Lebron James catches much heat and
Speaker 4: vitriol and hate. Is that fair to say?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 4: Like, yeah, we've never seen anybody. And again I'm not
Speaker 4: saying you have to like him, but you gotta respect
Speaker 4: what he's done. But even at this stage of his career,
Speaker 4: there's nobody that gets more vitrio or hate. And the
Speaker 4: fact that he's comfortable with that tells me. The fact
Speaker 4: that he's uncomfortable it's because of his son. And I
Speaker 4: think that his son hasn't necessarily been able to handle
Speaker 4: the height, the expectations and the negativity, and therefore it
Speaker 4: has really made him look at it. And I'm speaking
Speaker 4: of Lebron in a different way. Right, all the great
Speaker 4: players they can handle criticism. Hey, the all these got
Speaker 4: they they don't get caught up that Listen. The reality though,
Speaker 4: is now everybody's got an opinion.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 4: We used to say opinions are like assholes. Right, everybody
Speaker 4: got one. The difference was though you didn't hear everybody's
Speaker 4: opinion before. Right, you know, most people didn't have the
Speaker 4: opportunity to respond to Stephen A. Smith directly and actually
Speaker 4: have you hear what was said. And it's not going
Speaker 4: to affect you. But I guarantee you as a father,
Speaker 4: if that same type of rhetoric or vitriol was directed
Speaker 4: at your child, it would affect you differently, There's no
Speaker 4: question about it. Listen, Lebron is dealt with more crap
Speaker 4: over the last just as he's been in la.
Speaker 2: It is never shot away from it.
Speaker 4: He's always had courage, He's always spoken his mind, whether
Speaker 4: you agree with him or not. He's never been one
Speaker 4: to shy away, very much like you in that regard. Right,
Speaker 4: But it's different when it now becomes one of your child,
Speaker 4: your children, because you're vulnerable for them.
Speaker 2: Man, you want to protect your kids.
Speaker 1: Can I throw this caveat out to you to close
Speaker 1: this out? Something needs to be added to that, Especially
Speaker 1: one is of your doing because of what he said
Speaker 1: about Brownie before he got to the NBA. I want
Speaker 1: to play with my son. My son is better than
Speaker 1: some of these NBA players in the league right now.
Speaker 3: These are things he said.
Speaker 1: So I think it's one element, which you're absolutely on
Speaker 1: point about about his son, But it's another thing when
Speaker 1: you instigated it, arguably because of the things you were
Speaker 1: saying about your son in comparison to others, and you
Speaker 1: put your son unintentionally. He certainly didn't mean to hurt
Speaker 1: his son in any way, but that's the unintent consequence
Speaker 1: of his acts.
Speaker 4: I think you hit it on the head because the
Speaker 4: reality is you assume that your child can handle it
Speaker 4: the way you can, and the reality is I think
Speaker 4: it's hit him that Broni's struggling with. He's struggling with
Speaker 4: the expectations. You know, and I've said this about Lebron. Listen,
Speaker 4: there's been in my lifetime, there's really only been There's
Speaker 4: been three athletes now that have been this hype and
Speaker 4: actually have exceeded the expectations. That was Tiger Woods, Lebron James,
Speaker 4: and now Kaitlin Clark. Those are the three because because
Speaker 4: Michael didn't come in with that kind of hype. Michael
Speaker 4: was the third pick. Kobe didn't come in with that
Speaker 4: kind of hype. He's a thirteenth pick, didn't really even
Speaker 4: play that much as first.
Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying. Lebron and Tiger came in.
Speaker 4: They were superstars before they had ever even started to
Speaker 4: perform at the highest level, and not only did they perform,
Speaker 4: they exceeded the expectations, much like we're saying with Kaitlyn Clark,
Speaker 4: right and so, But most athletes are given a period
Speaker 4: of grace.
Speaker 2: And the problem for BRONI is on his own level.
Speaker 4: He was there was so much hype and expectation around
Speaker 4: him and the fact that it just hasn't materialized even
Speaker 4: to the point where he's even performing at a high
Speaker 4: level in the G League yet. And I think that
Speaker 4: has weighed on him somewhat because you can only imagine
Speaker 4: the level of hatred and nastiness that somebody you don't
Speaker 4: know can spew about your son and have somebody else
Speaker 4: pick up on it. And I think that that can.
Speaker 4: And it's not just Lebron, it's his wife, it is
Speaker 4: his other kids because they gotta deal with that too,
Speaker 4: Like they probably are comfortable with all that hate going
Speaker 4: at Lebron because that's that's.
Speaker 2: All they know. Course, so so that I agree with
Speaker 2: you there, brother.
Speaker 1: My man is always good to talk to you, always
Speaker 1: good seeing y'all be watching and listening to you call
Speaker 1: a game, and that seeing you on TV tonight, actually
Speaker 1: appreciate you so much. Man, hope you well. Wonderful happy
Speaker 1: holidays to you and yours.
Speaker 2: But man about you two man be said Man, God
Speaker 2: bless the.
Speaker 1: One and only Greg Anthony NBA, TV T n T
Speaker 1: basketball analysts extraordinary. Yes, I'm willing to openly admit hell
Speaker 1: that man has forgotten more basketball than I ever know.
Speaker 1: He used to give me lessons on the sport of
Speaker 1: basketball all the time.
Speaker 3: I ain't ashamed to tell you. I ain't a shame
Speaker 3: to tell you