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Speaker 1: Hey, welcome and do all ball. I'm Doug Gottlieb, your

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Speaker 1: hosts with the most and uh, I'm so happy to

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Speaker 1: be with you. Remember to download, to subscribe, and to

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Speaker 1: rate this podcast as um. What we'll do this time

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Speaker 1: is talk mostly pro hoops, college hoops. So many guys

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Speaker 1: either declaring for the draft with an agent, without an agent.

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Speaker 1: You do have certain players declaring for their schools, as

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Speaker 1: we saw yesterday with Romeo Lankford is going to Indiana.

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Speaker 1: Let me just kind of start there before we get

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Speaker 1: to the pro hoops of the day. Obviously, Romeo Lankford

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Speaker 1: staying home is big for Archie Miller. And the sense

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Speaker 1: has always been at IU, if you can build a

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Speaker 1: fence around the state, you're gonna be able to compete nationally.

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Speaker 1: And you look at all the players that have even

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Speaker 1: now playing collegiately or playing in the pros or played collegiately,

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Speaker 1: they're going to the pros that are from the state.

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Speaker 1: You're like, wow, how did they not go to IU? Now,

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Speaker 1: Remember it's not like I you under Tom Crane didn't

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Speaker 1: have talent. They had a plethora of um of talented players.

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Speaker 1: I don't think he got fired because he wasn't recruiting well,

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Speaker 1: although not recruiting as well in state sometimes can unseach

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Speaker 1: you just as much as not recruiting well overall is

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Speaker 1: I think really the problem was he went to four

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Speaker 1: n c A tournaments when he was there for nine

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Speaker 1: years or whatever that you know, he only got to

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Speaker 1: the sweet six team, never got past it. I think

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Speaker 1: there was a general sense they're bumping up into the ceiling,

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Speaker 1: even though they had talented players, and they went out

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Speaker 1: and got Archie, who had as or greater success at

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Speaker 1: a place like Dayton, and so the even the layman

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Speaker 1: can see, well, if you can do that at Dayton,

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Speaker 1: why can't you do better at IU? And there are

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Speaker 1: questions about Archie. I guess at I you, I don't

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Speaker 1: know why. I think Archie's tremendous. He's an indefatigable recruiter.

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Speaker 1: And he goes and gets his first big top hunter

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Speaker 1: get in the state of Indiana, and now kind of

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Speaker 1: they're often running this could be the this could be

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Speaker 1: the guy who who changes them. It really could. My

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Speaker 1: sense is that you look at the Big ten and

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Speaker 1: you know, this was supposed to be a year that

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Speaker 1: Michigan State could win the whole thing they did not

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Speaker 1: couldn't figure out, couldn't make shots, Agin Syracuses Zone. Michigan

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Speaker 1: obviously overachieved, or I think overachieved, but now they're losing

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Speaker 1: Wagner to the NBA Draft. Ohio State overachieved, but you

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Speaker 1: know they're losing Beta Cats up. I was kind of

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Speaker 1: a mess, but I think they'll be better next year.

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Speaker 1: But do I think I was suddenly going to leap

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Speaker 1: frog everybody else in the league. Probably not. Um you

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Speaker 1: look at some of the other powers in the league.

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Speaker 1: Illinois down, having to completely restructure their roster, Minnesota massive injuries,

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Speaker 1: but finally recruiting well in State, but you know, they

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Speaker 1: haven't been able to sustain early season success under Richard Pettino.

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Speaker 1: Like I just kind of Wisconsin was down, and we'll

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Speaker 1: see what happens. If they get their full roster back,

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Speaker 1: which they could have back good at back, could Wisconsin

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Speaker 1: get back to the top of league. It's kind of

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Speaker 1: fascinating to see what happens to Indiana because in very

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Speaker 1: short order they became kind of an afterthought in the league.

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Speaker 1: But I think Archie, you start getting a recruiting he'll

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Speaker 1: do fine. I like the Archie higher when it was made.

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Speaker 1: And this only some of this is confirmation bias, but

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Speaker 1: getting Robo Langford confirms to me everything I thought about

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Speaker 1: Archie Miller and Steve will play hard. Um, he's a

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Speaker 1: little bit more evolved as an offensive coach than his brother.

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Speaker 1: Teams play hard, you know, and fundamentally sound like his brother.

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Speaker 1: And then it's just a matter if can you get

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Speaker 1: good enough players and can you get the players to stay?

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Speaker 1: So fascinating, it also interests always interesting to me these

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Speaker 1: top hundred kids, that top fifty, top kids that side.

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Speaker 1: It's like you're you realize you're getting them for one year,

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Speaker 1: and so sometimes it's better to get the top hunter,

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Speaker 1: top hunter fifty kid who's going to stay for the

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Speaker 1: two to three to four, maybe even five years. Then

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Speaker 1: it is that one kid who, but one player, can

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Speaker 1: completely change your minium momentum and recruiting, especially in a

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Speaker 1: state like Indiana, and completely change the momentum for the

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Speaker 1: fan base. Oh, they're really doing something. And while there's

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Speaker 1: a lot of pressure on the kid and the pressure

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Speaker 1: on the program to elevate the kids so we can

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Speaker 1: go to the NBA Draft, some of that's a good

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Speaker 1: thing because if the kid has the talent and really

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Speaker 1: buys in will be fine. Fine. I don't think you

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Speaker 1: can win with all one and dones. But I also

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Speaker 1: think it's really hard to win when you don't have

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Speaker 1: good players. So it's got to be a mixture of

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Speaker 1: the two. Let's get to the NBA a couple of

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Speaker 1: spitfire thoughts. Let me start with Lebron James, who statistically

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Speaker 1: has been unbelievable. I want people to understand two things. One,

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Speaker 1: some of Lebron's dominance is by design from the other team. Right,

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Speaker 1: you're going against Lebron, and I don't know what the

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Speaker 1: best thing Lebron does. I would say some of it

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Speaker 1: is the fact that when he's a downhill driver, he's

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Speaker 1: almost unguardable. But a good portion of what makes Lebron

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Speaker 1: special is that he's an incredible pastor. Right, So when

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Speaker 1: you have this type of skill as a score and

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Speaker 1: skill as a passer, and the size and athleticism that

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Speaker 1: Lebron has and the versatility defensively, pretty great mix. So

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Speaker 1: what you gotta do is you gotta make, honestly, somebody

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Speaker 1: play left handed. But you want to make somebody only

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Speaker 1: do one thing right, You either only make him a pastor,

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Speaker 1: only make him a score, and I think, what what

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Speaker 1: the Pacers found? You go back to the Warriors last year.

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Speaker 1: Found what other teams have found is, you know, if

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Speaker 1: we just make Lebron score thirty forty fifty a game,

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Speaker 1: he can't do it. He won't be able to carry

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Speaker 1: the team in the fourth quarter. It's something that as

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Speaker 1: a human being, you run out of You run out

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Speaker 1: of gas in the tank. And remember, though he's not

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Speaker 1: nearly the defender he gets credit for, especially anymore, He's

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Speaker 1: still will guard multiple positions and is put in position

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Speaker 1: to have to make big plays defensively blocking shots. He

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Speaker 1: obviously blocked the couple of big ones in this series.

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Speaker 1: The point is that, go and look at the fourth

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Speaker 1: quarter in Game seven, he only made two buckets. He

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Speaker 1: took a couple of jump shots that he wasn't close on.

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Speaker 1: He just looked exhausted out there. So I'm not saying

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Speaker 1: Lebron stinks. Anybody who takes that is just silly when

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Speaker 1: they say that. What I'm saying is that some of

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Speaker 1: the scoring dominance is by design. You want him to score,

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Speaker 1: you want to guard him single coverage, and you want

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Speaker 1: to make him score thirty points, hoping that he just

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Speaker 1: doesn't happen in the tank in the fourth quarter and

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Speaker 1: that you're close and your go to score can make

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Speaker 1: shots where's Lebron cannot. The other part is there is

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Speaker 1: this narrative going that this is the worst roster he's

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Speaker 1: played with since the O eight Finals team, and that's

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Speaker 1: just silly. And Kevin Love and I don't think Kevin

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Speaker 1: Love is a superstar, but he's definitely a star caliber player.

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Speaker 1: Kevin Loves an All Star. Kevin Loves probably a Hall

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Speaker 1: of Famer. So go back and look at two thousands,

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Speaker 1: and Kevin Love is in his prime. So you can

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Speaker 1: go and tell me that Kevin Love isn't good, and

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Speaker 1: I would tell you that I think Kevin Love is

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Speaker 1: really good. I think Kevin Love and the rest of

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Speaker 1: this team is put in a position to which Lebron

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Speaker 1: can only really play one way. They can't play ball movement,

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Speaker 1: ball screen, rotate the basketball, they can't play that way

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Speaker 1: at all. They have to play this way. Throw it

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Speaker 1: to Lebron has them out the ball screening action, to

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Speaker 1: which he can find shooters when they're open. Otherwise, if

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Speaker 1: you help, if you double team, he'll pass your guy

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Speaker 1: otherwise that then you just play him straight up and

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Speaker 1: hope he misses. The point is that one of the

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Speaker 1: reasons he's scoring so much is because of the design

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Speaker 1: of the defense. The other reason is the design of

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Speaker 1: the offense, and one of the reasons the rest of

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Speaker 1: the team doesn't score very much and doesn't look as

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Speaker 1: effective as maybe they would in other NBA systems. Some

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Speaker 1: of is the design of the defense and some of

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Speaker 1: it is the sign of the offense. I'm fascinating to

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Speaker 1: see what happens with Toronto. Toronto does not have a

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Speaker 1: quality matchup to throw it Lebron James. The teams that

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Speaker 1: do are eventually the Celtics to the Celtics have you

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Speaker 1: know you you go to next year, They'll have Jason Tatum,

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Speaker 1: Jalen Brown, Gordon Hayward at least those three, maybe a

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Speaker 1: little Al Horford to throw at him. And um the

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Speaker 1: Golden State Warriors, who have Kevin Durant, they have Andrea Gadala,

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Speaker 1: they have Sean Livingston, Um they have Draymond Green. They

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Speaker 1: have four guys to which they can throw at him

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Speaker 1: and say, hey, look we're gonna cut everybody else off

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Speaker 1: and you're gonna have to make shot and have Clay

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Speaker 1: Thompson as well, five guys that can legitimately guard Lebron James.

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Speaker 1: You're not gonna stop him, especially in this day and

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Speaker 1: age in the NBA, but you're gonna throw them. Look

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Speaker 1: at Toronto and though they do have arguably the best

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Speaker 1: bench in the NBA, the fact is they don't have

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Speaker 1: a perfect o g and a boy is is just

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Speaker 1: a rookie. Like, he's not gonna shut down Lebron James.

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Speaker 1: He won't get he'll get in the foul trouble before

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Speaker 1: that happens. He has the body, but he doesn't have

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Speaker 1: the game yet on offense to to make Lebron garden.

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Speaker 1: So I still think the Calves can beat Toronto, but

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Speaker 1: I think Toronto just and they only have one day

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Speaker 1: off in between all these games. Toronto can, just like Indiana,

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Speaker 1: can wear him out by making him score for to night,

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Speaker 1: and that's what he's gonna have to do. I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: have to score for to night. I wouldn't bet against

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Speaker 1: Lebron because he has a mental game. He has the

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Speaker 1: mental edge over the over the Raptors. But I do

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Speaker 1: think there is the possibility that he just runs out

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Speaker 1: of gas in Toronto because they have a DeMar Derozin

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Speaker 1: who is a more refined player, more fine player than

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Speaker 1: a victor Or Oladipo. I do think there's the possibility

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Speaker 1: that that Toronto. I didn't think they can win this

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Speaker 1: series going back two months ago. Now I think they can.

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Speaker 1: I wouldn't pick them, but I think they can. And

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Speaker 1: then you got out West where as of recording of this,

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Speaker 1: Steph Curry is going to play tonight, and I think

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Speaker 1: it's it's it's very very interesting. Draymond Green wasn't hitting

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Speaker 1: shots in the regular season, struggled summ early on, was

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Speaker 1: better in Game one versus the Pelicans. Igo Dollas shot

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Speaker 1: a much higher number of threes in the postseason, played

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Speaker 1: more mids in the postseason. You still have Livingston there,

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Speaker 1: and you have some other young pieces. I'm a little

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Speaker 1: concerned about the Warriors bench in the playoffs, in the

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Speaker 1: in the in the Western Conference Finals against the Rockets,

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Speaker 1: but I'm I'm less concerned if Steff is truly back,

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Speaker 1: If Staff is truly back, and you have Staff, if

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Speaker 1: k d if Clay, they just need Draymond to make

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Speaker 1: shots to spread that floor out. Igu Dolla has hit

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Speaker 1: a lot more shots, command a lot more respect. Those

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Speaker 1: the two guys, only two guys you can help off.

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Speaker 1: I'll be fasting to see how staff looks, how he plays,

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Speaker 1: if they give him some kind of piecemeal it, or

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Speaker 1: if they throw them into they throw him in the

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Speaker 1: fiery place thirty five tonight. You know that he was

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Speaker 1: ready to play a long time ago, and they were

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Speaker 1: just being extra extra extra cautious before they did. So.

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Speaker 1: That said, it does feel like a collision course with

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Speaker 1: the Rockets. And I do still like the Warriors over

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Speaker 1: the Rockets because the Rockets, though they'll win a game

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Speaker 1: or two because they can just score all that well,

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Speaker 1: I still think they're so beholding the three point shot

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Speaker 1: and they're not. Though the stats would tell you they're

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Speaker 1: a little bit better defensively than they actually are. There's

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Speaker 1: some flaws or some holes and what they do defensively,

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Speaker 1: I would I would still take the Warriors even sight

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Speaker 1: unseen with with Steph Curry. And then you have the

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Speaker 1: Oklahoma City thunder. What do you do? I think you

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Speaker 1: gotta get rid of Karmento Anthony, which is easier said

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Speaker 1: than done. Look, you can tell me what whatever you

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Speaker 1: want about Phil Jackson how he mismanaged the New York

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Speaker 1: Next you're probably right, But Phil Jackson, do you remember

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Speaker 1: who he liked most in the NBA draft. He's the

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Speaker 1: rookie who's tearing it up of the Boston Celtics. Like

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Speaker 1: that's who he actually valued above anybody else in the

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Speaker 1: NBA draft. And Phil Jackson wanted to try to get

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Speaker 1: rid of Carmelo Anthony. And you're right if you say, hey,

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Speaker 1: god live, you're an idiot. First, you're right for that.

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Speaker 1: The second he he's the one who gave Melow a

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Speaker 1: no trade clause. But I think given no Melo no

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Speaker 1: trade clause was I mean, give you no trade clause.

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Speaker 1: But if we ever need a move you, I think

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Speaker 1: we both agree it's time to move you. But I

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Speaker 1: look at Oklahoma City and and the reaction Melow had

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Speaker 1: at the end of the season, which was basically, hey,

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Speaker 1: they used me wrong, and I have more to offer

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Speaker 1: than I was given. No, you don't. Carmelo Anthony is

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Speaker 1: just patently self unaware. Mellow is a hummer too. Remember

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Speaker 1: those h two big bulky cool when you kind of

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Speaker 1: they were kind of cool looking, look like you were,

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Speaker 1: you know, some like military dude. Like a tough guy. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: but the truth is and H two guzzles too much gas,

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Speaker 1: and H two it doesn't have a third row seats,

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Speaker 1: and H two isn't as off road capable as some

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Speaker 1: would lead you to believe. And H shoes are really

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Speaker 1: early early two thousand's sort of vehicles everyone else has.

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Speaker 1: You either go fuel efficient or you go the remade Escalade,

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Speaker 1: the remade Lincoln Navigator, the remade Yukon, the remade Suburban

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Speaker 1: Writer Infinity, like H two is kind of somewhere in

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Speaker 1: the middle, and it uses more gas and has less

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Speaker 1: room than all of the other SUVs, and it's just

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Speaker 1: kind of not needed. It's just kind of a show

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Speaker 1: piece that people have now to look like there's some

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Speaker 1: kind of tough guy when really we think they're caught

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Speaker 1: in the In two thousand three, that's what Carmelo Anthony

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Speaker 1: this as a player, a right great midrange shooter, great

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Speaker 1: post up guy, a great ball stopper. Can't guard any

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Speaker 1: position that doesn't work. In two thousand eighteen, you'll be

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Speaker 1: able to switch out to point cards. You gotta bail guards, centers,

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Speaker 1: you gotta be able rebound, got bill shoot threes, all

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Speaker 1: not strengths of who Carmelo Anthony is. So I would

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Speaker 1: try and find a way to get rid of Carmelo.

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Speaker 1: The problem is twenty million dollars. You're probably gonna have

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Speaker 1: to buy him out. You just are. And then you

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Speaker 1: have Paul George, who I think truth be Told enjoyed

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Speaker 1: his experience playing in Oklahoma City, and I think truth

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Speaker 1: be told. He likes Russell Westbrook the player, and sometimes

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Speaker 1: it's fun to play with him. But eighty two games

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Speaker 1: for five more years, you know, it's a hundred games

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Speaker 1: a year. Probably passed on that one. The Thunder could

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Speaker 1: go from three games to one with Kevin Durant, hell

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Speaker 1: NBA Finals with Harden Durant, Russell Westbrook, OBAKA two Russell

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Speaker 1: Westbrook and yet another new roster, and the question becomes,

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Speaker 1: do they have another coach? If it's me, I double

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Speaker 1: down on Billy Donovan. He now has the NBA and

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Speaker 1: the playoff experience that he didn't have previously. He has

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Speaker 1: sweat equity with Russell Westbrook, and Russell Westbrook is under

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Speaker 1: contract for the foreseeable future. Double down on him, give

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Speaker 1: him a couple more years. Tell Russell Westbrook, you guys

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Speaker 1: need to work it out, work together, remake this roster,

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Speaker 1: and Russell is gonna have to take better shots and

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Speaker 1: play off the Balsom. That's the only way you make

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Speaker 1: it work. I could tell you that Jayson Tatum is awesome,

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Speaker 1: or that Terry Rogier is a surprise. I would also

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Speaker 1: point this out with the Boston Celtics. Not enough people

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Speaker 1: give credit to Al Horford, not just his efficiency, but

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Speaker 1: his ability to guard multiple positions on defense. Yes, Brad

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Speaker 1: Stevens is amazing, He's a witch. I don't know how

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Speaker 1: he consistently wins now without his top two players, but

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Speaker 1: I will tell you that a good portion of what's

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Speaker 1: allowed the Celtics to be successful it was their acquisition

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Speaker 1: of Al Horford, to which people thought they massively overpaid

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Speaker 1: for him. And anybody who watches tape on the NBA

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Speaker 1: is like, you know what, Al Horford's probably worth everybody, everybody.

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Speaker 1: I don't think the Sixers are dead yet, but I

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Speaker 1: do think this is big boy basketball and they're gonna

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Speaker 1: have to learn the importance of defending every possession, not

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Speaker 1: giving up some of the easy open shots. And I

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Speaker 1: think the Rockets against the Jazz the perfect sign of

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Speaker 1: what happens college or pro. When there's an upset before

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Speaker 1: a big game or a big series, how have been

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Speaker 1: the Thunder? The Jazz were better than the Thunder. All

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Speaker 1: they got some calls, especially in that last game what

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Speaker 1: looked like a foul on three point shop. But the

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Speaker 1: Jazz were better in that series than the Thunder. But

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Speaker 1: the Thunder were a tougher match. Happened more likely to

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Speaker 1: take some games from the Houston Rockets. This is what

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Speaker 1: happens when there's an upset in earlier series suddenly becomes

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Speaker 1: a complete mismatch in the second round. Factor in Ricky

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Speaker 1: Rubio not playing, and unless he plays, they can't be competitive.

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Speaker 1: And even with him, I don't think they'll be competitive

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Speaker 1: with the Rockets. But let's welcome in a friend of

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Speaker 1: the program, personal friend, Nick Right. The show which you

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Speaker 1: should watch every morning East coast six thirty to nine

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Speaker 1: thirty Eastern time, three thirty to six thirty West Coast time.

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Speaker 1: Of course you can DVR. It also replays later on

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Speaker 1: the day. The show is called First Things First. Um.

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Speaker 1: You can also uh download the pod as well. He's

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Speaker 1: Nick Right. He joins us on the Doug Gottlieb Show.

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Speaker 1: I forgive me, I didn't hear your reaction to you

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Speaker 1: Baker going number one overall? Was that the right call?

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Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's a gut to your call, and

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Speaker 1: I would have been able to make. I I understand

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Speaker 1: if you're going for the guy with the highest upside

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Speaker 1: of all the quarterbacks, if you're just trying to get

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Speaker 1: the guy who has the best chance to be the

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Speaker 1: very best of all the players, I understand it. I

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Speaker 1: didn't think the Browns had the luxury of making that call.

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Speaker 1: I thought they had to go with the safest call,

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Speaker 1: the guy who had the least chance of flaming out.

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Speaker 1: I think that likely was Sam Donald. I think Josh

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Speaker 1: Rosen is the guy who's going to end up being

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Speaker 1: the best player out of all of them. So I mean,

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Speaker 1: I think I would have gone Donald, maybe Rosen. I

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Speaker 1: thought Baker. The only guy that I know I wouldn't

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Speaker 1: have taken was Josh Allen. I mean, I understand what

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Speaker 1: the Browns did, but it also does feel like they

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Speaker 1: have the opportunity to get the very best quarterback and

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Speaker 1: the very best defensive player, and they might have ended

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Speaker 1: up with the second or third ask quarterback and the

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Speaker 1: second or third best defensive player. In the draft at

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Speaker 1: one and four. Ye yep, because they're the Browns. And look,

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Speaker 1: maybe they're smarter than the rest of us, right, maybe

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Speaker 1: they know something we do not. We will see time

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Speaker 1: will in fact tell all right, Nick right joins just

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Speaker 1: on the Doug Gotlik Show. I guess, my, my, my

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Speaker 1: question with Lebron is this, I don't know how he

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Speaker 1: keeps it up, Like do I think sometimes guys use

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Speaker 1: press conferences to code messages to the league, to the officials,

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Speaker 1: to the other teams. Sure, but when he said he

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Speaker 1: was exhausted, I believed him. Um. I just I don't

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Speaker 1: know how much you can keep up completely carrying one

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Speaker 1: team through the playoffs. And Nick, as you know, there's

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Speaker 1: only one day off in between all these games with

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Speaker 1: the Raptors. What are your thoughts on whether or not

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Speaker 1: he can continue at this pace? Well, I mean, they're

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Speaker 1: gonna beat the Raptors and he's going to continue to

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Speaker 1: be absolutely unbelievable, if not unimpressive to I don't know,

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Speaker 1: folks such as Doug Gottlieb who just has to mind

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Speaker 1: the world. But wait, but wait, a lot of these

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Speaker 1: records Lebron is said are because he's played a lot

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Speaker 1: of basketball. Don't forget that part of it. But I

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Speaker 1: digress slightly. I don't think he's going to do what

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Speaker 1: he did in Round one in Round two, but I

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Speaker 1: don't think he's going to need to. I think the

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Speaker 1: Raptors are actually, while the Raptors are better than the Pacers,

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Speaker 1: the Raptors are a much better matchup for the Calves

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Speaker 1: than the Pacers were. We've seen that over the last

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Speaker 1: few years, the regular season and the postseason. I also

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Speaker 1: think Kevin Love doesn't have to be an All Star

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Speaker 1: in the second round, but he's not going to play

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Speaker 1: the worst two weeks of basketball of his career as

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Speaker 1: he just played. He's not gonna shoot thirty And I

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Speaker 1: think you have a pretty good idea who on the

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Speaker 1: team right now you can play and you can't play

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Speaker 1: like Jordan Clarkson does not need to see the court.

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Speaker 1: Rodney Hood can be given a few chances, are a

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Speaker 1: chance the beginning of the second quarter and every game,

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Speaker 1: and if he once again looks like the moment is

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Speaker 1: simply too big for him, then guess what. He can

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Speaker 1: go to the bench like there's only seven, maybe eight

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Speaker 1: guys who really feel like you can trust you'll roll

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Speaker 1: roll with those guys. But I just I think I don't.

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Speaker 1: I don't see how that. I don't see how that's sustainable. Like, look,

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Speaker 1: I'm with you, I I there's no reason for me

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Speaker 1: to buy into Toronto. None. None, And I like the

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Speaker 1: rosan Um. I just I they have no one who

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Speaker 1: can match up with Lebron. They are they're they're the

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Speaker 1: way in which they're built is flawed for this one guy.

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Speaker 1: And if you don't have anybody and guard the best

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Speaker 1: player in the Eastern Conference and arguably the best players

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Speaker 1: still in the game, then you have no you have

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Speaker 1: you don't have. You're you're starting. You're starting at the

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Speaker 1: game at a substantial disadvantage. Um, as opposed to the Warriors,

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Speaker 1: who they lined up like their whole roster is comprised

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Speaker 1: of guys who can at least try and stay in

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Speaker 1: front of Lebron. Right, there's a difference in roster construction.

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Speaker 1: That said, what you're suggesting by going to like seven

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Speaker 1: or eight dudes, I don't, I don't see. They have

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Speaker 1: older guy is as well, and they need to get

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Speaker 1: something out of Rodney Hood. They need to get something

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Speaker 1: out of Jordan Clarkston because they if nothing else they're younger,

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Speaker 1: and so they're gonna have to chew up some minutes

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Speaker 1: kind of like a like an innings either fourth or fifth, right, Like,

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Speaker 1: I don't need you to be my ace, but it

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Speaker 1: needs to get some good minutes out of you. Well, listen,

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Speaker 1: I can't trust Jordan Clarkson. And I want to revisit

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Speaker 1: something you said there in a second, but I can't listen.

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Speaker 1: Jordan Clarkson's favorite play all year long has been this

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Speaker 1: to get the ball in the back court, dribble eleven

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Speaker 1: times right into a closely guarded, contested seventeen football away.

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Speaker 1: Like he's unplayable, I he is, a's A. He's shockingly

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Speaker 1: bad in the worst spots Rodney Hood. You would like

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Speaker 1: to see something on him, But the reality is this

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Speaker 1: last year with Utah in eleven games in the postseason

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Speaker 1: in heavy minutes, thirty six percent from the floor from

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Speaker 1: three this year around those same numbers, the moment's just

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Speaker 1: been too big for him. Like, so you've got to

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Speaker 1: find guys the moment's not too big for them. But

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Speaker 1: you just and I just that you're totally correct on this.

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Speaker 1: Nobody hasn't answer for Lebron right just like nobody has

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Speaker 1: an answer for Kevin Durant. There's certain guys, nobody, but

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Speaker 1: the Pacers at least listen. You throw Sad Young in

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Speaker 1: him for ten minutes. You can throw Boyanovitch at him

426
00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:23,720
Speaker 1: for ten minutes. It's oddly enough, Lance can actually be

427
00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:27,119
Speaker 1: a pain in his butt, like the Raptors have nothing.

428
00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:31,000
Speaker 1: O G O O G. Maybe for a little bit,

429
00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:33,800
Speaker 1: but he's a rookie. He's you know what's gonna happen.

430
00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:35,440
Speaker 1: He's gonna get in a foul trouble to sit down,

431
00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:38,520
Speaker 1: and then they'll throw somebody else at him. But I'm

432
00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:41,919
Speaker 1: still I'm still like, look, I'm just reasonably concerned because

433
00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:45,760
Speaker 1: what what what the Pacers tried to do kind of worked.

434
00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:48,280
Speaker 1: I mean like, look, he was too tired to make

435
00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:50,040
Speaker 1: any shots. He made the two lamps in the fourth

436
00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:53,280
Speaker 1: quarter in Game seven, but the but the Pacers were

437
00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:58,040
Speaker 1: so the Pacers so inept offensively, it didn't matter, right.

438
00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:00,600
Speaker 1: But this is this is by the way, and this

439
00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:02,920
Speaker 1: is an argument we got in when we talked about

440
00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:06,320
Speaker 1: the finals last year. This is one of the odd

441
00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:10,280
Speaker 1: things because folks, when they're trying to poke holes in

442
00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:14,159
Speaker 1: what is an impenetrable resume, they squint hard enough, they

443
00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:17,159
Speaker 1: make themselves dizzy, and they go with illogical notes like

444
00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:22,640
Speaker 1: guess what, Like when you score forty five, the official

445
00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:26,520
Speaker 1: scorer doesn't care when those points were scored, Like when

446
00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:29,560
Speaker 1: you when you score when you average forty two in victories,

447
00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:32,200
Speaker 1: nobody cares that you were better in the first half

448
00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:35,240
Speaker 1: than the second half because the points all count the same.

449
00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:37,600
Speaker 1: And so I have two questions for you, because that's

450
00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:40,080
Speaker 1: absolutely by the way, that's absolutely not true. Okay, that's

451
00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:43,520
Speaker 1: that's if you simply go by the numbers, then you're accurate.

452
00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:46,720
Speaker 1: If you go based upon anything we've ever judged in sports.

453
00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:49,560
Speaker 1: It's what you do in the fourth quarter, what you do.

454
00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:52,639
Speaker 1: And I would actually, I actually give Lebron more of

455
00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:56,760
Speaker 1: a pass than many others would because in the past

456
00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,680
Speaker 1: I respect the fact that, dude, when you got to

457
00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:02,480
Speaker 1: score thirty five in the first three quarters, you two

458
00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:06,320
Speaker 1: would be the most tiring thing you can you can

459
00:24:06,359 --> 00:24:09,320
Speaker 1: do in basketball is try and score every time down

460
00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:11,760
Speaker 1: the court. Okay. The second most tiring thing you can

461
00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:15,160
Speaker 1: do is have to play defense on multi multiple positions

462
00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:17,280
Speaker 1: every time down the court. Those are the two things

463
00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:20,600
Speaker 1: we asked Lebron James to do. But but he's but

464
00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:22,919
Speaker 1: he he didn't have it in the fourth quarter in

465
00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:24,960
Speaker 1: several of these games. He didn't have it in the

466
00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,360
Speaker 1: fourth quarter in the finals last year, and Kevin Durant did.

467
00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:31,320
Speaker 1: And I think that's that's the game plan, and you

468
00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:34,360
Speaker 1: have to wear him down because there isn't anybody else

469
00:24:34,359 --> 00:24:37,320
Speaker 1: who can step up and carry them. And it has

470
00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:40,560
Speaker 1: to be all Lebron. Doug. You you you've been making

471
00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:42,320
Speaker 1: the case all year. He's not the best player in

472
00:24:42,359 --> 00:24:45,159
Speaker 1: the world anymore, you said a second ago, you know,

473
00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:48,639
Speaker 1: maybe arguably the best player in the world. Like you

474
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:51,760
Speaker 1: can fold that hand now, right, Like are you We

475
00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:54,240
Speaker 1: all get things wrong? I said Calves in five. I

476
00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:56,960
Speaker 1: had to hold that hand last year, Like you're off

477
00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:01,760
Speaker 1: that now? Why why would that be because you witness

478
00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,680
Speaker 1: is there? Doug? Doug? What even why would that be

479
00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:08,600
Speaker 1: because you've been alive the last two weeks? Does that's why?

480
00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:11,719
Speaker 1: I don't I don't. I don't understand. Because Lebron is

481
00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:16,040
Speaker 1: awesome against the Pacers, okay, and Kevin Durant is awesome

482
00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:18,639
Speaker 1: against the Spurs. No, no, no, no, you can't use

483
00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:21,479
Speaker 1: the same word there. You can't use those guys they

484
00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:25,440
Speaker 1: you can't. Whatever Lebron was and Kevin Durant for they

485
00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:29,080
Speaker 1: weren't the same thing, right, Like Kevin Durant around one

486
00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:33,040
Speaker 1: of Lebron's around one, we're not at all similar. Like

487
00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:36,840
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant was really really good the way superstars are.

488
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:42,080
Speaker 1: Lebron did something that only he and only he in

489
00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:45,280
Speaker 1: the league right now, and he and one or two

490
00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:48,800
Speaker 1: other guys in league history could have done this pass round.

491
00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:52,480
Speaker 1: So like, don't let's not let's come on, you be

492
00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:55,280
Speaker 1: be better and more fair than this. Don't act like

493
00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:57,520
Speaker 1: they were the same in round one, because they weren't.

494
00:25:57,560 --> 00:25:59,399
Speaker 1: Like it's a nice play on work. You're you're right,

495
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:02,320
Speaker 1: you're right. Kevin Durant one five of four of his

496
00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:04,520
Speaker 1: five games. The Bron won four of his seven games.

497
00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:07,119
Speaker 1: Like this is like, this is what you do. This

498
00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:09,400
Speaker 1: is what you do. You go, you simply go based

499
00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:11,720
Speaker 1: upon this, you're like, well, based upon the stats. That's cool.

500
00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:14,040
Speaker 1: I watched the game. They're both the best players on

501
00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:16,840
Speaker 1: the floor, and the difference is the difference is that

502
00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:19,240
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant one has to come out because he has

503
00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:23,080
Speaker 1: a better team, but he also plays more defense because

504
00:26:23,359 --> 00:26:25,560
Speaker 1: whether one he's got more energy, or two he's younger.

505
00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:28,879
Speaker 1: Like again, like you don't, you don't have to agree.

506
00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:32,160
Speaker 1: My My point is simply, I also, who's the best

507
00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:35,520
Speaker 1: basketball player alive? I would take Kevin Durrett. Oh no,

508
00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:38,119
Speaker 1: you wouldn't. You just painted yourself into a corner. And

509
00:26:38,119 --> 00:26:40,320
Speaker 1: so now you can't say anything else. Why who can

510
00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:44,600
Speaker 1: own this one? Who don't truly believe that? You don't? Why?

511
00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:46,879
Speaker 1: Why do I not believe that if you flip the

512
00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:48,879
Speaker 1: two players. I'm just curious if you tell me this,

513
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:51,959
Speaker 1: Please tell me if at the beginning of these playoffs

514
00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:58,400
Speaker 1: Durant and Lebron flop flip flop teams? Are the Warriors worst? No,

515
00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:01,040
Speaker 1: they're probably the same. Are just the same? Are the

516
00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:04,520
Speaker 1: Calves better? They're probably the same. Oh they're the same.

517
00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:09,800
Speaker 1: Come on, dog, come on like and by the way,

518
00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:13,480
Speaker 1: it's the best you can say, is they're the same. Yeah,

519
00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:18,000
Speaker 1: they're they're they're they're both dominant ball handling superstars. Durant's

520
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:21,400
Speaker 1: a better shooter. Lebron James is a has A has

521
00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:26,359
Speaker 1: is physically more dominant. Uh, Durant. Durant currently, I would

522
00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:30,000
Speaker 1: say better at defending the rim, whereas you know Lebron

523
00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:34,000
Speaker 1: James a better, a better pure rebounder than than a

524
00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:37,800
Speaker 1: Kevin durant Is. But I mean, and I would say

525
00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:39,560
Speaker 1: Lebron is a better past Lebron is a better pastor.

526
00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:43,280
Speaker 1: You would you would give him that, you'd give the

527
00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:46,080
Speaker 1: most that that's kind of you a one guy who

528
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:52,640
Speaker 1: is right now above average passer for the NBA compared

529
00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:55,200
Speaker 1: to a guy who is one of the three greatest

530
00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:57,760
Speaker 1: pastors in the history of the NBA. I guess my

531
00:27:57,840 --> 00:27:59,720
Speaker 1: thing is, Nick, I don't understand why every argument has

532
00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:02,800
Speaker 1: to tell into Lebron Leron James is great. I'm more

533
00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:07,200
Speaker 1: interested in whether or not what he's doing is sustainable

534
00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:10,480
Speaker 1: and will an inferior team, which all the teams in

535
00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:13,800
Speaker 1: the Eastern Conference are inferior to a Lebron James lead team,

536
00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:16,359
Speaker 1: we were in agree to that. Hold on, Hold on,

537
00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:21,040
Speaker 1: how like this is the Busses Celtics don't have their

538
00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:23,880
Speaker 1: three best players. The Philadelphias seventy six ers have dudes

539
00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:25,760
Speaker 1: that have never played in the playoff games they're play

540
00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:28,680
Speaker 1: in Toronto. This is the Toronto team that just had

541
00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:32,960
Speaker 1: its best season in franchise history, is fully healthy one

542
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:36,920
Speaker 1: games that this thing because this is the Eastern Conference,

543
00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:39,680
Speaker 1: Like where where would Toronto be in the Western Conference?

544
00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:42,440
Speaker 1: Would you put him ahead of the Rockets? Hold on,

545
00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:44,520
Speaker 1: would you put him ahead of the Rockets? Would you

546
00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:48,880
Speaker 1: put him ahead of the Golden State Warriors? No? Hold on,

547
00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:52,120
Speaker 1: wait a second, yeah, I like the what else? Oh wait,

548
00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:54,160
Speaker 1: the three seed in the Westcot swept and the fourth

549
00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:56,480
Speaker 1: season the Westcot beat Because outside of the Rockets is

550
00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:58,320
Speaker 1: the Warriors. The West slightly over any of the ship

551
00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:00,200
Speaker 1: but they're not the point I've done. The limb is

552
00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:02,200
Speaker 1: the Cavs, Like this is what we do every year.

553
00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:05,200
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, the Calves could get beat, The Calves

554
00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:07,400
Speaker 1: could get beat, The Calves could get beat. And then

555
00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:09,200
Speaker 1: when Lebron takes him to the finals, Oh, it doesn't

556
00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:12,080
Speaker 1: count because the East was overrated, Like we we we

557
00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:15,080
Speaker 1: know how this story gets told, like, oh wait, this

558
00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:18,800
Speaker 1: is guys, they're vulnerable. Atlanta won sixty games, guys, this

559
00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:21,560
Speaker 1: is this is Toronto's year. Guys, look at a Boston

560
00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:23,880
Speaker 1: Isaiah Thomas are doing. And then when the Calves win

561
00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:25,840
Speaker 1: the conference, it's like, oh, it doesn't count. The East

562
00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:28,200
Speaker 1: is not very good. The East was overrated, Like come on,

563
00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:31,440
Speaker 1: let's be fair here. But the reason that I went

564
00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:36,080
Speaker 1: back to the question of who's better is because you,

565
00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:41,200
Speaker 1: for reasons that I can't quite understand, you do these.

566
00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:44,920
Speaker 1: You put yourself one of the best basketball minds I know,

567
00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:49,680
Speaker 1: through these mental gymnastics to justify something that I don't

568
00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:52,959
Speaker 1: think you fully believe, which is why I made I

569
00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,280
Speaker 1: took the shot early, which about Lebron playing in all

570
00:29:56,360 --> 00:30:00,720
Speaker 1: those games. I tweet out just an objective fact like, hey,

571
00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:03,520
Speaker 1: here's where Lebron is now in the all time Playoff

572
00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:06,040
Speaker 1: record book. And he, by the way, for some context

573
00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:09,560
Speaker 1: of it, that means he has more, for example, assists

574
00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:13,840
Speaker 1: than Jason Kidd, rebounds than Larry Bird, points, and steals

575
00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:17,920
Speaker 1: than everyone. And you write on Twitter, well, actually, Larry

576
00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:20,080
Speaker 1: Bird played in the hundred and sixty four playoff games

577
00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:23,560
Speaker 1: and Lebron played in Good talk, get Nick right, which

578
00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:29,080
Speaker 1: totally misses the point of longevity matters and availability matters,

579
00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:31,280
Speaker 1: and you don't get credit for having your career cut

580
00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:34,560
Speaker 1: short because you couldn't stay healthy. There's there's a there's

581
00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:36,840
Speaker 1: a different part to it. You said they're there, would

582
00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:40,160
Speaker 1: you say they're objective stats? It's not objective if you

583
00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:42,960
Speaker 1: don't give the context of hey, they used to play

584
00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:45,880
Speaker 1: three game first round series. Hey, they didn't switched to

585
00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:48,360
Speaker 1: then they go three they then they switched it to

586
00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:51,600
Speaker 1: five games series. There used to be less playoff games.

587
00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:56,720
Speaker 1: In addition that he didn't take it like you can't

588
00:30:56,920 --> 00:30:59,880
Speaker 1: Bird's career. They never played a three game series at

589
00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:08,680
Speaker 1: like that. Yes they did, well, was it three game series?

590
00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:11,680
Speaker 1: When when he when they swept the Chicago Bulls, which

591
00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:16,160
Speaker 1: again there's another one three oh not three? Excuse me?

592
00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:18,440
Speaker 1: A five game series which you could end in three games.

593
00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:21,160
Speaker 1: So if you play fewer, if you play, you play

594
00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:23,840
Speaker 1: fewer games. Excuse me, I misspoke. Uh, if you play,

595
00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:26,920
Speaker 1: you play fewer games, you play fewer games and you play. Yes,

596
00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:29,840
Speaker 1: longevity does matter, okay, but that's that's when you become

597
00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:32,280
Speaker 1: a stat compiler. Right. If you say that he has

598
00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:35,400
Speaker 1: more steals and Pippen like that sounds really impressive. But

599
00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:37,920
Speaker 1: if I told you that Scottie Pippen played two two

600
00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:40,680
Speaker 1: playoff games, it's a little bit less impressive. What are

601
00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:44,160
Speaker 1: the average per game? So one of the things lebron

602
00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:47,080
Speaker 1: Is has been able to do, which I do marvel at,

603
00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:51,160
Speaker 1: is stay healthy. The problem with staying healthy and being

604
00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:54,360
Speaker 1: in the league for fifteen years and playing on Olympic teams,

605
00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:56,040
Speaker 1: with the exception of the last one. He didn't what

606
00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:58,120
Speaker 1: is you're playing a ton of games? And we go

607
00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:00,880
Speaker 1: back to by very first question, which is, dude, at

608
00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:05,080
Speaker 1: some point he's gonna he's gonna run out of gas. No,

609
00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:08,320
Speaker 1: I think it's against the Sixers, and I don't think,

610
00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:11,560
Speaker 1: and I don't, I don't know. I don't think either.

611
00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:15,120
Speaker 1: I don't. I started the show saying, I don't think

612
00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:17,840
Speaker 1: the Sixers have the culture to really be here. I

613
00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:20,120
Speaker 1: think that's what one last night for the Boston Celtics.

614
00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:22,160
Speaker 1: It may well win them the series. I don't think

615
00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:24,000
Speaker 1: any of these teams are particularly good in the East,

616
00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:27,280
Speaker 1: based upon how they're comprised. But I do think that

617
00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:31,200
Speaker 1: I think that Lebron healthy, and I also think that

618
00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:34,640
Speaker 1: people are diminishing the calves. You're right, Kevin Love is

619
00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:37,040
Speaker 1: better than how he played last series. Kevin Love is

620
00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:39,560
Speaker 1: probably a Hall of Fame player at the end of

621
00:32:39,560 --> 00:32:41,560
Speaker 1: the day, and he's in his prime. Like they have

622
00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:43,240
Speaker 1: pretty good players round. It's not as bad as the

623
00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:46,000
Speaker 1: o A Team eight team was miraculous to get them

624
00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:50,480
Speaker 1: to the finals. So so I I look at it

625
00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:52,680
Speaker 1: and I'm like, look, I think they're still better than

626
00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:55,240
Speaker 1: all of these teams. But I think that all of

627
00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:57,880
Speaker 1: these teams are going to make him score forty at night,

628
00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:00,360
Speaker 1: and he's gonna do it, but he's gonna eventually running

629
00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:02,800
Speaker 1: the gas because that's what happens when you're a human being.

630
00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:06,240
Speaker 1: Just just real quick, because this is something people have

631
00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:09,640
Speaker 1: been doing throughout this postseason, and I was I'm trying

632
00:33:09,680 --> 00:33:11,600
Speaker 1: to get as many people on the record as possible.

633
00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:16,200
Speaker 1: Right now, if you had to pick one team, you

634
00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:19,200
Speaker 1: only get one one team to come out of the East,

635
00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:22,640
Speaker 1: I will pick Cleveland right now. The one team you

636
00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:25,000
Speaker 1: would pick to come out of the East is who Cleveland.

637
00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:28,240
Speaker 1: It's just like Kansas in the Big Twelve or or

638
00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:31,560
Speaker 1: I'm so confused. You just said you thought they would

639
00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:34,600
Speaker 1: get beat by Philly, but you're picking the Cleveland your team, Yes,

640
00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:38,600
Speaker 1: because I think Cleveland is I think Cleveland is knows

641
00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:40,560
Speaker 1: how to win a game. Seven knows how to win

642
00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:44,000
Speaker 1: important games when the seven Sixers don't. Again, my maybe

643
00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:46,920
Speaker 1: it's my fear is that Lebron you can only go

644
00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,400
Speaker 1: back to the well so many times to find this

645
00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:53,120
Speaker 1: amount of energy, and I just I fear that he

646
00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:55,360
Speaker 1: loses to an inferior team. But if you make me pick,

647
00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:57,880
Speaker 1: I'm gonna put my salary on one team. I'm taking

648
00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:02,440
Speaker 1: Lebron and the Calves. Okay, the only way Here's Here's

649
00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:04,200
Speaker 1: one of the things is you always you act like

650
00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,800
Speaker 1: I think Lebron stinks or that I think. I don't.

651
00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:10,839
Speaker 1: I just I don't think he's Jordan's. I think he's

652
00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:14,120
Speaker 1: the closest thing to Jordan we've seen. You don't even

653
00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:16,400
Speaker 1: think he's Bird. No, no, no no, I think Bird gets

654
00:34:16,400 --> 00:34:20,640
Speaker 1: diminished because of the back and because of the era

655
00:34:20,680 --> 00:34:23,280
Speaker 1: in which he played, in which Jordan you surped them,

656
00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:26,040
Speaker 1: and Magic kind of you surped him because Magic was

657
00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:28,840
Speaker 1: probably surrounded by better talent and didn't break down as early,

658
00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:32,640
Speaker 1: even though Magic screw was. And those three are the

659
00:34:32,680 --> 00:34:34,600
Speaker 1: three of the Mount Rushmore. And you put Lebron up

660
00:34:34,640 --> 00:34:37,000
Speaker 1: there with him in modern basketball in my opinion. But

661
00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:39,920
Speaker 1: here's the thing, man, You can you you you you

662
00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:42,160
Speaker 1: can say, oh, you act like I ate Lebron. I don't.

663
00:34:42,200 --> 00:34:44,320
Speaker 1: I don't et Lebron. I don't act like ate Lebron.

664
00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:49,360
Speaker 1: I act like and I am accurate in you rastically,

665
00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:53,200
Speaker 1: and I think intentionally under rate him like you can

666
00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:56,520
Speaker 1: we you and I can go to Capital Grill and

667
00:34:56,600 --> 00:35:00,680
Speaker 1: have a two and a half hour in her and

668
00:35:00,719 --> 00:35:02,319
Speaker 1: if we walk out of it and I'm like, hey,

669
00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:04,680
Speaker 1: how was it, man, You're like, you know, it's pretty good.

670
00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:08,239
Speaker 1: It's pretty good. Like you, you can appreciate it and

671
00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:12,840
Speaker 1: enjoy it while wildly underrating it when you when when

672
00:35:13,120 --> 00:35:17,400
Speaker 1: when you like constantly try to try to make the

673
00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:20,359
Speaker 1: let me try to find the exact words here, when

674
00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:25,000
Speaker 1: you constantly try to explain how, oh, actually, well, actually

675
00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:27,759
Speaker 1: having more steals than anyone in the history of the

676
00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:30,879
Speaker 1: NBA playoffs, here's why that's not as impressive as you think.

677
00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:33,680
Speaker 1: You're bothered by You're bothered by that. No, I just

678
00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:36,840
Speaker 1: think it's intellectually dishonest. I don't. I think he's actually

679
00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:40,239
Speaker 1: dishonest to to to list out stats that say he's

680
00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:42,359
Speaker 1: a better read. That that makes people and not you,

681
00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:44,720
Speaker 1: but that makes people really go, he's a better rebatter

682
00:35:44,719 --> 00:35:47,440
Speaker 1: than the bird, better defensive than pipping, he's better than

683
00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:50,200
Speaker 1: you know, he's he's better score than anybody's been in

684
00:35:50,239 --> 00:35:51,879
Speaker 1: the history of the NBA. It's like, yeah, well he's

685
00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:54,719
Speaker 1: played more games. That's the that's the Derek Jeter, Like

686
00:35:54,719 --> 00:35:57,919
Speaker 1: look at what Like Derek Peter has more opportunities? Where

687
00:35:57,920 --> 00:36:02,200
Speaker 1: are you doing again? Like the Derek Jeter Like okay, man,

688
00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:05,000
Speaker 1: Like it's fine, and you're still you're still as we

689
00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:08,280
Speaker 1: sit here on May one, two thousand and eighteen, making

690
00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:11,960
Speaker 1: the argument that someone right now, forget this historic context

691
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:14,120
Speaker 1: of it, that Kevin Durant is better than him. You're

692
00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:18,160
Speaker 1: the only person You're one of two people I know

693
00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:22,080
Speaker 1: that publicly makes that argument. I'm shocked you want to

694
00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:25,319
Speaker 1: do it, like it's it's baffling to me, but more

695
00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:27,840
Speaker 1: power to you. Like you're you're you're going with the

696
00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:30,799
Speaker 1: guy as the best player in the world, who is

697
00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:33,120
Speaker 1: not we are not at all certain is the best

698
00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:36,440
Speaker 1: player on his own team. Like that's fine, who's not

699
00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:38,839
Speaker 1: certain he's the best? He's he he might get he'll

700
00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:42,560
Speaker 1: probably get second in Defensive Player of the year. No, no,

701
00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:47,799
Speaker 1: what hunh Durant because Bobart will be first and then

702
00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:51,840
Speaker 1: beat will be second. And I don't think play I

703
00:36:51,880 --> 00:36:55,840
Speaker 1: would say he's I would guess he'll be second defensive

704
00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:59,120
Speaker 1: Player of the year, even you say's third. Kevin Durant

705
00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:02,839
Speaker 1: has taken a mass CIVI leap in his and how

706
00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:06,360
Speaker 1: he's valued at the defensive end. He was the better

707
00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:08,759
Speaker 1: player for the first two months of the year. I

708
00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:11,680
Speaker 1: think that that narrative got set for a bit and

709
00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:13,759
Speaker 1: then it fell off slightly. And I think he would

710
00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:16,840
Speaker 1: tell you the same and by the way I would,

711
00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:20,200
Speaker 1: I would wager any amount of money you would like

712
00:37:20,719 --> 00:37:23,040
Speaker 1: that he finishes outside of the top two, and I

713
00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:25,640
Speaker 1: would wait her a significant amount of money he finishes

714
00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:28,319
Speaker 1: outside of the top three in defensive Player of the Year.

715
00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:31,040
Speaker 1: But that's not to But that's now I guess I'm

716
00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:34,799
Speaker 1: parsing somewhat. He was very, very good defensively this year.

717
00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:38,160
Speaker 1: He was worth at everything on offense than Lebron. Everything

718
00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:42,759
Speaker 1: go by, okay, Like you live here a world based

719
00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:44,640
Speaker 1: on stats, and on stats, do you think that he's

720
00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:47,600
Speaker 1: Lebron is a better shooter than Kevin Durant. Nobody, nobody

721
00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:50,600
Speaker 1: on Earth thinks that he that. I don't think Lebron

722
00:37:50,640 --> 00:37:53,160
Speaker 1: is a better shooter than Kevin Durant. I just don't.

723
00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:56,320
Speaker 1: This is something that that you do that I don't.

724
00:37:56,840 --> 00:37:59,640
Speaker 1: I don't break down who's like if if I'm asked

725
00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:02,000
Speaker 1: who's the a shooter in the world, then I'll answer

726
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:05,360
Speaker 1: that question. I care about score. I care about scoring,

727
00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:08,840
Speaker 1: so I care out scoring, and I care about efficiency

728
00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:12,120
Speaker 1: like I do not care if you were to say that,

729
00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:15,840
Speaker 1: like when we when we evaluate golfers, right, if someone

730
00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:19,400
Speaker 1: were to ask you specifically, who's the best long putter,

731
00:38:19,880 --> 00:38:21,880
Speaker 1: like then not the guy with the longest putter, but

732
00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:24,640
Speaker 1: who can make the longest putter, then I'll answer that question.

733
00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:26,719
Speaker 1: But if you want to ask me who's the best

734
00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:29,239
Speaker 1: at getting the ball in the cup, I don't care

735
00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:31,560
Speaker 1: if one guy has a bunch of tap ins because

736
00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:34,560
Speaker 1: his iron play is so good, Like I don't penalize

737
00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:37,439
Speaker 1: Lebron because he can get the ball to the rim.

738
00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:40,160
Speaker 1: And by the way, as as a three point shooter

739
00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:42,319
Speaker 1: this year, he's one of the best he's been. Now

740
00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:46,000
Speaker 1: and I said everything offensively, let me let me rephrase that.

741
00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:49,360
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant is obviously clearly a better free throw shooter

742
00:38:49,640 --> 00:38:52,440
Speaker 1: than Lebron James, and he is a better shooter than

743
00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:55,200
Speaker 1: Lebron James, but he's not a better scorer than Lebron.

744
00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:57,960
Speaker 1: That that's what I would, I would I would disagree

745
00:38:58,000 --> 00:38:59,560
Speaker 1: with you. Now. I think part of that is to

746
00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:02,239
Speaker 1: construct of the team in which he's in and and look,

747
00:39:02,320 --> 00:39:05,840
Speaker 1: will agreed to disagree on on that note, Look, I

748
00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:08,600
Speaker 1: gotta run. We will continue this at some point it

749
00:39:08,640 --> 00:39:11,759
Speaker 1: won't be as simply Lebron based discussion. He still didn't

750
00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:14,000
Speaker 1: tell like so you think he he will hold up

751
00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:16,800
Speaker 1: despite this load that he's carrying. I think they'll be

752
00:39:16,920 --> 00:39:22,600
Speaker 1: the Raptors in five or fewer Dames and sixers, sixers. Listen,

753
00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:24,600
Speaker 1: they're gonna go to the NBA finals. They're gonna go

754
00:39:24,640 --> 00:39:27,239
Speaker 1: to the NBA Finals. I think that I think that

755
00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:30,640
Speaker 1: they are drawing, nearly drawing dead against Golden State. I think,

756
00:39:30,680 --> 00:39:33,680
Speaker 1: oddly enough, if it's Houston, they there are some interesting

757
00:39:33,719 --> 00:39:35,880
Speaker 1: things they can do against Houston, but they will be

758
00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:40,879
Speaker 1: an enormous underdog against Golden State. Good stuff, thanks Nick.

759
00:39:46,120 --> 00:39:48,759
Speaker 1: Eric Gordon joins us on the Doug Gottlin Show on

760
00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:52,799
Speaker 1: Fox Sports Radio, Erica. How are you? Oh, everything's good.

761
00:39:52,840 --> 00:39:54,800
Speaker 1: How are you going? I'm really really well. Hey, I

762
00:39:54,840 --> 00:39:57,520
Speaker 1: want to ask you quickly. This is and I'm sure

763
00:39:57,560 --> 00:39:59,439
Speaker 1: you weren't prepared for this. I'll give you a second

764
00:39:59,480 --> 00:40:03,920
Speaker 1: because I remember when you committed to playing in college.

765
00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:06,759
Speaker 1: I remember how big a thing it was. Did you

766
00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:10,200
Speaker 1: did you see? Uh? Do you see what happened with

767
00:40:10,320 --> 00:40:13,960
Speaker 1: Romeo Langford committing to Indiana yesterday. How it's kind of

768
00:40:13,960 --> 00:40:16,400
Speaker 1: a circus and a show. You remember back when you

769
00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:18,920
Speaker 1: originally committed because you were you were going to Illinois

770
00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:23,439
Speaker 1: and then you change your mind and went to Indiana, right, Yeah, yeah, yeah, mon, Yeah,

771
00:40:23,560 --> 00:40:26,000
Speaker 1: my situation was a little different. But yeah, I did

772
00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:28,800
Speaker 1: hear was a home you know, and we're definitely excited

773
00:40:28,880 --> 00:40:32,240
Speaker 1: to see him. Uh yeah, No, it's gonna be interesting

774
00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:34,280
Speaker 1: to see. It seems like a change in Indiana basketball,

775
00:40:34,280 --> 00:40:37,080
Speaker 1: trying to get it back to getting those in state guys. Uh,

776
00:40:37,120 --> 00:40:38,840
Speaker 1: you know that that's that's the big thing. Right If

777
00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:41,360
Speaker 1: I you can build a fence and keep everybody in

778
00:40:41,400 --> 00:40:43,520
Speaker 1: state at home, you got a chance to beat anybody,

779
00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:46,480
Speaker 1: isn't it. Oh, no question, there'll be you know, a

780
00:40:46,560 --> 00:40:51,120
Speaker 1: championship caliber team. The talent is they just to go

781
00:40:51,239 --> 00:40:53,239
Speaker 1: to you and uh, you know, you only see some

782
00:40:53,280 --> 00:40:55,560
Speaker 1: many kids from the Indianna leave and they are very

783
00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:59,719
Speaker 1: successful elsewhere. So uh, for sure, they gotta keep you

784
00:40:59,719 --> 00:41:03,360
Speaker 1: guys in state. When when you guys acquired Chris Paul,

785
00:41:04,239 --> 00:41:06,280
Speaker 1: what did you what did you what did you honestly

786
00:41:06,360 --> 00:41:10,880
Speaker 1: think when you guys moved to go get Chris Paul. Well,

787
00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:14,719
Speaker 1: really it was really based off our office. When Chris

788
00:41:14,719 --> 00:41:17,320
Speaker 1: Paul came, I knew it it was gonna work because

789
00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:20,239
Speaker 1: he's a playmaker. You know. It's not like you're just

790
00:41:20,280 --> 00:41:22,720
Speaker 1: bringing in a guy who's just who's just another score.

791
00:41:23,120 --> 00:41:25,719
Speaker 1: He's he's a pointmaker. He's he's uh, you know, he's

792
00:41:25,840 --> 00:41:28,040
Speaker 1: he's naturally a past first point guard and he comes

793
00:41:28,160 --> 00:41:31,120
Speaker 1: here and uh plays a little bit more, you know,

794
00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:35,520
Speaker 1: shooting guard. But it involves his game because now he's

795
00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:38,680
Speaker 1: a horphan, just a pastor. Yeah, but he's also a

796
00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:41,239
Speaker 1: guy that can dominate the ball, right, Mike D'Antonio, you're

797
00:41:41,280 --> 00:41:44,000
Speaker 1: the ball mover, a ball stopper, and you know everything

798
00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:46,279
Speaker 1: you guys have done in the past has been off

799
00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:48,839
Speaker 1: of James Harden. Was there any thought in your mind, like, man,

800
00:41:49,360 --> 00:41:51,080
Speaker 1: I don't know if this is gonna work two guys

801
00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:54,160
Speaker 1: that like the ball in their hands in our offense. No,

802
00:41:54,320 --> 00:41:57,759
Speaker 1: not necessarily, because the Antoni system is you have to

803
00:41:57,880 --> 00:42:01,000
Speaker 1: you have to make plays a little quicker than normal

804
00:42:01,120 --> 00:42:04,000
Speaker 1: because we had we played to happen for floors space.

805
00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:06,200
Speaker 1: So if you just don't make if you don't make

806
00:42:06,200 --> 00:42:09,719
Speaker 1: the quick opportunity happened, and uh, then all you're gonna

807
00:42:09,719 --> 00:42:11,399
Speaker 1: do is just hurt yourself and hurt the team. So

808
00:42:12,120 --> 00:42:14,960
Speaker 1: it's I think it's naturally fitted for for them to

809
00:42:15,080 --> 00:42:18,439
Speaker 1: really make good play making skills really quickly. Uh. There's

810
00:42:18,440 --> 00:42:21,560
Speaker 1: been a lot of talk about your team's defense. Obviously

811
00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:25,560
Speaker 1: numbers are are are pretty good. Um, how how has

812
00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:28,919
Speaker 1: this the team evolved defensively from when you first got

813
00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:31,160
Speaker 1: there to now the unit that we've seen so far

814
00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:36,040
Speaker 1: in the playoffs. Uh, I like our defense. I think

815
00:42:36,160 --> 00:42:38,640
Speaker 1: our defense has been really feeling our offense. I really

816
00:42:38,719 --> 00:42:41,320
Speaker 1: feel like we have any really hit all cylinders on office,

817
00:42:41,480 --> 00:42:43,920
Speaker 1: uh throughout this playoffs like we did during the season.

818
00:42:44,440 --> 00:42:48,600
Speaker 1: And uh, but you know, we switch a lot everybody's

819
00:42:49,600 --> 00:42:52,200
Speaker 1: we take away a lot of things that other teams do.

820
00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:55,560
Speaker 1: And uh, I really haven't been like I really like

821
00:42:55,640 --> 00:42:58,440
Speaker 1: how this has been this whole this whole playoff. You

822
00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:01,000
Speaker 1: mentioned your your offense has and gotta go one big

823
00:43:01,040 --> 00:43:03,719
Speaker 1: reason why you weren't hitting shots. And you know, I'm like, look,

824
00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:07,839
Speaker 1: you shoot you in the regular season, only so far

825
00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:09,840
Speaker 1: in the playoffs you couldn't make it, couldn't make a bucket.

826
00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:11,920
Speaker 1: What's is there something you're gonna change that, you're gonna do.

827
00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:15,440
Speaker 1: I mean, what what's going on with your jump shot? Well,

828
00:43:15,480 --> 00:43:17,919
Speaker 1: it's not really what's going on with my jump shot?

829
00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:20,359
Speaker 1: Is that just uh teams are just trying to take

830
00:43:20,360 --> 00:43:25,120
Speaker 1: away a lot you know. Um, the only way I'll

831
00:43:25,160 --> 00:43:28,040
Speaker 1: be able to get that chance was, you know, half

832
00:43:28,080 --> 00:43:30,319
Speaker 1: the ball of my hands willing to be able to

833
00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:33,279
Speaker 1: create a little bit more because when when I'm in

834
00:43:33,320 --> 00:43:35,399
Speaker 1: the game, these guys are just not leaving me from

835
00:43:35,440 --> 00:43:37,360
Speaker 1: three points. So there's just more like the nine me

836
00:43:37,680 --> 00:43:40,920
Speaker 1: and uh and too, you know. Uh, So I just

837
00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:43,400
Speaker 1: kind of figure out ways. But as long as we're winning,

838
00:43:43,960 --> 00:43:46,920
Speaker 1: that's the main thing, because you can't let a lot

839
00:43:46,960 --> 00:43:49,239
Speaker 1: of stuff get to you. You you you mentioned that

840
00:43:49,280 --> 00:43:51,880
Speaker 1: they're hugging up on three point shooters, right, making you

841
00:43:51,920 --> 00:43:53,600
Speaker 1: guys try and take tok too. It is kind of

842
00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:56,239
Speaker 1: making James Harden, you know, trying you know, beat him

843
00:43:56,239 --> 00:43:58,840
Speaker 1: by himself. It's a little bit of what the Pacers

844
00:43:58,920 --> 00:44:00,680
Speaker 1: have tried to do to lebron On, right, which is,

845
00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:03,160
Speaker 1: you know, take away those three take away all the

846
00:44:03,280 --> 00:44:06,919
Speaker 1: what you do best, and make one guy care you

847
00:44:07,400 --> 00:44:09,799
Speaker 1: so that he gets tired in the fourth quarters. That

848
00:44:09,840 --> 00:44:11,120
Speaker 1: a little bit of the game plan. Is there any

849
00:44:11,120 --> 00:44:13,200
Speaker 1: similarity there between how they're playing the broad and how

850
00:44:13,360 --> 00:44:18,320
Speaker 1: people are trying to guard Harden, Well, every team is different,

851
00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:20,920
Speaker 1: but in this series, that's what it seems, that's what

852
00:44:21,560 --> 00:44:24,000
Speaker 1: Keith was doing. You know, they're not letting there trying

853
00:44:24,040 --> 00:44:27,520
Speaker 1: to not force uh, letting this play a lot of

854
00:44:27,760 --> 00:44:29,839
Speaker 1: you know, take a lot of threes and everything they

855
00:44:29,840 --> 00:44:33,560
Speaker 1: wanted inside to compare. So it's said, you know, you know,

856
00:44:33,600 --> 00:44:36,799
Speaker 1: he's serious. Is going to be different for everybody. But

857
00:44:36,920 --> 00:44:40,040
Speaker 1: as long as we you know, he continue to win

858
00:44:40,200 --> 00:44:42,440
Speaker 1: and went at a good you know, we went at

859
00:44:42,440 --> 00:44:44,880
Speaker 1: a good uh you know, have a good lead on teams,

860
00:44:44,920 --> 00:44:48,720
Speaker 1: then I'll take that. I'll take that chance. Yeah, obviously

861
00:44:48,719 --> 00:44:51,440
Speaker 1: you guys dominated one Tini. They didn't have Rubio that

862
00:44:51,600 --> 00:44:53,959
Speaker 1: they didn't feel like they were really competitive in that game.

863
00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:58,320
Speaker 1: You mentioned Golbert um is it. I think most people

864
00:44:58,760 --> 00:45:01,239
Speaker 1: talk about how good he is to fending at the rim,

865
00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:03,200
Speaker 1: but I would say it's also that for a guy

866
00:45:03,320 --> 00:45:05,120
Speaker 1: that big and that long, it's that he can actually

867
00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:07,879
Speaker 1: cover some out in the perimeter. What makes him such

868
00:45:07,920 --> 00:45:10,720
Speaker 1: an effective defender. It's hard, it's hard for us Eric

869
00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:13,440
Speaker 1: to see when we're watching on TV. Other than in

870
00:45:13,560 --> 00:45:16,160
Speaker 1: blocking shots at the rim, you're trying to go at him.

871
00:45:16,200 --> 00:45:18,560
Speaker 1: He gets the switch on you. What makes Rudy Gobert

872
00:45:18,600 --> 00:45:21,719
Speaker 1: such such a great defender? Uh, he's tough when you're

873
00:45:21,719 --> 00:45:24,600
Speaker 1: going into the basket because he's always alternating shots and

874
00:45:24,600 --> 00:45:27,440
Speaker 1: he also blocked shots too. But what we want to

875
00:45:27,520 --> 00:45:29,319
Speaker 1: we want to get him out in there for all

876
00:45:29,400 --> 00:45:31,960
Speaker 1: the perimeter, so we could, you know, you know, get

877
00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:34,120
Speaker 1: it better, get a better shot at him as far

878
00:45:34,120 --> 00:45:36,040
Speaker 1: as you know, maybe should take it three, maybe driving

879
00:45:36,080 --> 00:45:38,359
Speaker 1: to the basket where someone else could help him as

880
00:45:38,360 --> 00:45:40,239
Speaker 1: we're driving to the basket. So we always want to

881
00:45:40,239 --> 00:45:43,040
Speaker 1: create a mismatch. Eric Gordon joining us on the Doug

882
00:45:43,080 --> 00:45:45,239
Speaker 1: Gotlip Show. How much do you pay attention to what

883
00:45:45,239 --> 00:45:49,319
Speaker 1: the Warriors are doing? Not as much? But you know

884
00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:51,240
Speaker 1: the Warriors they play the same way all the time,

885
00:45:51,320 --> 00:45:53,640
Speaker 1: so you know they I don't really see to do

886
00:45:53,680 --> 00:45:57,080
Speaker 1: any anything different. I just mean, do you do you

887
00:45:57,120 --> 00:45:59,839
Speaker 1: watch that steps coming back tonight? Do you watch how

888
00:45:59,840 --> 00:46:02,040
Speaker 1: they are planned? You watch those games? Or are you

889
00:46:02,080 --> 00:46:04,920
Speaker 1: two locked in what you're doing. I don't know. I'm

890
00:46:04,960 --> 00:46:06,960
Speaker 1: a fan of the game, so I'm gonna watch other

891
00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:09,480
Speaker 1: teams and uh, but for sure, I'm focusing on what

892
00:46:09,719 --> 00:46:12,279
Speaker 1: we're doing. That's no, I'm not saying you're not I'm

893
00:46:12,320 --> 00:46:14,000
Speaker 1: not saying you're going home. You're like, I'm not paying

894
00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:16,839
Speaker 1: any attention to this. How much I was? How much

895
00:46:16,880 --> 00:46:19,320
Speaker 1: do game plans vary from game one to get like,

896
00:46:19,320 --> 00:46:22,600
Speaker 1: because huge, Utah's got to make some sort of adjustment, right,

897
00:46:22,719 --> 00:46:25,320
Speaker 1: if their plan was to make hard and beat him, well,

898
00:46:25,400 --> 00:46:27,840
Speaker 1: that plan didn't work. He had forty eight and seven

899
00:46:28,160 --> 00:46:30,560
Speaker 1: and he did so pretty efficiently, seven and twelve from

900
00:46:30,600 --> 00:46:33,359
Speaker 1: three point range. How much do game plans vary from

901
00:46:33,400 --> 00:46:37,400
Speaker 1: game to game in the playoffs? Yeah, based on what

902
00:46:37,800 --> 00:46:39,840
Speaker 1: they what we see them doing the first quarter. You know,

903
00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:43,480
Speaker 1: it's either, you know, our point guards or our playmakers

904
00:46:43,480 --> 00:46:45,520
Speaker 1: are either going to score a lot of points and

905
00:46:45,520 --> 00:46:50,120
Speaker 1: create a lot of assists or or or we're gonna

906
00:46:50,280 --> 00:46:52,000
Speaker 1: get a lot of threes of where they're gonna be

907
00:46:52,080 --> 00:46:55,319
Speaker 1: helping a lot. So it's uh, but every game that

908
00:46:55,360 --> 00:46:58,640
Speaker 1: we played them so far, because against Utah they've always

909
00:46:59,239 --> 00:47:01,920
Speaker 1: try to take away or three, so you know, they're

910
00:47:01,920 --> 00:47:04,480
Speaker 1: pretty I'm pretty sure they might stick to what they're doing. Yeah,

911
00:47:04,520 --> 00:47:06,360
Speaker 1: So do you take a step back even further to

912
00:47:06,480 --> 00:47:08,640
Speaker 1: space it out even you know, even more so, like

913
00:47:08,640 --> 00:47:10,680
Speaker 1: if they're gonna hug up on you, don't you just

914
00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:13,640
Speaker 1: continue to to space and almost get higher out on

915
00:47:13,640 --> 00:47:15,760
Speaker 1: the floor and it becomes even more open inside the lane.

916
00:47:16,080 --> 00:47:18,680
Speaker 1: Well sometimes well some yeah, we're gonna keep the sports

917
00:47:18,840 --> 00:47:21,680
Speaker 1: floor space, that's no question. But you know it doesn't

918
00:47:21,960 --> 00:47:24,839
Speaker 1: even if I take a step back there, they're still

919
00:47:24,840 --> 00:47:27,560
Speaker 1: gonna stay with stick with me. So they're just creating

920
00:47:27,680 --> 00:47:29,839
Speaker 1: one on one situations where go there at the rim

921
00:47:29,920 --> 00:47:32,839
Speaker 1: where our guards are going down. Here Eric Gordon joining

922
00:47:32,880 --> 00:47:34,640
Speaker 1: us in the Doug Outler Show. And it fascinating how

923
00:47:34,680 --> 00:47:38,440
Speaker 1: much basketball has changed since like you were coming up right,

924
00:47:38,440 --> 00:47:41,319
Speaker 1: remember like you're coming out of high school Indianapolis, and

925
00:47:41,640 --> 00:47:43,439
Speaker 1: even back then, people like, man, you gotta go on

926
00:47:43,239 --> 00:47:45,839
Speaker 1: one on one mid range game, mid range game, right,

927
00:47:45,840 --> 00:47:48,000
Speaker 1: you got to move without the basketball. Yeah, you guys

928
00:47:48,040 --> 00:47:49,600
Speaker 1: do move without the basketball. But a lot of it's

929
00:47:49,640 --> 00:47:52,920
Speaker 1: just pace in space, you know, find your spots, you know,

930
00:47:53,560 --> 00:47:56,959
Speaker 1: relocate based upon penetration, and everything is at the rim.

931
00:47:57,000 --> 00:47:59,600
Speaker 1: Like it's it's kind of crazy that when you were

932
00:47:59,600 --> 00:48:01,400
Speaker 1: a kid, I'm sure people like don't get outside the

933
00:48:01,480 --> 00:48:03,800
Speaker 1: three point line, get in there and show a midrange

934
00:48:03,800 --> 00:48:08,160
Speaker 1: pull up, and now that's considered the worst shot in basketball. Yeah,

935
00:48:08,239 --> 00:48:10,680
Speaker 1: for sure, because everybody's getting taller and longer. So that

936
00:48:10,760 --> 00:48:13,840
Speaker 1: two point shot is uh, it's it's easier. It's an

937
00:48:13,840 --> 00:48:17,439
Speaker 1: easier contested shot. Now it seems like so the best

938
00:48:17,480 --> 00:48:20,120
Speaker 1: way to go is uh, you know, be able to

939
00:48:20,160 --> 00:48:21,880
Speaker 1: knock down threes and be able to take it to

940
00:48:21,920 --> 00:48:25,000
Speaker 1: the basket. And and as you can see, everybody's gonna

941
00:48:25,000 --> 00:48:28,160
Speaker 1: have to have the complete package. Uh here here soon

942
00:48:28,400 --> 00:48:30,960
Speaker 1: where I mean one through five because this year in

943
00:48:31,000 --> 00:48:34,080
Speaker 1: the sea, centers that are tall and lanky and that

944
00:48:34,160 --> 00:48:37,000
Speaker 1: are that will bring the ball maybe down the floor.

945
00:48:37,120 --> 00:48:40,360
Speaker 1: You know, guys like Jonice or Durant. You're gonna just

946
00:48:40,360 --> 00:48:43,440
Speaker 1: see a whole bunch more guys that size handling the

947
00:48:43,440 --> 00:48:47,040
Speaker 1: ball and even garden guards sometimes. So it's you gotta

948
00:48:47,080 --> 00:48:50,160
Speaker 1: have a complete package. Now, who's the tougher cover, Lebron

949
00:48:50,280 --> 00:48:54,960
Speaker 1: or Kevin Durant for you personally? M both of them

950
00:48:54,960 --> 00:49:02,880
Speaker 1: are different, but um, how so because Durant, because Durant

951
00:49:03,000 --> 00:49:05,960
Speaker 1: is tall and he can shoot too, so I it's

952
00:49:06,600 --> 00:49:08,880
Speaker 1: it's tough. And Lebron is stronger. He's gonna use his

953
00:49:09,000 --> 00:49:12,120
Speaker 1: power and he has size on a lot of people too,

954
00:49:12,160 --> 00:49:15,040
Speaker 1: So I don't know. It's tough, but if you if

955
00:49:15,080 --> 00:49:19,480
Speaker 1: I had it, Durant is very tough. Yeah, he's got

956
00:49:19,480 --> 00:49:21,640
Speaker 1: he's got. He's got a greater kind of arsenal of

957
00:49:21,800 --> 00:49:26,040
Speaker 1: scoring scoring options whereas Lebron. Lebron can score, but also

958
00:49:26,200 --> 00:49:28,239
Speaker 1: he a little bit more of a passer, right, I mean,

959
00:49:28,680 --> 00:49:32,479
Speaker 1: and and Lebron also settled. Sometimes I'll just get tired

960
00:49:32,480 --> 00:49:34,040
Speaker 1: and settled for a jump shot, which you kind of

961
00:49:34,040 --> 00:49:35,840
Speaker 1: feel like you won. He would have goes in you

962
00:49:35,840 --> 00:49:37,799
Speaker 1: feel like you kind of won, as opposed to when

963
00:49:37,880 --> 00:49:40,800
Speaker 1: Durant shoots, you feel like you didn't win. And sometimes

964
00:49:40,800 --> 00:49:42,239
Speaker 1: you could be there with Durant, he just jumps up

965
00:49:42,239 --> 00:49:45,400
Speaker 1: and shoots over you because he's so tall exactly now

966
00:49:45,520 --> 00:49:48,200
Speaker 1: that's he's almost he's like seven feet tall and he

967
00:49:48,360 --> 00:49:52,400
Speaker 1: just shoots at will. So it's tough. Eric Gordon joining us,

968
00:49:52,440 --> 00:49:53,719
Speaker 1: Do you guys want to be you want to be

969
00:49:53,760 --> 00:49:56,760
Speaker 1: considered the favorite or the underdog in the series against

970
00:49:56,800 --> 00:50:03,080
Speaker 1: the Warriors? Well, um, I don't. I don't see really

971
00:50:03,080 --> 00:50:05,600
Speaker 1: see how we can be the favorites because you know

972
00:50:05,640 --> 00:50:07,880
Speaker 1: the Warriors, they have been to the final spur four times,

973
00:50:07,920 --> 00:50:11,359
Speaker 1: in a row. And uh, but I would like to,

974
00:50:11,880 --> 00:50:13,839
Speaker 1: you know, have our chance at them next series. If

975
00:50:13,880 --> 00:50:16,200
Speaker 1: we it's you know, if we could just continue to

976
00:50:16,520 --> 00:50:19,000
Speaker 1: play well, I would love it. And uh, you know,

977
00:50:19,480 --> 00:50:21,279
Speaker 1: I mean there's just no way that you can have

978
00:50:21,440 --> 00:50:27,319
Speaker 1: us as the favorites. But um, we'll see what happens. Uh.

979
00:50:27,600 --> 00:50:31,200
Speaker 1: You tall the toughest place to play the league, it's

980
00:50:31,200 --> 00:50:34,000
Speaker 1: one of them. That's I definitely would say that's always

981
00:50:34,000 --> 00:50:35,960
Speaker 1: been one of the toughest places. All watch out for

982
00:50:36,000 --> 00:50:37,960
Speaker 1: guys with their cell phones trying to capture all the

983
00:50:38,000 --> 00:50:41,600
Speaker 1: different images and shove them in your face. We know

984
00:50:41,680 --> 00:50:43,480
Speaker 1: Russ is not a fan, not a fan at all.

985
00:50:43,560 --> 00:50:45,880
Speaker 1: That j Thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate

986
00:50:45,920 --> 00:50:47,800
Speaker 1: to be our guest. Best of luck inst the Jazz.

987
00:50:48,800 --> 00:50:51,000
Speaker 1: Thanks appreciate it all right, Eric Gordon joining us in

988
00:50:51,000 --> 00:50:58,560
Speaker 1: the Doug Gotlin Show. Let's talk to NBA who Chris

989
00:50:58,560 --> 00:51:00,960
Speaker 1: Busarry joined us. He's the NBA inside of a Fox

990
00:51:01,000 --> 00:51:02,719
Speaker 1: Sports one you can hear on Fox Sports. Trading the

991
00:51:02,760 --> 00:51:05,680
Speaker 1: Weekends is a great show six nine pm Eastern Time

992
00:51:05,719 --> 00:51:09,360
Speaker 1: with Rob Parker. Chris, Here's what I said about the

993
00:51:09,400 --> 00:51:13,120
Speaker 1: Celtics and the seventies sixers and and you can feel free,

994
00:51:13,360 --> 00:51:15,279
Speaker 1: as you always are, free to disagree with me if

995
00:51:15,280 --> 00:51:19,640
Speaker 1: you if you'd like um. They both have reloaded, rebuilt,

996
00:51:19,760 --> 00:51:23,680
Speaker 1: remade themselves, but in different ways. Much like one has

997
00:51:23,840 --> 00:51:26,280
Speaker 1: um has read one a house, the other one straped

998
00:51:26,280 --> 00:51:29,600
Speaker 1: it and started all over. And what happens when you

999
00:51:30,080 --> 00:51:33,000
Speaker 1: rebuild a house is you still have the character of

1000
00:51:33,000 --> 00:51:35,200
Speaker 1: the house. And I bring that up because what the

1001
00:51:35,239 --> 00:51:38,680
Speaker 1: Celtics did was they tried to establish a winning culture

1002
00:51:38,760 --> 00:51:41,960
Speaker 1: first and then slowly acquired players through the draft and

1003
00:51:42,000 --> 00:51:45,880
Speaker 1: then eventually via free agency in trades, uh to have

1004
00:51:46,160 --> 00:51:49,840
Speaker 1: you know, NBA All Star level talent. Whereas the seventies

1005
00:51:49,880 --> 00:51:53,799
Speaker 1: sixers they were they were trying to lose games, so

1006
00:51:53,920 --> 00:51:57,000
Speaker 1: you couldn't really establish any sort of culture. And they

1007
00:51:57,080 --> 00:52:00,239
Speaker 1: got the players first, and now we're trying to establish

1008
00:52:00,280 --> 00:52:03,200
Speaker 1: culture on the fly. And that's why this though the

1009
00:52:03,239 --> 00:52:07,319
Speaker 1: Celtics don't currently have their top three players, they're still

1010
00:52:07,320 --> 00:52:10,240
Speaker 1: probably a better team because they have a better culture

1011
00:52:10,280 --> 00:52:14,840
Speaker 1: that's ingrained in them over several years. Fair. Wow, you

1012
00:52:14,920 --> 00:52:16,920
Speaker 1: said a lot, but yeah, I think a lot of

1013
00:52:16,960 --> 00:52:19,160
Speaker 1: it makes sense. That's why, you know, when you talk

1014
00:52:19,239 --> 00:52:23,720
Speaker 1: to executives around the league about tanking, what the word

1015
00:52:23,840 --> 00:52:27,440
Speaker 1: that you hear is just what you use. Culture, and

1016
00:52:27,480 --> 00:52:29,839
Speaker 1: a lot of teams just don't want to bring that

1017
00:52:29,920 --> 00:52:34,279
Speaker 1: quote unquote culture into their building. They don't want a

1018
00:52:34,440 --> 00:52:38,680
Speaker 1: losing culture where we everybody knows we're trying to love

1019
00:52:39,200 --> 00:52:41,279
Speaker 1: and to be honest. Players don't even want to Like

1020
00:52:41,440 --> 00:52:44,680
Speaker 1: when Philly was doing that, three agents didn't want to

1021
00:52:44,760 --> 00:52:47,839
Speaker 1: go there. You know. Jelil Okaford. Now granted he didn't

1022
00:52:47,880 --> 00:52:49,880
Speaker 1: turn out to be a very good player, but he

1023
00:52:49,920 --> 00:52:52,960
Speaker 1: didn't want to be drafted by the Sixes because of

1024
00:52:53,040 --> 00:52:57,560
Speaker 1: that losing culture. So what you say is definitely correct

1025
00:52:57,640 --> 00:53:02,000
Speaker 1: on many levels. I still think Philadelphia can get out

1026
00:53:02,040 --> 00:53:04,160
Speaker 1: of it. Um. I think the players that they have

1027
00:53:04,400 --> 00:53:07,520
Speaker 1: not granted and bid was there for it. Um. Simmons

1028
00:53:07,560 --> 00:53:12,120
Speaker 1: really wasn't. Uh, Dario Sary was there for some of it,

1029
00:53:12,200 --> 00:53:14,800
Speaker 1: but he was. You know, both of those guys MBTN

1030
00:53:14,880 --> 00:53:20,960
Speaker 1: Sarge or NBA was hurt. Um. You know Bell and Nellie, Ilya, Sulva, Reddick,

1031
00:53:21,040 --> 00:53:24,560
Speaker 1: they weren't there for it. Brett Brown was, but I

1032
00:53:24,600 --> 00:53:27,160
Speaker 1: think he's proven to be a good, solid coach. I

1033
00:53:27,200 --> 00:53:29,880
Speaker 1: don't think this is gonna hold them back. I just

1034
00:53:29,920 --> 00:53:34,600
Speaker 1: think Boston has Brad Stevens is phenomenal, and look, I

1035
00:53:34,640 --> 00:53:39,480
Speaker 1: think they'd be certainly better with Kyrie Irving, no question,

1036
00:53:39,880 --> 00:53:43,200
Speaker 1: but I'm not sure how much better. Like I think

1037
00:53:43,760 --> 00:53:46,200
Speaker 1: it's almost that like that guy can just put in

1038
00:53:46,280 --> 00:53:51,160
Speaker 1: whoever he has and they're incredibly productive. I'm picking Philadelphia

1039
00:53:51,200 --> 00:53:54,080
Speaker 1: to win the series, but I would not be shocked

1040
00:53:54,160 --> 00:53:57,440
Speaker 1: or surprised in the least bit if Boston wins it

1041
00:53:57,560 --> 00:54:01,600
Speaker 1: because they just played so hard. They execute well, they

1042
00:54:01,600 --> 00:54:05,360
Speaker 1: play smart, and they do have some talented athletes. They

1043
00:54:05,400 --> 00:54:09,920
Speaker 1: don't really have stars, um yet, but they have enough

1044
00:54:10,000 --> 00:54:13,920
Speaker 1: talent to make it work in a week Eastern conference. Um. Okay,

1045
00:54:13,920 --> 00:54:17,120
Speaker 1: help me out here. Uh. I actually believe Lebron James

1046
00:54:17,120 --> 00:54:21,799
Speaker 1: when he said he was tired, did you. I think

1047
00:54:21,840 --> 00:54:24,480
Speaker 1: he was speaking in the moment like he was tired

1048
00:54:24,760 --> 00:54:27,000
Speaker 1: that moment. He was tired, you know, he wanted to

1049
00:54:27,040 --> 00:54:29,719
Speaker 1: go home and get some rest. I don't believe he

1050
00:54:29,920 --> 00:54:33,799
Speaker 1: was saying, uh that he's you know, he's really not

1051
00:54:33,840 --> 00:54:38,000
Speaker 1: gonna be at his best in this Raptors series. Look,

1052
00:54:38,120 --> 00:54:41,000
Speaker 1: I think Lebron sometimes does like to ratchet up the

1053
00:54:41,040 --> 00:54:44,000
Speaker 1: degree of difficulty, you know, and make it seem like

1054
00:54:44,080 --> 00:54:47,319
Speaker 1: he's going over an even bigger obstacle than he is,

1055
00:54:47,840 --> 00:54:50,520
Speaker 1: so I expect him to be fine. I don't really

1056
00:54:50,560 --> 00:54:53,800
Speaker 1: think fatigue has gone really be a factor in this series.

1057
00:54:53,880 --> 00:54:57,640
Speaker 1: That's interesting because I do. Um. Look, I think that

1058
00:54:57,680 --> 00:55:00,200
Speaker 1: there's no good matchup that the Raptors have to guard him.

1059
00:55:00,200 --> 00:55:04,719
Speaker 1: They just don't, and ultimately that becomes their undoing. But

1060
00:55:04,800 --> 00:55:07,439
Speaker 1: if you look at the Pacers, like the game plan

1061
00:55:07,560 --> 00:55:10,120
Speaker 1: is pretty pretty simple. They want a single cover him,

1062
00:55:10,120 --> 00:55:13,600
Speaker 1: make Lebron's score as much as he could buy himself,

1063
00:55:13,640 --> 00:55:16,080
Speaker 1: make him really work to get his own shot, and

1064
00:55:16,160 --> 00:55:19,560
Speaker 1: not let him facilitate, hoping that in the fourth quarter

1065
00:55:19,600 --> 00:55:22,319
Speaker 1: he'd running the gas. And many times that worked. They

1066
00:55:22,360 --> 00:55:25,680
Speaker 1: just didn't have enough offense on their end. Yeah, I

1067
00:55:25,719 --> 00:55:28,480
Speaker 1: mean that's the thing. The Pacers couldn't produce a lot

1068
00:55:28,520 --> 00:55:31,160
Speaker 1: of office. Um, they did do a good job. You know.

1069
00:55:31,239 --> 00:55:33,480
Speaker 1: Stephen Jackson is up here this week at Fox that

1070
00:55:33,640 --> 00:55:37,359
Speaker 1: we've been on some shows together, and he he did

1071
00:55:37,440 --> 00:55:40,600
Speaker 1: not like the Pacers strategy. He thought that they should

1072
00:55:40,600 --> 00:55:43,239
Speaker 1: have doubled Lebron, got the ball out of his hands

1073
00:55:43,480 --> 00:55:46,840
Speaker 1: and made everybody else beat you. And obviously those guys

1074
00:55:46,880 --> 00:55:50,880
Speaker 1: didn't produce. But I I think that's easier, said than done.

1075
00:55:51,000 --> 00:55:54,720
Speaker 1: I mean, Lebron has always gotten his throughout his fifteen

1076
00:55:54,800 --> 00:55:57,920
Speaker 1: year career, so he's gonna put thirty something on you

1077
00:55:58,160 --> 00:56:02,480
Speaker 1: regardless of how you defend him. But to your point,

1078
00:56:03,000 --> 00:56:06,400
Speaker 1: even if you don't like didn't like the defensive strategy,

1079
00:56:06,640 --> 00:56:09,440
Speaker 1: that wasn't the problem for the Papers. The problem was

1080
00:56:09,480 --> 00:56:12,640
Speaker 1: that they couldn't score. Now, Toronto is a team that

1081
00:56:12,760 --> 00:56:17,400
Speaker 1: can score, and they are a better defensive team than Indiana.

1082
00:56:17,480 --> 00:56:20,200
Speaker 1: So on paper, there are a lot of reasons to

1083
00:56:20,320 --> 00:56:24,319
Speaker 1: like the Raptors, But I just don't think that their

1084
00:56:24,520 --> 00:56:29,160
Speaker 1: stars are close enough to Lebron James where they're going

1085
00:56:29,239 --> 00:56:31,640
Speaker 1: to be able to beat him. I think I think

1086
00:56:31,680 --> 00:56:34,760
Speaker 1: the CAVN gonna winning in six I think they will

1087
00:56:34,840 --> 00:56:38,879
Speaker 1: have a little less trouble with the Raptors than they

1088
00:56:38,880 --> 00:56:41,719
Speaker 1: had with the Pacers. Christopher start joining us in the

1089
00:56:41,760 --> 00:56:45,359
Speaker 1: Doug Gotlip Show Fox Sports Radio. That's interesting. I I

1090
00:56:45,400 --> 00:56:48,080
Speaker 1: think there it's a bad matchup for the Raptors. I

1091
00:56:48,120 --> 00:56:51,640
Speaker 1: just think ultimately Lebron gets worn down. Um, so you

1092
00:56:51,640 --> 00:56:55,680
Speaker 1: you you've picking picking the Raptors. No, I think I

1093
00:56:55,719 --> 00:56:58,840
Speaker 1: think there's a chance he loses maybe to the Sixers

1094
00:56:58,840 --> 00:57:02,959
Speaker 1: in the next series. Even though I think if if, if,

1095
00:57:03,320 --> 00:57:05,640
Speaker 1: if all things were equal, they would beat the Sixers more.

1096
00:57:05,719 --> 00:57:07,720
Speaker 1: You know, they beat the Sixers four times in seven.

1097
00:57:07,920 --> 00:57:10,560
Speaker 1: I just think ultimately he even though the Sixers aren't

1098
00:57:10,600 --> 00:57:15,600
Speaker 1: as good, um, and they don't have the degree worn down. Yeah,

1099
00:57:15,640 --> 00:57:18,800
Speaker 1: I like he went seven games, then you're gonna go

1100
00:57:18,840 --> 00:57:21,080
Speaker 1: You're gonna go six in this thing. Like the Raptors

1101
00:57:21,120 --> 00:57:23,920
Speaker 1: are gonna beat him once or twice. And you know,

1102
00:57:24,000 --> 00:57:25,920
Speaker 1: I feel like the Sixers will beat him a couple

1103
00:57:25,960 --> 00:57:28,919
Speaker 1: of times. And look, if you watch games seven, fourth quarter,

1104
00:57:29,120 --> 00:57:32,120
Speaker 1: he didn't have much use in the tank. No. Look,

1105
00:57:32,200 --> 00:57:34,240
Speaker 1: you make a good point, and they're gonna be times

1106
00:57:34,240 --> 00:57:37,600
Speaker 1: where he has to defend the best player you know, Um,

1107
00:57:37,640 --> 00:57:41,560
Speaker 1: and that's gonna wear him down. Not I don't think

1108
00:57:41,560 --> 00:57:45,640
Speaker 1: it'll bite them this series, but I do agree with

1109
00:57:45,680 --> 00:57:48,200
Speaker 1: you that over the course of these playoffs it could

1110
00:57:48,320 --> 00:57:53,240
Speaker 1: become a factor. Like maybe it happens in the conference finals. Um.

1111
00:57:53,280 --> 00:57:55,840
Speaker 1: You know when he had to carry this load when

1112
00:57:55,840 --> 00:58:00,800
Speaker 1: it first in Cleveland, you know, he was a lot younger,

1113
00:58:01,080 --> 00:58:03,640
Speaker 1: and he had a lot more energy, and for him

1114
00:58:03,680 --> 00:58:06,880
Speaker 1: to do this at this stage in his career, even

1115
00:58:06,880 --> 00:58:10,720
Speaker 1: though he plays smarter and probably can salvage some energy,

1116
00:58:10,760 --> 00:58:13,560
Speaker 1: a lot better than he used to. Yeah, I could

1117
00:58:13,600 --> 00:58:16,760
Speaker 1: see it taken a toll. That's why it is imperative

1118
00:58:17,320 --> 00:58:20,880
Speaker 1: that first Kevin Love, I mean, he's got to step

1119
00:58:21,000 --> 00:58:24,680
Speaker 1: up and play much better. Uh. And then I know

1120
00:58:24,760 --> 00:58:26,840
Speaker 1: their hope is just that some of these young kids,

1121
00:58:26,880 --> 00:58:30,439
Speaker 1: and none of them have done it, Clauson could. They

1122
00:58:30,440 --> 00:58:33,200
Speaker 1: have looked far worse than the playoffs, and they did

1123
00:58:33,240 --> 00:58:36,440
Speaker 1: in the regular season, and they're gonna they're gonna have

1124
00:58:36,520 --> 00:58:39,440
Speaker 1: to have those guys step up and play better if

1125
00:58:39,440 --> 00:58:42,280
Speaker 1: they want to get to the conference to the finals.

1126
00:58:42,400 --> 00:58:45,280
Speaker 1: It's interesting because when that trade was made the first

1127
00:58:45,320 --> 00:58:47,240
Speaker 1: couple of games, everybody said how much better they are

1128
00:58:47,280 --> 00:58:49,720
Speaker 1: and was like, look, these guys haven't played in real

1129
00:58:49,720 --> 00:58:54,040
Speaker 1: basketball games. It's completely differently, completely different, and something that's

1130
00:58:54,040 --> 00:58:56,600
Speaker 1: been exposed that they haven't played in real important basketball

1131
00:58:56,600 --> 00:58:59,920
Speaker 1: games and everything they do gets micromanaged. The minutes get tight,

1132
00:59:00,520 --> 00:59:02,680
Speaker 1: and people, have you scouted better? The game is more

1133
00:59:02,720 --> 00:59:06,600
Speaker 1: physical and and they've been exposed as being immature in

1134
00:59:06,640 --> 00:59:09,760
Speaker 1: the in the landscape of playoffs. After that, Yeah, that's

1135
00:59:09,760 --> 00:59:11,960
Speaker 1: the thing. I mean, they were fined in the regular

1136
00:59:12,000 --> 00:59:14,960
Speaker 1: season even though they had their their poor moments as

1137
00:59:14,960 --> 00:59:18,520
Speaker 1: a team with the new guys. But let's look at it.

1138
00:59:18,680 --> 00:59:21,440
Speaker 1: Larry Nance Jr. Who he has, He's been okay for

1139
00:59:21,560 --> 00:59:25,640
Speaker 1: what he does. Clarkson, they're coming off the bench for

1140
00:59:25,760 --> 00:59:29,720
Speaker 1: a bad Western Conference team, you know, riding hood there.

1141
00:59:29,760 --> 00:59:31,920
Speaker 1: The reason you saw let him go because he's so

1142
00:59:32,120 --> 00:59:35,320
Speaker 1: up and down and you know, those are the guys

1143
00:59:35,360 --> 00:59:38,080
Speaker 1: that we're gonna supposed to ride in with the Calvary

1144
00:59:38,080 --> 00:59:42,160
Speaker 1: and saved the calv Um. I thought theoretically it could

1145
00:59:42,200 --> 00:59:44,520
Speaker 1: work because they had a lot more energy and youth

1146
00:59:44,600 --> 00:59:47,840
Speaker 1: and athleticism, so they were they should have been able

1147
00:59:47,880 --> 00:59:50,960
Speaker 1: to be better defender. But to your point is telling.

1148
00:59:51,080 --> 00:59:53,680
Speaker 1: I mean, look at what t Lou went with in

1149
00:59:53,800 --> 00:59:56,280
Speaker 1: Game seven. He went with the guys that had been there,

1150
00:59:56,320 --> 00:59:59,560
Speaker 1: even though j R. Is I mean, he's the biggest

1151
00:59:59,560 --> 01:00:03,120
Speaker 1: see saw in the league in terms of consistency. But

1152
01:00:03,280 --> 01:00:05,720
Speaker 1: that's who Tyler went with and it got it done

1153
01:00:05,760 --> 01:00:09,080
Speaker 1: for him. Uh. You know, I expected to work this

1154
01:00:09,200 --> 01:00:12,200
Speaker 1: series as well. But the next one, to your point,

1155
01:00:12,280 --> 01:00:15,320
Speaker 1: is where it could haunt him. But look, I think Boston.

1156
01:00:15,840 --> 01:00:18,920
Speaker 1: It could be Boston that they're facing in the conference finals.

1157
01:00:20,520 --> 01:00:22,880
Speaker 1: They play Boston, I couldn't. I mean, that would be

1158
01:00:22,920 --> 01:00:25,760
Speaker 1: an all time upset at Boston beats them with that. Yeah,

1159
01:00:25,800 --> 01:00:28,680
Speaker 1: and that's an interest. That's a great like. They to me,

1160
01:00:28,880 --> 01:00:34,160
Speaker 1: they just don't have enough talent without Kyrie Um and

1161
01:00:34,200 --> 01:00:38,800
Speaker 1: maybe even without Hayward too to beat Lebron because he's

1162
01:00:38,920 --> 01:00:42,520
Speaker 1: not only talented but smart. Him is an envied or

1163
01:00:42,560 --> 01:00:45,200
Speaker 1: smart but maybe not smart enough at this stage of

1164
01:00:45,200 --> 01:00:47,560
Speaker 1: their career. A couple of quick ones. Steph is gonna

1165
01:00:47,560 --> 01:00:51,360
Speaker 1: play tonight. They say, no minutes restriction, They're gonna start him.

1166
01:00:51,600 --> 01:00:54,240
Speaker 1: I think they'll start him. You know, you bring out

1167
01:00:54,240 --> 01:00:56,920
Speaker 1: a player like that, you usually start him. Um. I

1168
01:00:56,960 --> 01:01:00,640
Speaker 1: think it's good. If the doctors have said that, look

1169
01:01:00,760 --> 01:01:02,720
Speaker 1: he's just ready in game two, is he's gonna be

1170
01:01:02,760 --> 01:01:06,439
Speaker 1: from game three? I play him because you know this, Look,

1171
01:01:07,000 --> 01:01:11,200
Speaker 1: I know he's gonna fit in swimmingly, uh seamlessly. It

1172
01:01:11,280 --> 01:01:13,200
Speaker 1: is that I don't really be a problem, but there

1173
01:01:13,240 --> 01:01:15,880
Speaker 1: still is an adjustment period. I don't care who the

1174
01:01:15,920 --> 01:01:19,320
Speaker 1: player is and what the system is. And if I'm

1175
01:01:19,440 --> 01:01:22,080
Speaker 1: going to say I don't want to be adjusted against Houston.

1176
01:01:22,600 --> 01:01:26,880
Speaker 1: I want to get through those adjustments, that that assimilation again.

1177
01:01:27,240 --> 01:01:29,640
Speaker 1: But the next three or four games, whatever it takes

1178
01:01:29,640 --> 01:01:32,600
Speaker 1: to get rid of New Orleans and then we're rolling

1179
01:01:32,800 --> 01:01:36,240
Speaker 1: on all cylinders when we face Houston in the conference final.

1180
01:01:36,440 --> 01:01:38,800
Speaker 1: Ye I tend to agree with you on that one. Um.

1181
01:01:38,840 --> 01:01:42,000
Speaker 1: Any have you heard anything early on what the what

1182
01:01:42,080 --> 01:01:48,040
Speaker 1: the Thunder are gonna try and do well? I mean,

1183
01:01:48,080 --> 01:01:51,160
Speaker 1: I think George is out of there. I think if

1184
01:01:51,200 --> 01:01:54,480
Speaker 1: I'm the Thunder, I think Carmelo Anthony's comments were a

1185
01:01:54,560 --> 01:01:56,880
Speaker 1: blessing in this guy. And I would have met with

1186
01:01:57,040 --> 01:01:59,680
Speaker 1: him last night and been like, look, we want you

1187
01:01:59,720 --> 01:02:03,400
Speaker 1: to come off the bench and just hope that he says, well,

1188
01:02:03,440 --> 01:02:08,000
Speaker 1: I'm gonna opt out, because I mean, Mellow is first

1189
01:02:08,000 --> 01:02:10,480
Speaker 1: ballot Hall of Famer in my opinion, but at this

1190
01:02:10,520 --> 01:02:12,960
Speaker 1: stage of his career, he's got to realize what he

1191
01:02:13,120 --> 01:02:16,800
Speaker 1: is and what he is not. And there's no way

1192
01:02:16,840 --> 01:02:20,280
Speaker 1: he's getting that type of money on the market, open market, um,

1193
01:02:20,360 --> 01:02:22,800
Speaker 1: And there's nowhere he's going to go to play the

1194
01:02:22,880 --> 01:02:25,640
Speaker 1: old role that he used to play as the old Mellow.

1195
01:02:26,240 --> 01:02:29,800
Speaker 1: So where's he going? So I don't think he's gonna

1196
01:02:29,800 --> 01:02:31,360
Speaker 1: opt out. I think he put his foot in his

1197
01:02:31,400 --> 01:02:34,280
Speaker 1: mouth and he's gonna look bad because he's gonna opt

1198
01:02:34,280 --> 01:02:36,040
Speaker 1: into that deal. I don't try to get a buy out.

1199
01:02:36,120 --> 01:02:40,000
Speaker 1: Maybe get that, but you know, look, okay, see is

1200
01:02:40,040 --> 01:02:43,320
Speaker 1: in a different place now, and they're not going to

1201
01:02:43,360 --> 01:02:46,280
Speaker 1: win a championship. They're not gonna compete for a championship

1202
01:02:46,320 --> 01:02:51,480
Speaker 1: for the foreseeable future. They've got one superb player who

1203
01:02:51,640 --> 01:02:55,880
Speaker 1: is a you know, a great spectacular show, and they're

1204
01:02:55,880 --> 01:02:58,280
Speaker 1: gonna sell out the arenas because people are gonna want

1205
01:02:58,280 --> 01:03:00,800
Speaker 1: to see him. They feel he's been loyal to that

1206
01:03:00,920 --> 01:03:04,880
Speaker 1: city and they can hope to make the playoffs every year.

1207
01:03:05,280 --> 01:03:08,800
Speaker 1: But that's really where they're at now. Like the building

1208
01:03:08,880 --> 01:03:11,360
Speaker 1: around him, I think there's two ways to build around western.

1209
01:03:11,600 --> 01:03:14,800
Speaker 1: One you just get a super duper star like Kevin

1210
01:03:14,880 --> 01:03:19,160
Speaker 1: Durant and maybe you've got enough talent to win a championship.

1211
01:03:19,240 --> 01:03:21,680
Speaker 1: They came close even though they didn't do it. Or

1212
01:03:22,000 --> 01:03:24,720
Speaker 1: you built around him like Alan Iverson, like they didn't

1213
01:03:24,720 --> 01:03:29,040
Speaker 1: Philly with the grinders three in d guys for today's game.

1214
01:03:29,360 --> 01:03:33,360
Speaker 1: But you need a superior coach to do that. Uh,

1215
01:03:33,360 --> 01:03:35,000
Speaker 1: And I don't know that that could win in today's

1216
01:03:35,080 --> 01:03:37,800
Speaker 1: NBA anyway, But I don't think Billy Donovan is the

1217
01:03:37,840 --> 01:03:41,160
Speaker 1: coach for that. And you know that's a lot of rebuilding.

1218
01:03:41,280 --> 01:03:45,160
Speaker 1: So I think that's I think they'll go that ladder route.

1219
01:03:45,640 --> 01:03:49,640
Speaker 1: Um when when George leaves and if Mellow is bought

1220
01:03:49,680 --> 01:03:52,840
Speaker 1: out or whatever, Uh, they'll put grinders and three in

1221
01:03:52,960 --> 01:03:55,600
Speaker 1: D guys around him. But unless they get rid of Donovan,

1222
01:03:56,240 --> 01:03:58,640
Speaker 1: I don't think Donald will be to maximize that type

1223
01:03:58,680 --> 01:04:01,040
Speaker 1: of the only other thing to do is to would

1224
01:04:01,040 --> 01:04:03,240
Speaker 1: be to double down on Donovan and let him coach

1225
01:04:03,280 --> 01:04:06,479
Speaker 1: coach because I feel like he's not coaching Westbrook. Whether

1226
01:04:06,480 --> 01:04:09,040
Speaker 1: it's out of fear or whatever, but like you know,

1227
01:04:09,240 --> 01:04:11,520
Speaker 1: you feel like if there see I agree with you.

1228
01:04:11,760 --> 01:04:14,960
Speaker 1: Not now Scotty Brooke didn't either. Um, I don't know

1229
01:04:15,040 --> 01:04:18,200
Speaker 1: who will. I don't think. I don't think it's that

1230
01:04:19,240 --> 01:04:22,760
Speaker 1: the front office or somebody is saying Donovan can't like

1231
01:04:22,920 --> 01:04:25,840
Speaker 1: you don't touch Westbrook. I just don't know that he

1232
01:04:25,960 --> 01:04:29,800
Speaker 1: has the I don't want to question his heart, but

1233
01:04:30,160 --> 01:04:32,880
Speaker 1: I just don't think he's gonna say anything the Westbrook.

1234
01:04:33,360 --> 01:04:37,360
Speaker 1: There's a Quaiet Leonard story out there. ESPN has it. UM.

1235
01:04:37,440 --> 01:04:40,280
Speaker 1: I read into it, and it doesn't feel like the

1236
01:04:40,320 --> 01:04:42,800
Speaker 1: Spurs have any problem with Kauai. It's more the people

1237
01:04:42,840 --> 01:04:46,840
Speaker 1: around Kauai. What's it likely he returns to San Antonio

1238
01:04:47,600 --> 01:04:50,600
Speaker 1: if they offered their their best shot is offering him

1239
01:04:50,640 --> 01:04:54,000
Speaker 1: that super Max right away, because I'm cold. He it's

1240
01:04:54,040 --> 01:04:56,640
Speaker 1: not like he's dying to get out of San Antonio.

1241
01:04:57,240 --> 01:05:02,080
Speaker 1: Kauai is baffled and bothered by the fact that the

1242
01:05:02,240 --> 01:05:05,360
Speaker 1: Spurs have you know, he They're like, we've never seen

1243
01:05:05,440 --> 01:05:09,240
Speaker 1: them go at a player like this. You know, the

1244
01:05:09,320 --> 01:05:14,240
Speaker 1: comments about his group, Uh, Tony Parker, um, you know

1245
01:05:14,320 --> 01:05:17,800
Speaker 1: if some people think my new um, you know, the

1246
01:05:17,840 --> 01:05:22,400
Speaker 1: anonymous sources and stories talking about tension because Kauai's camp like,

1247
01:05:22,400 --> 01:05:26,240
Speaker 1: wait a minute, We've been fully transparent with the Spurs.

1248
01:05:26,880 --> 01:05:29,080
Speaker 1: They knew we were getting the second opinion. They were

1249
01:05:29,080 --> 01:05:31,840
Speaker 1: on board with it. They knew Kauai was gonna be

1250
01:05:31,880 --> 01:05:34,560
Speaker 1: in New York working out. They were on board with it.

1251
01:05:34,800 --> 01:05:38,280
Speaker 1: They sent trainers to New York to work out with them.

1252
01:05:38,480 --> 01:05:41,120
Speaker 1: They were on board with that. When we're with them,

1253
01:05:41,240 --> 01:05:44,200
Speaker 1: their furrings. But when we you know, then we see

1254
01:05:44,240 --> 01:05:47,440
Speaker 1: these stories or we see these comments, and we're saying,

1255
01:05:47,560 --> 01:05:51,080
Speaker 1: what's going on, there's a bit of like disingenuous this

1256
01:05:51,320 --> 01:05:55,040
Speaker 1: there that Kauai's camp feel like they see and there

1257
01:05:55,080 --> 01:05:58,640
Speaker 1: will have to be some smoothing over. Uh. It can

1258
01:05:58,680 --> 01:06:01,920
Speaker 1: be done like it better be done with the super

1259
01:06:01,960 --> 01:06:04,840
Speaker 1: Max offer if it's not done with a super Max offer,

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01:06:05,280 --> 01:06:07,960
Speaker 1: and I think it's gonna be tough for san Antonio

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01:06:08,480 --> 01:06:11,320
Speaker 1: to make it work. But I believe, and from this

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01:06:11,360 --> 01:06:14,440
Speaker 1: one talking to people close to this situation, that Kauai

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01:06:14,640 --> 01:06:17,560
Speaker 1: will give them a chance, um if they come with

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01:06:17,600 --> 01:06:20,880
Speaker 1: the right money and you know, if if they say

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01:06:20,920 --> 01:06:23,520
Speaker 1: the right things. But he's a bit bothered by the

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01:06:23,520 --> 01:06:25,880
Speaker 1: way things have happened because he feels like they've taken

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01:06:25,880 --> 01:06:28,920
Speaker 1: a shot at he when he's hurt and he never

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01:06:28,960 --> 01:06:31,720
Speaker 1: saw him do that with any other players. Great tough

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01:06:31,760 --> 01:06:34,040
Speaker 1: and Christoper Sorry. Check him out this Sunday sixty nine

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01:06:34,040 --> 01:06:36,520
Speaker 1: Eastern Time with Rob Parker and of course telling all

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01:06:36,600 --> 01:06:39,280
Speaker 1: his work on Fox Sports One step. Thanks for joining

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01:06:39,320 --> 01:06:44,120
Speaker 1: us man. All right, that's the latest version of All Ball.

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01:06:44,200 --> 01:06:48,640
Speaker 1: Don't forget to download, subscribe, and rate our podcast. I'm

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01:06:48,680 --> 01:06:49,040
Speaker 1: dog Got