Speaker 1: You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox
Speaker 1: Sports Radio. The Lakers lose yesterday, and with all of
Speaker 1: the stories like look the Kyrie and the Kyrie getting
Speaker 1: the bottle thrown at him and smushing the face of
Speaker 1: the leper con Obviously there's some ugliness there, But I
Speaker 1: think everyone knew the Nets are going to beat the Celtics, right,
Speaker 1: It's not a surprise. There's some other very good series
Speaker 1: Portland and Denver's a very good series. The Bucks molly
Speaker 1: wopping the heat and the heat culture going out and
Speaker 1: getting swept four games to none like that, that's a surprise.
Speaker 1: But Rob, I don't think I'm speaking out of turn.
Speaker 1: After the Game three performance, it was like the regular
Speaker 1: season means nothing. The Lakers are clearly not only the
Speaker 1: better team, but probably the best team in the West.
Speaker 1: Like this thing was a rap and then some screwy happened.
Speaker 1: Chris Paul looks magically healed right, like he went into
Speaker 1: like he went into the locker room in the valley,
Speaker 1: and mister Miyagi did that rub his hands together and
Speaker 1: put his chee in him thing, you know, you know,
Speaker 1: because he was so ineffective prior to this. It was
Speaker 1: It was like how because everybody thought Doug he should
Speaker 1: have taken the game off or so, you know what,
Speaker 1: I mean, to try to get fully healthy. And he
Speaker 1: played through it, but all of a sudden he looked
Speaker 1: like Chris Paul he did. And then and then Anthony
Speaker 1: Davis goes down with injury, and now all of a
Speaker 1: sudden the Lakers, who what was a hey, how quickly
Speaker 1: can we get this series over with? Can we get
Speaker 1: this thing over in five so we can go get
Speaker 1: rested too. They're gonna be lucky to get out of
Speaker 1: the series. How big? How big a trouble do you
Speaker 1: think they're in? I think they're in huge trouble. I
Speaker 1: just the injury situation. I never felt like uh wasn't
Speaker 1: going to reappear for the Lakers because of Anthony Davis's
Speaker 1: history and Lebron's age, Lebron James's age. I thought a
Speaker 1: lot of stuff had to go right for them. H
Speaker 1: Kyle KU's has what happened to him? Doug? He's like
Speaker 1: zero for the lady. I think la happened to him?
Speaker 1: What happened to him? He was supposed I remember they
Speaker 1: didn't want to let him go? He oh no, not
Speaker 1: him for a Kyle for Anthony Davis. Now, Kyle kuz
Speaker 1: was not going anywhere. You remember that, he was no, absolutely,
Speaker 1: I mean like, look coming into last year. Last year,
Speaker 1: the thought was like, all right, we got Anthony Davis
Speaker 1: and Kyle Kuzman, Lebron James. You can put us down
Speaker 1: for seventy seventy five a night from those three. How
Speaker 1: was the plan? A right, there's a plan and then
Speaker 1: there and then by the end of the year it's like, oh,
Speaker 1: we got Anthony Davison, Lebron James and occasionally got Kyle Kuzma,
Speaker 1: and it hasn't yet. He's he's looked like a guy
Speaker 1: who who Lebron still gives the side eyed two, is
Speaker 1: not really bought into, doesn't really know where he's supposed
Speaker 1: to be with these guys. Now, do I think he
Speaker 1: could have statistically a very good UM series here and
Speaker 1: could pick it up because he knows how to play
Speaker 1: when they play Lebron ball, right, like give it to Lebron,
Speaker 1: he makes every pass and every play like sure, but
Speaker 1: that that's kind of what it's gonna have to take.
Speaker 1: And then the question becomes, one, can Lebron do that anymore? Physically?
Speaker 1: And then too does his body hold up because this
Speaker 1: is only the second time he's been hurt. So yeah,
Speaker 1: I think the whole thing is fascinating, not just what's happened.
Speaker 1: And this is the way that dynasties or quasi dynasty's end,
Speaker 1: like go back. Everybody points to the fact that that
Speaker 1: Kobe and and Shaq hated each other at the end
Speaker 1: of their three peats. They did, they did, they didn't
Speaker 1: get along, but Rick Fox got hurt, Karl Malone got hurt.
Speaker 1: That was part of the reason why they were so
Speaker 1: limited when they you know, when they split early with
Speaker 1: the with the Pistons and they went back to Detroit,
Speaker 1: like I never came back. Nobody believed that. If you remember,
Speaker 1: I covered that series, Dug and I remember media members
Speaker 1: after you remember, because the Pistons should have won Game two.
Speaker 1: Kobe hit that three and then they won an overtime,
Speaker 1: and people are like, Okay, that's it. You know, the
Speaker 1: Pistons got there one win. That's going to be the
Speaker 1: end of it. That Pistons team was a really good team,
Speaker 1: not with great players per se, but just together and
Speaker 1: that was the beginning, and that was the end of
Speaker 1: the Lake that run. With the Lakers, and and everything
Speaker 1: changed after that. So like, look, you can we can
Speaker 1: go back through pick the dynasty and with the exception
Speaker 1: of Jordan retiring, right, I mean, what ended even the
Speaker 1: Warriors dynasty where they won two in a row. Like, look,
Speaker 1: they're beating that, They're beating the Raptors if everybody outside
Speaker 1: of Steph Curry doesn't get hurt, right, Kevon Looney's hurt,
Speaker 1: and of course Clay gets hurt in Game six, they
Speaker 1: were still competitive in game to six games without Kevin Durant.
Speaker 1: He could have made it. If Steph Curry made that shot,
Speaker 1: they could have won that game dog the game seven,
Speaker 1: am I right, he got a look at the end
Speaker 1: of that game. But the point is, like, if Clay
Speaker 1: doesn't get hurt, they might win the series. If KD
Speaker 1: doesn't get hurt, they definitely win the series. Injuries have
Speaker 1: brought down injuries, and most injuries because of age, but
Speaker 1: some just injuries have brought down more of these dynasties
Speaker 1: or quasi dynasties than anything. And I just wonder if
Speaker 1: that's that's what happens to the Lakers. And it really
Speaker 1: the juxtaposition of the Clippers who seventy two hours ago. Whatever,
Speaker 1: you know, go back to Friday afternoon, We're dead and
Speaker 1: the Lakers were like, dude, we don't have to play
Speaker 1: the Clippers again. They dodged us in the first in
Speaker 1: the second round, we don't have to play him again.
Speaker 1: To now, the Clippers feeling like they have complete control
Speaker 1: of their series, and the adjustments that Tyrone Low's made
Speaker 1: in combination with Luca having whatever is going on with
Speaker 1: his neck, like it it's that thing looks over as
Speaker 1: opposed to Lakers are now like, holy crap, we could
Speaker 1: lose to the Suns, who we wanted to play because
Speaker 1: it's a positive matchup for us. Yep, no doubt about it.
Speaker 1: I think Laker fans are very very concerned and the
Speaker 1: tables that quickly have turned. And if the Suns go back,
Speaker 1: you know, the Phoenix Game five and they were able
Speaker 1: to win that and there's no Anthony Davis, then then
Speaker 1: the Lakers goose will be cooked. I mean, that obviously
Speaker 1: is a huge game. And um, I picked the Sons
Speaker 1: in this series to start, Doug. I did because you're
Speaker 1: that guy. You're that guy. I am that guy. I
Speaker 1: picked the Sons, and I really believe the Suns are
Speaker 1: gonna be if they're if the full strength, you really
Speaker 1: believe I did, because I didn't think the Lakers would
Speaker 1: be at full strength, really I did. I was like,
Speaker 1: this just you didn't know who was gonna get hurt,
Speaker 1: but you felt like somebody's gonna get hurt. Yes, I
Speaker 1: felt like they were not going to be able to
Speaker 1: complete the series without a piece missing, and the Suns
Speaker 1: and wronger like, look we're getting and and people do
Speaker 1: it in my royal day as well, which I don't know,
Speaker 1: like they do the fireworks thing. I remember there was
Speaker 1: a fourth of July. I was in Drumwright, Oklahoma, and
Speaker 1: all these guys are like volunteer firefighters, so that's like there, hey,
Speaker 1: I can light whatever fireworks possible, and you know, you
Speaker 1: spend like most of day drinking and cooking out. And
Speaker 1: this is before I had kids, and I just remember
Speaker 1: all these guys going off into a field to light
Speaker 1: off these big fireworks, and that was my thinking. I
Speaker 1: was like, I don't know who's gonna get hurt, but
Speaker 1: somebody's gonna get hurting this sort of thing, and I'm
Speaker 1: gonna do is I'm gonna remove myself and I'm gonna
Speaker 1: go stay even though I like seeing things blow up
Speaker 1: right like like like like I like seeing fireworks, like
Speaker 1: any red blooded American man, I like that. That's fine
Speaker 1: with you. I'm out the way. But I'm like, no,
Speaker 1: I don't know which one of you guys is gonna
Speaker 1: end up losing the digit, but it's not gonna be me,
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna remove myself. That's how you looked at
Speaker 1: the Lakers series to begin with. I really did, and
Speaker 1: I just thought the Sons are young and and people
Speaker 1: discounted them the whole way, as if all the games
Speaker 1: they won during the regless season didn't matter. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's all I heard was, Oh, who are you afraid
Speaker 1: of in the West, Not Utah or not the Sons.
Speaker 1: And I'm just like, really, those games don't count at
Speaker 1: all what they were able to accomplish. Devin Booker, nothing
Speaker 1: he did matters full strength. The Lakers are beating Phoenix
Speaker 1: full strength. They're better than Phoenix. It's a bad matchup
Speaker 1: for Phoenix. I would disagree with you there, but the
Speaker 1: thought that somebody's gonna get hurt, that one I understand.
Speaker 1: And no stredamis that did in fact come true. Be
Speaker 1: sure to catch the live edition of The Dan Patrick
Speaker 1: Show week days at nine am Eastern six am Pacific
Speaker 1: on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeart Radio app. I
Speaker 1: believe that you can't win something in the first half,
Speaker 1: but you can damn sure lose it. And I understand
Speaker 1: what I think I respect about NBA coaches above most
Speaker 1: guys who sit in these chairs, is if you coached
Speaker 1: or played in professional basketball, you understand how much is
Speaker 1: really going on, Like the coaching is so far away
Speaker 1: above that of what happens in college basketball or even
Speaker 1: at the lower levels of professional basketball, like it is.
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, David Blatt obviously kind of stepped
Speaker 1: in it here because he talked about it being like
Speaker 1: a fighter pilot. But there really are those many decisions,
Speaker 1: and sometimes you have to manage a lot of times.
Speaker 1: You have to manage this in the fourth quarter of
Speaker 1: a game, do you take I mean, we saw this
Speaker 1: with the Hawks in Game two in New York, the
Speaker 1: only game the Hawks have lost the Knicks. It felt
Speaker 1: like they kept Trey Young out when he's running a
Speaker 1: fever too long in the fourth quarter and then by
Speaker 1: the time they bring him back, Uh, you know, a
Speaker 1: couple of his teammates miss open shots and they can't
Speaker 1: ultimately close the gap and beat then I thought that
Speaker 1: was the case too, and watching that game, I was
Speaker 1: surprised he wasn't out there. So we can see it
Speaker 1: a lot in the fourth quarter. Lebron takes a break
Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter, right, they all these guys they
Speaker 1: take because to push him all the way through. A
Speaker 1: lot of times those last or four minutes, they just
Speaker 1: they have you gotta have something in the tank. As
Speaker 1: much as you think it's like a video game where
Speaker 1: they don't get tired, so it doesn't you know, and
Speaker 1: I knew know that in video games they have some
Speaker 1: that where they get fatigued. It's really hard for a
Speaker 1: video game to mimic that of the NBA. And how
Speaker 1: much does fatigue play a part in what you do
Speaker 1: and how you do it. There's a science behind sports science,
Speaker 1: so I'm not disregarding it. But every game is different
Speaker 1: unto itself. Every game is different. Like my dad, my
Speaker 1: dad died almost six years ago, and he was a
Speaker 1: good college basketball coach. He was a very good AU coach.
Speaker 1: I'm not going to sit here and tell you he
Speaker 1: was read at Arbak right, like he wasn't great at
Speaker 1: drawing up plays. It wasn't, but he did. Every coach
Speaker 1: has some pearls of wisdom when they've done it for
Speaker 1: twenty years. Otherwise what that will they do him for
Speaker 1: twenty years? And his expression was always every game is
Speaker 1: a story or a game unto itself. And today we're
Speaker 1: talking about the Clippers not just being back in the series,
Speaker 1: but with Luca don chick have a something weird in
Speaker 1: his neck? We have They looked non competitive in the
Speaker 1: second half. Luca would looked like he couldn't do anything.
Speaker 1: And whether it's because he couldn't move and guard anybody
Speaker 1: or the real Maverick showed up. I mean it was
Speaker 1: a non competitive second half. But I go back to
Speaker 1: Friday night and the Clippers weren't ready to play. They
Speaker 1: were They're down two games and none. They're super tight.
Speaker 1: You know, they don't have Serge Ibaka, he's out with
Speaker 1: a bad back. They get down fourteen to two to
Speaker 1: start the game. You're like, oh, oh, it's ugly. I Doug,
Speaker 1: it was like here we go and I think Luca
Speaker 1: had what eighth straight points to start to get It
Speaker 1: was like here we go again. This is a rat Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1: They're up twenty eight to eleven, complete control of the game.
Speaker 1: And Rick Carlisle. And I'm not in any way trying
Speaker 1: to tell you Rick Carlile is an idiot because he's
Speaker 1: won NBA championship. And Jess saw Rick up close when
Speaker 1: he was a coach in Detroit. Remember when they started
Speaker 1: to turn around. Larry Brown was one who won the championship,
Speaker 1: but Rick started, you know, that transformation. And I also
Speaker 1: covered Rick when he was a player dog with the nets.
Speaker 1: I covered Rick. So this is in no way to
Speaker 1: go like he's an idiot. Okay, but and I hate this.
Speaker 1: They did what they always do in taking Luca out
Speaker 1: at like the six minute mark, right, They're up twenty
Speaker 1: three to eight, and all of a sudden he's got
Speaker 1: guys checking in for Luca don Chick, who's made his
Speaker 1: first four buckets. They're up twenty eight to eleven, complete
Speaker 1: control of the game and Antley Submount. Now you might
Speaker 1: say to yourself, like, what's the big It's a first quarter.
Speaker 1: Everybody makes a run the NBA. That's true, Okay, Goo
Speaker 1: go back and look, you get that thing over twenty
Speaker 1: and it's almost always a rap. You get it over
Speaker 1: twenty five Good Night, Drive Home, Go Home Safely. The
Speaker 1: Clippers felt like at that point they were so tight
Speaker 1: they wanted to just let's just get this thing over with.
Speaker 1: Luca checks out and it's like, really, wait, you're gonna
Speaker 1: take the guy who's dominating the series out of the game.
Speaker 1: I think they lost the series in that short stint
Speaker 1: of time. Let's welcome in Michael Lee, who does a
Speaker 1: fantastic job covering the NBA for the Washington Post. He
Speaker 1: joins us here in the Dan Patrick Show, Rob Parker,
Speaker 1: I'm Doug Goli Michael. There's obviously other big stories to
Speaker 1: talk about. But am I crazy for being harshly critical
Speaker 1: of a really good coach doing what he always does,
Speaker 1: but not reading the moment and the chance to stick
Speaker 1: the dagger in the heart of the Clippers? Yeah, a
Speaker 1: little bit. I mean I think that you know, if
Speaker 1: you're up by nineteen, which is what they were, in
Speaker 1: the way that Tim Hardaway Junior has been playing, the
Speaker 1: way a lot of their reserves have been playing, you
Speaker 1: gotta trust with what's been working. They went up to
Speaker 1: oh In La using the same as Zach formula, and
Speaker 1: they crushed the Clippers there there's no reason to think
Speaker 1: that the way the Clippers came out and performed that
Speaker 1: they were all of a sudden going to turn around.
Speaker 1: But they did. So I think it's that's quart of
Speaker 1: a high insight thing way to look back at it
Speaker 1: um and say, yeah, they lost it there, And you
Speaker 1: could say they did, But I don't think that Rick
Speaker 1: Carlisle was wrong and doing what was working the first
Speaker 1: two games and looked like it was gonna work again
Speaker 1: in the game three. Yeah, you know what in that series,
Speaker 1: the first three games, Dallas shot fifty one percent from three.
Speaker 1: I mean, so I think it was skew where people
Speaker 1: thought that was normal or regular man. But but Rob,
Speaker 1: they couldn't guard him. The Clippers couldn't guard him. No,
Speaker 1: he couldn't figure out. They couldn't figure out a matchup
Speaker 1: to the light. When anytime they brought in Zoobach, you know,
Speaker 1: he's going right at Zubach, you know, or prezingis was going,
Speaker 1: you know, stretching Zubach out right. They just they couldn't
Speaker 1: figure it out. Something else happened in that in that
Speaker 1: game too, during that stretch when when when Lucas said Kawhi,
Speaker 1: Leonard said, not you know, forget this, I'm taking over
Speaker 1: right now. And he scored. He had like seven straight
Speaker 1: shots and they couldn't stop him because he didn't shoot
Speaker 1: the first couple of minutes of the game. He was
Speaker 1: just kind of cruising into the game and getting feeling
Speaker 1: it out. And then once he said nah, I'm going
Speaker 1: out like this, and everybody else in the team just
Speaker 1: started getting their confidence and you can just sort of
Speaker 1: see it right now. You know, it's funny answered the
Speaker 1: first two games, everyone's ready to bury Kauhi and everyone's saying,
Speaker 1: how dare do we ever think he was the best
Speaker 1: player in the game? What are we doing? Why don't
Speaker 1: we anoint this guy? If you want a championship? Always
Speaker 1: a bum la la la la. Hey, what has he
Speaker 1: been doing? This is whole the whole series. He's been
Speaker 1: off the charts. Can I give you this, Michael, You
Speaker 1: just said it. He was eight for eight to start
Speaker 1: the game. Game four, he started six for six. And
Speaker 1: let me give you his numbers in this play in
Speaker 1: the playoffs, sixty five percent shooting from the field, fifty
Speaker 1: percent from three. I mean, you're right, he has been
Speaker 1: unbelievable in the playoffs. And I say this I mean,
Speaker 1: I was talking to Exacta just recently and I was saying,
Speaker 1: he said to me something I have to agree with.
Speaker 1: You give me last year's Raptors with last year's last
Speaker 1: years Kawhi Leonard. They probably go back to back last
Speaker 1: year in the bubble, they probably go back to back.
Speaker 1: And you see how good the Raptors were last year
Speaker 1: going to the Game seven and conference me. I mean,
Speaker 1: and you have Kawhi Leonard on that squad, they they
Speaker 1: at least get out of the East. I mean, right,
Speaker 1: I think I think, I think, I think if Kawhi
Speaker 1: wins this series and they and they do what they
Speaker 1: people expect them to do, we might we might be
Speaker 1: redefining who Kawhi is. What I love about the playoffs.
Speaker 1: Every game is like some sort of a you know, um,
Speaker 1: you know timefend. Yeah, okay, um, okay, let's let's get
Speaker 1: to the Lakers. I mean, you want to talk about
Speaker 1: things changed quickly. I'm telling you, Michael, I live in
Speaker 1: Los Angeles. Twenty four hours ago, they were they were
Speaker 1: getting ready to put the other banner up. They were like, oh,
Speaker 1: where we're gonna put eighteen up? We're gonna put it out,
Speaker 1: ye remember in Game three, Lebron's posting up and the
Speaker 1: benches in full cloud mode. They're laughing, they're gigging, Like, man,
Speaker 1: they are having a great time. What a connected basketball team.
Speaker 1: Look at Lebron in your eighteen He's having such a
Speaker 1: great time. Even yesterday early in the game, a spinning
Speaker 1: transitioning dung City. He felt even surprised by the fact
Speaker 1: he could still do that. And on the alley off
Speaker 1: the backboard, Yeah, and then yeah, they throw it out
Speaker 1: the backboard to him. Caruso to Lebron, like, these dudes
Speaker 1: are having fun. And then Anthony Davis goes down and
Speaker 1: meanwhile the Suns had woken up. Um, what should your
Speaker 1: level What would your level of concern be if you
Speaker 1: were a Laker fan? If eighties hurt is on eleven
Speaker 1: out of ten or out of ten, I mean, it's
Speaker 1: it's the ultimate level of concern because you look at it.
Speaker 1: I think the Lakers to like one in six this
Speaker 1: year with Lebron without ad this year, that's not a
Speaker 1: good record. And you're playing a good team, and you're
Speaker 1: playing a team that we still haven't seen Devin Booker
Speaker 1: after Game one have the type of performance we know
Speaker 1: he's capable of and you know, going back to Phenix,
Speaker 1: you're probably he's probably going to be ready in prime
Speaker 1: to have that kind of game um that we expect
Speaker 1: from him, knowing what kind of story is um. So
Speaker 1: I think that there's a lot of reason to be worried,
Speaker 1: you know, because even as great as Lebron is, he
Speaker 1: hasn't had one of those takeover tight games. I'm not
Speaker 1: saying he's not capable of it. We know he is.
Speaker 1: We know what he can do at this time of year,
Speaker 1: but it's so much easier when you have a d
Speaker 1: out there to draw the attention there everybody else. And
Speaker 1: the question isn't the is Lebron gonna bring it? It's
Speaker 1: who else? And the Lakers is gonna bring it? You know?
Speaker 1: Um those two games that they dominated and made everybody think,
Speaker 1: oh yeah, the Lakers are back, They're about to repeat,
Speaker 1: it's because Ad played at that level. Ad was that dude,
Speaker 1: and you know, it's wherever everyone wants a joke and
Speaker 1: call him a Disney in the bubble, but he was
Speaker 1: demand in that postseason run, hitting that big shot against
Speaker 1: Denver finals, everything, He's the guy that elevated that franchise.
Speaker 1: You know, because I mean Lebron got hurt that first
Speaker 1: year in LA, they didn't make the playoffs. They go,
Speaker 1: they win a championship the first year with a D.
Speaker 1: So whatever the highest level of concern is, that's what
Speaker 1: it is. If AD's not gonna be one hundred percent
Speaker 1: this series. What's your take on Milwaukee and they they
Speaker 1: I mean Miami from last year? Was that just the fluke,
Speaker 1: the bubble fluke for the heat because they weren't even
Speaker 1: competitive in this series against Milwak. There are a lot
Speaker 1: of there are a lot of factors and then well
Speaker 1: Miami wasn't good this year, you know, from covid to
Speaker 1: Dicto Ladipo's injury to just just not be having that
Speaker 1: same rhythm or fire as they had. Um Tyler Hero
Speaker 1: wasn't the same as he was last year and the bubble.
Speaker 1: They don't want to give away Tyler Hero at any
Speaker 1: cause they would have had James Harden if they gave
Speaker 1: away Tyler Hero. Yeah. No, there are a lot of
Speaker 1: factors that that that that prohibited them from really elevating.
Speaker 1: But I'm more impressed by the Bucks. I think the
Speaker 1: conversation is more about them and just what the addition
Speaker 1: that Drew Holiday has done. And also just given the
Speaker 1: defensive presence in PJ. Tucker, I mean, based on the
Speaker 1: way they look, I mean, Brooklyn's gonna have his handful
Speaker 1: because you know, Janice is still playing at the MVP level.
Speaker 1: Even though he didn't make Top three, he still was
Speaker 1: on that level. This year. Chris Middleton seems to be
Speaker 1: in a real comfortable space, just mainly because Drew Holidays there.
Speaker 1: Chris Midleton knows that he doesn't have to be a
Speaker 1: superstar if Jannis isn't. He knows that he can just
Speaker 1: be Chris Middleton because Drew Holiday is gonna take out
Speaker 1: the other team's best player. And so way Brooklyn has
Speaker 1: been looking on the defensive end, you know, and the
Speaker 1: way Milwaukee is playing defense, I mean, right now they
Speaker 1: like the better team, especially with the edition of p J. Tucker.
Speaker 1: So Milwaukee exercising demons right there, and they look like
Speaker 1: a team that's that's more poised for a longer run
Speaker 1: than the previous two years. It's gonna be tough that Brookly.
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to that series more than any of
Speaker 1: the series in this postseason. Um, But but I think
Speaker 1: right now you have to get the Edge to Milwaukee,
Speaker 1: just based on continuity in that defensive presence. Michael Lee
Speaker 1: joining us here on the Dan Patrick Show along with
Speaker 1: Rob Parker. I'm Gottlieb and uh okay, So Kyrie was
Speaker 1: magnificent yesterday, right, maybe not maybe not as good as
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant, but there's there's no way I can sit here,
Speaker 1: and I know the Celtics are depleted, right, yeah, you
Speaker 1: don't have you don't have to make shots, though you
Speaker 1: still gotta make shots. No, look, I mean, if we're
Speaker 1: telling the honest tale, the Nets were already a prohibitive favorite.
Speaker 1: Jalen Brown out for the year. Now you're down two
Speaker 1: more starters. The Nets are already better than the Celtics.
Speaker 1: But like, look, he played great. Okay, Um, first, what
Speaker 1: do you make of the stepping on the lepri Kaan's
Speaker 1: face and smushing the Leprican's face. You know, let them
Speaker 1: have it, you know what I mean, you can get
Speaker 1: mad about it. Don't think the water bottle at him.
Speaker 1: I mean with Terrell Owens, he went to the Star,
Speaker 1: what happened there? And miss Smith handled it right? Emms
Speaker 1: Smith handled it. Not not the not the Cowboys fans
Speaker 1: Emmy Smith handled it, so I think if he did
Speaker 1: it and selfist players are upset by let them handle it.
Speaker 1: You know, I don't. I don't make too much of it.
Speaker 1: I mean, guys out there, they got emotions, you know,
Speaker 1: they got frustrations, and Kyrie let it out in that moment.
Speaker 1: I mean, I wouldn't have done it, but I don't
Speaker 1: know what kind of frustration Kyrie's feeling. So I let
Speaker 1: them have it. And that's that's part of the competition.
Speaker 1: But isn't that, like, look as part of it. It's
Speaker 1: different with To because at the time To was with
Speaker 1: the Niners, he hadn't played for the Cowboys. That's the
Speaker 1: ultimate irony to it, right as he comes to play
Speaker 1: for them, right right right, That means it's it's I mean,
Speaker 1: so ironic, it's it's not even funny anyway. Uh. But
Speaker 1: like Kyrie was the one who who grabbed the microphone
Speaker 1: and said, if you'll have me, I want to stay.
Speaker 1: Kyrie was the one who had promised though he was staying.
Speaker 1: If you listen to that statement, he did say I'm
Speaker 1: gonna be here for sure. He didn't say that. He
Speaker 1: came as close as you can close. He did I
Speaker 1: You're literally the only person who's like, I'm a person.
Speaker 1: And I told Chris listen, all he was was a
Speaker 1: fan friendly event, right, none of this stuff had to happen. Okay,
Speaker 1: but it did happen, and then whatever went down, And
Speaker 1: I know a little bit more about what went down then,
Speaker 1: and none of it was the Celtics fans. It was
Speaker 1: it's Kyrie and his inability to get along with his
Speaker 1: teammates and the fact that they achieved less with him
Speaker 1: than they did without him. Like that's all that kind
Speaker 1: of went down there, and all of a sudden it
Speaker 1: becomes about the fans, the Celtics and racism. And yes,
Speaker 1: some idiot throws a water bottle. I don't. I have
Speaker 1: no idea if a dude wearing a Kevin Garnett jersey
Speaker 1: did it because Kyrie's black, or maybe just because he's
Speaker 1: annoyed at Kyrie and he had too much to drink
Speaker 1: and he's an idiot. But I just like this Kyrie
Speaker 1: rewriting the narrative of everybody doing him wrong. Is it's
Speaker 1: kind of comical. Yeah, I mean, I don't. I don't
Speaker 1: give I mean, I give Kyrie a lot of blame
Speaker 1: for how the situation in Boston, and I thought he
Speaker 1: handled a tack in a very tacky manner. I think
Speaker 1: what he's been saying since he left has been, you know,
Speaker 1: takes a responsibility for what you're the role you play,
Speaker 1: and why Boston fans don't like you right now, and
Speaker 1: don't make it about race. I agree with you on that.
Speaker 1: I mean, we can talk about Boston the race, and
Speaker 1: that's another issue. We talk about American races and that's
Speaker 1: another issue. I mean, this is the anniversary of the
Speaker 1: Tulsa of massacre, so let's let's remember that too. But
Speaker 1: on another topic, on this topic there, I'm staying on
Speaker 1: the course. Uh. When it comes to Kyrie Irvin, he's
Speaker 1: got the responsibility for what he did. He's gotta take
Speaker 1: responsibility for not showing up when Boston needed him. He
Speaker 1: got he gotta just say just own it and just
Speaker 1: move on. And um, you know, like I said, I
Speaker 1: don't know what prompted him to do it. It's just
Speaker 1: probably just something in the moment, But I don't I
Speaker 1: didn't make a big adala of it. I'm more upset
Speaker 1: that the fan who threw the water bottle, because I
Speaker 1: could have really hurt somebody and I was just I
Speaker 1: mean that that that That's what I take more issue
Speaker 1: with than anything. But I think that if if if
Speaker 1: a guy, if he didn't like Boston and he didn't
Speaker 1: like playing there anymore, and he doesn't like the city
Speaker 1: and didn't like the team, then you know whatever, you know? Um,
Speaker 1: I think that fans ever right to say whatever they
Speaker 1: want to on without crossing the line. And I'll think
Speaker 1: you gotta be able to take it, Michael, you leave
Speaker 1: the way you did, you gotta be ready to take it.
Speaker 1: You can't. You can't just deflect. You gotta be able
Speaker 1: to say, yeah, I messed up, and let me let
Speaker 1: me ask you one more question because we're running out
Speaker 1: of time. The Danny Ainge responds to like, I've been
Speaker 1: in Boston for twenty six years. I don't know anything
Speaker 1: about this, and no no player ever told me. Come on,
Speaker 1: I mean, how could Danny Ainge honestly say that and
Speaker 1: have people take him seriously? Like giving the history of Boston.
Speaker 1: I mean, if if he talked to one of his
Speaker 1: teammates from that era, uh, they would be able to
Speaker 1: tell him for sure. I'm sure if he talked to
Speaker 1: Cornbread Maxwell, he tell him exactly what his experience in
Speaker 1: Boston was, Like he loves Boston, who lives there, but
Speaker 1: but I know he experienced things. I don't know why
Speaker 1: Danny would say that. I don't know what he tried
Speaker 1: to prove by saying that if I'm a selfish player.
Speaker 1: Right now, I'm looking at him with a side eye.
Speaker 1: For him to even express that, Um, that just that
Speaker 1: was just wrong. Um. I can't believe that he would.
Speaker 1: I don't understand why you would be defensive of being racist.
Speaker 1: I don't understand why you would defend racism and say, oh,
Speaker 1: we're not that bad, yo, man just accepted. Can I can? I?
Speaker 1: Can I meet you halfway? All you gotta share is
Speaker 1: all you gotta say is like look, no, no, you
Speaker 1: could just know. You don't have to say that. You
Speaker 1: get like, look, obviously the history of Boston, the past,
Speaker 1: there's there's some ugliness there and and we've all been
Speaker 1: like our eyes open the fact that some of these
Speaker 1: idiots still exist. And all we're trying to do is
Speaker 1: get that ratio to, you know, to to be eliminated
Speaker 1: to where it's there aren't any but we're we're not
Speaker 1: to that point. But it's not close to what it
Speaker 1: maybe used to be. And you know, the only thing
Speaker 1: you can do is point it out when it happens
Speaker 1: and realize that most people aren't like that. But when
Speaker 1: it's it's the It does work both ways though, right when,
Speaker 1: I'll just tell you, when Kyrie says, you know, like
Speaker 1: there's racism, they're like, yo, I'm not a racist, Like
Speaker 1: I No one likes being called racists, and also no
Speaker 1: one likes being told that none of it actually exists,
Speaker 1: right right, Danny can't say I've been there twenty six
Speaker 1: years that I'm I don't know if any of it
Speaker 1: like like that is unacceptable. That's where you can't diminish
Speaker 1: anyone's experience. Like I'm a black man and I've been
Speaker 1: to Boston dozen thousands of times. I mean, I love
Speaker 1: I'm a black man who loves Boston. I enjoy being
Speaker 1: in Boston. I've had a great experience in Boston. I've
Speaker 1: never encountered any racism in Boston in a lot of places.
Speaker 1: But I have a lot of friends who've had the
Speaker 1: exact opposite experience, and I'm never going to diminister experience.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna say, oh man, that's messed up. And try
Speaker 1: to empathize with him and understand it. I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: dismiss it because I'm not aware of it, even if
Speaker 1: you're unaware of it, and say, you know what, let
Speaker 1: me reach out to him and figure out what are experienced.
Speaker 1: So before I open my mouth to side a moron,
Speaker 1: don't try to diminish racism or anybody's experience. Try to
Speaker 1: understand it and empathize it. That's what Danny should have done,
Speaker 1: instead of trying to act like it's nothing exists. Actually
Speaker 1: ask somebody, Talk to somebody, Talk to Jalen Brown, talk
Speaker 1: to one of your players, Say hey, man, is this true?
Speaker 1: Is this something that you've experienced. Don't go on the
Speaker 1: radio and try to act like you you know, that's
Speaker 1: something that doesn't exist, or say something them exists. Ask
Speaker 1: a question, figure it out on your own. Don't try
Speaker 1: to listen. This is real, mister Michael Lee. Check them
Speaker 1: out Washington Post to follow him on social media as well. Michael,
Speaker 1: thanks so much for joining us. Take it easy, but hey, hey, fellas,
Speaker 1: take careasure the pressure. The pleasure is ours. Fox Sports
Speaker 1: Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
Speaker 1: Catch all of our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot
Speaker 1: Com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to listen live.
Speaker 1: Hey it's me Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast,
Speaker 1: Inside the Parker for twenty two minutes of piping hot
Speaker 1: baseball talk featuring the biggest name to newsmakers in the sport.
Speaker 1: Whether you believe in analytics or the Eyecast, we've got
Speaker 1: all the bases cover. New episodes drop every Thursday, So
Speaker 1: do yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker
Speaker 1: with Rob Parker on the iHeart Radio app or wherever
Speaker 1: you get your podcast. Look, there's great morning events happening
Speaker 1: throughout the world, including in the French Open taking place. Rob. Yes, sir,
Speaker 1: I've been to the Australian Open. But the French Open
Speaker 1: is underway. It is underway, and do most Americans know
Speaker 1: it's underway? Oh no, M used to. Things have changed,
Speaker 1: you know that with tennis. I do think the French
Speaker 1: Open as well. It's like it's all red, it's dirty,
Speaker 1: they're playing on clay. It's that in the French Open.
Speaker 1: It's like that we we care only in record more
Speaker 1: than we actually care. Still, the big story is, and
Speaker 1: it's a bigger story within the smaller within the smaller
Speaker 1: sport is Naomi Osaka, who of course won two majors
Speaker 1: last year. She's been fined fifteen thousand dollars after skipping
Speaker 1: her mandatory news conference following her first round when the
Speaker 1: French Open. Now she said, of course, she said she
Speaker 1: wasn't going to do any media because of mental health issues, right, yes,
Speaker 1: And this was prior to the event taking place. She
Speaker 1: put it out on social media, Doug and and and
Speaker 1: and said, Oh, I'll just take the fine or whatever,
Speaker 1: but this is what I'm doing. Um. She beat Uh
Speaker 1: Patricia Maria Tiggs six four seven six, and afterwards tweeted
Speaker 1: anger as the lack of understanding change makes people uncomfortable. Huh.
Speaker 1: What do you think of the fine and her skipping
Speaker 1: the media? In your opinion, I think it's dead wrong.
Speaker 1: I think it's unprofessional. I love that the Grand Slam
Speaker 1: Tournaments in Tennis put out a joint statement and said
Speaker 1: if she continues this, Doug, that they will take other
Speaker 1: steps and including maybe disqualification. When you sign up to
Speaker 1: be a professional athlete, this is a part of your job.
Speaker 1: It just is you can do whatever you want. You're
Speaker 1: out there to help to promote the game. Dog, it's
Speaker 1: not about us. People get this so wrong. As a
Speaker 1: guy who's been a journalist and a sportswriter for thirty
Speaker 1: five years, we're there for the fans to ask the
Speaker 1: questions that they can't ask. You. It's not about us.
Speaker 1: So you're not hurting us. You're you're taking away tennis
Speaker 1: fans from hearing your opinion and what went on on
Speaker 1: the court. And that's why they can't let it slide.
Speaker 1: They can't. Well, I agree, and and you know you're
Speaker 1: conflicted over when she mentions mental health issues and the
Speaker 1: negativity that she believes she should stay home. She should
Speaker 1: stay home if she has mental health issues and take
Speaker 1: care of that. I'm being I'm not being comical, you know,
Speaker 1: I understand what you're saying. I would say, like, look,
Speaker 1: I think that the tennis is as mentally a challenging
Speaker 1: the sport is. There is there's literally the reason that
Speaker 1: people go off on referees. There's nobody else to blame
Speaker 1: other than yourself, right, Like you just can't and you
Speaker 1: screw up, and like there's no teammates to blame excepted
Speaker 1: in the left and doubles. It's really hard mentally but like, look,
Speaker 1: your sport in terms of popularity, your story is a
Speaker 1: fascinating one, and you are one of the bright young
Speaker 1: stars of it. And yeah, it is your job to
Speaker 1: do media availability. And you could also say like, hey,
Speaker 1: I'm just I don't feel comfortable ask that question. Next
Speaker 1: question please, yeah, no comment, comment, or you gonna say, hey,
Speaker 1: next question please. I just don't feel like that's appropri
Speaker 1: You're allowed to do, that, allowed to do You're allowed
Speaker 1: to do all of that, all of that, And I
Speaker 1: think she's making it worse. I think she's hurting her sport,
Speaker 1: which in ten is gonna is it gonna end up
Speaker 1: hurting hurting her financially. Be sure to catch the live
Speaker 1: edition of The Dan Patrick Show weekdays at nine am
Speaker 1: Eastern six am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the
Speaker 1: iHeart Radio app.