February 7, 2019 • 41 mins
RJ Bell, Jonas Knox, Steve Fezzik and Brad Powers bring you the aftermath of the NBA trade deadline and how title odds were impacted. The guys tell you which teams you need to stay away from including the Los Angeles Lakers. RJ and the crew tell you why the winners of the trade deadline still aren’t the favorite to come out of the East and the guys break down the favorites to win Super Bowl 54!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You don't listening to Fox Sports. This is Straight out
of Vegas with the Voice of Vegas, your host r
J Bow, collect the pregame show America has always wanted
(00:39):
from the Vegas trip. Here's r J Bow. You heard it.
I'm r J Live Coast to coast, six o'clock Easter
and three o'clock here in Vegas. We've got an action
packed our for you on Thursday special Thursday Trade deadline recap. Hey,
podcasts are cool, but this is live radio, no delay,
(01:03):
no outdated conversation, all the news at our fingertips to dissect.
We got the right guys that do it in studio,
Steve Feazick, Brad Powers. They're the pros who know sports
battors listen for the money sports fans listened to no
more than their buddies. My personal promise, we will deliver
the Vegas truth to you. You can't have pros without
(01:26):
Joe's though he is Joe and it's not always good
to be here r J on Fox Sports Radio and
here on Straight out of Vegas. We saw the NBA
trade deadline come and go. It ended at three Eastern
time neon Pacific earlier on Thursday and the big news
is that there was no news regarding Anthony Davis. He
is still a member of the New Orleans Pelicans. Thus
(01:48):
the Lakers unable to pull off the trade that they
had been trying to get done all throughout the course
of the week. So r J, what is the Vegas
perspective on the Lakers now that they move on without
Anthon Davis. We're going to take advantage of the round
table here, right, We're here in Vegas, and we've got
a pro to my right, a pro to my left.
(02:10):
Jonas voice of the fans in l A, I disagree
with almost everybody I've heard about the Lakers and the
way things have gone. So here's what we're gonna do.
We're gonna have a full segment debate. I'm gonna let
everyone have their say and then one by one shoot
it down. And I won't do it with maliciousness, just
(02:32):
with the welfare of the audience in mind. So, Steve Ezick,
We're gonna let you start out NBA originator, which means
you make your bets in the NBA mostly from your
own take. You have an amazing network of betters that
you trade info with, but you originate in the NBA
and NFL. That's your two main sports. I'll let you
(02:54):
there's a lot of entry points to this conversation. Pick
and choose dealer's choice. Maintake stick of Fork and the
Lakers the rest of the year. I think they will
be overvalued by the marketplace. That's a team RJ. Let's
be clear. One of the things that we've got to do.
You can be you know, remember The Godfather where Vito
(03:16):
the Dawn said women and children can be careless. A
man can't be careless, right is regular talk show guys,
They can be careless. They can use sloppy words, sloppy logic.
Sloppy logic, lazy logic will lead to losing in our
business in Vegas. So it's our job, the listener. They
(03:40):
can lean back, relax, We'll delve in, we'll deal it out,
we'll figure it out. You know, maybe you'll agree with this,
maybe you won't, but we're not going to be lazy.
So when you say stick of the fork in the Lakers,
you're talking about betting them or not betting them in
individual games. Correct. I am looking to bet either against
(04:01):
them or to pass the rest of the year. I
don't believe the marketplace that's going to reflect enough the
bad chemistry of this team, a bunch of players feeling
that they were expendable at the trade deadline. Okay, so
in your mind, the Lakers are gonna be overrated, not
where they're gonna lose every game, but hey, over the
course of many games, if you fade him, you might win.
(04:27):
So you won't do it every game, but you'll do
it often. Correct. Okay, So let's agree to the following
if you are accurate in that thought. If it ends
up being the case, that's valuable for the guys playing
NBA daily in February, not a majority of our audience.
So what we'll do is we're gonna talk Lakers Celtics
(04:49):
at the end of the hour and actually give a
free pick on the game. So let's set the whole
concept of day to day picks. Uh, Lakers or anybody
aside accept the factor might be value there will address
at end of the hour during the pick segment of
the show. So other than that, let's look at it
(05:10):
from the Lakers perspective. You're big fist pounding proclamation. How
does that hurt if the Lakers don't cover the spread?
It doesn't really hurt them, right, No, it doesn't, all right,
So what is the consequence for the Lakers? It seems
like the senses the Lakers have lost something here. What
have they lost? Well, I think they've lost their opportunity
(05:31):
to compete for the title, and even for the playoffs
this year, there's gonna be an evaluation. So you felt
like if they had gotten Anthony Davis for the price
that was being offered, In fact, even for the price
that was turned down, if they have gotten Anthony Davis,
do you think they were competitive for the title? They
had a possibility to give me give me some odds.
(05:53):
Well I did before, I said, if they made the playoffs, whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa whoa? What you did before? We assumed would give
up three of their six viable players? Right, yes, And
now the offer that was turned down was like eight
of their eight valuable players. So your old numbers don't
really apply. So with the trade that was turned down,
(06:16):
what do you think the odds of the Lakers winning
the title, if it were accepted, had been accepted by
the Pelicans? Where to put put the Lakers on? Alright?
So three? So what they've given up is a three
percent chance to win the title the Lakers. Okay, anything else? No?
So really you're saying the Lakers have lost almost nothing
(06:39):
in terms of titles expected to win the next five.
What else is there? What else is there? They've lost nothing? Okay,
doesn't seem too convincing. They've lost the possibility to make
a legitimate run to the playoffs too. And now that's interesting.
R J bel straight out of Vegas, just mowing down
the descent. First one is about there's a temper, we
(07:01):
should get a timber sound effect. Here. We'll see what
brad or Jonas has. So, Brad, how you you got
something interesting? Here's the question. If Lebron James went, let's
say into the second round and lost in the you know,
second round of the Western Conference, what does that gain
(07:21):
the Lakers? Because let me walk through it quickly. On
one hand, you would say, wow, the team gets used
to going into the playoffs, and uh, I guess that's it.
It's wraps. It's experience. To me, if you kind of
weigh Lebron James and the mileage on his legs with
(07:43):
like almost zero chance to win the title against getting
experience for players, that magic has now made clear or
not part of the future of the Lakers. I'm just
not sure there's I guess there's playoff money to be
made from tickets, but it's a round funding air, it
would seem so I think usually getting playoff reps is
(08:04):
very important. I think what the Celtics did last year
and advancing as far as they did was hugely valuable.
Is it just feels like a different situation to me?
Do you want to really strongly counterpoint that, Well, it's
a unique situation because had they made the playoffs, they'd
be facing Golden State in the first round, and I
don't know if that would be a positive or negative
to run into the film, But we don't know for
(08:26):
sure that they wouldn't got the seventh seas would have
been really difficult. So we're acting like there's no chance
of that making. What's the odds of them making the
playoffs the Lakers right now currently the latest number? Okay,
so you're acting like it's past tense, but you're saying
it's it's one and four. Yes, but I would but
I would love to bet against them making the playoffs.
(08:46):
So you think it might be even I don't know.
I think it's more like, wow, you just think that.
So you're saying that thirty eight where you're getting the number.
So they've got their elo algorithm and all that, but
you just think at ants are numbers off by like almost, Yes,
you must do. It must be easy for you to win.
(09:06):
I mean it's just I mean you could just glance
at algorithms and think they're wrong. Not by enough to
bet it, but like you know, you should cut that
number in half. You'd be closer their U buddy with
your slide rule and your calculator. Well, anyone who wants
the Lakers at six to one to make the play
I get. I mean it's easy to say that you
know no one's gonna take it, so I can tell
(09:28):
you feel back against the corner. So I would just say, uh,
we'll let the audience decide who won. That I won't
make any great commentary. Oh wait, I guess, I guess
I'm saying I won, all right, Brad Powers, Now, college
is your specialty, so you know I'll be easy on
you initially make your case. Alright, So, I mean the
lakers ultimate goal here is to win a title, but
(09:50):
the reality was the Lakers in the next five years,
the next five years. But the reality was the Lakers,
no matter what they were gonna do this year, probably
weren't gonna win the title this year. So to me,
that the age your goal for the Lakers is getting
that next piece alongside of Lebron. And I thought this
whole season was about this upcoming July, not anything that
happened during the season, but what happens can they get
(10:11):
that next piece this upcoming July from the free agent
market really opened up for him. So to me, yeah,
this season kind of looks like a loss, but big picture,
I don't think the Lakers have lost that much RJ.
It would have they lost because here's the thing. To me,
everyone's saying, oh, who looks really bad is clutch sports,
where what what looks really bad is the Lakers front
(10:34):
office and calling today on the Herd was you know,
get off of TMZ, don't email bloggers, don't think about
your brand, like kind of talking to Magic all right,
come on, talking to Magic about brand and saying the
idea that there's some big, huge loss here and and
and then the phrase being used by Colin was, uh,
(10:57):
the Lakers got played well, listen, I can promise you something.
I could walk up to someone that has a gelopi
out in the parking a lot of our offices, and
luckily we're in a nice part of town, not a
lot of gelopis. But let's say I could go to
uh a gelope neighborhood and gelopp asked neighborhood, and I
(11:20):
could offer them a million dollars in cash for their car,
and they can look at me and go, no way, buddy,
You're not hustling me. Now at that point, you can't
win with that person. I'm not sure the Pelicans made
a bad move here. A lot of people are saying
I heard uh. I think it was Mannix on Collin saying, well,
(11:41):
you know that when Boston gets in it, maybe the
Knicks get in it in the summer, who's the set.
But the idea that the Lakers got played, I get it.
Maybe the talk radio, you know, gibbering and jabbering because
they you know, shows me something to talk about. But
to me, it was a free role, meaning no one expected.
(12:05):
And if we would have said a month ago, will
Anthony Davis be on the Lakers, the answer would have
been Jonahs, let me ask you month ago, will Anthony.
If the question we're asked, will Anthony Davis be on
the Lakers, what would you said? Yeah, but the percentagewise five.
I'm I'm not gonna putting a percentage on it, but
(12:26):
I would say that so long shot. Okay, I agree.
So somehow through if we want to, I don't know
the definition of collusion and all the union stuff, but somehow,
some way clutch sports, it would seem Anthony Davis. It
would seem it got to be where there was a
decent chance, a twenty or thirty percent chance that the
(12:46):
Pelicans would have said, you know something, we don't want
this to drag out. You know something, he's you know,
we've treated he's been here a long time, he's got
a lot of fans here. Football is our main priority. Anyway,
Let's let the Lakers have them, and hey, we'll take
three players. In a couple of chatter, it could have
been a fire sale at that point. And I'm not
saying I'm not even saying fifty percent, but some real percentage.
(13:10):
And then if it didn't happen, if it played this way, no,
I'm not taking a million for the car. Dumb, dumb.
It's like, oh, God, you just played me no right,
You just put yourself in a worst situation. I'm not
sure the Pelicans did that, but I know the Lakers
had almost zero to lose, and I think they've lost
almost zero, and I think they had a ton of
(13:32):
upside and fays If I told you pick any game
tonight and if it wins, I'll give you ten thousand dollars,
and if it loses, you don't owe me nothing. If
the game loses, did you make a mistake in the pick?
You might have made a mistake. Did you make a mistake.
It's it's a free roll. I feel like the conclusion
here is the only conclusion is the Lakers had little
(13:58):
to gain unless they made a play. They made a
play behind the scenes, and after the play was made,
they had a real chance to gain, and they had
very little to lose. When we come back, I'm gonna
give everyone a last chance to show me, to convince
me that I'm wrong. He's r J Bell, I'm Jonas Knox.
Is the pregame show you always wanted right here on
(14:19):
Fox Sports Radio. Be sure to catch live editions of
Straight Out of Vegas weekdays at six pm Eastern, three
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the I Heart
Radio app. I'm r. J. Bell. We are straight out
of Vegas and I'm Jonas Knocks Voice of You the
Fan coming up here and just a couple of moments
(14:39):
you will have your opportunity to weigh in on the
trade that didn't go down for the l A Lakers.
Each weekday we have fun bringing the fund of Vegas
straight to you. Right now in the strip it is
forty eight degrees and the neon is pumping. So, guys,
we've been talking about Anthony Davis, not a member of
the l a acres, a trade that did not get done.
(15:02):
He is still in New Orleans with the Pelicans. So
the conversation we were having was about Magic Johnson, the Lakers,
Lebron and the status moving forward this year for the team. Yeah,
and I gotta be honest, I'm feeling pretty bold right now.
I mean, I gave everyone of their best shot, didn't
even really get grays. So here's what I'm gonna do.
(15:23):
I'm gonna open it up to the nation. All right,
I'll make my case and if you disagree, remember, guys,
succinct to the point thirty second, Max, I don't care
if you're giving us your pin number, if you're halfway
through a thirty seconds, you're getting cut off. So clock
yourselves eight seven seven six three six nine, toll free
(15:49):
call in. That's eight seven seven nine on Fox, and
on Fox is six six three six nine. Okay, here's
my point. The Lakers didn't gain anything. The Lakers lost nothing.
Collins saying, Ah, it looks bad. Who cares? It's Magic
(16:11):
Johnson looks bad. Can you imagine in two years, imagine
the following two years from now, three years from now,
Let's say Magic succeeds, Lebron succeeds, they have their title,
they're handing out the trophy, and then the commentator says, yes,
this seems exciting, but recall, recall, if you will, February two, nineteen,
(16:34):
the embarrassment when they tried to make a trade for
Anthony Davis but it didn't happen. Magic. This is partial redemption.
Come on, come on, what does it mean? I'm Magic Johnson?
You know what many finals I've been in? He has
the equity? Magic does it means nothing? This embarrassment? So
(16:58):
what else does it mean? Oh, it's a side kind
of Well, another lass season for Lebron. No, this whole
season was a last season for Lebron, and he knew
it coming in. Unless things fell exactly right with Paul
George or whatever could have happened once the tip off
happened of the season, I'm not sure there was any
(17:18):
real scenario they were gonna be the Lakers real contenders
this year. And Fez you said it, even if they
Anthony Davis trade would have happened for the Lakers offer something,
the Pelicans said no, no, no to you give what
a three percent chance the Lakers to win the title
this year? And Brad you had a good point about
(17:39):
even if the trade happened, you wouldn't have been hiring
the Lakers, which I think feeds to physics point about
the three percent. Yeah, I think it would have taken
at least ten, twelve, fifteen games of integration for the
players getting used to playing with one another. If that
was the case. If it took that much, that's half
the remaining rest of the season. Would they have even
made the playoffs at that point? Agreed? So getting him now, though,
(17:59):
to continue with my point that I'm standing strong with,
get him now would have helped that integration between Lebron
and Davis for next year would have set the scene
for this summer to make whatever deals they wanted with
two of the four best players by physics account in
the NBA together in l A. I mean Davis could
(18:20):
have figured out the nice clubs to go to. It
could have got all that out of the way in
l A. Jonas, maybe he would have tax and said hey,
you got some time you would have been he would
have helped that, right Jones, of course, I mean, like
you know, I'll show them more to go, when to
get out, best routes to take TMC where they hang
out if you want to avoid them if you don't.
(18:40):
So it was a free roll that was engineered orchestrated
by the Lakers, or more specifically probably clutched sports the management,
which was, let's rattle the cage. See if the Pelicans
freak out and make a bad deal with the pressure on,
and if they don't, right where we would have been
(19:00):
anyway with the current team. Now we're taking calls if
you think I'm wrong eight seven seven six three six nine,
We're only Latin through worthy calls. It's gotta be someone
as sharp as Phazzic maybe for thirty seconds fast. I mean,
do you want to just like just say you're right?
R J. Gott. I didn't even see it, but after
(19:22):
you said, what do you want to one last kind
of gasp as you're falling, one last gasp here. I
think the Laker youth is discouraged, and I'm worried they're
gonna be discouraged, not just this year, but the ones
that remain next year. Kuzma ingram Ball hard. They thought
they were gonna be Lakers maybe for life. Now they
know they're expendable. We saw that lack of effort in
that must win game against Indiana. I think that's gonna continue,
(19:44):
at least for the rest of this year. And I
say you're right, and I say good, Magic says good.
Why Let's figure out who really has intestinal fortitude. Let's
figure out who is an adult he year, right is?
What would you do as a you know, mid fifties
(20:06):
fellow is if I said, hey, Fees, I'm trading you
to ESPN, what would you do? Would you start crying?
Or would you say, hey, it's a business and you
know something. If I said, Fees, I'm thinking of trading
you to ESPN and you say, no, no, I've heard
about that place. What would you do? Would you act up?
Or would you think, hey, ar Jie, why were you
(20:27):
thinking of trading me? Because what can I change? How
would you respond if you hadn't trade me yet, I'd
look to improve. If you had traded me, I'd be
like Charlie Sheen and major League. I would tell you,
I'll stick it to you. But if if Magic trades
and he thinks they're not, they don't have the ability
to enact revenge. So to me, I'm not sure exactly
(20:49):
who is gonna play well and who isn't. But boy,
that seems like almost like a type of boot camp
test trial by fire. Let's figure out who and if
you can keep hat the guys. Let's say there's six
talented guys. You've three of them end up stepping up.
The other three are the ones that go on the block.
When you got a lonzo taking the Lakers UH logo
(21:11):
down from the social media, it's like, hey, way to
get ahead of yourself there, because because that's where it's headed. Buddy,
all right, Jonis, Now you're the call screener, the ultimate judge.
Do we have any worthy call? Now we've got three.
All right, we've got three right here. Then now there's
there's a thousand phone lines here. We have many more
calls than that, but there are three that I am
(21:32):
confident in, and hopefully they don't make me look like
an idiot. We will start in Montana where Max is
listing here on Fox Sports Radio. Max, go ahead, O, Hey,
what's up yo? The Lakers. My point is, I think
they lost a lot because before Lebron got hurt, the
team was kind of rolling. There was chemistry, they were
playing good. Now it's total disarray. You've got people sitting
(21:52):
the party on the benches. We've got people not helping
each other up after they fall on the court. The
team's chemistry is ruined. It's like a cancer there. I
think they actually lost quite a bit by the soul fiasco. Okay,
so I think he's making a good point, except we
gotta define what the ultimate goal would have been for
the Lakers. So what I've heard a bunch early this
(22:14):
week was, hey, before Lebron got hurt, the Lakers were
fourth in the West. Now it feels like to me
that was about their limit, a right, that was their ceiling.
So I was impressed with the fact, they were fourth
in the West, and let's give him credit, right, but
that isn't where they were headed, right. Magic wants to
(22:37):
win a title. Lebron wants to win a title. So
if you got to shake up the can a little bit,
and if half of its spills and the other half
you say, man, I can trust this half, that seems
to be more valuable finding that out. Now, Listen, the
Lakers are gonna sell out with Lebron. It's not about
selling out. It's not about TV ratings. They're gonna be fine,
(23:00):
al right. If anything, we're talking about the Lakers more
than ever. So I think if you felt like this
team was a championship team in the making as it
was constituted or as it is constituted, then it would
have been mistake to shake up the can. It wasn't.
Does anyone think that team was a championship team? So
shake up the can, free roll and trial by fire
(23:23):
with the remaining players, and that fire is going to
be the rest of this season and then the off season.
You know who's expendable, you know who ain't. I'm r J.
Bell straight out of Vegas waiting for someone to land
a glove Jonas anyone else. Zach Is in Missouri is
accurately on Straight out of Vegas here on Fox Sports
trading you go ahead, Yeah, I thought it was a
I thought it was a big mistake that they traded Subach.
(23:46):
I just didn't even I thought he was one of
the more problems than up and coming centers. Also, I
think they lost a lot kind of really just by
rattling the young players. I don't think I don't think
Engram is gonna try anymore. I don't think ambo is uh,
I don't think you know how emotional he is, and um,
I just I just don't think they have it anymore.
(24:07):
Is making any pushing of the playoffs. And I'd be
surprised if they've got a seventh or eight seat. To
be honest, Okay, I agree with that, right, I mean,
even by the the goofy according to physic five thirty,
the PhD scientists there, even though goofy algorithm says, I
think it's a little bit lower than that. So it
(24:28):
seems like this all comes down to the disruption of
the young players, and to me, that's a good thing.
And it also comes down to the idea of oh
maybe they could have made a playoff run. I'm just
not sure more reps for Lebron without a real title
title chance had a ton of value. Now, if you
had players that you felt confident we're gonna stay. Let's
(24:50):
say three of the six are gonna stay whereas you
think they're really part of the future, then the title
run would have been Even a couple of grounds of
the ears would have been good. Except now we see
they were willing to trade everyone. So magic, he is
telling us, there's really these players are expendable, disposable, whatever
you want to call them. So getting them reps in
(25:12):
the playoffs just would have helped the team they end
up on later. All right, Jonas, anyway, I mean it
seems like a reoccurring thing. I'm gonna let make you have.
Allow you to have the call on the last call.
All right, to Varus, you are in North Carolina, last
chance to save the nation against r J bel Tivaris.
Go ahead. These are young bulls. These are young guys.
(25:34):
They're making millions. They love to play basketball. The roof
is not caving in on them. Who's to say that
they're not going to be explosive in year five? These
are young guys, the Pelicans made the mistake. Anthony Davis
is on the beach. The guys that delayable offering better
than the better than the product that the Pelicans are
(25:54):
putting out. Now, well, I agree with that the Lakers
gave up a lot. I mean, the real question here
is what the Pelicans are thinking, And I don't know
enough to know right it. Sometimes you just don't have
the inside info to know. But what I could say
on the Lakers side, it seems like the whole point
of this season was to see what they had. And listen,
(26:17):
I don't critique basketball anywhere near as well as Magic Johnson.
If Magic was willing to give them all up, that
means that they probably none of them are worth saving
at least four. The Lakers go to win a title
in the next couple of years, Okay, it's official. I mean,
(26:39):
we'll do this now and again, Jonas, I mean, but
this one wasn't even difficult. When we come back in
just one minute, we're gonna do the same thing, probably
with less passion because I'm a little more I want
to hear what the boys think. But we're gonna break
down the East because it's as competitive as it's been
in decades. That's coming next year on straight out of Vegas.
(27:01):
But for all the latest from around the world of sports,
it's stand by to recap a busy NBA trade deadline day.
The Toronto Raptors did get Grizzlies center Marcus sol and
a deal today in a in exchange for Gasol, Memphis
will receive Jonas Valanciuna still on right, c J. Miles
at a second round pick. Raptors will take on the Hawks.
No Kawai Leonard Tonight. Sixers are sitting first overall pick
(27:23):
of the seventeen draft. Marquel Folks to the Orlando Magic.
Pelicans didn't trade Anthony Davis, but they did deal Nicolae
Nicola Muretich to the Bucks in a deal that will
also involve the Pistons. Nick's are waving goodbye to Wesley
Matthews and Nis Cantor. As for the Lakers, ESPN says
the team was expected to consider sugning free agent forward
Carmelo Anthony after today's trade deadline. Howsman Trophy winning Cubet
(27:46):
Kyler Murray has the NFL Scouting Combine on his to
do list. He was placed on the official list of
participants for the combine that starts Tuesday, February. By the way,
spring training for the A's starts next week. Hall of
Fame player and former man JR. Frank Robinson died today
at the age of eighty three. The Phillies acquired All
star catcher J. T. Rail Mutto in a deal with
(28:06):
the Marlins in exchange for four players. In golf first
round of the A T and T Pebble Beach pro
am Brian Gay as a share of the lead right
now with Scott Langley at seven under part PHILM. Michelson
in a group one shot back at minus six. And
this just in from the NFL Network, the Arizona Cardinals
reached a three year deal with cornerback Robert Alford, who
was recent released recently released. It is by the ATLANTAFL
(28:29):
conspect to you guys. Thanks Dan. We are straight out
of Vegas here on Fox Sports Radio. Coming up in
twelve minutes from now here on fs are we will
have best bet and a look ahead to a doubleheader
in the NBA. On T n T I'm Jonas Knocks
Voice of you the Fan. He is the voice of Vegas.
R J Bell great energy, the first half hour of
the show Jonas if you missed it, a lot of
(28:52):
Lakers passion debate podcasts available. All you do is go
to your favorite pod player, search for r J Bow,
look for Straight out of A is free to subscribe
you No, by the way, those that are thinking, oh
I couldn't get through, or Jones didn't take my call,
or hey I don't call, but i' tweet at our
Jane Vegas, anyone that makes a compelling case, reply to
(29:12):
me and we'll read it on air tomorrow. Guys, the
trades that did happen were involving Eastern Conference teams in
the NBA. Marcasol is headed to Toronto as the Raptors
acquire the veteran big man from Memphis. Nikolai Mirtich is
now a member of the Milwaukee Bucks on his way
from New Orleans. And of course, Tobias Harris and we
(29:34):
discussed this earlier in the week, is now a member
of the Philadelphia seventies sixers after they pulled off a
multiplayer trade with the l A Clippers. So, r J,
what does Vegas make of the Eastern Conference after deadline
has passed? Yeah, this is another one. Let's go round
table baby here in Vegas, Fez, I'll let you lead off.
NBA originator Steve Pezik, what's your main Let's go one
(29:57):
take at a time. The parody of the East is
un residented right now in the NBA Golden States. The
best team, well, the second, third, fourth, and fifth best
teams are all in the East. When was the last
time we said that? R J? And they're all close
together in terms of title odds, Boston, Philly, Toronto, Milwaukee.
I gotta tell you, I think Boston's the best of
the four, but it's really close, as close as as
(30:20):
I've ever seen a conference top four teams. Okay, so
odds I saw from a day or two ago, and Brad,
maybe you can give me the updates as you see him.
So I saw Boston about ten to one to win
the title, Toronto ten to one, Milwaukee twelve to one,
Philly nineteen to one. So what are we seeing? A
(30:42):
big upgrade for whom you have big upgrade for Philly?
They got Tobias Harris, who was the best upgrade of
all these trades. And let's quickly talk about this we
did yesterday, but very quickly for this year, they gave
away a ton in the future for value this year.
So for this year it's an up arrow for the Sixers.
For mid term long term down arrow, but for this
(31:04):
year it does improve them absolutely. Hey they got the
clippers best player and the Clippers were projected to make
the playoffs? Are j Yeah? Interesting? Interesting? Okay? Um, so
we are agreeing. So right now we're saying Boston, Toronto, Milwaukee, Philly,
throw him in a throw him in a hamper, and
and it's I mean, I hear you like Boston buy
(31:25):
a smidge, fez. But if I said you take the best,
you get the first pick, right, you would take Boston
absolutely to win the East. Experience and coaching, Yes, And
if you would force me to pick one of the four,
which would be the one you think has the least
chance of the Big four and the East, who would
you force me to take? Philly? All Right? So if
(31:45):
I had Philly your number four team, you had Boston
your number one team, what would be the fair odds
in your mind? What plus money would I have to get?
I think it should be about plus one fifty. Okay,
So you're saying that the fourth team in the first
team are being split by the difference between plus a
hunter and plus one fifth. Yeah, they're still real close. Wow.
(32:09):
Interesting brad Any thoughts. Yeah, I mean the really only
mover was the box from twelve to one right around
to tend to one r J. Everyone else is right dead.
Even like Fez has been saying future odds for the
overall NBA title, all four of those teams shitting right
around ten to one. Now, what's fascinating about the Bucks
is I actually power rating r J right now? Have
(32:30):
the Bucks the best team in the East in terms
of day to day games right now? But the Bucks
are lacking and key playoff experience, and I think it
would be a case where I don't think they're going
to get better in the playoffs, and I do think
the Celtics with that experience will be better in the playoffs.
And it's important to note the biggest mover is the
seventies sixers shop line for them. A couple of days ago,
seventy sixers were nineteen to one, now seventy sixers ten
(32:52):
to one. That was the biggest one. When you said
biggest move in the last twenty four hours, Milwaukee in
the last couple of days, sixers, Yes, Okay, now, physics
said something buried in there that we're gonna pull out
and examine quickly, which is power. Ratings in the NBA
regular season are different than the postseason. Sometimes it's driven
by experience. Sometimes it's driven what percentage of a can
(33:17):
we expect from a team in a given random night
during the regular season. So Gold State would be the
most extreme example. The Calves last season would have been
an extreme example what you could what you could expect
on a Tuesday in February, very different than Game seven
of a playoff series. A lot of teams and even
(33:38):
the Spurs in their heyday, you're gonna get about the
same in the regular season and the playoffs. So this
year Gold States a team, there'd be a big upgrade
four in the playoffs. Who's another team. The Celtics are
the clear cut other team. They're basically I would disagree
with that. I would think the depth of the Celtics
in the regular season, how deep their rotation is, make
(34:00):
him even a more effective team in the regular season
because depth matters so much. In the playoffs, that matters
a lot less. And if you really look at the
strength of the Celtics, it's not how great one through
six is. It's how great they are one through nine.
You would think that would be the case. I do.
I wouldn't think. I do think. But they've been scuffling along.
They only outscored those so it's because they're not doing
(34:20):
well this year. Oh wow, short term thinking fan phasic
not judging it. Wow. Kind of When we come back,
we're gonna give you the two favorites to win the
Super Bowl next year. Yes, it's day four. We're down
to the two favorites. Plus everything you need to know
to watch sports on TV tonight, that's coming up next.
He's r J. Bell, I'm Jonas Knox is at the
(34:42):
pregame show you always wanted and it's money making time
next year. On Fox Sports Radio, I'm r J. Bow
we are straight out of Vegas, and I'm Jonas Knox
Voice of you the Fan. We've been doing it all week.
Are look ahead to the favorites to win Super Bowl
fifty four? And then there were two. R J. Bell,
(35:03):
Voice of Vegas. Yes, the two favorites left. We've gone
up arrow down arrow. If you haven't listened, it's on
the podcast and such tomorrow. I think maybe we'll run
them down real quick and do a quick recap on each.
We got the in different books will have different things.
So let's start with Kansas City. I think this one's obvious.
(35:25):
It's a young team. The theory is Mahomes handled fresh. Uh,
you know he was in situations inexperienced quarterbacks usually struggle.
I mean, think about went to New England, went to
the Los Angeles Rams, the two Super Bowl teams, and
only lost by a total of six points in those games. Right,
(35:45):
almost beat the Patriots. I know they were favored, but boy,
in the playoffs for a first year starter against ballotcheck,
that just shows you how much pessimism there was about
the Patriots, more so than optimism about Kansas City entering
that game. I just maybe the question should be, Fez,
(36:07):
can can you even make the case it's not a barrow?
Or is it clear Kansas City getting better? It's pretty clear.
The only concerned would be Mahomes a possible sophomore slump,
but I don't happening. Mean saw, who's the last quarterback
that had a sophomore slump. It's been a while, so
you're just like, do you have like a book of cliches?
Zak Prescott. It wouldn't be funny if he actually pulled
(36:29):
out a book and he said a book of sports cliches,
and and it was dog ear to the sophomore slump.
Taking one game at a time. Yeah, I mean, I
would have been great. It would have been like, well, listen,
I have two concerns one sophomore slump too. Will the
Chiefs take it one game at a time? Only God
knows that case. That case, D is very likely to
(36:51):
get even better. It just wasn't very good last year.
And I think enough graded defensive coordinator getting rid of
the nothing against seventy four year olds. But it looked
like a game had passed Sutton by their defensive coordinator. Yeah,
that's a good point. Up arrow, chief second favorite, first
favorite in some spots. Next, guys, we have the New
England Patriots, the favorite to win Super Bowl fifty four. Now,
(37:14):
I you know I'm not gonna give mine away. I
usually give mine. Let's do a quick roundtable up arrow,
down arrow, flat fest down arrow. That's enough, flat up arrow.
Did you look at the draft choices? Twelve of them?
I mean you let Belichick restocked like this cheap, I
(37:38):
wouldn't be surprised if they make a like a splash
sign not a splash signing, but one of those like,
you know, third best wide receivers in the NFL on
a pretty decent one year deal type signings maybe or
even a multi year deal. The only possible way you
could say the other than Brady, other than eighty can
(38:00):
anyone make the case down arrow Patriots? So it's all
about Brady's age? Now, how would you say the last
m Let's just go in the playoffs? If you add
it up, how many quarterbacks? I get it, he wasn't
great in the super Bowl, I get it, okay, But
if you look at the three playoff games with Brady,
(38:23):
how many quarterbacks would you bet would have played better
in that spot? Less than five? So you're saying the
Patriots have the six best quarterback in the NFL based
on the end of the season against the best competition.
But that's why they're getting worse quarterbacks. Fall off the cliff. Now,
just answer soberly just the number. How many years has
(38:45):
it been that you've been talking about Brady? Phone off
a cliff? Four and a half. At least, at least
you're honest, Brad, we have two ESPN games, but they're
not great games. You've got literally twelve seconds on each Yeah,
Penn State, Ohio State situational advantage for the Buck guys.
Lean Ohio State minus six and a half. They got
two extra days rest. Back to back home games for
the Buck guys, Lean Ohio State minus six and a half.
(39:06):
Go Go Go Iowa and Indiana is the second game,
Lean on Iowa plus two. To me, it's all about
not trusting Indiana. Indiana's off their best performance of the season.
The bigger sample size says, hey, this is a bad
Indiana team. They had lost seven straight games prior to that.
Lean Iowa plus two. Brad powers guys, who've got a
double header on T n T and the NBA. We
start with one of the great rivalries and sports. It's
(39:29):
the Lakers at the Celtics, tipping off a little over
an hour from now, Boston and nine point favorite on
pregame dot com. So fast. This is all about the
mentality of the Lakers. Yep, by Lean Boston minus the
nine and I think the Lakers are discouraged. The attitude
is disrupted Lean Boston. All right. Here's the question, though,
what what did this line had been if the Lakers
were a hundred percent no mental distractions, nothing busting, minus
(39:52):
seven and a half. So it's seven and a half
to nine, and that's it. And you so all this
talk about all these dis tractions and it's a one
and a half point adjustment the first game. Yes, it
seems like you should love the Celtics here. Yeah, the
Lakers just had such a god awful, horrible performance last game.
It is a bounce back spot. Okay, So you're saying,
(40:14):
on one hand, they were so embarrassed. All right, One
more NBA game after the Lakers and Celtics on t NT.
It's the Spurs and the Trailblazers, Portland a six point
favorite at home. I really like the under two six
in this game. Both NBA total total bore two defenses
embarrassed last game, and in particular, the Spurs gave up
(40:35):
a hundred forty one points against Golden State r J.
It's the most points the Spurs have given up in
regulation time since nineteen ninety. Pop is going to be angry,
emphasized defense. So total points under how many and who's playing?
We got Portland and we got San Antonio. So for
the nineteen listeners out there who are betting NBA totals.
(40:57):
Fez is your hero for the other three hundred thousand
in well, on Twitter you can complain. It's at Physic
Sports f e z z I K. Tom. Come on, Physic,
give us a pick that we can enjoy. We know
you've got a mansion in a yacht, but what about
our mansion in yacht. If you missed any of today's show,
you can check out the podcast on Fox Sports Radio
(41:18):
dot com. The Odd Couple is next here. We are
straight at a Vegas back tomorrow six pm Eastern Time,
three o'clock Pacific. Right here on Fox Sports Radio. Fox
Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
(41:39):
Catch all of our shows at Fox sports Radio dot
com and within the I Heart Radio app search f
s R to listen live.
You don't listening to Fox Sports. This is Straight out
of Vegas with the Voice of Vegas, your host r
J Bow, collect the pregame show America has always wanted
(00:39):
from the Vegas trip. Here's r J Bow. You heard it.
I'm r J Live Coast to coast, six o'clock Easter
and three o'clock here in Vegas. We've got an action
packed our for you on Thursday special Thursday Trade deadline recap. Hey,
podcasts are cool, but this is live radio, no delay,
(01:03):
no outdated conversation, all the news at our fingertips to dissect.
We got the right guys that do it in studio,
Steve Feazick, Brad Powers. They're the pros who know sports
battors listen for the money sports fans listened to no
more than their buddies. My personal promise, we will deliver
the Vegas truth to you. You can't have pros without
(01:26):
Joe's though he is Joe and it's not always good
to be here r J on Fox Sports Radio and
here on Straight out of Vegas. We saw the NBA
trade deadline come and go. It ended at three Eastern
time neon Pacific earlier on Thursday and the big news
is that there was no news regarding Anthony Davis. He
is still a member of the New Orleans Pelicans. Thus
(01:48):
the Lakers unable to pull off the trade that they
had been trying to get done all throughout the course
of the week. So r J, what is the Vegas
perspective on the Lakers now that they move on without
Anthon Davis. We're going to take advantage of the round
table here, right, We're here in Vegas, and we've got
a pro to my right, a pro to my left.
(02:10):
Jonas voice of the fans in l A, I disagree
with almost everybody I've heard about the Lakers and the
way things have gone. So here's what we're gonna do.
We're gonna have a full segment debate. I'm gonna let
everyone have their say and then one by one shoot
it down. And I won't do it with maliciousness, just
(02:32):
with the welfare of the audience in mind. So, Steve Ezick,
We're gonna let you start out NBA originator, which means
you make your bets in the NBA mostly from your
own take. You have an amazing network of betters that
you trade info with, but you originate in the NBA
and NFL. That's your two main sports. I'll let you
(02:54):
there's a lot of entry points to this conversation. Pick
and choose dealer's choice. Maintake stick of Fork and the
Lakers the rest of the year. I think they will
be overvalued by the marketplace. That's a team RJ. Let's
be clear. One of the things that we've got to do.
You can be you know, remember The Godfather where Vito
(03:16):
the Dawn said women and children can be careless. A
man can't be careless, right is regular talk show guys,
They can be careless. They can use sloppy words, sloppy logic.
Sloppy logic, lazy logic will lead to losing in our
business in Vegas. So it's our job, the listener. They
(03:40):
can lean back, relax, We'll delve in, we'll deal it out,
we'll figure it out. You know, maybe you'll agree with this,
maybe you won't, but we're not going to be lazy.
So when you say stick of the fork in the Lakers,
you're talking about betting them or not betting them in
individual games. Correct. I am looking to bet either against
(04:01):
them or to pass the rest of the year. I
don't believe the marketplace that's going to reflect enough the
bad chemistry of this team, a bunch of players feeling
that they were expendable at the trade deadline. Okay, so
in your mind, the Lakers are gonna be overrated, not
where they're gonna lose every game, but hey, over the
course of many games, if you fade him, you might win.
(04:27):
So you won't do it every game, but you'll do
it often. Correct. Okay, So let's agree to the following
if you are accurate in that thought. If it ends
up being the case, that's valuable for the guys playing
NBA daily in February, not a majority of our audience.
So what we'll do is we're gonna talk Lakers Celtics
(04:49):
at the end of the hour and actually give a
free pick on the game. So let's set the whole
concept of day to day picks. Uh, Lakers or anybody
aside accept the factor might be value there will address
at end of the hour during the pick segment of
the show. So other than that, let's look at it
(05:10):
from the Lakers perspective. You're big fist pounding proclamation. How
does that hurt if the Lakers don't cover the spread?
It doesn't really hurt them, right, No, it doesn't, all right,
So what is the consequence for the Lakers? It seems
like the senses the Lakers have lost something here. What
have they lost? Well, I think they've lost their opportunity
(05:31):
to compete for the title, and even for the playoffs
this year, there's gonna be an evaluation. So you felt
like if they had gotten Anthony Davis for the price
that was being offered, In fact, even for the price
that was turned down, if they have gotten Anthony Davis,
do you think they were competitive for the title? They
had a possibility to give me give me some odds.
(05:53):
Well I did before, I said, if they made the playoffs, whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa whoa? What you did before? We assumed would give
up three of their six viable players? Right, yes, And
now the offer that was turned down was like eight
of their eight valuable players. So your old numbers don't
really apply. So with the trade that was turned down,
(06:16):
what do you think the odds of the Lakers winning
the title, if it were accepted, had been accepted by
the Pelicans? Where to put put the Lakers on? Alright?
So three? So what they've given up is a three
percent chance to win the title the Lakers. Okay, anything else? No?
So really you're saying the Lakers have lost almost nothing
(06:39):
in terms of titles expected to win the next five.
What else is there? What else is there? They've lost nothing? Okay,
doesn't seem too convincing. They've lost the possibility to make
a legitimate run to the playoffs too. And now that's interesting.
R J bel straight out of Vegas, just mowing down
the descent. First one is about there's a temper, we
(07:01):
should get a timber sound effect. Here. We'll see what
brad or Jonas has. So, Brad, how you you got
something interesting? Here's the question. If Lebron James went, let's
say into the second round and lost in the you know,
second round of the Western Conference, what does that gain
(07:21):
the Lakers? Because let me walk through it quickly. On
one hand, you would say, wow, the team gets used
to going into the playoffs, and uh, I guess that's it.
It's wraps. It's experience. To me, if you kind of
weigh Lebron James and the mileage on his legs with
(07:43):
like almost zero chance to win the title against getting
experience for players, that magic has now made clear or
not part of the future of the Lakers. I'm just
not sure there's I guess there's playoff money to be
made from tickets, but it's a round funding air, it
would seem so I think usually getting playoff reps is
(08:04):
very important. I think what the Celtics did last year
and advancing as far as they did was hugely valuable.
Is it just feels like a different situation to me?
Do you want to really strongly counterpoint that, Well, it's
a unique situation because had they made the playoffs, they'd
be facing Golden State in the first round, and I
don't know if that would be a positive or negative
to run into the film, But we don't know for
(08:26):
sure that they wouldn't got the seventh seas would have
been really difficult. So we're acting like there's no chance
of that making. What's the odds of them making the
playoffs the Lakers right now currently the latest number? Okay,
so you're acting like it's past tense, but you're saying
it's it's one and four. Yes, but I would but
I would love to bet against them making the playoffs.
(08:46):
So you think it might be even I don't know.
I think it's more like, wow, you just think that.
So you're saying that thirty eight where you're getting the number.
So they've got their elo algorithm and all that, but
you just think at ants are numbers off by like almost, Yes,
you must do. It must be easy for you to win.
(09:06):
I mean it's just I mean you could just glance
at algorithms and think they're wrong. Not by enough to
bet it, but like you know, you should cut that
number in half. You'd be closer their U buddy with
your slide rule and your calculator. Well, anyone who wants
the Lakers at six to one to make the play
I get. I mean it's easy to say that you
know no one's gonna take it, so I can tell
(09:28):
you feel back against the corner. So I would just say, uh,
we'll let the audience decide who won. That I won't
make any great commentary. Oh wait, I guess, I guess
I'm saying I won, all right, Brad Powers, Now, college
is your specialty, so you know I'll be easy on
you initially make your case. Alright, So, I mean the
lakers ultimate goal here is to win a title, but
(09:50):
the reality was the Lakers in the next five years,
the next five years. But the reality was the Lakers,
no matter what they were gonna do this year, probably
weren't gonna win the title this year. So to me,
that the age your goal for the Lakers is getting
that next piece alongside of Lebron. And I thought this
whole season was about this upcoming July, not anything that
happened during the season, but what happens can they get
(10:11):
that next piece this upcoming July from the free agent
market really opened up for him. So to me, yeah,
this season kind of looks like a loss, but big picture,
I don't think the Lakers have lost that much RJ.
It would have they lost because here's the thing. To me,
everyone's saying, oh, who looks really bad is clutch sports,
where what what looks really bad is the Lakers front
(10:34):
office and calling today on the Herd was you know,
get off of TMZ, don't email bloggers, don't think about
your brand, like kind of talking to Magic all right,
come on, talking to Magic about brand and saying the
idea that there's some big, huge loss here and and
and then the phrase being used by Colin was, uh,
(10:57):
the Lakers got played well, listen, I can promise you something.
I could walk up to someone that has a gelopi
out in the parking a lot of our offices, and
luckily we're in a nice part of town, not a
lot of gelopis. But let's say I could go to
uh a gelope neighborhood and gelopp asked neighborhood, and I
(11:20):
could offer them a million dollars in cash for their car,
and they can look at me and go, no way, buddy,
You're not hustling me. Now at that point, you can't
win with that person. I'm not sure the Pelicans made
a bad move here. A lot of people are saying
I heard uh. I think it was Mannix on Collin saying, well,
(11:41):
you know that when Boston gets in it, maybe the
Knicks get in it in the summer, who's the set.
But the idea that the Lakers got played, I get it.
Maybe the talk radio, you know, gibbering and jabbering because
they you know, shows me something to talk about. But
to me, it was a free role, meaning no one expected.
(12:05):
And if we would have said a month ago, will
Anthony Davis be on the Lakers, the answer would have
been Jonahs, let me ask you month ago, will Anthony.
If the question we're asked, will Anthony Davis be on
the Lakers, what would you said? Yeah, but the percentagewise five.
I'm I'm not gonna putting a percentage on it, but
(12:26):
I would say that so long shot. Okay, I agree.
So somehow through if we want to, I don't know
the definition of collusion and all the union stuff, but somehow,
some way clutch sports, it would seem Anthony Davis. It
would seem it got to be where there was a
decent chance, a twenty or thirty percent chance that the
(12:46):
Pelicans would have said, you know something, we don't want
this to drag out. You know something, he's you know,
we've treated he's been here a long time, he's got
a lot of fans here. Football is our main priority. Anyway,
Let's let the Lakers have them, and hey, we'll take
three players. In a couple of chatter, it could have
been a fire sale at that point. And I'm not
saying I'm not even saying fifty percent, but some real percentage.
(13:10):
And then if it didn't happen, if it played this way, no,
I'm not taking a million for the car. Dumb, dumb.
It's like, oh, God, you just played me no right,
You just put yourself in a worst situation. I'm not
sure the Pelicans did that, but I know the Lakers
had almost zero to lose, and I think they've lost
almost zero, and I think they had a ton of
(13:32):
upside and fays If I told you pick any game
tonight and if it wins, I'll give you ten thousand dollars,
and if it loses, you don't owe me nothing. If
the game loses, did you make a mistake in the pick?
You might have made a mistake. Did you make a mistake.
It's it's a free roll. I feel like the conclusion
here is the only conclusion is the Lakers had little
(13:58):
to gain unless they made a play. They made a
play behind the scenes, and after the play was made,
they had a real chance to gain, and they had
very little to lose. When we come back, I'm gonna
give everyone a last chance to show me, to convince
me that I'm wrong. He's r J Bell, I'm Jonas Knox.
Is the pregame show you always wanted right here on
(14:19):
Fox Sports Radio. Be sure to catch live editions of
Straight Out of Vegas weekdays at six pm Eastern, three
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the I Heart
Radio app. I'm r. J. Bell. We are straight out
of Vegas and I'm Jonas Knocks Voice of You the
Fan coming up here and just a couple of moments
(14:39):
you will have your opportunity to weigh in on the
trade that didn't go down for the l A Lakers.
Each weekday we have fun bringing the fund of Vegas
straight to you. Right now in the strip it is
forty eight degrees and the neon is pumping. So, guys,
we've been talking about Anthony Davis, not a member of
the l a acres, a trade that did not get done.
(15:02):
He is still in New Orleans with the Pelicans. So
the conversation we were having was about Magic Johnson, the Lakers,
Lebron and the status moving forward this year for the team. Yeah,
and I gotta be honest, I'm feeling pretty bold right now.
I mean, I gave everyone of their best shot, didn't
even really get grays. So here's what I'm gonna do.
(15:23):
I'm gonna open it up to the nation. All right,
I'll make my case and if you disagree, remember, guys,
succinct to the point thirty second, Max, I don't care
if you're giving us your pin number, if you're halfway
through a thirty seconds, you're getting cut off. So clock
yourselves eight seven seven six three six nine, toll free
(15:49):
call in. That's eight seven seven nine on Fox, and
on Fox is six six three six nine. Okay, here's
my point. The Lakers didn't gain anything. The Lakers lost nothing.
Collins saying, Ah, it looks bad. Who cares? It's Magic
(16:11):
Johnson looks bad. Can you imagine in two years, imagine
the following two years from now, three years from now,
Let's say Magic succeeds, Lebron succeeds, they have their title,
they're handing out the trophy, and then the commentator says, yes,
this seems exciting, but recall, recall, if you will, February two, nineteen,
(16:34):
the embarrassment when they tried to make a trade for
Anthony Davis but it didn't happen. Magic. This is partial redemption.
Come on, come on, what does it mean? I'm Magic Johnson?
You know what many finals I've been in? He has
the equity? Magic does it means nothing? This embarrassment? So
(16:58):
what else does it mean? Oh, it's a side kind
of Well, another lass season for Lebron. No, this whole
season was a last season for Lebron, and he knew
it coming in. Unless things fell exactly right with Paul
George or whatever could have happened once the tip off
happened of the season, I'm not sure there was any
(17:18):
real scenario they were gonna be the Lakers real contenders
this year. And Fez you said it, even if they
Anthony Davis trade would have happened for the Lakers offer something,
the Pelicans said no, no, no to you give what
a three percent chance the Lakers to win the title
this year? And Brad you had a good point about
(17:39):
even if the trade happened, you wouldn't have been hiring
the Lakers, which I think feeds to physics point about
the three percent. Yeah, I think it would have taken
at least ten, twelve, fifteen games of integration for the
players getting used to playing with one another. If that
was the case. If it took that much, that's half
the remaining rest of the season. Would they have even
made the playoffs at that point? Agreed? So getting him now, though,
(17:59):
to continue with my point that I'm standing strong with,
get him now would have helped that integration between Lebron
and Davis for next year would have set the scene
for this summer to make whatever deals they wanted with
two of the four best players by physics account in
the NBA together in l A. I mean Davis could
(18:20):
have figured out the nice clubs to go to. It
could have got all that out of the way in
l A. Jonas, maybe he would have tax and said hey,
you got some time you would have been he would
have helped that, right Jones, of course, I mean, like
you know, I'll show them more to go, when to
get out, best routes to take TMC where they hang
out if you want to avoid them if you don't.
(18:40):
So it was a free roll that was engineered orchestrated
by the Lakers, or more specifically probably clutched sports the management,
which was, let's rattle the cage. See if the Pelicans
freak out and make a bad deal with the pressure on,
and if they don't, right where we would have been
(19:00):
anyway with the current team. Now we're taking calls if
you think I'm wrong eight seven seven six three six nine,
We're only Latin through worthy calls. It's gotta be someone
as sharp as Phazzic maybe for thirty seconds fast. I mean,
do you want to just like just say you're right?
R J. Gott. I didn't even see it, but after
(19:22):
you said, what do you want to one last kind
of gasp as you're falling, one last gasp here. I
think the Laker youth is discouraged, and I'm worried they're
gonna be discouraged, not just this year, but the ones
that remain next year. Kuzma ingram Ball hard. They thought
they were gonna be Lakers maybe for life. Now they
know they're expendable. We saw that lack of effort in
that must win game against Indiana. I think that's gonna continue,
(19:44):
at least for the rest of this year. And I
say you're right, and I say good, Magic says good.
Why Let's figure out who really has intestinal fortitude. Let's
figure out who is an adult he year, right is?
What would you do as a you know, mid fifties
(20:06):
fellow is if I said, hey, Fees, I'm trading you
to ESPN, what would you do? Would you start crying?
Or would you say, hey, it's a business and you
know something. If I said, Fees, I'm thinking of trading
you to ESPN and you say, no, no, I've heard
about that place. What would you do? Would you act up?
Or would you think, hey, ar Jie, why were you
(20:27):
thinking of trading me? Because what can I change? How
would you respond if you hadn't trade me yet, I'd
look to improve. If you had traded me, I'd be
like Charlie Sheen and major League. I would tell you,
I'll stick it to you. But if if Magic trades
and he thinks they're not, they don't have the ability
to enact revenge. So to me, I'm not sure exactly
(20:49):
who is gonna play well and who isn't. But boy,
that seems like almost like a type of boot camp
test trial by fire. Let's figure out who and if
you can keep hat the guys. Let's say there's six
talented guys. You've three of them end up stepping up.
The other three are the ones that go on the block.
When you got a lonzo taking the Lakers UH logo
(21:11):
down from the social media, it's like, hey, way to
get ahead of yourself there, because because that's where it's headed. Buddy,
all right, Jonis, Now you're the call screener, the ultimate judge.
Do we have any worthy call? Now we've got three.
All right, we've got three right here. Then now there's
there's a thousand phone lines here. We have many more
calls than that, but there are three that I am
(21:32):
confident in, and hopefully they don't make me look like
an idiot. We will start in Montana where Max is
listing here on Fox Sports Radio. Max, go ahead, O, Hey,
what's up yo? The Lakers. My point is, I think
they lost a lot because before Lebron got hurt, the
team was kind of rolling. There was chemistry, they were
playing good. Now it's total disarray. You've got people sitting
(21:52):
the party on the benches. We've got people not helping
each other up after they fall on the court. The
team's chemistry is ruined. It's like a cancer there. I
think they actually lost quite a bit by the soul fiasco. Okay,
so I think he's making a good point, except we
gotta define what the ultimate goal would have been for
the Lakers. So what I've heard a bunch early this
(22:14):
week was, hey, before Lebron got hurt, the Lakers were
fourth in the West. Now it feels like to me
that was about their limit, a right, that was their ceiling.
So I was impressed with the fact, they were fourth
in the West, and let's give him credit, right, but
that isn't where they were headed, right. Magic wants to
(22:37):
win a title. Lebron wants to win a title. So
if you got to shake up the can a little bit,
and if half of its spills and the other half
you say, man, I can trust this half, that seems
to be more valuable finding that out. Now, Listen, the
Lakers are gonna sell out with Lebron. It's not about
selling out. It's not about TV ratings. They're gonna be fine,
(23:00):
al right. If anything, we're talking about the Lakers more
than ever. So I think if you felt like this
team was a championship team in the making as it
was constituted or as it is constituted, then it would
have been mistake to shake up the can. It wasn't.
Does anyone think that team was a championship team? So
shake up the can, free roll and trial by fire
(23:23):
with the remaining players, and that fire is going to
be the rest of this season and then the off season.
You know who's expendable, you know who ain't. I'm r J.
Bell straight out of Vegas waiting for someone to land
a glove Jonas anyone else. Zach Is in Missouri is
accurately on Straight out of Vegas here on Fox Sports
trading you go ahead, Yeah, I thought it was a
I thought it was a big mistake that they traded Subach.
(23:46):
I just didn't even I thought he was one of
the more problems than up and coming centers. Also, I
think they lost a lot kind of really just by
rattling the young players. I don't think I don't think
Engram is gonna try anymore. I don't think ambo is uh,
I don't think you know how emotional he is, and um,
I just I just don't think they have it anymore.
(24:07):
Is making any pushing of the playoffs. And I'd be
surprised if they've got a seventh or eight seat. To
be honest, Okay, I agree with that, right, I mean,
even by the the goofy according to physic five thirty,
the PhD scientists there, even though goofy algorithm says, I
think it's a little bit lower than that. So it
(24:28):
seems like this all comes down to the disruption of
the young players, and to me, that's a good thing.
And it also comes down to the idea of oh
maybe they could have made a playoff run. I'm just
not sure more reps for Lebron without a real title
title chance had a ton of value. Now, if you
had players that you felt confident we're gonna stay. Let's
(24:50):
say three of the six are gonna stay whereas you
think they're really part of the future, then the title
run would have been Even a couple of grounds of
the ears would have been good. Except now we see
they were willing to trade everyone. So magic, he is
telling us, there's really these players are expendable, disposable, whatever
you want to call them. So getting them reps in
(25:12):
the playoffs just would have helped the team they end
up on later. All right, Jonas, anyway, I mean it
seems like a reoccurring thing. I'm gonna let make you have.
Allow you to have the call on the last call.
All right, to Varus, you are in North Carolina, last
chance to save the nation against r J bel Tivaris.
Go ahead. These are young bulls. These are young guys.
(25:34):
They're making millions. They love to play basketball. The roof
is not caving in on them. Who's to say that
they're not going to be explosive in year five? These
are young guys, the Pelicans made the mistake. Anthony Davis
is on the beach. The guys that delayable offering better
than the better than the product that the Pelicans are
(25:54):
putting out. Now, well, I agree with that the Lakers
gave up a lot. I mean, the real question here
is what the Pelicans are thinking, And I don't know
enough to know right it. Sometimes you just don't have
the inside info to know. But what I could say
on the Lakers side, it seems like the whole point
of this season was to see what they had. And listen,
(26:17):
I don't critique basketball anywhere near as well as Magic Johnson.
If Magic was willing to give them all up, that
means that they probably none of them are worth saving
at least four. The Lakers go to win a title
in the next couple of years, Okay, it's official. I mean,
(26:39):
we'll do this now and again, Jonas, I mean, but
this one wasn't even difficult. When we come back in
just one minute, we're gonna do the same thing, probably
with less passion because I'm a little more I want
to hear what the boys think. But we're gonna break
down the East because it's as competitive as it's been
in decades. That's coming next year on straight out of Vegas.
(27:01):
But for all the latest from around the world of sports,
it's stand by to recap a busy NBA trade deadline day.
The Toronto Raptors did get Grizzlies center Marcus sol and
a deal today in a in exchange for Gasol, Memphis
will receive Jonas Valanciuna still on right, c J. Miles
at a second round pick. Raptors will take on the Hawks.
No Kawai Leonard Tonight. Sixers are sitting first overall pick
(27:23):
of the seventeen draft. Marquel Folks to the Orlando Magic.
Pelicans didn't trade Anthony Davis, but they did deal Nicolae
Nicola Muretich to the Bucks in a deal that will
also involve the Pistons. Nick's are waving goodbye to Wesley
Matthews and Nis Cantor. As for the Lakers, ESPN says
the team was expected to consider sugning free agent forward
Carmelo Anthony after today's trade deadline. Howsman Trophy winning Cubet
(27:46):
Kyler Murray has the NFL Scouting Combine on his to
do list. He was placed on the official list of
participants for the combine that starts Tuesday, February. By the way,
spring training for the A's starts next week. Hall of
Fame player and former man JR. Frank Robinson died today
at the age of eighty three. The Phillies acquired All
star catcher J. T. Rail Mutto in a deal with
(28:06):
the Marlins in exchange for four players. In golf first
round of the A T and T Pebble Beach pro
am Brian Gay as a share of the lead right
now with Scott Langley at seven under part PHILM. Michelson
in a group one shot back at minus six. And
this just in from the NFL Network, the Arizona Cardinals
reached a three year deal with cornerback Robert Alford, who
was recent released recently released. It is by the ATLANTAFL
(28:29):
conspect to you guys. Thanks Dan. We are straight out
of Vegas here on Fox Sports Radio. Coming up in
twelve minutes from now here on fs are we will
have best bet and a look ahead to a doubleheader
in the NBA. On T n T I'm Jonas Knocks
Voice of you the Fan. He is the voice of Vegas.
R J Bell great energy, the first half hour of
the show Jonas if you missed it, a lot of
(28:52):
Lakers passion debate podcasts available. All you do is go
to your favorite pod player, search for r J Bow,
look for Straight out of A is free to subscribe
you No, by the way, those that are thinking, oh
I couldn't get through, or Jones didn't take my call,
or hey I don't call, but i' tweet at our
Jane Vegas, anyone that makes a compelling case, reply to
(29:12):
me and we'll read it on air tomorrow. Guys, the
trades that did happen were involving Eastern Conference teams in
the NBA. Marcasol is headed to Toronto as the Raptors
acquire the veteran big man from Memphis. Nikolai Mirtich is
now a member of the Milwaukee Bucks on his way
from New Orleans. And of course, Tobias Harris and we
(29:34):
discussed this earlier in the week, is now a member
of the Philadelphia seventies sixers after they pulled off a
multiplayer trade with the l A Clippers. So, r J,
what does Vegas make of the Eastern Conference after deadline
has passed? Yeah, this is another one. Let's go round
table baby here in Vegas, Fez, I'll let you lead off.
NBA originator Steve Pezik, what's your main Let's go one
(29:57):
take at a time. The parody of the East is
un residented right now in the NBA Golden States. The
best team, well, the second, third, fourth, and fifth best
teams are all in the East. When was the last
time we said that? R J? And they're all close
together in terms of title odds, Boston, Philly, Toronto, Milwaukee.
I gotta tell you, I think Boston's the best of
the four, but it's really close, as close as as
(30:20):
I've ever seen a conference top four teams. Okay, so
odds I saw from a day or two ago, and Brad,
maybe you can give me the updates as you see him.
So I saw Boston about ten to one to win
the title, Toronto ten to one, Milwaukee twelve to one,
Philly nineteen to one. So what are we seeing? A
(30:42):
big upgrade for whom you have big upgrade for Philly?
They got Tobias Harris, who was the best upgrade of
all these trades. And let's quickly talk about this we
did yesterday, but very quickly for this year, they gave
away a ton in the future for value this year.
So for this year it's an up arrow for the Sixers.
For mid term long term down arrow, but for this
(31:04):
year it does improve them absolutely. Hey they got the
clippers best player and the Clippers were projected to make
the playoffs? Are j Yeah? Interesting? Interesting? Okay? Um, so
we are agreeing. So right now we're saying Boston, Toronto, Milwaukee, Philly,
throw him in a throw him in a hamper, and
and it's I mean, I hear you like Boston buy
(31:25):
a smidge, fez. But if I said you take the best,
you get the first pick, right, you would take Boston
absolutely to win the East. Experience and coaching, Yes, And
if you would force me to pick one of the four,
which would be the one you think has the least
chance of the Big four and the East, who would
you force me to take? Philly? All Right? So if
(31:45):
I had Philly your number four team, you had Boston
your number one team, what would be the fair odds
in your mind? What plus money would I have to get?
I think it should be about plus one fifty. Okay,
So you're saying that the fourth team in the first
team are being split by the difference between plus a
hunter and plus one fifth. Yeah, they're still real close. Wow.
(32:09):
Interesting brad Any thoughts. Yeah, I mean the really only
mover was the box from twelve to one right around
to tend to one r J. Everyone else is right dead.
Even like Fez has been saying future odds for the
overall NBA title, all four of those teams shitting right
around ten to one. Now, what's fascinating about the Bucks
is I actually power rating r J right now? Have
(32:30):
the Bucks the best team in the East in terms
of day to day games right now? But the Bucks
are lacking and key playoff experience, and I think it
would be a case where I don't think they're going
to get better in the playoffs, and I do think
the Celtics with that experience will be better in the playoffs.
And it's important to note the biggest mover is the
seventies sixers shop line for them. A couple of days ago,
seventy sixers were nineteen to one, now seventy sixers ten
(32:52):
to one. That was the biggest one. When you said
biggest move in the last twenty four hours, Milwaukee in
the last couple of days, sixers, Yes, Okay, now, physics
said something buried in there that we're gonna pull out
and examine quickly, which is power. Ratings in the NBA
regular season are different than the postseason. Sometimes it's driven
by experience. Sometimes it's driven what percentage of a can
(33:17):
we expect from a team in a given random night
during the regular season. So Gold State would be the
most extreme example. The Calves last season would have been
an extreme example what you could what you could expect
on a Tuesday in February, very different than Game seven
of a playoff series. A lot of teams and even
(33:38):
the Spurs in their heyday, you're gonna get about the
same in the regular season and the playoffs. So this
year Gold States a team, there'd be a big upgrade
four in the playoffs. Who's another team. The Celtics are
the clear cut other team. They're basically I would disagree
with that. I would think the depth of the Celtics
in the regular season, how deep their rotation is, make
(34:00):
him even a more effective team in the regular season
because depth matters so much. In the playoffs, that matters
a lot less. And if you really look at the
strength of the Celtics, it's not how great one through
six is. It's how great they are one through nine.
You would think that would be the case. I do.
I wouldn't think. I do think. But they've been scuffling along.
They only outscored those so it's because they're not doing
(34:20):
well this year. Oh wow, short term thinking fan phasic
not judging it. Wow. Kind of When we come back,
we're gonna give you the two favorites to win the
Super Bowl next year. Yes, it's day four. We're down
to the two favorites. Plus everything you need to know
to watch sports on TV tonight, that's coming up next.
He's r J. Bell, I'm Jonas Knox is at the
(34:42):
pregame show you always wanted and it's money making time
next year. On Fox Sports Radio, I'm r J. Bow
we are straight out of Vegas, and I'm Jonas Knox
Voice of you the Fan. We've been doing it all week.
Are look ahead to the favorites to win Super Bowl
fifty four? And then there were two. R J. Bell,
(35:03):
Voice of Vegas. Yes, the two favorites left. We've gone
up arrow down arrow. If you haven't listened, it's on
the podcast and such tomorrow. I think maybe we'll run
them down real quick and do a quick recap on each.
We got the in different books will have different things.
So let's start with Kansas City. I think this one's obvious.
(35:25):
It's a young team. The theory is Mahomes handled fresh. Uh,
you know he was in situations inexperienced quarterbacks usually struggle.
I mean, think about went to New England, went to
the Los Angeles Rams, the two Super Bowl teams, and
only lost by a total of six points in those games. Right,
(35:45):
almost beat the Patriots. I know they were favored, but boy,
in the playoffs for a first year starter against ballotcheck,
that just shows you how much pessimism there was about
the Patriots, more so than optimism about Kansas City entering
that game. I just maybe the question should be, Fez,
(36:07):
can can you even make the case it's not a barrow?
Or is it clear Kansas City getting better? It's pretty clear.
The only concerned would be Mahomes a possible sophomore slump,
but I don't happening. Mean saw, who's the last quarterback
that had a sophomore slump. It's been a while, so
you're just like, do you have like a book of cliches?
Zak Prescott. It wouldn't be funny if he actually pulled
(36:29):
out a book and he said a book of sports cliches,
and and it was dog ear to the sophomore slump.
Taking one game at a time. Yeah, I mean, I
would have been great. It would have been like, well, listen,
I have two concerns one sophomore slump too. Will the
Chiefs take it one game at a time? Only God
knows that case. That case, D is very likely to
(36:51):
get even better. It just wasn't very good last year.
And I think enough graded defensive coordinator getting rid of
the nothing against seventy four year olds. But it looked
like a game had passed Sutton by their defensive coordinator. Yeah,
that's a good point. Up arrow, chief second favorite, first
favorite in some spots. Next, guys, we have the New
England Patriots, the favorite to win Super Bowl fifty four. Now,
(37:14):
I you know I'm not gonna give mine away. I
usually give mine. Let's do a quick roundtable up arrow,
down arrow, flat fest down arrow. That's enough, flat up arrow.
Did you look at the draft choices? Twelve of them?
I mean you let Belichick restocked like this cheap, I
(37:38):
wouldn't be surprised if they make a like a splash
sign not a splash signing, but one of those like,
you know, third best wide receivers in the NFL on
a pretty decent one year deal type signings maybe or
even a multi year deal. The only possible way you
could say the other than Brady, other than eighty can
(38:00):
anyone make the case down arrow Patriots? So it's all
about Brady's age? Now, how would you say the last
m Let's just go in the playoffs? If you add
it up, how many quarterbacks? I get it, he wasn't
great in the super Bowl, I get it, okay, But
if you look at the three playoff games with Brady,
(38:23):
how many quarterbacks would you bet would have played better
in that spot? Less than five? So you're saying the
Patriots have the six best quarterback in the NFL based
on the end of the season against the best competition.
But that's why they're getting worse quarterbacks. Fall off the cliff. Now,
just answer soberly just the number. How many years has
(38:45):
it been that you've been talking about Brady? Phone off
a cliff? Four and a half. At least, at least
you're honest, Brad, we have two ESPN games, but they're
not great games. You've got literally twelve seconds on each Yeah,
Penn State, Ohio State situational advantage for the Buck guys.
Lean Ohio State minus six and a half. They got
two extra days rest. Back to back home games for
the Buck guys, Lean Ohio State minus six and a half.
(39:06):
Go Go Go Iowa and Indiana is the second game,
Lean on Iowa plus two. To me, it's all about
not trusting Indiana. Indiana's off their best performance of the season.
The bigger sample size says, hey, this is a bad
Indiana team. They had lost seven straight games prior to that.
Lean Iowa plus two. Brad powers guys, who've got a
double header on T n T and the NBA. We
start with one of the great rivalries and sports. It's
(39:29):
the Lakers at the Celtics, tipping off a little over
an hour from now, Boston and nine point favorite on
pregame dot com. So fast. This is all about the
mentality of the Lakers. Yep, by Lean Boston minus the
nine and I think the Lakers are discouraged. The attitude
is disrupted Lean Boston. All right. Here's the question, though,
what what did this line had been if the Lakers
were a hundred percent no mental distractions, nothing busting, minus
(39:52):
seven and a half. So it's seven and a half
to nine, and that's it. And you so all this
talk about all these dis tractions and it's a one
and a half point adjustment the first game. Yes, it
seems like you should love the Celtics here. Yeah, the
Lakers just had such a god awful, horrible performance last game.
It is a bounce back spot. Okay, So you're saying,
(40:14):
on one hand, they were so embarrassed. All right, One
more NBA game after the Lakers and Celtics on t NT.
It's the Spurs and the Trailblazers, Portland a six point
favorite at home. I really like the under two six
in this game. Both NBA total total bore two defenses
embarrassed last game, and in particular, the Spurs gave up
(40:35):
a hundred forty one points against Golden State r J.
It's the most points the Spurs have given up in
regulation time since nineteen ninety. Pop is going to be angry,
emphasized defense. So total points under how many and who's playing?
We got Portland and we got San Antonio. So for
the nineteen listeners out there who are betting NBA totals.
(40:57):
Fez is your hero for the other three hundred thousand
in well, on Twitter you can complain. It's at Physic
Sports f e z z I K. Tom. Come on, Physic,
give us a pick that we can enjoy. We know
you've got a mansion in a yacht, but what about
our mansion in yacht. If you missed any of today's show,
you can check out the podcast on Fox Sports Radio
(41:18):
dot com. The Odd Couple is next here. We are
straight at a Vegas back tomorrow six pm Eastern Time,
three o'clock Pacific. Right here on Fox Sports Radio. Fox
Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
(41:39):
Catch all of our shows at Fox sports Radio dot
com and within the I Heart Radio app search f
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