April 16, 2018 • 45 mins
Doug thinks part of the reason why the Cavaliers lost to the Pacers is because playoff basketball is a different sport than regular season basketball. He also tells you why even though the Patriots have drama they'll be just fine next season. Ric Bucher from Bleacher Report joins the show to tell Doug if the Cavaliers are in trouble.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the best of the Doug gottli Show on
Fox Sports Radio. Boom, What Up America, Doug Gottlieb Show,
Fox Sports Radio. Welcome in. It is April six, at
least in the West Coast, the best coast. The sun
is shining, the birds are chirping. Spring has sprung, and
(00:23):
unlike the Midwest, where Major League Baseball games were canceled,
we got games of playing Dodgers taking on the Padres
this week, Red Sox come to town, take on Sho
Hey Otani tomorrow at the Big A. We got a
lot to get to. Baseball wise, hoops wise. We're here
the playoffs that are rise. Football des Bryant looking for
(00:43):
a home and two guys who called New England home
are not going home at least for O T A s.
And we're a week and half away from the NFL Draft,
which you can see on Fox this year. So a
metric ton to get to. Rick Puker, who is say
a long time NBA stage will join us in fifteen minutes.
(01:04):
We'll get his thoughts on Gregg Popovich straight up calling
out Kawhi Leonards people. After the game. We'll get his
thoughts on the debacle that was the Cleveland Cavaliers. After
Game one, we'll get his thoughts on the Oklahoma City
Thunder and Paul George gonna try and mess around and
stay in Oklahoma City is playing so well, and try
(01:26):
and not freak out over just one game, but just
one game for all these series, and I do think
that you would nod your head and say this. I
started sports radio nationally in two thousand three, and that
was at the height of Red Sox Yankees. That was
(01:48):
probably peak Major League Baseball playoffs in terms of ratings
and importance in the national radio landscape. And I always
thought that nothing peaked in terms of of of the
difference in attention to detail, in um in in just
how important every play, every pitch, every at bat was.
(02:12):
The spike between regular season baseball and postseason baseball was
the biggest spike in sports. That was until I watched
this weekend. NBA basketball is really really talentful at the top.
I generally believe that although more guys get a chance
(02:32):
to make it for a cup of coffee at the
bottom of the league, because teams are tanking and it's
a smart way to tank where you can play guys
they can't really help you win, right, and pay them
a lot less. The truth is the top of the
league guys have more skill than previous generations. They shoot better,
they pass better, and though they're more role players, they're bigger,
(02:54):
they're longer, they can guard more positions. But you can
take plays off. In the NBA, people take games off.
There are quarters to which not much defense is played,
not much ball movement has had in the regular season.
The postseason is like a different sport. I'll grant you.
(03:17):
There was a play last night late and the Rockets
win over the Minnesota Timberwls, a series that I told
you on Thursday would be much closer than a normal
eight one series. And the logical reason was, hey, look
the Timberwols. They didn't have Jimmy Butler for a portion
of time, and they had some absolutely tragic losses. And
(03:39):
they're the only team to lose at home to the
Memphis Grizzlies in two thousand eighteen. They lost to the Hawks,
they lost the Orlando Magic, they lost some of the
bottom teams in the league. So that may lead you
to believe that they're not that good. That's not what
I believe. I believe that they're a team. They have
some dysfunction, they have some games where they've no showed,
but the truth is that they're their best is is
(04:00):
better than many of the other teams in the West's best.
Like the Utah Jazz got got a tremendous seed, right
like they got a higher seed. But the Utah Jazz
are not a better team at full strength right now,
even with Rudy Golbert and Valentine, they're not a better
team than a full strength Minnesota Minnesota Timberwolves team. And
(04:24):
so I knew that series would be closed. But Carl
Town's couldn't get the ball. It was Antenna was like, man,
it was he's acting like no one's ever denied in
the basketball And the answer is, yeah, no one really has,
because in the regular season, teams just kind of go
out and play LaMarcus Aldrich, who dominant in the regular
(04:45):
season and still finds a way to score. Everyone knows
when he gets the basketball he's turning one way. It
turns the same way every time, and in the regular
season it works. In the postseason, hey, it's even more pronounced.
The scatterer poor defense. It it feels like a different
(05:05):
sport and what's maybe most surprising or most alarming is
that the calves. It's like no one told these calves
because so many of them have not been in this
position before, right Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance. Guys just hadn't
been that position before. And there was no juice at
all in Cleveland none. Sure they missed some open shots.
(05:30):
Those are shots, by the way, that show their limitations.
They can't create their own shots. Since Kyrie's gone, there's
no second shot creator. They just kind of stand around
and look for someone to make a play and then
shoot at three. That's really their offense, and it may
in fact work, but I think they got some They
got some matchup problems with Victor oladipot right. Last year's team,
(05:51):
they didn't really have a guy outside Lebron that could
cover k D and Lebron tires covering KD. This year
they don't really have a guy that can cover Victor
oladip boh. But I feel like this sport in the NFL,
you can't dog it because you can get hurt, not
just embarrassed, but you can get hurt. In Major League Baseball, though,
(06:14):
there are guys that uh that can no show for
a week or two, all of those stats are accumulated,
and we kind of know who you are baseball status
every pitch. I think the biggest difference in baseball is
stats for relief pitchers. Even if they pitch in high
leveage situations in the regular season, sometimes those go askew
(06:35):
in the postseason. Right that the pressure on relief pictures
to come in and get one guy and to throw
one strike to one specific battern to live up to
put the numbers generally play out the same in the
regular season. They they're they're gittarian, right. Derek Jeter the
Ultimate the numbers were the same as they were in
the postseason. He just got enough games right so that
(06:59):
there wasn't a small sample size in the NBA between
taking play games off between a lack of intensity because
some teams are on back to backs, some teams are
playing to lose, some teams are playing to win. It's
really really hard to tell. And so we can debate
(07:20):
all we want about regular season awards. We can talk
all we want about who gets and doesn't get an
advantage from getting home court. But I'd make the case
to you that if you watched NBA games even some
of the best regular season games, and then you watch
the games this week and you're like, wow, that's like
a different sport college football. It's funny when we watch
(07:45):
bowl games or we watch n c A tournament games,
a lot of times they'll be fans are like, well,
that's kind of sloppy, guys missed a lot of shots.
Like yeah, that's actually what a regular season game looks like.
They're kids. There is a ton of pressure, but every
game is kind of ramped up, pressure wise, and they
generally play hard every game because there's not that many games.
(08:05):
And sometimes in the n c A tournament you get
a guy that gets hot or you get a team
that crumples under pressure, but a lot of teams we've
seen some form of pressure before. The difference is the
big boys aren't playing home court. They don't get the
benefit of officiating, but the game, sloppy or clean, generally
lives up or down to the numbers. Same in college
(08:27):
football the NBA. It's a it felt it felt like
I'm watching a different sport, and it felt like the
hardest calculation, the hardest calculation for what the calves were
was not just because you're playing against the East and
a lot of non playoff teams. But you have so
many guys, right, George Hill has played in playoffs in
(08:49):
the past, but not thirty two year old George Hill
had and played in playoffs in the past. Larry Dance had,
Jordan Clarkson had, and some of them. We're playing in
the playoffs in a new or assumed role. Be sure
to catch live editions of The Doug gott Leap Show
weekdays at three p m. Eastern noon Pacific on Fox
(09:09):
Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app. Rick Buker,
who does an outstanding job for Bleacher Report. Uh, he's
covered this league for damn buke almost a quarter century.
You're getting super super old, but you still got you
got better hair than me. You're better looking, your families
almost as good looking as my family, but super super talented. Um,
all right, let's uh, let's let's get to Gregg Popovich.
(09:33):
They get blown out by the Golden State Warriors, and afterwards,
when asked about Kauai, he has this to say, it's
a bit Kawai reasoning. You guys, at any time to
play up, you don't have to ask Kauai and his
group that question, you know, so far, They say that
he's not ready to go there, so we can't do
anything until that happens, and we would have to decide
(09:53):
what's going on from there. But that's the first thing
that has to happen, all right, even if he's not playing,
to having him on the beach with the guy he's
rehabbing right now in New York training get healthy. What's
your reaction to the way in which Pop is handling this. Uh,
he doesn't have much choice, honestly. Uh, it is. I mean,
(10:15):
people around the San Antonio organization know that this is
not the first time the Kauai has had an injury
that that the length of which has baffled them, considering
the the the the supposed severity of it, and it's
taken a lot longer for him to get back. He
knows that he is in a market where, for the
(10:38):
most part, you don't acquire top talent free agents. He's
at a point in his career, Pop is in which
the idea of drafting another star like a Kauai and
then developed him into a star probably isn't in the cards.
So it really has no choice but to try to
play this the most diploent diplomatic way possible and and
(11:02):
see where it falls. I think ultimately his goal is
to say, if this thing goes sideways, if Kauai leaves,
we're not it's not gonna be on us, because we,
as the Spurs, mishandled it from a public standpoint. When
I've talked to Spurs people, they've made it clear, Look,
(11:22):
we never said Kauai was coming back. We never said
he was ready to come back. That came from other places.
And so this idea that that there is a riff.
They've tried to make sure it might have been sourced,
but they've tried to make sure that there's not gonna
be any uh retribution, or there's not gonna be any
(11:45):
recrimination that well, the Spurs did this or said this,
and this is what spoiled the pot when it came
to Kawhi Leonard. All right, let's get to the other
rehabbing player of note Guy one two m v PS
rehabbed in its one leg, jumping some other sort of
rehab stuff on the floor before the Warriors win. How
close is staff to returning. Well, he's not doing any
(12:08):
any really sharp cutting right now. It's starting like the
I saw I saw him doing some sort of s maneuvers,
some slight you know, uh uh at agility drills where
you just kind of push off going left to right,
but not a hard cut. And as we know with
with Steff, I mean this is where where the knee
(12:30):
ligaments are are going to be a major question as
far as whether he can get back under percent. It's
why I affected him so much a degree a first
degree sprain the last time around. We saw how much
it impacted him. This is a second degreas sprain. Now.
The beauty of or the the advantage they have is
that they're giving him all this time off. He tried
(12:51):
to come back on a quicker plane. I think that's
why they're giving in the time off, because they want
to see him back. The way Step plays, he's got
to be able to move laterally without thinking about it.
That's how he gets a lot of his shots off.
And so until he's able to do that, I don't
see him coming back. I mean I don't see this
(13:13):
series going along, and so I would not expect to
see him until the second round, depending on how much
time there is between now and when that start. Doesn't
it just show like look I I was a little
bothered by their energy. Rick Buker from Bleacher Report Plus
he has his own show on Serious x M Channel
eighty three, and he has an outstanding podcast you should
(13:35):
download as well. Uh what's it called, swirl um Shoes
The Swirl without an Eye w r L. Alright, this
World download download this World podcast. Okay, so um, look,
I was bothered by their their lack of effort at
times at the end of the season. But the thing
that I saw that I didn't see enough people nationally
(13:55):
point out was hey, they're starting Quinn Cook. They do
what most teams do when you have an injury, which
is you move your bench up to be starters. That
they didn't do that. They let Andrea Goodald and Sean
Livingston rest and still play their ten to fifteen minutes
or whatever so that they had energy for the playoffs.
And when you put a guy who granted, Quinn Cook
had a kind of a breakthrough season with the G
(14:17):
League and with the Warriors, but like he's still a
backup at best at this level, and I and I
felt like making the change in Game one only show
that they were kind of playing possum more than playing
terrible No No, doubt about it. They weren't trying to
go out and show their best. There wasn't a concern that, look,
(14:37):
we need we need to like we gotta figure out
a way to put our best five on the floor
or best seven eight man rotation. Uh. It's it's the
advantage that the Warriors have over every single team in
the postseason, Cavaliers included, since they're a new troop, which
is they know how they can, they know how they
(14:58):
have to play to win a champion ship. And as
Draymond Green said after the after the game, they know
what they're capable of. And so you know, Steve knew
that what solutions he had available to him. He knew
he could start andre Iguadala and that would be that
would that would be an easy solution. And and but
(15:19):
but why go to that during the regular season and
allow the Spurs one to have tape on it? Uh?
And or you not to have the elements of surprise
going into the postseason. So um, it made a world
of sense. It's still you know, look, there's there's other
coaches who wouldn't who even wouldn't have done it in
(15:41):
Game one. They would they would have kept it in
their back pocket even longer. I think it was smart,
especially for a noon start where it was very disappointing.
The the Warriors Faithful have now become as spoiled as
the Bulls Faithful were. You can go back through any
of the championship teams. I think Lakers fans at one
point you have a neon start in thirty minutes before
(16:02):
the game that places maybe a sixth fold and the
only Warriors chant you're hearing is from the DJ's tape,
and it just we'll see how we'll see what they
do tonight, but it's still the first round, and that's
that's I look, I've seen it all with the Warriors,
(16:22):
and I saw it at the beginning where thirty minutes
before the game they were in full throat even before
the Warriors came out to warm up. And they've gotten lazy,
they've gotten soft. The Warriors fans want to complain about
their team. You guys are just as best. Um okay,
speaking of team that could that could not get the
crowd into it, and they were not ready to play.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were getting run off the floor. There
(16:45):
was no juice in the building, no juice in that team,
and I know everybody's like, Hey, it's Lebron, He'll figure
it out. I'm like, I don't know. Um, I get
they missed some jump shots and they're a jump shooting
team and the law of averages sometimes, but they couldn't
guard anybody in the regular season. They couldn't guard that
team in the postseason. What are your thoughts on what's
(17:05):
going on in Cleveland? Well, look, if you you hate
to ever close the door on Lebron, and certainly he
didn't look worried, you can take that as a plus
or a minus. How casually he was about about losing
this game in the way that they did. I thought
one of the big telling points it's not for me.
It's not the Calves. I feel like I know who
(17:27):
they are. And yeah, if they make a few more
shots that Kevin Love gets a few more shots, Jeff
Green or Jordan Clarkson, whoever it is on the corners
starts knocking those down, it's a different kind of game.
What I was what was most telling to me was
when they made a run in the third quarter and
(17:47):
they cut it too. I believe it was sick and
they did it a couple of times and then and
this is on your home floor, and Larry Nance Jr.
Is excited, and all those young guys are getting excited,
and the crowds excited it. The pacers did not blink.
Victor Oladipo did not blink. The next thing you knew,
it was back at eleven. Then it was back at fourteen.
(18:09):
And to me, that was the most telling thing, which
is one, the pacers aren't intimidated. And two the cabs
can make some shots and keep it closer, but they
can't put a vice gript on you defensively where they
get all the way back in the game, or at
least they couldn't with the pacers. The pacers are not intimidated.
(18:33):
Victor Oladipo is not intimidated. And as much as they
only scored and Lebron pointed that out uh, their their
ability to close on the drive and then get back
out the shooters was embarrassingly bad, you know, like like, look,
they only scored ninety, but Bogdanovitch didn't hit a shot
(18:54):
like he missed a bunch of shots that five or
seventeen yea, And they were looked. The shots that they
made were wide open, and the shots that they missed
were wide. Yeah, I look here here was There's two things. One,
the part that I think a lot of a lot
of people missed on with the Calves is they still
have this problem that they have to have Kevin Love
on offense, and he's not terrible on defense, but if
(19:15):
you have him, he's your center. There's nobody to protect
your him. And if he's your power forward, now of
a sudden you have that makes Lebron has to play
small forward and they've gotta being interested, which hurts their
offense like it's just missed. And then there's no guard
that they have. They're like, all right, you guard Oladipo,
and you know, I know they're gonna they're gonna engage
you and get switches and try and go at Kevin Love.
(19:36):
But there isn't even any lockdown guard Like I actually
thought j R. Smith did a good job defensively, but
he's not he's not built to guard Oladipo. They don't
have a defender that can guard somebody like Oladipo. Yep, agreed,
And and and the other part is that if you're
gonna have Lebron do that work, I mean for for
like there's a lot that Lebron could do defensively to
(19:57):
shore things up, but he's your only playmaker on offense,
so asking him to do both is it's just not
going to happen. And so he's going to I mean,
you know, even even in his like I really couldn't.
I'm often critical of him because he gets to the
rim so easily and he posts and he can just
(20:19):
he can grind you away on that. But where they were,
they he was driving and kicking and guys are getting
wide open threes. Some of those they just they have
to be made. He he can't. He can't that the
energy required, even as good as he is, the energy
required to get to the to the paint and work
(20:39):
with his back to the basket. I mean, he's going
to get there with anybody. Um, you know. Right now
you look at these two teams, he's often the biggest, tallest,
strongest player on the floor, which is how much this
game has changed. But that said, you're you're just and
this is what you and I talked about this I
think weeks ago. This is the great flaw in this
Cleveland group is that you don't have anybody who can
(21:03):
really lead the charge. Defensively, and you don't have anybody
else who can lead it other than Lebron offensively. Um. Alright,
so then let's go to Houston. Um. Look, James Harden
is incredible and they did win Game one, and there
is a little bit of pressure on you. I kind
(21:24):
of feel like this is gonna be a competitive series?
Am I crazy? Uh? No, you're not, You're not crazy.
I mean I think every game is going to be close.
It could be, you know, four games close, and that's
it because I just I don't like the I mean,
what's Minnesota doing end the game and Jimmy Butler is
taking it three and he's it's not even a three.
(21:45):
I mean, he steps clearly steps across the three point
line when you needed a three to to tie the game.
But forget about that. How about how about we get
the ball to Carl Anthony Towns level. We get some
touches to our best player just every now and again, like, hey,
that guy is kind of good. Let's get him the basketball,
and then he's got to want the best ball little
bit more. He's got a want of a little bit more.
(22:07):
But you I honestly as good as he can be
in the post I feel better getting him the ball
on the move. He's not he's not. Tim Duncan's not
going to grind the guy. And he's and he's and
he's okay. I mean, honestly, he's he's okay in the post,
but he's he's not. He's just not strong enough. It's
easy to kind of get him off balance and taking
(22:27):
off balance shots, and he's remarkably good at taking those,
but I don't want that on a consistent basis. Yeah,
but this is my this is my problem. Whether it's
end of game or it's getting Karl Anthony Town's involved,
it's it's really Mike D'Antoni the offensive wizard versus Tom Thibodeaux,
the defensive wizard. And if this becomes a nip and
tuck game at the end of end of games and
(22:49):
you need a possession to score um right now with
the balance, I like the offensive guy because he's probably
gonna get you a good look and he's got the
isolation players to do it. And meanwhile, on the other side,
I mean time again, even even the going back to
the Denver Nuggets game that got them into the playoffs,
I'm I'm looking at the plays run at the end
(23:09):
of games, and I'm thinking this is not gonna work
in the postseason, and it's a little astonishing for all
the experience that Tom Thibodeau has, that he's not better
at it at this point. Yep. I couldn't agree with
you more. Rick Buker, love talking hoops with them, especially now.
Last thing before I let you go. One of the
things about Carl Towns and why he struggled to get position.
One of the reasons that I think some of those
(23:31):
Cavs players is it's basically a different sport in the playoffs, right,
I mean, like de level of physicality, the level of energy,
like it's it's feels like a completely different sports than
the one you and I have been watching for the
last six seven months. For sure, for sure, No, and
that's why you know, on the flip side, brilliant. UH
couldn't be more impressed with Ben Simmons and the the
(23:52):
UH the immediate adjustments that he made and the physicality
that he played with. Obviously he's playing kind he's playing
a different position, but I mean, boy, that as a
debut for a rookie, UH, that was he was he
He looked far more comfortable doing his job in the
postseason and Carl Anthony Town and Carl Anthony Town has
(24:13):
got a few years on him. Yep, yep, nope, I
I look I missed on, guys, that was not what
I missed on. A little confirmation bias in it though.
But Rick Buker from Bleacher Report Serious x M eight
e three and of course The Swirl is his podcast.
I'm on Twitter at Rick with a C R I
C b U C h e er. Thanks so much, Rick.
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
(24:35):
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox sports
Radio dot com and within the I Heart Radio app.
Danny Amendola is now a dolphin. He's a dolphin. He
went reverse Wes Welker and this is Danny Amendola, who um.
He had a great catch in the Super Bowl. He
(24:56):
had his best season as a Patriot this season. But
let's also remember the Damnian. Dannie Amendola was a lot
like some of the other guys that Bill Belichick has
brought in. Danniem and Dani Amendola struggled to stay healthy
when he was in St. Louis. That was one of
the reasons the Patriots were able to get him, and
he was. He's been a not healthy, I can't get
(25:19):
healthy guy for several organizations, and he had that problem.
He had that that rep with the Pats. Here's Dannie
Amendola talking about playing for Bill Belichick. You know, so
it's not easy, that's for sure. Uh. You know, he's
sometimes but a lot of things I didn't like about
playing for him. But I must say the things that
(25:41):
I didn't like were all in regard to getting the
team better, and I respected him. You know. I didn't
like practicing in the snow. I didn't like practicing in
the rain. But that was gonna make us a better
football team, and that was gonna make me a better
football player. It wasn't easy. He would be the first
to admit at at the Rings ceremony that it wasn't
It wasn't easy playing for him. You know. The silver
(26:02):
lining is that we were at the Ring ceremony, which
is which actually goes in direct contrast to his other
thoughts regarding Malcolm Butler. Right, I have my thoughts because
I was out there putting my blood, sweat and tears
out in that field and one of our best players
(26:24):
wasn't on the field to tell you the truth. I
don't know why I did ask, but I didn't get
any answers. I can't make decisions like that, so I
don't necessarily worry about it. But I know that Malcolm's
a great player and he could have helped us win
for whatever reason he wasn't out there. He's gonna play
more football in his career. He's going to be there
for a long time. Huh huh. So look, I I
(26:51):
understand that when Brady is not there. And do I
think that Brady has gotta beef a little bit? Do
I think that grons gotta beef a little bit? Do
I think they're the same beef? I do not. I
do not. I don't think that Brady is sitting there
not going to O T A s because, uh, because
(27:13):
Malcolm Butler didn't play except for one play in the
Super Bowl. I don't think. I don't believe that for
one second. I don't think he likes the fact that
his personal trainer had some of his privileges revoked. I
think that I think that has a distinct possibility of
being a reality right and um, I think that this
(27:35):
is a little bit of payback for that. I also
think that Belichick is probably going to draft on some
level and air apparent quarterback since he's traded away two
backups who would become starters elsewhere. And I'm not sure
he wants he wants to be down with he he
knows the offense, doesn't have to install the offense. He
doesn't have to be there, but he probably should be there. Um.
(28:03):
I think it's kind of fascinating to me that people
relate to Rob Gronkowski deal to Malcolm Malcolm Butler. Gronk's
not there because he wants a new contract. He got
his contract reworked last year, but in typical smart Patriots fashion,
it was all incentive late and they didn't change anything
(28:25):
except for, hey, have you hit these incentives will give
you some more money. And some of them he hitting
some of them. Most of them he didn't because Gronk
struggles to stay healthy. And when they got him the
ball in the second half of the Super Bowl, he
showed just how dominant he was. I mean, that's a
dominant football player. But I fall back on what Danny Emma,
(28:46):
Danny Amondola led with is the reality of all of
this stuff. It ain't fun to butt heads with Tom
Brady and his trainer. But you know what he treats
Tom Brady, he treat almost anybody else. It ain't fun
to have to sit Malcolm Butler. But you know, look,
(29:09):
they probably wouldn't have been in eight Super Bowls if
to steal the expression that Bob McNair used, the inmates
ran the asylum whatever Malcolm Butler did. And Alcolm Butler
wasn't playing particularly well, and like, remember Malcolm Butler, this
part hasn't been reported a bunch, but it actually is.
It's reported he said it. Malcolm Butler said he wasn't
(29:30):
feeling well on the Sunday before the Super Bowl, so
he checked into the hospital. So the guys not playing well,
and he checks into the hospital and misses the team playing. Like,
I don't know about you, guys, but first, if you're
not feeling well and you're part of a professional sports organization,
(29:52):
the first people you go to is your team doctor.
Their first name isn't doctor, they are actually doctors. Secondly,
once you get admitted to a hospital, that has to
leave everybody around you and thing like, man, some's really
wrong with this guy. Then you missed the team plane
that only feeds that assumption that something's really wrong with
(30:13):
this guy. So I don't think it was one thing.
I think was a bunch of things. But all this
stuff the you know, it's not really that fun. No,
it's probably not that fun for Rob Gronkowski to play
in a dated contract considering his talents. That's why he
went out and he got Drew Rosenhaus because Drew Rosenhau's
(30:34):
promises everybody man will hold you out. We'll get you
more money, money, money, money, That's what we're gonna get you.
In the end of the day, all he could get
was because the team had him under contract. All he
could get was a rework deal with a bunch of
incentives in there, a bunch of bonuses in there, some
that he hit something he didn't. So do I think
(30:54):
all of this is related? Sure? Do I think some
of them are miffed over the Malcolm by The thing. Yeah,
But I also think their miffed because that's Bill being Bill.
But Bill being Bill is what's gotten them to aid
super Bowls. And if you want to say that Rome
has fallen cool, who are you taking the acast? Ryan
Tannehill or maybe Baker Mayfield or whoever they draft in Miami.
(31:19):
The New York Jets pulled off one of the most
atrocious trades in the history of the draft. It wasn't
that they traded up for the third spot. They trade
up for the third spot like three weeks before the draft,
not knowing who would be available at that third spot.
The Buffalo Bills ton of draft picks. No starting quarterback
(31:40):
we're gonna take. So does it look like there are issues, Yes,
Brady probably has an issue with him. Gronk has an
issue with him. Those issues are not the same, and
I don't think they have anything to do with Malcolm
Butler and Danny Amendola. Leaving wasn't because Danny Emmon wasn't
because of Malcolm Butler. You got more money to go
(32:01):
play elsewhere. He had one season where he played sixteen games.
That year he had twenty seven catches. You know, he
was fifty four sixte sixty one catches. This year he
had his most yards as six fifty nine yards receiving.
A good player, he's a nice piece. It's just a piece.
(32:24):
It's replaceable. And with Edelman back, Hogan back, going out
and getting Franklin from from Buffalo, just a piece. They
got Brady they got Belichick, they got Grunk. Who else
are you gonna take? In the FC? East Rome had
(32:47):
its problems and did ultimately fall. It'll fall in New England.
But I think calling it now it's calling it too early,
calling it too early. Be sure to catch live editions
of The Doug gott Leap Show weekdays at three p m.
Easter noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the I
Heart Radio app. Ryan Racilo joins, joins me, he's got
(33:08):
his own podcast. Of course, he's done his own national
radio show. Uh, he just moved to the best coast.
So now he actually finishes watching these games and then
has a life afterwards. Refreshing, isn't it. Yeah, it's weird.
I don't know what to do with myself. You know,
you get done. All right, let's let's let's start with
the Calves. How big good trouble? Then, well, what's so
(33:30):
shocking about this is if they were gonna stink, they
were gonna stink on defense, because they've been terrible on
defense all the year. I mean, they don't practice. I
think they practice is little as any team in the league.
And when you watch their defensive problems, you can actually
go okay, this is fixable, because there's just so bad,
like losing somebody in the corner on baseline on you
that switches, you know, the things that you would see
them screw up. You go with these offens's hind of
(33:51):
fixable and then you go, Okay, they're gonna put the
switch and all these different things. But their offense was
terrible yesterday, and you know too to living that kind
of zone of hey, we'll just turn it on and
then you can't get any buckets and you let them
come out of this lead, and the Pacers are like,
you know, where this team in the East that absolutely
no one talks about if people talk about the Wizards
more than us. Um I thought that was really weird.
(34:15):
I mean it was I don't want to get real
worked up, because I could totally see Lebron in this
whole group coming out with them hitting trees and put
up a nice score against the Pacers in Game two.
But to see them lose in the opposite version of
how I thought they'd lose was really just so surprising.
And there was no there just seemed to be no energy.
There's no pop, like yo, this is the playoffs and
they're just shooting jump shots and couldn't couldn't seem to
(34:37):
affect the game in any other way. That's what I
don't get is you know what what is? Is it
even cooler now to flip the switch on like after
game two of the first round, like you want all
of us to believe that this switch is possible? And
because of Boston's injuries, because of the just unknown with
Philadelphia and the fact that the Raptors have get in
(34:59):
three years of evidence that they're kind of soft team.
There you go, you know, I could see Cleland getting
through this thing again, Like who You're really scared of it? Right?
Play like that and you go, so what are we
supposed to do? I'm just supposed to give you the
benefit of the doubt till it's three one? Yeah, I
I think my my working thought was that every series
would be difficult, right, that there just wouldn't be one.
(35:20):
Do I think that that Indie can beat them four
times in seven games? Not really? Um, I just don't.
On the other hand, I think that Indie could Who
do they play? Who do they play? The winner of
I'm gonna have toldly even lost on on the brackets,
you know, right? So Jack So could Indie beat them, No,
but if Indie beats them two times or Indie beats
(35:42):
them three times, it changes how they look against Toronto.
Like again, and we don't know which Toronto shows up
because there were times in which that game one was
in doubt. And even if they beat Toronto, you know,
you know, let's say they get to the Eastern Conference
finals and whomever they play that side, you know, whether
it's the seventies, six years who again, I'm not sure
(36:04):
what they are in in crunch time and a big
but if it's a if it's a Calves team that's
already older, that's been stretched out and they played a
six game series in the seven game series, I sure
like a younger team's leg in that legs in that
series more so than they would if they just played
straight up fair. I think it's totally care But then
I also kind of remind myself, like when I get
(36:25):
to these negative modes watching Cleveland, I go, you know,
let's not let's not let the negativity that you're stacking
up here watching the Cavs play tricky when is thinking
their own problems all these other teams, like when Washington
was up, I mean the Raptors Washington series for me
is so funny because there are two teams that completely
doubt their toughness because again they've given us so many
examples to doubt them. And the Wizards are off and
(36:45):
you're going, you know, talent wise, just want to match up,
But this is not like, this isn't this isn't this
massive gap in ability here based on these rosters. It
really isn't um. But then Toronto's down and you go
here They're go again. They're gonna lose it home again
for the second decade in a row. And then the
Wizards can't get a bucket and then they fall apart,
(37:05):
and you know, other than Deal isn't the most efficient,
but I think I stick up for him a lot um.
You know, I think you and I would agree with
both like but some like you're like, how come it
is it better? And then Otto Porter, who's a MAX
guy that if I said to you, heyto Porter gets
zero points in the class. Yeah, so you know, all
of these other teams. Whenever I'm watching Cleveland, I kind
(37:29):
of do this thing where I checked myself and go, okay,
but but you know, as bad as game, I mean,
obviously get through the Pacers first, but you know there's
a lot of wards on these other teams too. Yeah, No,
it's the it's the everybody's talking about the Patriots today
with Brady and Gronk, and I know you miss hosting
a daily national radio show where you'd have to, you know,
rehash that that whole stuff. But Ryan was silo joining
(37:50):
us in the dug out lip show. But but it's
still if you don't think the Patriots are gonna win
the FC East, do you do you like the Bills?
Do you like the Jets? Do you like the Dolphins?
Kind of his kind of kind of the same thing. No,
And that's what I'm loving about these teams at the top. Now,
Cleveland's efficiencies are are a bigger deal, okay, But New
England we're talking about other turmoil and they're like they
(38:11):
lost the Philly but they lost in the super Bowl,
and you know it folds his sacked on that one
play where he's dropping back. You know another play left
was a little bit more than just the bounce of
the ball one or another. But that's two places away
from the Patch winning this whole thing. So like when
I when I hear about turmoil, I go, well, you
know termol the me six and ten. Okay, when Alabama
(38:32):
is all of a sudden sticking out by it by
a dual threk qub so um yeah, but figured it
out and like a last second throw in the national
fourth places. So there's Cleveland thing. If it's over, it's
over earlier than most of his expect we'll go here.
(38:53):
There was plenty of signs. There were plenty of things
that look at here. The team never jelled. I mean,
the thing is that Lebron has kind of kuldn't a
fact is amazing. Can see his bean since aunually he's
completely I didn't covered up for the fact that most
of his teammates, other than the few games Love is played,
but average below average. Yeah, yeah, no, I mean, there's
(39:13):
there's a reason these guys were available from from their
previous team. Everybody seems to like, oh man, Kobe Altman,
he killed it, Like, yeah, there's a there's a reason
that the other teams moved on from Ryan Risilo joining us.
You can download his podcast Doug Got Them Show, Fox
Fox Sports Radio. Um san Antonio gets stomped by the
Golden State Warriors. Not terribly surprising. I love that Golden
(39:34):
State chooses only the playoffs to start Andrea Godala instead
of starting Quinn Cook, you know, G League player at
at the point guard position. But what was maybe more
interesting was this back and forth. Here's Pop afterwards talking
about uh, Kawhi Leonard rejoin you guys at any time
to lay up. You don't have to ask Kawai and
his group that question, you know, so far they say
(39:55):
that he's not ready to go there, and so we
can't do anything until that happens. Then we would have
to decide what's going on from there. But that's the
first thing that has to happen any value, even if
he's not playing to having him all the bands with
the guy he's rehabbing right now in New York trying
to get healthy. Yeah, um, that's that's just it's the
whole thing is is fascinating. How does this end? It's
(40:19):
so weird because you know, based on Kauai's personality and
you're like, wait a minute, he's one of those dudes,
like we always sell them up as not being one
of these dudes, and it would be like all of
a sudden, Gronk ending up. A Rhodes scholar and retiring
early just to start like, you know, like some community
outreach thing with some some scientific formula that no one
(40:40):
else has thought up and be like, hum, I didn't
see that one coming, um, but it but it ends
this way and that he's not going to go back
to San Antonio. Now, I'm not guaranteeing that on your
show right now, but I can only tell you that
based on every conversation I've had, and you know how
it is around the league. We start talking about stuff
that's going to happen in months and months down the road.
I mean, hell, I'm already a year ahead on possible
stuff that people are like, hey, pay attention to this,
(41:00):
But there isn't another team, and there isn't an agent
in the daily soap opera that is the NBA that
thinks Kauai is going back to San Antonio and Pop
giving you that second part of that answer where he's
saying Kauai and his group, that's that's the word on this.
Like a shoe deal fell apart, and they thought it
was a low ball offer from Nike. They thought he
(41:21):
should make way more. I think he was only making
like a half a million on this current deal. We're
talking about a finals MVP. So it feels like, hey,
whatever it's been, that time is over and that he
needs to build his brand and that he's looking for
different things, and that he doesn't want to be into
the pop regime and the fact that you know right now,
san Antonio is actually selling the idea that he's hurt
(41:42):
when a lot of people don't think he's hurt because
they feel like that's a better answer to this mystery
that the guy just doesn't want to play with his
team right now. So, um, I'm not saying it's it's
a certainty, but I'm just telling you that everybody in
this gossip, every time Kauai has brought up, nobody thinks
he's going back to San Antonio. Now that you've seen
them play playoff caliber basketball. We still haven't seen Steph,
(42:04):
but you watch him workouts. Reasonable think he's going to
return for the next series as of today, Houston Golden State,
who do you take well? Based on you know, the
conversations I've had about Curry is that you know him
going through this kind of m c L sprain before
it helps him understand who he's going to be when
he comes back and that they're being really cautious with this,
(42:25):
and that I've been told when he comes back, and
he could to go, and that's likely, you know, the
second ground, because I don't think san Antonio has enough
to extend the series unless Cool and State besides turn
off that switch, but both healthy. I'm taking Golden State.
Golden State is multiple offensively, there's a million things that
they can do. I actually think Houston's isolation versus the
multiple switching confendors for Golden State, I'm not as afraid
(42:46):
of it if I'm Golden State as I think everybody
else is, because Houston has looked incredible from start to finish,
and then people are throwing that seven and ten clothes
for Golden State of the regular season, where I'm going, yeah,
but that's just not who they were. So when it's
in front of us and looks unbelievable and formable, um,
and the other one looks like a cheap version of
itself with just a team that on year four is
(43:08):
a little over it emotionally and just doesn't have that edge.
I can understand how everybody likes Houston, but you know,
Houston doesn't do a million things here that you have
to worry about. And that's where I still think gold
State has the advantage. But as we've learned, without Curry
or a percent Curry like, he's the one that makes
them go. He's the one that makes them so impossible
to defend. And if he comes back and doesn't look
like that, or something else happens with one of these
(43:29):
other injuries, it opens a door for Houston. Yeah. I
also think Houston if if you get Oklahoma City in
the next round, that that's not as good a draw.
I think Minnesota might win a game or two. They
just they do have enough to kind of mug it,
muck it up and keep it, keep it close. They
might want to throw the ball to call of towns.
It's at some point in time. But can I jump
in on that. Yeah, you think that Tibbs was kind
(43:50):
of calling out towns a little bit because the the
Minnesota day to day part of it will say this
is on towns too. Yes, And I I said that
to start to show he's gotta they have to want
to get it to him. He's gonna want to get
the guy want the ball. I've been told that those
guys all go and get along. Some of them don't
like tips on them like each other and that that's
why it looks that way as well. But yeah, I
(44:12):
think that. I mean, I look, this is kind of
what we started the show. It's a different sport than
regular season basketball, and that you got you got to
demand the ball, and you know, Jimmy Butler is not
as afraid to go demand the ball. Now, it doesn't
look great what they're doing at the end of games,
but yeah, I do think it's a little bit on him. Yeah,
I hate them. It's weird because I love that roster.
(44:33):
When I look at Minnesota and then I watched him
play and I go, okay, so bat switched Georgy Jang
Long two heels on the three point line, hits over
like two seconds left before the shot clock expire, and
you go, that's a terrible possession. But it went in.
So like they're in that game last night and they
can't defend. They still can't defend anybody, and I mean
(44:54):
Houston and they shoot ten of thirty seven and went
at home, And honestly, even though the game was O Doug,
I didn't feel like I was never scared like Minnesota
offensively in a close, tight games is another good team.
They don't scare me. I agree with you, but I
do think they'll get one, and I think they're going
to keep them all close. And then I think Oklahoma
City can beat him a game or two. Ryan Risilo
(45:15):
download his podcast, Appreciate you Joining m my show. We'll
talk to man than Ryan Roussillo joining us on The
Doug gott Leave Show
This is the best of the Doug gottli Show on
Fox Sports Radio. Boom, What Up America, Doug Gottlieb Show,
Fox Sports Radio. Welcome in. It is April six, at
least in the West Coast, the best coast. The sun
is shining, the birds are chirping. Spring has sprung, and
(00:23):
unlike the Midwest, where Major League Baseball games were canceled,
we got games of playing Dodgers taking on the Padres
this week, Red Sox come to town, take on Sho
Hey Otani tomorrow at the Big A. We got a
lot to get to. Baseball wise, hoops wise. We're here
the playoffs that are rise. Football des Bryant looking for
(00:43):
a home and two guys who called New England home
are not going home at least for O T A s.
And we're a week and half away from the NFL Draft,
which you can see on Fox this year. So a
metric ton to get to. Rick Puker, who is say
a long time NBA stage will join us in fifteen minutes.
(01:04):
We'll get his thoughts on Gregg Popovich straight up calling
out Kawhi Leonards people. After the game. We'll get his
thoughts on the debacle that was the Cleveland Cavaliers. After
Game one, we'll get his thoughts on the Oklahoma City
Thunder and Paul George gonna try and mess around and
stay in Oklahoma City is playing so well, and try
(01:26):
and not freak out over just one game, but just
one game for all these series, and I do think
that you would nod your head and say this. I
started sports radio nationally in two thousand three, and that
was at the height of Red Sox Yankees. That was
(01:48):
probably peak Major League Baseball playoffs in terms of ratings
and importance in the national radio landscape. And I always
thought that nothing peaked in terms of of of the
difference in attention to detail, in um in in just
how important every play, every pitch, every at bat was.
(02:12):
The spike between regular season baseball and postseason baseball was
the biggest spike in sports. That was until I watched
this weekend. NBA basketball is really really talentful at the top.
I generally believe that although more guys get a chance
(02:32):
to make it for a cup of coffee at the
bottom of the league, because teams are tanking and it's
a smart way to tank where you can play guys
they can't really help you win, right, and pay them
a lot less. The truth is the top of the
league guys have more skill than previous generations. They shoot better,
they pass better, and though they're more role players, they're bigger,
(02:54):
they're longer, they can guard more positions. But you can
take plays off. In the NBA, people take games off.
There are quarters to which not much defense is played,
not much ball movement has had in the regular season.
The postseason is like a different sport. I'll grant you.
(03:17):
There was a play last night late and the Rockets
win over the Minnesota Timberwls, a series that I told
you on Thursday would be much closer than a normal
eight one series. And the logical reason was, hey, look
the Timberwols. They didn't have Jimmy Butler for a portion
of time, and they had some absolutely tragic losses. And
(03:39):
they're the only team to lose at home to the
Memphis Grizzlies in two thousand eighteen. They lost to the Hawks,
they lost the Orlando Magic, they lost some of the
bottom teams in the league. So that may lead you
to believe that they're not that good. That's not what
I believe. I believe that they're a team. They have
some dysfunction, they have some games where they've no showed,
but the truth is that they're their best is is
(04:00):
better than many of the other teams in the West's best.
Like the Utah Jazz got got a tremendous seed, right
like they got a higher seed. But the Utah Jazz
are not a better team at full strength right now,
even with Rudy Golbert and Valentine, they're not a better
team than a full strength Minnesota Minnesota Timberwolves team. And
(04:24):
so I knew that series would be closed. But Carl
Town's couldn't get the ball. It was Antenna was like, man,
it was he's acting like no one's ever denied in
the basketball And the answer is, yeah, no one really has,
because in the regular season, teams just kind of go
out and play LaMarcus Aldrich, who dominant in the regular
(04:45):
season and still finds a way to score. Everyone knows
when he gets the basketball he's turning one way. It
turns the same way every time, and in the regular
season it works. In the postseason, hey, it's even more pronounced.
The scatterer poor defense. It it feels like a different
(05:05):
sport and what's maybe most surprising or most alarming is
that the calves. It's like no one told these calves
because so many of them have not been in this
position before, right Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance. Guys just hadn't
been that position before. And there was no juice at
all in Cleveland none. Sure they missed some open shots.
(05:30):
Those are shots, by the way, that show their limitations.
They can't create their own shots. Since Kyrie's gone, there's
no second shot creator. They just kind of stand around
and look for someone to make a play and then
shoot at three. That's really their offense, and it may
in fact work, but I think they got some They
got some matchup problems with Victor oladipot right. Last year's team,
(05:51):
they didn't really have a guy outside Lebron that could
cover k D and Lebron tires covering KD. This year
they don't really have a guy that can cover Victor
oladip boh. But I feel like this sport in the NFL,
you can't dog it because you can get hurt, not
just embarrassed, but you can get hurt. In Major League Baseball, though,
(06:14):
there are guys that uh that can no show for
a week or two, all of those stats are accumulated,
and we kind of know who you are baseball status
every pitch. I think the biggest difference in baseball is
stats for relief pitchers. Even if they pitch in high
leveage situations in the regular season, sometimes those go askew
(06:35):
in the postseason. Right that the pressure on relief pictures
to come in and get one guy and to throw
one strike to one specific battern to live up to
put the numbers generally play out the same in the
regular season. They they're they're gittarian, right. Derek Jeter the
Ultimate the numbers were the same as they were in
the postseason. He just got enough games right so that
(06:59):
there wasn't a small sample size in the NBA between
taking play games off between a lack of intensity because
some teams are on back to backs, some teams are
playing to lose, some teams are playing to win. It's
really really hard to tell. And so we can debate
(07:20):
all we want about regular season awards. We can talk
all we want about who gets and doesn't get an
advantage from getting home court. But I'd make the case
to you that if you watched NBA games even some
of the best regular season games, and then you watch
the games this week and you're like, wow, that's like
a different sport college football. It's funny when we watch
(07:45):
bowl games or we watch n c A tournament games,
a lot of times they'll be fans are like, well,
that's kind of sloppy, guys missed a lot of shots.
Like yeah, that's actually what a regular season game looks like.
They're kids. There is a ton of pressure, but every
game is kind of ramped up, pressure wise, and they
generally play hard every game because there's not that many games.
(08:05):
And sometimes in the n c A tournament you get
a guy that gets hot or you get a team
that crumples under pressure, but a lot of teams we've
seen some form of pressure before. The difference is the
big boys aren't playing home court. They don't get the
benefit of officiating, but the game, sloppy or clean, generally
lives up or down to the numbers. Same in college
(08:27):
football the NBA. It's a it felt it felt like
I'm watching a different sport, and it felt like the
hardest calculation, the hardest calculation for what the calves were
was not just because you're playing against the East and
a lot of non playoff teams. But you have so
many guys, right, George Hill has played in playoffs in
(08:49):
the past, but not thirty two year old George Hill
had and played in playoffs in the past. Larry Dance had,
Jordan Clarkson had, and some of them. We're playing in
the playoffs in a new or assumed role. Be sure
to catch live editions of The Doug gott Leap Show
weekdays at three p m. Eastern noon Pacific on Fox
(09:09):
Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app. Rick Buker,
who does an outstanding job for Bleacher Report. Uh, he's
covered this league for damn buke almost a quarter century.
You're getting super super old, but you still got you
got better hair than me. You're better looking, your families
almost as good looking as my family, but super super talented. Um,
all right, let's uh, let's let's get to Gregg Popovich.
(09:33):
They get blown out by the Golden State Warriors, and afterwards,
when asked about Kauai, he has this to say, it's
a bit Kawai reasoning. You guys, at any time to
play up, you don't have to ask Kauai and his
group that question, you know, so far, They say that
he's not ready to go there, so we can't do
anything until that happens, and we would have to decide
(09:53):
what's going on from there. But that's the first thing
that has to happen, all right, even if he's not playing,
to having him on the beach with the guy he's
rehabbing right now in New York training get healthy. What's
your reaction to the way in which Pop is handling this. Uh,
he doesn't have much choice, honestly. Uh, it is. I mean,
(10:15):
people around the San Antonio organization know that this is
not the first time the Kauai has had an injury
that that the length of which has baffled them, considering
the the the the supposed severity of it, and it's
taken a lot longer for him to get back. He
knows that he is in a market where, for the
(10:38):
most part, you don't acquire top talent free agents. He's
at a point in his career, Pop is in which
the idea of drafting another star like a Kauai and
then developed him into a star probably isn't in the cards.
So it really has no choice but to try to
play this the most diploent diplomatic way possible and and
(11:02):
see where it falls. I think ultimately his goal is
to say, if this thing goes sideways, if Kauai leaves,
we're not it's not gonna be on us, because we,
as the Spurs, mishandled it from a public standpoint. When
I've talked to Spurs people, they've made it clear, Look,
(11:22):
we never said Kauai was coming back. We never said
he was ready to come back. That came from other places.
And so this idea that that there is a riff.
They've tried to make sure it might have been sourced,
but they've tried to make sure that there's not gonna
be any uh retribution, or there's not gonna be any
(11:45):
recrimination that well, the Spurs did this or said this,
and this is what spoiled the pot when it came
to Kawhi Leonard. All right, let's get to the other
rehabbing player of note Guy one two m v PS
rehabbed in its one leg, jumping some other sort of
rehab stuff on the floor before the Warriors win. How
close is staff to returning. Well, he's not doing any
(12:08):
any really sharp cutting right now. It's starting like the
I saw I saw him doing some sort of s maneuvers,
some slight you know, uh uh at agility drills where
you just kind of push off going left to right,
but not a hard cut. And as we know with
with Steff, I mean this is where where the knee
(12:30):
ligaments are are going to be a major question as
far as whether he can get back under percent. It's
why I affected him so much a degree a first
degree sprain the last time around. We saw how much
it impacted him. This is a second degreas sprain. Now.
The beauty of or the the advantage they have is
that they're giving him all this time off. He tried
(12:51):
to come back on a quicker plane. I think that's
why they're giving in the time off, because they want
to see him back. The way Step plays, he's got
to be able to move laterally without thinking about it.
That's how he gets a lot of his shots off.
And so until he's able to do that, I don't
see him coming back. I mean I don't see this
(13:13):
series going along, and so I would not expect to
see him until the second round, depending on how much
time there is between now and when that start. Doesn't
it just show like look I I was a little
bothered by their energy. Rick Buker from Bleacher Report Plus
he has his own show on Serious x M Channel
eighty three, and he has an outstanding podcast you should
(13:35):
download as well. Uh what's it called, swirl um Shoes
The Swirl without an Eye w r L. Alright, this
World download download this World podcast. Okay, so um, look,
I was bothered by their their lack of effort at
times at the end of the season. But the thing
that I saw that I didn't see enough people nationally
(13:55):
point out was hey, they're starting Quinn Cook. They do
what most teams do when you have an injury, which
is you move your bench up to be starters. That
they didn't do that. They let Andrea Goodald and Sean
Livingston rest and still play their ten to fifteen minutes
or whatever so that they had energy for the playoffs.
And when you put a guy who granted, Quinn Cook
had a kind of a breakthrough season with the G
(14:17):
League and with the Warriors, but like he's still a
backup at best at this level, and I and I
felt like making the change in Game one only show
that they were kind of playing possum more than playing
terrible No No, doubt about it. They weren't trying to
go out and show their best. There wasn't a concern that, look,
(14:37):
we need we need to like we gotta figure out
a way to put our best five on the floor
or best seven eight man rotation. Uh. It's it's the
advantage that the Warriors have over every single team in
the postseason, Cavaliers included, since they're a new troop, which
is they know how they can, they know how they
(14:58):
have to play to win a champion ship. And as
Draymond Green said after the after the game, they know
what they're capable of. And so you know, Steve knew
that what solutions he had available to him. He knew
he could start andre Iguadala and that would be that
would that would be an easy solution. And and but
(15:19):
but why go to that during the regular season and
allow the Spurs one to have tape on it? Uh?
And or you not to have the elements of surprise
going into the postseason. So um, it made a world
of sense. It's still you know, look, there's there's other
coaches who wouldn't who even wouldn't have done it in
(15:41):
Game one. They would they would have kept it in
their back pocket even longer. I think it was smart,
especially for a noon start where it was very disappointing.
The the Warriors Faithful have now become as spoiled as
the Bulls Faithful were. You can go back through any
of the championship teams. I think Lakers fans at one
point you have a neon start in thirty minutes before
(16:02):
the game that places maybe a sixth fold and the
only Warriors chant you're hearing is from the DJ's tape,
and it just we'll see how we'll see what they
do tonight, but it's still the first round, and that's
that's I look, I've seen it all with the Warriors,
(16:22):
and I saw it at the beginning where thirty minutes
before the game they were in full throat even before
the Warriors came out to warm up. And they've gotten lazy,
they've gotten soft. The Warriors fans want to complain about
their team. You guys are just as best. Um okay,
speaking of team that could that could not get the
crowd into it, and they were not ready to play.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were getting run off the floor. There
(16:45):
was no juice in the building, no juice in that team,
and I know everybody's like, Hey, it's Lebron, He'll figure
it out. I'm like, I don't know. Um, I get
they missed some jump shots and they're a jump shooting
team and the law of averages sometimes, but they couldn't
guard anybody in the regular season. They couldn't guard that
team in the postseason. What are your thoughts on what's
(17:05):
going on in Cleveland? Well, look, if you you hate
to ever close the door on Lebron, and certainly he
didn't look worried, you can take that as a plus
or a minus. How casually he was about about losing
this game in the way that they did. I thought
one of the big telling points it's not for me.
It's not the Calves. I feel like I know who
(17:27):
they are. And yeah, if they make a few more
shots that Kevin Love gets a few more shots, Jeff
Green or Jordan Clarkson, whoever it is on the corners
starts knocking those down, it's a different kind of game.
What I was what was most telling to me was
when they made a run in the third quarter and
(17:47):
they cut it too. I believe it was sick and
they did it a couple of times and then and
this is on your home floor, and Larry Nance Jr.
Is excited, and all those young guys are getting excited,
and the crowds excited it. The pacers did not blink.
Victor Oladipo did not blink. The next thing you knew,
it was back at eleven. Then it was back at fourteen.
(18:09):
And to me, that was the most telling thing, which
is one, the pacers aren't intimidated. And two the cabs
can make some shots and keep it closer, but they
can't put a vice gript on you defensively where they
get all the way back in the game, or at
least they couldn't with the pacers. The pacers are not intimidated.
(18:33):
Victor Oladipo is not intimidated. And as much as they
only scored and Lebron pointed that out uh, their their
ability to close on the drive and then get back
out the shooters was embarrassingly bad, you know, like like, look,
they only scored ninety, but Bogdanovitch didn't hit a shot
(18:54):
like he missed a bunch of shots that five or
seventeen yea, And they were looked. The shots that they
made were wide open, and the shots that they missed
were wide. Yeah, I look here here was There's two things. One,
the part that I think a lot of a lot
of people missed on with the Calves is they still
have this problem that they have to have Kevin Love
on offense, and he's not terrible on defense, but if
(19:15):
you have him, he's your center. There's nobody to protect
your him. And if he's your power forward, now of
a sudden you have that makes Lebron has to play
small forward and they've gotta being interested, which hurts their
offense like it's just missed. And then there's no guard
that they have. They're like, all right, you guard Oladipo,
and you know, I know they're gonna they're gonna engage
you and get switches and try and go at Kevin Love.
(19:36):
But there isn't even any lockdown guard Like I actually
thought j R. Smith did a good job defensively, but
he's not he's not built to guard Oladipo. They don't
have a defender that can guard somebody like Oladipo. Yep, agreed,
And and and the other part is that if you're
gonna have Lebron do that work, I mean for for
like there's a lot that Lebron could do defensively to
(19:57):
shore things up, but he's your only playmaker on offense,
so asking him to do both is it's just not
going to happen. And so he's going to I mean,
you know, even even in his like I really couldn't.
I'm often critical of him because he gets to the
rim so easily and he posts and he can just
(20:19):
he can grind you away on that. But where they were,
they he was driving and kicking and guys are getting
wide open threes. Some of those they just they have
to be made. He he can't. He can't that the
energy required, even as good as he is, the energy
required to get to the to the paint and work
(20:39):
with his back to the basket. I mean, he's going
to get there with anybody. Um, you know. Right now
you look at these two teams, he's often the biggest, tallest,
strongest player on the floor, which is how much this
game has changed. But that said, you're you're just and
this is what you and I talked about this I
think weeks ago. This is the great flaw in this
Cleveland group is that you don't have anybody who can
(21:03):
really lead the charge. Defensively, and you don't have anybody
else who can lead it other than Lebron offensively. Um. Alright,
so then let's go to Houston. Um. Look, James Harden
is incredible and they did win Game one, and there
is a little bit of pressure on you. I kind
(21:24):
of feel like this is gonna be a competitive series?
Am I crazy? Uh? No, you're not, You're not crazy.
I mean I think every game is going to be close.
It could be, you know, four games close, and that's
it because I just I don't like the I mean,
what's Minnesota doing end the game and Jimmy Butler is
taking it three and he's it's not even a three.
(21:45):
I mean, he steps clearly steps across the three point
line when you needed a three to to tie the game.
But forget about that. How about how about we get
the ball to Carl Anthony Towns level. We get some
touches to our best player just every now and again, like, hey,
that guy is kind of good. Let's get him the basketball,
and then he's got to want the best ball little
bit more. He's got a want of a little bit more.
(22:07):
But you I honestly as good as he can be
in the post I feel better getting him the ball
on the move. He's not he's not. Tim Duncan's not
going to grind the guy. And he's and he's and
he's okay. I mean, honestly, he's he's okay in the post,
but he's he's not. He's just not strong enough. It's
easy to kind of get him off balance and taking
(22:27):
off balance shots, and he's remarkably good at taking those,
but I don't want that on a consistent basis. Yeah,
but this is my this is my problem. Whether it's
end of game or it's getting Karl Anthony Town's involved,
it's it's really Mike D'Antoni the offensive wizard versus Tom Thibodeaux,
the defensive wizard. And if this becomes a nip and
tuck game at the end of end of games and
(22:49):
you need a possession to score um right now with
the balance, I like the offensive guy because he's probably
gonna get you a good look and he's got the
isolation players to do it. And meanwhile, on the other side,
I mean time again, even even the going back to
the Denver Nuggets game that got them into the playoffs,
I'm I'm looking at the plays run at the end
(23:09):
of games, and I'm thinking this is not gonna work
in the postseason, and it's a little astonishing for all
the experience that Tom Thibodeau has, that he's not better
at it at this point. Yep. I couldn't agree with
you more. Rick Buker, love talking hoops with them, especially now.
Last thing before I let you go. One of the
things about Carl Towns and why he struggled to get position.
One of the reasons that I think some of those
(23:31):
Cavs players is it's basically a different sport in the playoffs, right,
I mean, like de level of physicality, the level of energy,
like it's it's feels like a completely different sports than
the one you and I have been watching for the
last six seven months. For sure, for sure, No, and
that's why you know, on the flip side, brilliant. UH
couldn't be more impressed with Ben Simmons and the the
(23:52):
UH the immediate adjustments that he made and the physicality
that he played with. Obviously he's playing kind he's playing
a different position, but I mean, boy, that as a
debut for a rookie, UH, that was he was he
He looked far more comfortable doing his job in the
postseason and Carl Anthony Town and Carl Anthony Town has
(24:13):
got a few years on him. Yep, yep, nope, I
I look I missed on, guys, that was not what
I missed on. A little confirmation bias in it though.
But Rick Buker from Bleacher Report Serious x M eight
e three and of course The Swirl is his podcast.
I'm on Twitter at Rick with a C R I
C b U C h e er. Thanks so much, Rick.
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
(24:35):
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox sports
Radio dot com and within the I Heart Radio app.
Danny Amendola is now a dolphin. He's a dolphin. He
went reverse Wes Welker and this is Danny Amendola, who um.
He had a great catch in the Super Bowl. He
(24:56):
had his best season as a Patriot this season. But
let's also remember the Damnian. Dannie Amendola was a lot
like some of the other guys that Bill Belichick has
brought in. Danniem and Dani Amendola struggled to stay healthy
when he was in St. Louis. That was one of
the reasons the Patriots were able to get him, and
he was. He's been a not healthy, I can't get
(25:19):
healthy guy for several organizations, and he had that problem.
He had that that rep with the Pats. Here's Dannie
Amendola talking about playing for Bill Belichick. You know, so
it's not easy, that's for sure. Uh. You know, he's
sometimes but a lot of things I didn't like about
playing for him. But I must say the things that
(25:41):
I didn't like were all in regard to getting the
team better, and I respected him. You know. I didn't
like practicing in the snow. I didn't like practicing in
the rain. But that was gonna make us a better
football team, and that was gonna make me a better
football player. It wasn't easy. He would be the first
to admit at at the Rings ceremony that it wasn't
It wasn't easy playing for him. You know. The silver
(26:02):
lining is that we were at the Ring ceremony, which
is which actually goes in direct contrast to his other
thoughts regarding Malcolm Butler. Right, I have my thoughts because
I was out there putting my blood, sweat and tears
out in that field and one of our best players
(26:24):
wasn't on the field to tell you the truth. I
don't know why I did ask, but I didn't get
any answers. I can't make decisions like that, so I
don't necessarily worry about it. But I know that Malcolm's
a great player and he could have helped us win
for whatever reason he wasn't out there. He's gonna play
more football in his career. He's going to be there
for a long time. Huh huh. So look, I I
(26:51):
understand that when Brady is not there. And do I
think that Brady has gotta beef a little bit? Do
I think that grons gotta beef a little bit? Do
I think they're the same beef? I do not. I
do not. I don't think that Brady is sitting there
not going to O T A s because, uh, because
(27:13):
Malcolm Butler didn't play except for one play in the
Super Bowl. I don't think. I don't believe that for
one second. I don't think he likes the fact that
his personal trainer had some of his privileges revoked. I
think that I think that has a distinct possibility of
being a reality right and um, I think that this
(27:35):
is a little bit of payback for that. I also
think that Belichick is probably going to draft on some
level and air apparent quarterback since he's traded away two
backups who would become starters elsewhere. And I'm not sure
he wants he wants to be down with he he
knows the offense, doesn't have to install the offense. He
doesn't have to be there, but he probably should be there. Um.
(28:03):
I think it's kind of fascinating to me that people
relate to Rob Gronkowski deal to Malcolm Malcolm Butler. Gronk's
not there because he wants a new contract. He got
his contract reworked last year, but in typical smart Patriots fashion,
it was all incentive late and they didn't change anything
(28:25):
except for, hey, have you hit these incentives will give
you some more money. And some of them he hitting
some of them. Most of them he didn't because Gronk
struggles to stay healthy. And when they got him the
ball in the second half of the Super Bowl, he
showed just how dominant he was. I mean, that's a
dominant football player. But I fall back on what Danny Emma,
(28:46):
Danny Amondola led with is the reality of all of
this stuff. It ain't fun to butt heads with Tom
Brady and his trainer. But you know what he treats
Tom Brady, he treat almost anybody else. It ain't fun
to have to sit Malcolm Butler. But you know, look,
(29:09):
they probably wouldn't have been in eight Super Bowls if
to steal the expression that Bob McNair used, the inmates
ran the asylum whatever Malcolm Butler did. And Alcolm Butler
wasn't playing particularly well, and like, remember Malcolm Butler, this
part hasn't been reported a bunch, but it actually is.
It's reported he said it. Malcolm Butler said he wasn't
(29:30):
feeling well on the Sunday before the Super Bowl, so
he checked into the hospital. So the guys not playing well,
and he checks into the hospital and misses the team playing. Like,
I don't know about you, guys, but first, if you're
not feeling well and you're part of a professional sports organization,
(29:52):
the first people you go to is your team doctor.
Their first name isn't doctor, they are actually doctors. Secondly,
once you get admitted to a hospital, that has to
leave everybody around you and thing like, man, some's really
wrong with this guy. Then you missed the team plane
that only feeds that assumption that something's really wrong with
(30:13):
this guy. So I don't think it was one thing.
I think was a bunch of things. But all this
stuff the you know, it's not really that fun. No,
it's probably not that fun for Rob Gronkowski to play
in a dated contract considering his talents. That's why he
went out and he got Drew Rosenhaus because Drew Rosenhau's
(30:34):
promises everybody man will hold you out. We'll get you
more money, money, money, money, That's what we're gonna get you.
In the end of the day, all he could get
was because the team had him under contract. All he
could get was a rework deal with a bunch of
incentives in there, a bunch of bonuses in there, some
that he hit something he didn't. So do I think
(30:54):
all of this is related? Sure? Do I think some
of them are miffed over the Malcolm by The thing. Yeah,
But I also think their miffed because that's Bill being Bill.
But Bill being Bill is what's gotten them to aid
super Bowls. And if you want to say that Rome
has fallen cool, who are you taking the acast? Ryan
Tannehill or maybe Baker Mayfield or whoever they draft in Miami.
(31:19):
The New York Jets pulled off one of the most
atrocious trades in the history of the draft. It wasn't
that they traded up for the third spot. They trade
up for the third spot like three weeks before the draft,
not knowing who would be available at that third spot.
The Buffalo Bills ton of draft picks. No starting quarterback
(31:40):
we're gonna take. So does it look like there are issues, Yes,
Brady probably has an issue with him. Gronk has an
issue with him. Those issues are not the same, and
I don't think they have anything to do with Malcolm
Butler and Danny Amendola. Leaving wasn't because Danny Emmon wasn't
because of Malcolm Butler. You got more money to go
(32:01):
play elsewhere. He had one season where he played sixteen games.
That year he had twenty seven catches. You know, he
was fifty four sixte sixty one catches. This year he
had his most yards as six fifty nine yards receiving.
A good player, he's a nice piece. It's just a piece.
(32:24):
It's replaceable. And with Edelman back, Hogan back, going out
and getting Franklin from from Buffalo, just a piece. They
got Brady they got Belichick, they got Grunk. Who else
are you gonna take? In the FC? East Rome had
(32:47):
its problems and did ultimately fall. It'll fall in New England.
But I think calling it now it's calling it too early,
calling it too early. Be sure to catch live editions
of The Doug gott Leap Show weekdays at three p m.
Easter noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the I
Heart Radio app. Ryan Racilo joins, joins me, he's got
(33:08):
his own podcast. Of course, he's done his own national
radio show. Uh, he just moved to the best coast.
So now he actually finishes watching these games and then
has a life afterwards. Refreshing, isn't it. Yeah, it's weird.
I don't know what to do with myself. You know,
you get done. All right, let's let's let's start with
the Calves. How big good trouble? Then, well, what's so
(33:30):
shocking about this is if they were gonna stink, they
were gonna stink on defense, because they've been terrible on
defense all the year. I mean, they don't practice. I
think they practice is little as any team in the league.
And when you watch their defensive problems, you can actually
go okay, this is fixable, because there's just so bad,
like losing somebody in the corner on baseline on you
that switches, you know, the things that you would see
them screw up. You go with these offens's hind of
(33:51):
fixable and then you go, Okay, they're gonna put the
switch and all these different things. But their offense was
terrible yesterday, and you know too to living that kind
of zone of hey, we'll just turn it on and
then you can't get any buckets and you let them
come out of this lead, and the Pacers are like,
you know, where this team in the East that absolutely
no one talks about if people talk about the Wizards
more than us. Um I thought that was really weird.
(34:15):
I mean it was I don't want to get real
worked up, because I could totally see Lebron in this
whole group coming out with them hitting trees and put
up a nice score against the Pacers in Game two.
But to see them lose in the opposite version of
how I thought they'd lose was really just so surprising.
And there was no there just seemed to be no energy.
There's no pop, like yo, this is the playoffs and
they're just shooting jump shots and couldn't couldn't seem to
(34:37):
affect the game in any other way. That's what I
don't get is you know what what is? Is it
even cooler now to flip the switch on like after
game two of the first round, like you want all
of us to believe that this switch is possible? And
because of Boston's injuries, because of the just unknown with
Philadelphia and the fact that the Raptors have get in
(34:59):
three years of evidence that they're kind of soft team.
There you go, you know, I could see Cleland getting
through this thing again, Like who You're really scared of it? Right?
Play like that and you go, so what are we
supposed to do? I'm just supposed to give you the
benefit of the doubt till it's three one? Yeah, I
I think my my working thought was that every series
would be difficult, right, that there just wouldn't be one.
(35:20):
Do I think that that Indie can beat them four
times in seven games? Not really? Um, I just don't.
On the other hand, I think that Indie could Who
do they play? Who do they play? The winner of
I'm gonna have toldly even lost on on the brackets,
you know, right? So Jack So could Indie beat them, No,
but if Indie beats them two times or Indie beats
(35:42):
them three times, it changes how they look against Toronto.
Like again, and we don't know which Toronto shows up
because there were times in which that game one was
in doubt. And even if they beat Toronto, you know,
you know, let's say they get to the Eastern Conference
finals and whomever they play that side, you know, whether
it's the seventies, six years who again, I'm not sure
(36:04):
what they are in in crunch time and a big
but if it's a if it's a Calves team that's
already older, that's been stretched out and they played a
six game series in the seven game series, I sure
like a younger team's leg in that legs in that
series more so than they would if they just played
straight up fair. I think it's totally care But then
I also kind of remind myself, like when I get
(36:25):
to these negative modes watching Cleveland, I go, you know,
let's not let's not let the negativity that you're stacking
up here watching the Cavs play tricky when is thinking
their own problems all these other teams, like when Washington
was up, I mean the Raptors Washington series for me
is so funny because there are two teams that completely
doubt their toughness because again they've given us so many
examples to doubt them. And the Wizards are off and
(36:45):
you're going, you know, talent wise, just want to match up,
But this is not like, this isn't this isn't this
massive gap in ability here based on these rosters. It
really isn't um. But then Toronto's down and you go
here They're go again. They're gonna lose it home again
for the second decade in a row. And then the
Wizards can't get a bucket and then they fall apart,
(37:05):
and you know, other than Deal isn't the most efficient,
but I think I stick up for him a lot um.
You know, I think you and I would agree with
both like but some like you're like, how come it
is it better? And then Otto Porter, who's a MAX
guy that if I said to you, heyto Porter gets
zero points in the class. Yeah, so you know, all
of these other teams. Whenever I'm watching Cleveland, I kind
(37:29):
of do this thing where I checked myself and go, okay,
but but you know, as bad as game, I mean,
obviously get through the Pacers first, but you know there's
a lot of wards on these other teams too. Yeah, No,
it's the it's the everybody's talking about the Patriots today
with Brady and Gronk, and I know you miss hosting
a daily national radio show where you'd have to, you know,
rehash that that whole stuff. But Ryan was silo joining
(37:50):
us in the dug out lip show. But but it's
still if you don't think the Patriots are gonna win
the FC East, do you do you like the Bills?
Do you like the Jets? Do you like the Dolphins?
Kind of his kind of kind of the same thing. No,
And that's what I'm loving about these teams at the top. Now,
Cleveland's efficiencies are are a bigger deal, okay, But New
England we're talking about other turmoil and they're like they
(38:11):
lost the Philly but they lost in the super Bowl,
and you know it folds his sacked on that one
play where he's dropping back. You know another play left
was a little bit more than just the bounce of
the ball one or another. But that's two places away
from the Patch winning this whole thing. So like when
I when I hear about turmoil, I go, well, you
know termol the me six and ten. Okay, when Alabama
(38:32):
is all of a sudden sticking out by it by
a dual threk qub so um yeah, but figured it
out and like a last second throw in the national
fourth places. So there's Cleveland thing. If it's over, it's
over earlier than most of his expect we'll go here.
(38:53):
There was plenty of signs. There were plenty of things
that look at here. The team never jelled. I mean,
the thing is that Lebron has kind of kuldn't a
fact is amazing. Can see his bean since aunually he's
completely I didn't covered up for the fact that most
of his teammates, other than the few games Love is played,
but average below average. Yeah, yeah, no, I mean, there's
(39:13):
there's a reason these guys were available from from their
previous team. Everybody seems to like, oh man, Kobe Altman,
he killed it, Like, yeah, there's a there's a reason
that the other teams moved on from Ryan Risilo joining us.
You can download his podcast Doug Got Them Show, Fox
Fox Sports Radio. Um san Antonio gets stomped by the
Golden State Warriors. Not terribly surprising. I love that Golden
(39:34):
State chooses only the playoffs to start Andrea Godala instead
of starting Quinn Cook, you know, G League player at
at the point guard position. But what was maybe more
interesting was this back and forth. Here's Pop afterwards talking
about uh, Kawhi Leonard rejoin you guys at any time
to lay up. You don't have to ask Kawai and
his group that question, you know, so far they say
(39:55):
that he's not ready to go there, and so we
can't do anything until that happens. Then we would have
to decide what's going on from there. But that's the
first thing that has to happen any value, even if
he's not playing to having him all the bands with
the guy he's rehabbing right now in New York trying
to get healthy. Yeah, um, that's that's just it's the
whole thing is is fascinating. How does this end? It's
(40:19):
so weird because you know, based on Kauai's personality and
you're like, wait a minute, he's one of those dudes,
like we always sell them up as not being one
of these dudes, and it would be like all of
a sudden, Gronk ending up. A Rhodes scholar and retiring
early just to start like, you know, like some community
outreach thing with some some scientific formula that no one
(40:40):
else has thought up and be like, hum, I didn't
see that one coming, um, but it but it ends
this way and that he's not going to go back
to San Antonio. Now, I'm not guaranteeing that on your
show right now, but I can only tell you that
based on every conversation I've had, and you know how
it is around the league. We start talking about stuff
that's going to happen in months and months down the road.
I mean, hell, I'm already a year ahead on possible
stuff that people are like, hey, pay attention to this,
(41:00):
But there isn't another team, and there isn't an agent
in the daily soap opera that is the NBA that
thinks Kauai is going back to San Antonio and Pop
giving you that second part of that answer where he's
saying Kauai and his group, that's that's the word on this.
Like a shoe deal fell apart, and they thought it
was a low ball offer from Nike. They thought he
(41:21):
should make way more. I think he was only making
like a half a million on this current deal. We're
talking about a finals MVP. So it feels like, hey,
whatever it's been, that time is over and that he
needs to build his brand and that he's looking for
different things, and that he doesn't want to be into
the pop regime and the fact that you know right now,
san Antonio is actually selling the idea that he's hurt
(41:42):
when a lot of people don't think he's hurt because
they feel like that's a better answer to this mystery
that the guy just doesn't want to play with his
team right now. So, um, I'm not saying it's it's
a certainty, but I'm just telling you that everybody in
this gossip, every time Kauai has brought up, nobody thinks
he's going back to San Antonio. Now that you've seen
them play playoff caliber basketball. We still haven't seen Steph,
(42:04):
but you watch him workouts. Reasonable think he's going to
return for the next series as of today, Houston Golden State,
who do you take well? Based on you know, the
conversations I've had about Curry is that you know him
going through this kind of m c L sprain before
it helps him understand who he's going to be when
he comes back and that they're being really cautious with this,
(42:25):
and that I've been told when he comes back, and
he could to go, and that's likely, you know, the
second ground, because I don't think san Antonio has enough
to extend the series unless Cool and State besides turn
off that switch, but both healthy. I'm taking Golden State.
Golden State is multiple offensively, there's a million things that
they can do. I actually think Houston's isolation versus the
multiple switching confendors for Golden State, I'm not as afraid
(42:46):
of it if I'm Golden State as I think everybody
else is, because Houston has looked incredible from start to finish,
and then people are throwing that seven and ten clothes
for Golden State of the regular season, where I'm going, yeah,
but that's just not who they were. So when it's
in front of us and looks unbelievable and formable, um,
and the other one looks like a cheap version of
itself with just a team that on year four is
(43:08):
a little over it emotionally and just doesn't have that edge.
I can understand how everybody likes Houston, but you know,
Houston doesn't do a million things here that you have
to worry about. And that's where I still think gold
State has the advantage. But as we've learned, without Curry
or a percent Curry like, he's the one that makes
them go. He's the one that makes them so impossible
to defend. And if he comes back and doesn't look
like that, or something else happens with one of these
(43:29):
other injuries, it opens a door for Houston. Yeah. I
also think Houston if if you get Oklahoma City in
the next round, that that's not as good a draw.
I think Minnesota might win a game or two. They
just they do have enough to kind of mug it,
muck it up and keep it, keep it close. They
might want to throw the ball to call of towns.
It's at some point in time. But can I jump
in on that. Yeah, you think that Tibbs was kind
(43:50):
of calling out towns a little bit because the the
Minnesota day to day part of it will say this
is on towns too. Yes, And I I said that
to start to show he's gotta they have to want
to get it to him. He's gonna want to get
the guy want the ball. I've been told that those
guys all go and get along. Some of them don't
like tips on them like each other and that that's
why it looks that way as well. But yeah, I
(44:12):
think that. I mean, I look, this is kind of
what we started the show. It's a different sport than
regular season basketball, and that you got you got to
demand the ball, and you know, Jimmy Butler is not
as afraid to go demand the ball. Now, it doesn't
look great what they're doing at the end of games,
but yeah, I do think it's a little bit on him. Yeah,
I hate them. It's weird because I love that roster.
(44:33):
When I look at Minnesota and then I watched him
play and I go, okay, so bat switched Georgy Jang
Long two heels on the three point line, hits over
like two seconds left before the shot clock expire, and
you go, that's a terrible possession. But it went in.
So like they're in that game last night and they
can't defend. They still can't defend anybody, and I mean
(44:54):
Houston and they shoot ten of thirty seven and went
at home, And honestly, even though the game was O Doug,
I didn't feel like I was never scared like Minnesota
offensively in a close, tight games is another good team.
They don't scare me. I agree with you, but I
do think they'll get one, and I think they're going
to keep them all close. And then I think Oklahoma
City can beat him a game or two. Ryan Risilo
(45:15):
download his podcast, Appreciate you Joining m my show. We'll
talk to man than Ryan Roussillo joining us on The
Doug gott Leave Show
Host
Doug Gottlieb
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