May 17, 2018 • 52 mins
Doug points out what the Rockets changed from game 1 to game 2 in order to get a win over the Warriors in the NBA Western Conference Finals. He also discusses Dak Prescott wanting to be the best Cowboys QB of all time and why he might need to slow down a little bit. And Doug talks to 10 year NBA veteran Ryan Hollins about the Rockets game 2 adjustments and whether the Celtics can close out the Cavaliers.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the best of the Duck Gotlip Show on
Fox Sports Radio. Boom, What Up America? Duck Gotleip Show?
Fox Sports Radio. One day away from getting you ready
for your weekend, two days away from another NBA game,
three days away, two days away from the Preakness. Right,
(00:24):
it's pretake this this weekend. I think so, I think so. Listen,
I'm i gotta talk horse racing because what do you
want me to talk about? Justin Verlander was nasty. Last
night was filthy. Take a shower, But no one's talking
about Justin Verlander. No one's talking about the Dodgers, who
(00:47):
look like they're actually gonna win a game in uh
in Miami. Sorry, Robinson, John Ramos is back. Ramos is back.
NBA is not NBA. Two days. We gotta catch our breath.
Last night, whooping at the hands of the Houston Rockets
laid onto the twishies or took us of the Golden
(01:10):
State Warriors one seven, and it was mildly competitive in
the fourth quarter call here call their miss Shott turnover whatever.
It felt like there was still one last run the
Golden State Warriors and it just didn't happen. Here's Steve
Kerr after the game. I just think this game was
a matter of the Rockets springing the the force that's
(01:33):
necessary to win a game, and um, and we didn't.
But you know, give them the credit. They came out
and played a great game, and you know, we got
what we deserved. They kicked our butts. No other way
to say. It often comes down to which one has
the the edge in terms of the aggression and the desperation.
They were desperate tonight and they played like it and
(01:56):
we didn't, and the results showed at James Hard had
this to say, We're focused on what we're supposed to do.
We don't really worry about who were playing against. Like,
if we come out and be some dogs and do
what we did tonight, it doesn't matter. But if we don't,
then we see the results in game one. It's not
about a chess match or what they're doing. It's about us. Sure.
(02:21):
That's like Mike D'Antoni be like, hey, we played ice, sooball,
we're gonna play iy football again. Like no, you didn't.
You passed the ball and you shared the ball and
Trevor Reza and p J. Tucker end up scoring the
ball which took some of the load off of James Harden,
who didn't actually shoot the ball all that well. Like,
I actually listened to Steve Kerr and how he depicts
(02:42):
the game is exactly how I see it play out.
I listened to the Rocks, like, that's not at all
how it happened. They completely changed what they're doing. And
oh yeah, by the way, defensively, defensively they did to
Golden State what Golden State did to them in game one,
which is Kevin Urant wants to go for thirty seven points, fine,
(03:05):
but he's not going to create shots for anybody else.
Stayed home, if you will. It was like the two
teams changed jerseys at the end of game one and
came out in game two. Okay, this game, we're gonna
play the selfish role and you're gonna go pass the
ball around. Okay, okay, wait wait I'm the selfish or
(03:26):
you're done. I'm so confused. That's the weird thing about
the NBA playoffs. This is more in line with the
NBA playoffs of the past. It really is in that
uh NBA playoffs of the past. You'd have this, you'd
(03:46):
have one game and you think you knew then you
have another game like, well, I I've we have that
in the NFL, don't we Sometimes where you see a
game like, oh, there is no way this team ever
wins a game. Then you see the next team like,
wait a second, what I I don't know anything about sports.
That's what Rockets Warriors look like. Look, it helps when
(04:07):
you get away with what could have been a foul
in the first possession, Kevin Durant turns it over. It
helps when p J. Tucker hadn't been making shots make shots.
It helps when Steph Curry appears to be either worn
down or unable to get a step and to create
space in the defense. I still think this is the
(04:30):
Warriors series in six, and the logic behind six is
pretty simple. They win the two at home, losing Houston,
they win game six at home, and if anything, and
I'm Houston, I'm more concerned today because Chris Paul doesn't
appear to be sound right, got that bad wheel, and
(04:51):
you won in spite of that. But that doesn't over
the over a set in game series, you're gonna need
Chris Paul to bail you out and win a game
here there and without Chris Paul or without a sound
Chris Paul. So, it did feel like Houston was the
(05:13):
desperate team. It did feel like Houston was the aggressor.
It did feel like Houston made an adjustment, decided to
pass the ball, and they played better defense in allowing
Kevin Durant to show his greatness, but not allowing Kevin
Durant to create shots for others. Now, some of the
lack of assists for Kevin Durant is because of the
guys weren't making shots. Well, I have found and this
(05:34):
is through trial and error. This is through a lifetime
of of learning, playing and now covering basketball through I
think it's thirty some oddistist thirty seven assists in college
that it is completely and totally impossible impossible for you
(05:55):
to get an assist if your teammate doesn't make a shot.
I found that. That's that's I know, I know, write
that one down. Gottlieb said this today on radio. It
was really good. You're ready for it. It's impossible impossible
to get an assist if your teammate doesn't make a shot.
I know I'll show I'll show myself out. Is that enough?
(06:17):
Yesterday I gave you the gem of which is a
real gem, which is pick and roll. Basketball used to
be about getting a big guy guarded by a little
guy in the low post from the boards, and now
it's the about getting a big guy to guard a
little guy out in the perimeter. Today, I'll give you you.
You can't get an assist unless your teammate makes a shot.
(06:38):
Here's Chris Paul after the game. Surprisingly, we didn't change anything.
You know, we guarded the same way. I mean, obviously
we we played harder, but scheme wise, we didn't change anything.
We just did everything a little harder. We just played
a little harder. Yeah, you were much more aggressive. Yeah
you didn't help off shooters. And you played kind of
a two man zone, forcing Draymond to shoot, which he
(06:59):
doesn't want to shoot. Yeah, you let Kevin Durant kind
of go one on one, pressed up on him, made
him take more mid rain shots. Yeah, you did all
these things, but it's exactly Yes, you moved the basketball
and didn't dribble it to death. Other than that exact
same thing. So impressed by Houston. We do have at
least somewhat of a series. Some of the old issues
(07:25):
of the Golden State Warriors came to bear. You know
where Iguadala not a score, Draymond not a score, and
their bench is not nearly what their bench had been
in the past. You can go at Steph Curry defensively
and it wears him down, and he's not a great defender,
(07:45):
and they do. They can get selfish, they can turn
the basketball over a ton. Let me think about this.
Steph Curry in this series is playing as the primary
defender twenty one and a half times over two games.
In the regular season, it was eleven point two. This
(08:06):
is what the Calves did too. The Warriors two seasons ago.
They did it over seven games. They were physical with
him when he had the ball, and then when he
didn't have the ball. Defensively, they made him guard the ball,
which takes away from his offensive prowess. It just does
do the hardest things doing basketball, guard the ball and
(08:27):
have the ball and try and score. That's why Lebron
couldn't stop the Warriors last year. He tried to. He
tried to guard Grant and be the best offensive player,
and he had nothing in the tank in the fourth quarter.
That's why James Harden, who's already a pathetic defender, was
even more pathetic in Game one because they made him dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble,
(08:48):
try and go one on one on one on one
one and he had nothing in the tank, uh, for
the defensive end at all. So Chris Paul can sit
there and tell we didn't do anything different, like that's funny,
because it looked, it looked totally different. James Harden, you say,
we just do what we do, Mike dantony Isa, where
this is who we are. But you were different in
(09:10):
game one, game too, not just playing harder. Be sure
to catch live editions of The Doug gott Leap Show
weekdays at three pm Easter noon Pacific on Fox Sports
Radio and the I Heart Radio app. Ryan Hollins Joins
us went to John Your High School past Dina, same
high school that produced Stacy Agman, Jog Vaughan and of
course Ryan Hollins when to U c l A played
(09:31):
in the pros ten years now covering the NBA for ESPN.
Let's let's start with what happened most recently. Ryan, what's
your reaction to Houston dominating the Warriors last night? What
they just say face everybody's talking about sweep getting the
brooms out the series is over. I don't think they
have a chance, but I just didn't want to see
(09:52):
him go out like that. Man. The second round of
the NBA Playoffs was a Paris and we saw three
five ones and one. Sweet man, I just want to
see a good here. He's let's watch some basketball. I
tend to agree with you. Um. Steph seems to have
struggled in Games one and two. I think some of
it is they're going at him on as many possessions
as possible, trying to find the find who steps guarding,
(10:13):
and that that wears on anybody. Some think he's not healthy.
He says he's healthy. What's your assessment of Steph Curry's
offensive struggles? Well, one thing against game planning for Steph,
he always amazed me for the best shooter we've ever
seen ever in the game of the NBA. He finds
a way to get open, and that's because he runs.
(10:35):
He never stops moving. He's always getting sprained for he's
got the ball in his hand, and he's hindered most
by his movement, by his running. And obviously, sometimes the
greatest defense is your offense. And every time they see
him on the floor, they've got it. They've got the
grain light and Doug. You know there's from playing ball.
(10:55):
They're not forcing it at Steff. They're moving the ball,
they're letting it come organically, and then it's full out
attack mode and that's really hard for in the guard.
Do you think he's healthy, No, he's not healthy. I mean,
he's healthy enough to play, but he's not. He's not still.
He doesn't hardy popping and stuff. You know when you
come back from injury. Uh, you don't feel your pop yet.
(11:17):
You're just kind of out there and that's what you're
here from step. But he's gonna feel a whole lot
better coming home to Horracle Band, you know that. Yeah, Yeah, No,
I I don't doubt that at all. I mean, like, look,
p J. Tucker hadn't hit shots like that most of
the playoffs. He hit shots. We know. Golden State turns
it over a ton. They turned it over a bunch early,
which allowed Houston to kind of to get a lead. Um.
(11:40):
One of the interesting parts is that Kevin Durant continues
to dominate and yet um it doesn't you know, he
dominating game one, dominats in game two, and yet the
results are different. What's your assessment of Kevin Durant in
terms of how he's actually playing. So let me break
this down. Let's break this down down. The team switched roles.
In game one. You saw hard and taking a bulk
(12:03):
of the shots, everybody else standing, and Houston took up
stage out of their game plan and said, well, okay,
Kevin Durant unstoppable. We're gonna stay home. We'll play him
straight up and we're gonna force him to drive. We're
gonna force him to finish on double moves and when
he catches the ball, we'll call these Durant moves Doug
because he's seven feet and he shoots the ball at
(12:24):
the top of his peak and he's pretty much unguardable,
so they're they're crowding him. You saw him literally putting
their hands on him and said, don't get it drunk
and go drive to the basket and we'll chase you
from behind. Well, we're gonna take your two versus threes.
And in game one, he was very efficient. He catched
him and shoot. Game two, he had to put the
ball on the floor and a lot of those other
(12:44):
guys on him going to State didn't touch the ball
and that's not Golden State Office. Yeah, that's I saw.
I saw the exact same thing. It's it's and look,
we saw some of that even in the in the
Celtics series in that you know, they were staying home
a lot more kind of in Game two when Lebron
was going nuts and uh and and you know at
some point you also you get exhausted from going one
(13:05):
on one. Like I thought Game one, James Harden is
not a good defender, and he sometimes he doesn't have
energy for it. But then when you're going one on
one every time down the court, you're gonna have no
energy to play defense, and then they're attacking with the
defensive it. Doug, are you agreeing with me? Because I've
always felt like you were crazy with a couple of
year takes. But we're seeing out which which which takes
(13:25):
are crazy? You say a couple of crazy things you've
you've phoned about, You've phoned about. Where where are that
you go? Go? Feel free? You know, feel feel free? Um? Okay,
So I I do get from the sound of your
voice though, that it becomes a different series once we
go back to Oakland. Why is that your home? Uh?
(13:48):
Nothing like having your fans behind you. I know from
playing against Golden State in the playoffs, they just run
a little bit faster, shots going, you know, much better
before you're turning your head. Those dudes are racing down
the floor. And just the pace of the game. You
know this, Watch the pace, watch the movement. It's a
(14:08):
difference between you playing on your hills and you are
attacking down floor. You know what's even if you score
on those guys, they're chucking the ball to half court
and getting layups, and they've got guys that rump and
spreads your spin on the defensive end. And at home,
there's just there's just a different energy man, all the
way back to you know, Donnie Nelson and Baron David
(14:30):
and those guys get up and down the floor. It's
just something about arena, man that I can't explain. And
i'd say also the officiating change a little bit. You know.
They did a good job of bumping stuff. Uh and
you know when he was trying to finish, they didn't
make any of his finishes um easy. Whereas when you
when you're in Oakland, some of those fouls, some of
those get called foul as opposed to letting him play
(14:51):
like they did last night. Is that fair? Oh? Absolutely?
You know it's so like the irony, Like I know,
there's a coach at home driving his car out going
you're leading them drive to the basket, you know. And
since we were young, it was always contest the jump shot.
But both of these teams shoot at such a high
clip that you're almost forcing the drive. You're saying hard,
(15:13):
no step packs, you're saying curry, you know, no, no
step back, no crossover to the lex three's, and you're
saying drive to the whole because your two is the
worst shot than you're contested three. This is atball, Isn't
it amazing? Like you're not old enough? I think you
came into the tail end of the disappearing mid range game.
(15:33):
They used to always my era was like, man, you
gotta develop your mid range, mid range game, mid range game.
And then and so now now it's like, dude, don't
we don't want really like you can take a mid
range shop, but you bet her make it us as
opposed to get to get to the rim or kick
out for a three. And then the other part is,
and I pointed this out on the radio show going
(15:54):
back to yesterday. I think the biggest change in the
NBA is you go back to the last sixty years
picking The idea of a ball screen or pick and
roll was to get a little on a big in
the low post and throw the ball into a big
right and then and then, and then you had to
double team or that guy is gonna go score. Now
(16:15):
it's the opposite. Now you want the same ball screen,
but it's because you want the big on the little
out on the floor so that you have that mismatch
and then you can get into lane and create havoc.
And Doug, I swear you're reading my notes because I
also remember that I was a big always switched, went
through five. That's why I was a team on a
two on a little bit. I enjoyed guarding guards or
(16:36):
whoever in the perimeter, and I said, why don't we
switch more? And the coach is always get on me
and say, well, we don't want the guard to have
to box out the big man. But now when you
kick your poison, because these teams shoot at such a
high clip, you gain rebound, you get all the learning
you had to make multiple efforts, and it's almost like
a bad look like, like, Doug, are we really saying
(16:57):
that layups are bad looks in the NBA? That's all? Well,
these teams score, yeah, not not layups, post ups, but
like like right, like it used to be work on
your post moves working, Yeah, you gotta work on your
posts now, like yeah, post ups actually aren't that a
fishing a shot unless you have a dunk kick that
sucker out Like it's now now you play like the
Warriors play out of the post where they're a great
(17:19):
split team, right, you hit the guy in the post,
and now you go screen for each other. They almost
never looked to score in the post. No, no, no,
they don't. And the only one who right now, which
seemingly mess them up is when they got the ball
to to rent. That's the first time I ever saw
Golden States start standing. And then I look on the
other end and Houston is flaring, their cutting, they're diving,
(17:41):
they got all this action going on in hardened passing
the basketball. We're going, what the heck is this? What's
the matter with the calves? You know what, chemistry, I'm
gonna give it chemistry, then I'm gonna give you. I'm
gonna give you one big name Kardashian, rubout rumball gonna
do that? Which is the uh. Tristan Thompson is the
(18:06):
missing piece. And I know we can talk about all
this small volumes and what they do well and and
how it helps. But Lebron James is a transcendent talent.
And in today's NBA, he allows you to play Tristan Thompson.
And when Tristan Thompson's not on the floor, Cleveland's not
(18:28):
that good of a basketball team. Why he erased with
your mistakes? Defensively, he can show out and guard a
guard and today's small ball generation of basketball, and when
you check up a bad shot or you don't have
anything going, he can create offensive rebounds. So Lebron James
allows Tristan Thompson to play. And he also makes Kevin
(18:51):
Love a whole lot more comfortable on the floor. I've
played with keV, and no, keV doesn't want to be
down there blocking shots and you know, guarding guys on
the Blacks. You know, he wants to run in and
get some free rebound and he you know, he wants
to worry about scoring. And now he's got to do
more than expected. And you see Boston really take an
(19:11):
advantage of that. Yeah. I would say though that as
much as Kevin Love doesn't want to play the five,
he likes to play the four. Um the fact is
that he a lot against a lot of teams. He
has a better mismatch when he's playing the five as
to when he's playing the four to where you know
he can mean that's one of the reasons that they
couldn't play Valentinis against him in Toronto is because he's
playing from the basket and Valentinis wants to guard the
(19:34):
rim I. The one thing I think they might want
to consider doing is establishing Kevin kind of at the
low post, playing through him a little bit more as
opposed to you keep playing through Lebron James and kind
of like we talked about with Harden in Game one
and Durant and game two, you get exhausted, get worn out,
and you get nothing from them at the defensive end,
and the team starts to stand. Is that a way
(19:56):
how do they create more offense? Because it doesn't feel
like George Hill get a step and everybody else is
just kind of a shooter that they have that they're
putting out there. Do you do you play through Kevin Love,
what's the adjustment you make outside of just playing, Tristan Thompson.
See see this is where I showed that you're crazy
because I don't think you post up Kevin Love. Kevin
is a crafty score. And in this series, it's not
(20:17):
balance Julius. This Al Horford, who's actually comfortable, you know,
screening out, chasing the guy off the three point line,
guarding different positions. This is a poor matchup for Kevin.
But I do agree you gotta put in the position
to be successful. You can throw Kevin Love at the
elbow and look Lebron cut run some offense through them.
I agree, you gotta get some type of play making
(20:39):
ability out of somebody other than Lebron. And you know,
when Kevin just evolved on the block, who's one of
the greatest passes I've ever played with. You know, I
remember diving to the basket and him stowing that soon
behind and stuff, you know, and who to be for
a nice dunk or out transition. So you know, maybe
take a page out of Golden Space book, like you
said earlier, Doug, and you know, split action, get some
(21:00):
counting going. You know, just let Lebron rest a little bit.
But I don't think Kevin Love on the block as
a score, as a score really helps you because there
are poor matchups and if you notice, you know they
switch out jam guard him, you know, tell you them
can guard him on the block. Marcus smart Cross, straight up,
I'm not disagree with you. How is that poss How
(21:22):
can Kevin Love be guarding the low post by Jalen Brown?
That seems that that that doesn't that seems as he gotten,
as he regressed as a post player because he's worked
so much in his perimeter game, like do Jaylen Brown
should not be able to guard Kevin Love downlow? Should he? Well,
let's not forget. Also, Kevin is not an incredible athlete,
so he's got to beat you with craft. And these
guys are are allowed to put their hands on him.
(21:44):
You know, they're getting physical with them. You know what
they're doing is they're forcing Kevin Love to his baseline
spin and he's going up with his left hand. And
because you're not a when you're not as strong to
your left hand, dug, you use your physicality. And those
guys have had a year to mature, earned the league,
and they're strong enough and athletic enough that they're kind
of contesting that left hand jump. Look at Kevin, you know,
(22:05):
seeing it getting put back in his face. And you know,
the NBA playoffs are about efficiency, and if you're not
scoring at a high clip and you're not defending, what
are you doing on the floor. So he's got to
find ways because the jumper is not gonna work against
those guys, and he's not necessarily jumping to the roof
against them. So you know, maybe he's got to be
more patient, Maybe he's got to establish something else. But
(22:28):
that's never really been Kevin's bread and butter. But I
hear you. You gotta get something going to the basket.
I think there's crafty ways of doing it. And I
don't think just giving him the ball on the block.
He's that good to get it done, even against a
Brown or a Tato. But I hear you, Doues, how's
Boston doing this? I mean, I listen. I I get
that you still have and we have Jalen, but he's
(22:49):
still really young. Got Jason Tatum, He's still really young.
Like the playoffs is supposed to be about veteran dudes,
and you don't have Kyrie you don't have Gordon Hayward
and you're you're up to games to none. How are
they doing this? Just credit Brad Stevens. This is where
I credit him because we haven't seen a close game
(23:10):
from these teams, and in a close game is where
you really see how young they are. In a tight
finish when you got to figure out whether the offense
is coming from. Now you're seeing where's Kyrie Irving's who's
gonna mane? You stop for a shot what they've done.
When you watch these games. They're punching those third quarters
so hard as if with an end of the game,
(23:32):
and they're giving themselves at ten plus point buffer. You
know they're coming back because you know they don't want
to wait until the end of the game. So amazing
strategy from Brad Stevens and guys like Al Horford and
Murk looked been there before, telling the young guys, look,
we gotta go now. We cannot wait. We're not that
good of a team and Lebron so far behind it's
(23:55):
kind of like, you know, there's there's not much he
can do in these first two games. Ryan Hollands joining us,
all right, So um, now we go back to Cleveland,
the home crowd, the ability to be physical. Do we
go back to two when we go to Boston or
is Boston able to get the three one lead in
your mind? No, I think we get too too. They
(24:16):
are different team on the road, they're youth shows. And
I tell you one thing, this is a do or
die type next two games for Cleveland and the hardest
thing that I've ever seen and I've ever been a
part of. And I remember veterans like you know, Paul
Peters and and Dirk and Gardnett telling me, hey, young solids,
this is gonna be a different game because their backs
are against the wall in that fight or flight type
(24:38):
of human instant kicks in either you give up and
you lay down like Toronto did, or you fight with
all your might. And that's what you're gonna see from
Cleveland in a sense of a close out game. So
I see them making this thing too too. And honestly, Doug,
I don't know how you feel about this. I think
this will be Lebron's greatest feat and greatest challenge ever
(24:59):
if he get by this Boston team, even though they
don't have Hayward and Carrie Irving. Is it because they're
down two games to none, and because of how they
looked in one and two, that's how you feel. I
look more at his Cleveland team right now. I look
more at that depleted team. I look more at the
lack of chemistry. I look at more of what they
lost and what they didn't gain, you know, in these trades,
(25:19):
because they brought in young players. They didn't they brought
in some spring chickens. They didn't bring those violet old vets,
and who would be you know, going and getting it off.
You know, I bet they could have used some d
weight now, at least for one game. No, I, I,
it's it. I Actually it's funny you bring up d
Wade because while the trades helped them in the regular season,
it's clearly hurting them in the postseason. I just don't
(25:42):
know if they could have gotten to this point in
the postseason if not for having, you know, considering the
path that they were on and the way in which
Lebron was feeling and playing, and like, look at the
lowest plus minus in the league for seven weeks there
or six weeks there. Obviously he wasn't. But it's crazy
because well though those guys weren't helping him, then they
(26:03):
probably would have helped him more. Now that's that's that's fair, right,
that's what you're getting in very very fair. And what
message Let's let's look a little forward because we gotta
do it. This is part of their job. What message
as a front office if you're Lebron's team, what does
that sense to Lebron that does not care about tomorrow,
that wants to win for the now, that needs a
championship or bust because a good regular season and even
(26:25):
an m v P doesn't mean much at all to
him staying in Cleveland. So I see a message to
Lebron saying we're gearing up with some youth for tomorrow
when you go ahead and bounce because we're expecting you
to leave. But some of that is Lebron. Lebron's done
that right. I mean, Lebron has created this where he
(26:45):
by by allowing the possibility of leaving to be the
story of the season, all he has to do is
come out and say like, I ain't leaving, this is
my home. I'm staying here. You guys fix it. None
of this would have none of this would have happened.
So I'm not disagreed, completely agree with you that Cleveland
is positioning themselves of hey we got some youth, Hey
we still got that draft pick there is the sun
(27:07):
will still rise in the east and said in the
west even if he leaves. But a good portion of
this is created by by the ambiguity that Lebron has
approached the situation with. No. I agree, and and Doug,
We're gonna look back on Lebron's career as this Michael
Jordan documentaries coming out, and we're gonna appreciate Lebron the
businessman behind the scenes. We're gonna appreciate what he learned
(27:29):
from the decision and the strategic way that he leaves
Cleveland this time to where you're almost telling him, oh, Lebron,
you gotta leave. But gods like me and you're speaking
to the process and say, Lebron, do you planted these
seeds of leaving a long time ago? You know? But
to the common eyes, you're gonna say he's gone it
(27:49):
though it just makes sense. There's no reason for him
to be in Cleveland. No, Lebron set this up completely
all the way. Man, it was it was masterful. This
was this waspossibly this isn't a baby you're gonna look
back on. Man, this guy is a business man, not
only be one of the greatest basketball players of all time,
but the greatest we see actually play the game. Does
(28:10):
he come to l A. Yeah, Man, I've I've said
championship for l A and and it's safe to say
that only option right now is looking like the l
A is a Lakers. Ryan, Dude, you're doing a great
job killing it over at ESPN. Really appreciate you coming
on with us. Oh Man, anytime, Doug, I'm a big fan.
When I think you're crazy, I'll just I'll just text
(28:33):
Ryan and tell them, you know, I want to argue
with that a little bit. Man. So Man, I appreciate
your work. Brother, Man, keep aspiring alright, pleasures mind. Fox
Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
Catch all of our shows at Fox sports Radio dot
com and within the I Heart Radio app. The thing
about and I and it's not a big deal with Deck,
(28:55):
but it is a deal with Deck, which is like
you should all right, dude, A couple of things you
should never talk about. Never talked about money, because that
makes people lose their mind. I don't ever say you're underpaid.
We all know you're underpaid. I don't know how good
Dak Prescott is. And this year will be a great
test because there will be an extra guy in the box.
(29:15):
It will be But um, I don't I sit here
and tell you I don't know how good. Do you
know how good Dak Prescott is? Remember when he had
a great rookie season, there was they were still spoon
feeding him. Guys were wide open because he had Zekie Elliott.
(29:37):
Dez Bryant was still more in his prime than he
is now. They played a soft schedule and even then
they came up short in the playoffs. And though he
brought them back against the Green Bay Packers, you couldn't
win one home game. Last year, he failed and struggled
to connect with Dez Bryant. Bryant's gone, Witten is gone.
(30:00):
Like look, I don't think Whitten or Brian are nearly
what they used to be in Whitten and is washed up.
But there becomes a lot more pressure on you when
you're playing for your next paycheck, when you're trying to
prove you belong. I kind of think the last thing
you should talk about is, you know, I like to
be the best Dallas Cowboys quarterback of all time. How
(30:22):
About let's just get back to get in the playoffs.
How About let's just get back to being a guy
you can count on. How About let's just be the
best Dallas Cowboys quarterback in that locker room. Because you
go back two years ago and even when they were
propelling towards the playoffs, there were people like yours truly saying,
(30:46):
you know, you should probably play Romo because Romos give
gives you a much better chance to win. Now, Doc
is three or four years from now. This, by the way,
is three or four years from now. It is this
is that moment, three or four years from So I'm
I'm interested. I don't love what they've done. It's a different,
(31:07):
different way of doing it. I don't particularly. I sit
there and I look at the Dallas Cowboys and like, hmm,
you are dependent upon a team two and look, maybe
they're trying to build the opposite. You know, we talked
about this several times with several different, much smarter than me,
football people, including Sean Payton at the super Bowl. Most teams,
(31:29):
most teams, they're base defense is now in nickel. You
no longer need the traditional middle linebacker. Run stuffing is
not nearly as big a deal as it used to be.
That's because it's seventy in terms of past run league.
It's not that Zeke can't catch you out of the backfield.
(31:50):
But you look at the Cowboys and it feels like
they're a team is gonna go, like, I know everybody
else throws it, We're gonna be the one team that
mainly runs it because otherwise you're going with Alan Hearns,
You're going with uh Terrence Williams, You're going with Blake
Jarwin or Jeff Swain as your tight ends. If Blake Jarwin,
(32:16):
who actually know because he went to Oklahoma State, If
Blake Jarwin or Jeff Swain would walk up to you
and go, hey, I'm I'm Jeff Swain anything, and you go,
I'm Jeff Swain. Dallas Cowboys, you go, sure, you are right.
They got Tavon Austin, who no one's found a way
(32:37):
to use and used effectively in the return game in
the slot like will be fine, but it's the I
like the Rams have as as inventive and offensive mind
as you will find, and they couldn't find a way
to use Tavon Austin effectively. So it's not that I
(32:58):
hate Tavon Austin. By the way, he had fifteen mine
carries last year. You can use them. You're gonna use
them all over the field. But if you think he's
gonna help you in the past game, he he caught
thirteen balls last season. Thirteen. So my guess is that
they're going to be uh. They got a running back
that can run it, they got a wide receiver that
can run it, they got a quarterback that can run it,
(33:19):
and they got some guys that are okay at catching it.
But man, that is not a star studded group at
wide receiver that's gonna be dependent upon a quarterback that
either has an offense that creates openings or you've got
to throw them open. Humn do that. So before you
get into the he man and I and I honestly
don't think he meant anything by it, But let us
(33:44):
talk about, Hey, he's got a chance to be the
best Dallas Cowboy quarterback of all time. How about we
win a playoff game first, just one. Let's let's just
do that, because you're chasing ghosts that aren't yet post
star backing troymen who have a combined five Super Bowl rings.
(34:07):
Let's let's just be viable here. Be sure to catch
live editions of The Doug gott Leap Show weekdays at
three p m. Eastern noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
and the I Heart Radio app. Tom Verducci just wanted Emmy,
didn't he? I have to? I think I have to
introduce him as Emmy Award winning Tom Vrducci, don't I right? Like?
And that's got to be the coolest thing ever to
(34:28):
be recognized by your peers in the industry. Time Emmy
Award winning Tom Verducci joins us in the Doug Gotlip Show.
How are you? I'm really well after that intro, it's
thanks to that that it's earned. Like, I'm all all
I can do is report. I'm just reporting facts here. Um,
what is that? What is that like for you? I mean, like, look,
you've done a lot of things to receive that sort
(34:49):
of acclaim. What's it been like? Crazy? Man? This is
my third Emmy and you're talking to a guy who
when I first started out, all I wanted to do
was right. So the idea of actually winning a an
Emmy that wasn't even on the radar. That wasn't even
a dream. So for this to happen three times now
is is amazing. I had a conversation with a major
(35:12):
league baseball player, uh last night, and it's funny. Samueller
was a writer for ESPN, wrote that that Mike Trout
might be having the best season in the history of baseball. Anyway,
the conversation was having with major league baseball players like, hey,
Mike Trouts unbelievable, but show, hey, Otani has to be
considered the best player of major League baseball considering he's doing.
(35:36):
He's playing like all of us played in high school, right,
pitching and hitting and doing both incredibly. Well, what what
is the sport saying about Otani and how good he
actually is at either or both combined? Yeah, I mean
it's just crazy. I mean typically you have to go
to william Sport to see somebody who can do this, right. Uh.
(35:57):
And it's funny you mentioned that because Logan Morrison wind
did say that he thinks so Tomy's the best player
on the planet because exactly what you said, you can
do both pitch and and hit and listen, it's not
like he's just a journeyman guy. At both of them.
You're talking about a guy on the mound who's fastball
he can thought as hard as Noah's Syndergarden Luis Sevrino
(36:19):
at the plate, when you look at his exit velocity,
it's about the same as Bryce Harper's. So think about that.
A guy who throws as hard as Syndergarten hits as
hard as Harper. That's not supposed to happen on a
ninety foot field. You know. You see that in the
sixty ft field Little League. So you know, everybody, I
think his peers especially more than anybody, because they know
(36:39):
how hard just doing one of those is. I think
everybody has been blown away by the fact that a
He's doing this at all and being he's excelling at it.
What does it say though about the Angels and their
pitching staff bullpen is was depleted because the starting was
so bad start of the year. But the bullpen has
been so bad that you know, they still get swept
by by the Astros even or not. I think whether
(37:00):
it was two or three to the Astros, even though
they have two of arguably the best players on the planet. Yeah,
well you hit it. I mean, it's about their starting
pitching right, and then you have to go to a
six man because you know what Tani did, pitch once
a week over there will be asking him too much,
you know, the pitching a five man rotations. So they're
doing the right thing. But as we said going into
(37:21):
the season, can they hold up in terms of their
bullpen when you're asking the bullpen to work as much
as they have, You know, I don't know the answer that.
Typically the answer is you better have a ton of
inventory to make that plan work. Um, But so far
they've been okay, considering they have had some injuries there.
But for me, Doug, I think the key is the
(37:42):
Angels are gonna have to let off some of the
strings that they're holding down Otani with and let them
loose a little bit. I'll give you an example. The
other day they were playing the Twins and Paul Mollador
managing the game new with travel and third as the
winning run that Artani was not an option for Mike
So as a pinch hitter, so he walked two guys
intentionally to get the Jeffrey Marte. Now, Otani should be
(38:04):
taking that a bet, but because he's pitching the next day,
so she doesn't want to have him hit at all.
He keeps him in the bubble wrap. Right, I'm the
other manager in a dug out. You've made it too
easy on me. You at least have to have this
guy that dug out Fatten's hands helmet on. Make the
other guys think that that guy is an option, because
at some point he should be an option for you.
Off the bench the day before or day after he
pitches justin Turner comes back promptly has three hits. The
(38:27):
Dodgers win seven nothing granted against the Marlins, who, though
Derek Jeter says he wants to be competitive, no one
actually believes him. Um, so we take it with a
grain of salt. But we stare up at the Dodgers
the worst starts since I believe uh is not good
and I understand, like, look, injuries, you take away your
three best players, Seger, uh Kershaw and until this point Turner,
(38:52):
you're not very few teams are going to be good.
How recoverable though is this start? Considering they're not getting
Sager back, I be a little worried about him, for
without doubt. I think Turner obviously, and not just because
he had a big day today. Besides his bat and glove, man,
he is the heart and soul that team. If you're
around that team, you can see how much energy and
passion he brings he does lift other players around him.
(39:14):
I know that sounds sort of like cliche or playing
this guy stuff, but if you round the Dodgers, you
see it, you feel it, and they'll all tell you
that you're a numbers guy and you're going, you're you're
you're giving me feelings. No, believe me, this guy is
a glue guy, and you still need those guys absolutely.
My concern here is their defense. Their defense and terrible.
I mean, they were the best defensive team in baseball
(39:36):
last year. Not a big part of that is you
mentioned seekers out. They haven't had Turner until the last
couple of games. You know, Taylor, to me is a
better center fielder than he has a short stop um.
And you know, a lot of their problems have been
the fact that they're just not catching the ball. They're
not in places where they're getting me out that they
did last year. And let's face it, two, when you
cut fifty three million dollars off your payroll, it's gonna
(39:58):
show up somewhere and so far for me, it's shown
up in the bullpen. It's not as deep, not as
good as it was last year. Uh, ver Landard was
nasty last night in Anaheim and the numbers so far
this year are insane. What what's happened? What's how has
he been able to recalibrate? Because he was it did
not end as well in Detroit as for the most part,
(40:18):
the body of work was what's he done to kind
of fix what held him? You're right, you have to
go back a few years. He had that core muscle
surgery and even though he came back and he didn't
miss a start because he had it over the winter,
he told me he was in pain the whole year.
He just wasn't right. Everything was down, the velocity was down,
spin rates were down. It took him a good eighteen
(40:40):
months to really get back, and by then he has
sort of retrained himself mechanically, so that took another year
and once it clicked in for him and it's really
the second half of the fifteen season. Uh. He meant
he has been locked in. You're talking about a guy
Doug right now. I think he's throwing the ball as
well as he ever has he's talking about a cy
Young winner. He's thrown no hits, but the way the
(41:01):
balls coming out of his hand away, he can just
carve up people with fastballs, carved balls, whatever he wants
to do. He's got that cutter now too. I think
he's pitching at his best right now. It's crazy to
say that, but it's true. And I think also getting
out of Detroit helped him, you know, just as getting
out of Pittsburgh helped Garrett Cole. They've got a great
vibe there in Houston. You know, you don't have to
be the guy the way that those two guys have
(41:23):
been other places. So they got a good thing going,
no question about it. Three time Emmy Award winner Tom
Verducci joining us on the Doug Gottlieb Show here on
Fox Sports Radio. I don't know if you saw this
stat Javier Bias that a hundred and thirty plate appearances
hasn't walked once. Right Like he's in He's the embodiment
of the Chicago Cubs. They will they will swing it
(41:44):
at And I understand baseball now it's about home runs
and and strikeouts aren't that big a thing. But have
the Cubs gone overboard in not paying attention to the
strikeouts a little bit. Considering that team, I mean, they
don't have a lot of athleticism, they don't steal bases.
They do need to hit the ball on the bark
(42:05):
to win games, it seems like. So, you know, I
think it's endemic throughout baseball. As you mentioned, somebody's got
to explain to me why and what. If you're talking
about pictures, it's a great thing to have strikeouts, right,
but if you're talking about hitters, you say it's just
another rout, doesn't really matter. You know, there has to
be a downside to it. And for the Cubs, they
think you're right. I think the last couple of years,
(42:27):
when it came time to moving and runner, especially getting
somebody in the third base, they've not done that well.
So that's that's part of what they signed up for
with the type of hitters they have. Mani Machado, Where's
he play at the end of the season. I still
think there's a chance he could get to the Dodgers
in July. You know, it's not gonna happen before then.
Typically you're not gonna see trade until teams get on
(42:47):
the other side of the amateur draft. Then, Also, because
the Dodgers do want to reset their tax rate, you
know they can do that with Machado if they wait
half of the season. So you're talking the end of July. Um,
if I were the Reels, though I may listen, we
all know they're out of it. I think even they
know they're out of it. I would put them on
the market a lot sooner, see what I could get
in June, maybe early July. Um, they have to catch
(43:10):
that chip in for me. I think I'm rather than
played out, um, just to get a draft pick from
many Machado. But yeah, I mean the guy you can
play short and third difference maker in the lineup. Uh,
he's gonna be dealt. And I still think the Dodgers
are a good possibility. What what is the final number
for Bryce Harper next year? I think it starts with
(43:31):
a four. Yeah, I do, I do. I mean you
can think about the money that Stanton got, you know,
and you're talking about mid thirties per year for a
guy who wasn't even on the free agent market. Now
you put Bryce out there at younger in an auction atmosphere.
The Phillies and the Braves besides your big market teams, Comes, Yankees,
Dodgers will all be in it, so you will have
(43:53):
multiple bidders. You know, Hall of Fame track a six.
You can go twelve years at Brice hard He So yeah,
I think the number is gonna start with a four. Wow. Um,
Robbie Cano, you have a Hall of Fame vote. Robbie
Cando is probably gonna have three thousand hits. He's right now,
he's a career three hitter. Uh. We've seen other guys
(44:15):
who have been popped for p DS, not in the
post steroid era, but I've been popped for PDS become
become Hall of famers. What does this due to his
eventual Hall of Fame candidacy As we sit here today, Doug,
he's not getting in the Hall of Fame. I mean
nobody who's who has tested positive in this testing era?
You know, not that there's been that many, but you
(44:36):
talk about Palmero and Manning Ramirez, they haven't gotten in.
They haven't gotten close. Um. Now I have to offer
your caviat here that he's got five more years on
his contract and then five more years to wait until
he's on a ballot. So you're talking about ten years
down the road, what does the electorate look like ten
years from now? What do they think about guys failing
(44:57):
drug tests when there was rules in place? You know,
that's more difficult to guess where we're at that point,
and who knows who gets in between them? Man, But
as we stand here today, he just caused himself the
Hall of Fame. They probably cost the Mariners a playoff
spot this year. You know, I know it's a twelve
million dollars, but to me, the reputation, he ain't getting
that back. You know, it's interesting, But if the Mariners
(45:17):
are really bad, couldn't they you know, couldn't they try
and avoid the contract? I mean, no one, no one.
Obviously the union would fight it and it would be
wildly unpopular. But wouldn't they have grounds to try and
fight avoid that contract? Yeah? You're right though, I think
knowing that anybody who tries to do that, they'd have
a huge fight in their hands. Remember the Yankees had
some They threatened to do that with Jason Giambie and
(45:39):
that was all it was. It was a threat. Uh,
it's too difficult in case to win. Um, you know
the flip side to that, now, is the Mariners actually
have twelve million dollars in their pocket that they didn't have.
So maybe it's Maddie Machadow, maybe it's somebody else, but
it puts him in a position to get somebody to
replace him this season that they might not have budgeted for. Okay,
(46:00):
so you mentioned Manny and obviously you and you mentioned
Bryce Harper, and we haven't we've talked about we haven't
talked about the Yankees obviously, only I know the A's
beat him one spreadside. It seems like only mother Nature
right now can can stop can stop the New York Yankees.
Find the flaw though? If there's a flaw to this team,
what is it? Uh, this is a really nit picking,
(46:20):
but it's probably the number of strikeouts. Now. I think
that the rookies at the bottom of the lineup and
do Harror and and Torrests have really sort of changing
in dynamic there. But in a playoff atmosphere. You saw
this a little bit last year with Houston, right, you know,
there's just not enough balls in play to create rallies
to get people in that it's the only thing that
(46:40):
you go up against the Houston staff that strikes out
everybody in the world. Maybe there's too many strikeouts in
that lineup. You know, the upside is you make one
mistake and they have multiple guys who don't lose it
now and then you know, Betance is when he's right,
and Robertson when he's right, and obviously raldis Chapman he's right.
It's pretty good at the back end as well. Tom
Ford ch MLB analyst for the MLB Network and Fox
(47:03):
three time Emmy Award winner covering Dodgers Nats tomorrow. Of course,
Nats don't have leaders. He's out. He's out. He just
had surgery. On MLB Network. First pitch is at seven
oh five Eastern time. Congrats on yet another Emmy award.
You want something to hold one, I'll take it for
a spin every now and again, pretend like I wanted
in the meantime. Uh, it's your Your due is well deserved.
(47:24):
Thanks so much for joining us. Thanks for having me anytime,
all right, Tom, for Duci joining us on the Doug
Gotlip Show, Lebron James and Tyrone Lou. They did push
for trades around the trade deadline or when when the
Calves made a trade, but not the trades that were consummated. Now,
according to the Athletic. According to the Athletic, Lebron James
(47:51):
and Tyron lou wanted and tried to make a run
at the Clippers Star Jordan's, um DeAndre Jordan's. Now, we
talked about this yesterday, which is you can tell us
all you want about hey, I wanted DeAndre Jordan. I
wanted DeAndre Jordan. I wanted DeAndre Jordan. But the reality
(48:12):
of it, the reality of wanting DeAndre Jordan's would have
meant that you're going all in to win and win
right now. Whereas the trade that was pulled off with
and what did what did the Clippers want? Remember, the
Clippers wanted that first round pick. The Clippers already had
two lottery picks. We saw Jerry West uncomfortably sitting up
(48:33):
there right, Jerry West sitting on the That's where Elgin
Baylor like Elgin who's I know, they're very close friends.
Elgin Baylor though he's he's had that desk for way
more years Jerry West had with two lottery picture just
feels icky. Then it Jerry West like one titles the Lakers.
(48:55):
One titles the Lakers as a player as the GM
that I want one as an advisor with the Warriors
now with the Clippers, and we're all right, we're rebuilding.
What I found to be fascinating, though, is again, any
of these stories which I have heard to be completely accurate,
(49:16):
Like Lebron a man, I wanted DeAndre Jordan's you don't
you didn't get it, Like, yeah, we probably could have
had we known if you were staying. You know, that's
like a guy showing up late for dinner, Like, Hey,
you guys didn't wait for me, like we didn't know
what you're gonna be here. You didn't call you in
(49:37):
text me and we're supposed to wait for you. Well
you didn't. You didn't order me dinner like you order
out and they get there, there's no dinner, Like we
didn't know you were coming over for dinner. Dude, Lebron
James saying or telling the Calves and I want you
to go get DeAndre Jordans, knowing that that would have
(50:01):
meant getting rid of the lottery pick, the unprotected lottery
pick from the Brooklyn uh Brooklyn Nets. It's completely obtuse
to the fact that Lebron James hindered their ability to
make that trade because they didn't know if he's staying
or going. I do think DeAndre Jordan's a game changing
(50:25):
shop block game changer because so many of these mistakes
defense so you can play closer to your guy, you know. Now, Look,
it would be a completely different series against Toronto. I
still think they win, and it'll be weird, you know.
Now Kevin loves back to the four and DeAndre Jordan
at the five and Lebron at the point or at
(50:46):
the three or whatever. You put two shooters out there,
it's a completely different team. But what but he knows
he didn't want to run around and block shots anymore,
like he needs a rim protection. So Lebron saying or
Lebron wanting DeAndre Jordan's but not wanting to commit to staying.
(51:07):
It's the same thing that hurt them from getting Paul George.
It's the same the same reason that Kyrie Irving was
never They never tried to talk Kyrie Irving out of it. Now,
I again, none of this means I know that he's leaving.
I don't know. I don't know. I suspect it's very
likely that he is leaving, very likely. But more than anything,
(51:33):
if you want to sit there and go like, hey,
I'm gonna give Lebron a pass when he leaves this
time because they didn't put a good enough team around
him last time they did. That's what's missed. Last time
he was there, they went out and had Antoine Jamison
end of his run. They had remember Shack was on
that team, like Shack was yeah, dude, They went out
and got Shock. They were just like trying everything but
(51:53):
everything we can to win and win then and what
happened after he left, I go, was that team m M?
Whereas now they're like, look, we gotta we got a
first round pick, at a lottery pick. We've got some
of these young dudes that are not bad, so they
(52:14):
won't be as awful as they were before. But they
couldn't go for it like they wanted to now
This is the best of the Duck Gotlip Show on
Fox Sports Radio. Boom, What Up America? Duck Gotleip Show?
Fox Sports Radio. One day away from getting you ready
for your weekend, two days away from another NBA game,
three days away, two days away from the Preakness. Right,
(00:24):
it's pretake this this weekend. I think so, I think so. Listen,
I'm i gotta talk horse racing because what do you
want me to talk about? Justin Verlander was nasty. Last
night was filthy. Take a shower, But no one's talking
about Justin Verlander. No one's talking about the Dodgers, who
(00:47):
look like they're actually gonna win a game in uh
in Miami. Sorry, Robinson, John Ramos is back. Ramos is back.
NBA is not NBA. Two days. We gotta catch our breath.
Last night, whooping at the hands of the Houston Rockets
laid onto the twishies or took us of the Golden
(01:10):
State Warriors one seven, and it was mildly competitive in
the fourth quarter call here call their miss Shott turnover whatever.
It felt like there was still one last run the
Golden State Warriors and it just didn't happen. Here's Steve
Kerr after the game. I just think this game was
a matter of the Rockets springing the the force that's
(01:33):
necessary to win a game, and um, and we didn't.
But you know, give them the credit. They came out
and played a great game, and you know, we got
what we deserved. They kicked our butts. No other way
to say. It often comes down to which one has
the the edge in terms of the aggression and the desperation.
They were desperate tonight and they played like it and
(01:56):
we didn't, and the results showed at James Hard had
this to say, We're focused on what we're supposed to do.
We don't really worry about who were playing against. Like,
if we come out and be some dogs and do
what we did tonight, it doesn't matter. But if we don't,
then we see the results in game one. It's not
about a chess match or what they're doing. It's about us. Sure.
(02:21):
That's like Mike D'Antoni be like, hey, we played ice, sooball,
we're gonna play iy football again. Like no, you didn't.
You passed the ball and you shared the ball and
Trevor Reza and p J. Tucker end up scoring the
ball which took some of the load off of James Harden,
who didn't actually shoot the ball all that well. Like,
I actually listened to Steve Kerr and how he depicts
(02:42):
the game is exactly how I see it play out.
I listened to the Rocks, like, that's not at all
how it happened. They completely changed what they're doing. And
oh yeah, by the way, defensively, defensively they did to
Golden State what Golden State did to them in game one,
which is Kevin Urant wants to go for thirty seven points, fine,
(03:05):
but he's not going to create shots for anybody else.
Stayed home, if you will. It was like the two
teams changed jerseys at the end of game one and
came out in game two. Okay, this game, we're gonna
play the selfish role and you're gonna go pass the
ball around. Okay, okay, wait wait I'm the selfish or
(03:26):
you're done. I'm so confused. That's the weird thing about
the NBA playoffs. This is more in line with the
NBA playoffs of the past. It really is in that
uh NBA playoffs of the past. You'd have this, you'd
(03:46):
have one game and you think you knew then you
have another game like, well, I I've we have that
in the NFL, don't we Sometimes where you see a
game like, oh, there is no way this team ever
wins a game. Then you see the next team like,
wait a second, what I I don't know anything about sports.
That's what Rockets Warriors look like. Look, it helps when
(04:07):
you get away with what could have been a foul
in the first possession, Kevin Durant turns it over. It
helps when p J. Tucker hadn't been making shots make shots.
It helps when Steph Curry appears to be either worn
down or unable to get a step and to create
space in the defense. I still think this is the
(04:30):
Warriors series in six, and the logic behind six is
pretty simple. They win the two at home, losing Houston,
they win game six at home, and if anything, and
I'm Houston, I'm more concerned today because Chris Paul doesn't
appear to be sound right, got that bad wheel, and
(04:51):
you won in spite of that. But that doesn't over
the over a set in game series, you're gonna need
Chris Paul to bail you out and win a game
here there and without Chris Paul or without a sound
Chris Paul. So, it did feel like Houston was the
(05:13):
desperate team. It did feel like Houston was the aggressor.
It did feel like Houston made an adjustment, decided to
pass the ball, and they played better defense in allowing
Kevin Durant to show his greatness, but not allowing Kevin
Durant to create shots for others. Now, some of the
lack of assists for Kevin Durant is because of the
guys weren't making shots. Well, I have found and this
(05:34):
is through trial and error. This is through a lifetime
of of learning, playing and now covering basketball through I
think it's thirty some oddistist thirty seven assists in college
that it is completely and totally impossible impossible for you
(05:55):
to get an assist if your teammate doesn't make a shot.
I found that. That's that's I know, I know, write
that one down. Gottlieb said this today on radio. It
was really good. You're ready for it. It's impossible impossible
to get an assist if your teammate doesn't make a shot.
I know I'll show I'll show myself out. Is that enough?
(06:17):
Yesterday I gave you the gem of which is a
real gem, which is pick and roll. Basketball used to
be about getting a big guy guarded by a little
guy in the low post from the boards, and now
it's the about getting a big guy to guard a
little guy out in the perimeter. Today, I'll give you you.
You can't get an assist unless your teammate makes a shot.
(06:38):
Here's Chris Paul after the game. Surprisingly, we didn't change anything.
You know, we guarded the same way. I mean, obviously
we we played harder, but scheme wise, we didn't change anything.
We just did everything a little harder. We just played
a little harder. Yeah, you were much more aggressive. Yeah
you didn't help off shooters. And you played kind of
a two man zone, forcing Draymond to shoot, which he
(06:59):
doesn't want to shoot. Yeah, you let Kevin Durant kind
of go one on one, pressed up on him, made
him take more mid rain shots. Yeah, you did all
these things, but it's exactly Yes, you moved the basketball
and didn't dribble it to death. Other than that exact
same thing. So impressed by Houston. We do have at
least somewhat of a series. Some of the old issues
(07:25):
of the Golden State Warriors came to bear. You know
where Iguadala not a score, Draymond not a score, and
their bench is not nearly what their bench had been
in the past. You can go at Steph Curry defensively
and it wears him down, and he's not a great defender,
(07:45):
and they do. They can get selfish, they can turn
the basketball over a ton. Let me think about this.
Steph Curry in this series is playing as the primary
defender twenty one and a half times over two games.
In the regular season, it was eleven point two. This
(08:06):
is what the Calves did too. The Warriors two seasons ago.
They did it over seven games. They were physical with
him when he had the ball, and then when he
didn't have the ball. Defensively, they made him guard the ball,
which takes away from his offensive prowess. It just does
do the hardest things doing basketball, guard the ball and
(08:27):
have the ball and try and score. That's why Lebron
couldn't stop the Warriors last year. He tried to. He
tried to guard Grant and be the best offensive player,
and he had nothing in the tank in the fourth quarter.
That's why James Harden, who's already a pathetic defender, was
even more pathetic in Game one because they made him dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble,
(08:48):
try and go one on one on one on one
one and he had nothing in the tank, uh, for
the defensive end at all. So Chris Paul can sit
there and tell we didn't do anything different, like that's funny,
because it looked, it looked totally different. James Harden, you say,
we just do what we do, Mike dantony Isa, where
this is who we are. But you were different in
(09:10):
game one, game too, not just playing harder. Be sure
to catch live editions of The Doug gott Leap Show
weekdays at three pm Easter noon Pacific on Fox Sports
Radio and the I Heart Radio app. Ryan Hollins Joins
us went to John Your High School past Dina, same
high school that produced Stacy Agman, Jog Vaughan and of
course Ryan Hollins when to U c l A played
(09:31):
in the pros ten years now covering the NBA for ESPN.
Let's let's start with what happened most recently. Ryan, what's
your reaction to Houston dominating the Warriors last night? What
they just say face everybody's talking about sweep getting the
brooms out the series is over. I don't think they
have a chance, but I just didn't want to see
(09:52):
him go out like that. Man. The second round of
the NBA Playoffs was a Paris and we saw three
five ones and one. Sweet man, I just want to
see a good here. He's let's watch some basketball. I
tend to agree with you. Um. Steph seems to have
struggled in Games one and two. I think some of
it is they're going at him on as many possessions
as possible, trying to find the find who steps guarding,
(10:13):
and that that wears on anybody. Some think he's not healthy.
He says he's healthy. What's your assessment of Steph Curry's
offensive struggles? Well, one thing against game planning for Steph,
he always amazed me for the best shooter we've ever
seen ever in the game of the NBA. He finds
a way to get open, and that's because he runs.
(10:35):
He never stops moving. He's always getting sprained for he's
got the ball in his hand, and he's hindered most
by his movement, by his running. And obviously, sometimes the
greatest defense is your offense. And every time they see
him on the floor, they've got it. They've got the
grain light and Doug. You know there's from playing ball.
(10:55):
They're not forcing it at Steff. They're moving the ball,
they're letting it come organically, and then it's full out
attack mode and that's really hard for in the guard.
Do you think he's healthy, No, he's not healthy. I mean,
he's healthy enough to play, but he's not. He's not still.
He doesn't hardy popping and stuff. You know when you
come back from injury. Uh, you don't feel your pop yet.
(11:17):
You're just kind of out there and that's what you're
here from step. But he's gonna feel a whole lot
better coming home to Horracle Band, you know that. Yeah, Yeah, No,
I I don't doubt that at all. I mean, like, look,
p J. Tucker hadn't hit shots like that most of
the playoffs. He hit shots. We know. Golden State turns
it over a ton. They turned it over a bunch early,
which allowed Houston to kind of to get a lead. Um.
(11:40):
One of the interesting parts is that Kevin Durant continues
to dominate and yet um it doesn't you know, he
dominating game one, dominats in game two, and yet the
results are different. What's your assessment of Kevin Durant in
terms of how he's actually playing. So let me break
this down. Let's break this down down. The team switched roles.
In game one. You saw hard and taking a bulk
(12:03):
of the shots, everybody else standing, and Houston took up
stage out of their game plan and said, well, okay,
Kevin Durant unstoppable. We're gonna stay home. We'll play him
straight up and we're gonna force him to drive. We're
gonna force him to finish on double moves and when
he catches the ball, we'll call these Durant moves Doug
because he's seven feet and he shoots the ball at
(12:24):
the top of his peak and he's pretty much unguardable,
so they're they're crowding him. You saw him literally putting
their hands on him and said, don't get it drunk
and go drive to the basket and we'll chase you
from behind. Well, we're gonna take your two versus threes.
And in game one, he was very efficient. He catched
him and shoot. Game two, he had to put the
ball on the floor and a lot of those other
(12:44):
guys on him going to State didn't touch the ball
and that's not Golden State Office. Yeah, that's I saw.
I saw the exact same thing. It's it's and look,
we saw some of that even in the in the
Celtics series in that you know, they were staying home
a lot more kind of in Game two when Lebron
was going nuts and uh and and you know at
some point you also you get exhausted from going one
(13:05):
on one. Like I thought Game one, James Harden is
not a good defender, and he sometimes he doesn't have
energy for it. But then when you're going one on
one every time down the court, you're gonna have no
energy to play defense, and then they're attacking with the
defensive it. Doug, are you agreeing with me? Because I've
always felt like you were crazy with a couple of
year takes. But we're seeing out which which which takes
(13:25):
are crazy? You say a couple of crazy things you've
you've phoned about, You've phoned about. Where where are that
you go? Go? Feel free? You know, feel feel free? Um? Okay,
So I I do get from the sound of your
voice though, that it becomes a different series once we
go back to Oakland. Why is that your home? Uh?
(13:48):
Nothing like having your fans behind you. I know from
playing against Golden State in the playoffs, they just run
a little bit faster, shots going, you know, much better
before you're turning your head. Those dudes are racing down
the floor. And just the pace of the game. You
know this, Watch the pace, watch the movement. It's a
(14:08):
difference between you playing on your hills and you are
attacking down floor. You know what's even if you score
on those guys, they're chucking the ball to half court
and getting layups, and they've got guys that rump and
spreads your spin on the defensive end. And at home,
there's just there's just a different energy man, all the
way back to you know, Donnie Nelson and Baron David
(14:30):
and those guys get up and down the floor. It's
just something about arena, man that I can't explain. And
i'd say also the officiating change a little bit. You know.
They did a good job of bumping stuff. Uh and
you know when he was trying to finish, they didn't
make any of his finishes um easy. Whereas when you
when you're in Oakland, some of those fouls, some of
those get called foul as opposed to letting him play
(14:51):
like they did last night. Is that fair? Oh? Absolutely?
You know it's so like the irony, Like I know,
there's a coach at home driving his car out going
you're leading them drive to the basket, you know. And
since we were young, it was always contest the jump shot.
But both of these teams shoot at such a high
clip that you're almost forcing the drive. You're saying hard,
(15:13):
no step packs, you're saying curry, you know, no, no
step back, no crossover to the lex three's, and you're
saying drive to the whole because your two is the
worst shot than you're contested three. This is atball, Isn't
it amazing? Like you're not old enough? I think you
came into the tail end of the disappearing mid range game.
(15:33):
They used to always my era was like, man, you
gotta develop your mid range, mid range game, mid range game.
And then and so now now it's like, dude, don't
we don't want really like you can take a mid
range shop, but you bet her make it us as
opposed to get to get to the rim or kick
out for a three. And then the other part is,
and I pointed this out on the radio show going
(15:54):
back to yesterday. I think the biggest change in the
NBA is you go back to the last sixty years
picking The idea of a ball screen or pick and
roll was to get a little on a big in
the low post and throw the ball into a big
right and then and then, and then you had to
double team or that guy is gonna go score. Now
(16:15):
it's the opposite. Now you want the same ball screen,
but it's because you want the big on the little
out on the floor so that you have that mismatch
and then you can get into lane and create havoc.
And Doug, I swear you're reading my notes because I
also remember that I was a big always switched, went
through five. That's why I was a team on a
two on a little bit. I enjoyed guarding guards or
(16:36):
whoever in the perimeter, and I said, why don't we
switch more? And the coach is always get on me
and say, well, we don't want the guard to have
to box out the big man. But now when you
kick your poison, because these teams shoot at such a
high clip, you gain rebound, you get all the learning
you had to make multiple efforts, and it's almost like
a bad look like, like, Doug, are we really saying
(16:57):
that layups are bad looks in the NBA? That's all? Well,
these teams score, yeah, not not layups, post ups, but
like like right, like it used to be work on
your post moves working, Yeah, you gotta work on your
posts now, like yeah, post ups actually aren't that a
fishing a shot unless you have a dunk kick that
sucker out Like it's now now you play like the
Warriors play out of the post where they're a great
(17:19):
split team, right, you hit the guy in the post,
and now you go screen for each other. They almost
never looked to score in the post. No, no, no,
they don't. And the only one who right now, which
seemingly mess them up is when they got the ball
to to rent. That's the first time I ever saw
Golden States start standing. And then I look on the
other end and Houston is flaring, their cutting, they're diving,
(17:41):
they got all this action going on in hardened passing
the basketball. We're going, what the heck is this? What's
the matter with the calves? You know what, chemistry, I'm
gonna give it chemistry, then I'm gonna give you. I'm
gonna give you one big name Kardashian, rubout rumball gonna
do that? Which is the uh. Tristan Thompson is the
(18:06):
missing piece. And I know we can talk about all
this small volumes and what they do well and and
how it helps. But Lebron James is a transcendent talent.
And in today's NBA, he allows you to play Tristan Thompson.
And when Tristan Thompson's not on the floor, Cleveland's not
(18:28):
that good of a basketball team. Why he erased with
your mistakes? Defensively, he can show out and guard a
guard and today's small ball generation of basketball, and when
you check up a bad shot or you don't have
anything going, he can create offensive rebounds. So Lebron James
allows Tristan Thompson to play. And he also makes Kevin
(18:51):
Love a whole lot more comfortable on the floor. I've
played with keV, and no, keV doesn't want to be
down there blocking shots and you know, guarding guys on
the Blacks. You know, he wants to run in and
get some free rebound and he you know, he wants
to worry about scoring. And now he's got to do
more than expected. And you see Boston really take an
(19:11):
advantage of that. Yeah. I would say though that as
much as Kevin Love doesn't want to play the five,
he likes to play the four. Um the fact is
that he a lot against a lot of teams. He
has a better mismatch when he's playing the five as
to when he's playing the four to where you know
he can mean that's one of the reasons that they
couldn't play Valentinis against him in Toronto is because he's
playing from the basket and Valentinis wants to guard the
(19:34):
rim I. The one thing I think they might want
to consider doing is establishing Kevin kind of at the
low post, playing through him a little bit more as
opposed to you keep playing through Lebron James and kind
of like we talked about with Harden in Game one
and Durant and game two, you get exhausted, get worn out,
and you get nothing from them at the defensive end,
and the team starts to stand. Is that a way
(19:56):
how do they create more offense? Because it doesn't feel
like George Hill get a step and everybody else is
just kind of a shooter that they have that they're
putting out there. Do you do you play through Kevin Love,
what's the adjustment you make outside of just playing, Tristan Thompson.
See see this is where I showed that you're crazy
because I don't think you post up Kevin Love. Kevin
is a crafty score. And in this series, it's not
(20:17):
balance Julius. This Al Horford, who's actually comfortable, you know,
screening out, chasing the guy off the three point line,
guarding different positions. This is a poor matchup for Kevin.
But I do agree you gotta put in the position
to be successful. You can throw Kevin Love at the
elbow and look Lebron cut run some offense through them.
I agree, you gotta get some type of play making
(20:39):
ability out of somebody other than Lebron. And you know,
when Kevin just evolved on the block, who's one of
the greatest passes I've ever played with. You know, I
remember diving to the basket and him stowing that soon
behind and stuff, you know, and who to be for
a nice dunk or out transition. So you know, maybe
take a page out of Golden Space book, like you
said earlier, Doug, and you know, split action, get some
(21:00):
counting going. You know, just let Lebron rest a little bit.
But I don't think Kevin Love on the block as
a score, as a score really helps you because there
are poor matchups and if you notice, you know they
switch out jam guard him, you know, tell you them
can guard him on the block. Marcus smart Cross, straight up,
I'm not disagree with you. How is that poss How
(21:22):
can Kevin Love be guarding the low post by Jalen Brown?
That seems that that that doesn't that seems as he gotten,
as he regressed as a post player because he's worked
so much in his perimeter game, like do Jaylen Brown
should not be able to guard Kevin Love downlow? Should he? Well,
let's not forget. Also, Kevin is not an incredible athlete,
so he's got to beat you with craft. And these
guys are are allowed to put their hands on him.
(21:44):
You know, they're getting physical with them. You know what
they're doing is they're forcing Kevin Love to his baseline
spin and he's going up with his left hand. And
because you're not a when you're not as strong to
your left hand, dug, you use your physicality. And those
guys have had a year to mature, earned the league,
and they're strong enough and athletic enough that they're kind
of contesting that left hand jump. Look at Kevin, you know,
(22:05):
seeing it getting put back in his face. And you know,
the NBA playoffs are about efficiency, and if you're not
scoring at a high clip and you're not defending, what
are you doing on the floor. So he's got to
find ways because the jumper is not gonna work against
those guys, and he's not necessarily jumping to the roof
against them. So you know, maybe he's got to be
more patient, Maybe he's got to establish something else. But
(22:28):
that's never really been Kevin's bread and butter. But I
hear you. You gotta get something going to the basket.
I think there's crafty ways of doing it. And I
don't think just giving him the ball on the block.
He's that good to get it done, even against a
Brown or a Tato. But I hear you, Doues, how's
Boston doing this? I mean, I listen. I I get
that you still have and we have Jalen, but he's
(22:49):
still really young. Got Jason Tatum, He's still really young.
Like the playoffs is supposed to be about veteran dudes,
and you don't have Kyrie you don't have Gordon Hayward
and you're you're up to games to none. How are
they doing this? Just credit Brad Stevens. This is where
I credit him because we haven't seen a close game
(23:10):
from these teams, and in a close game is where
you really see how young they are. In a tight
finish when you got to figure out whether the offense
is coming from. Now you're seeing where's Kyrie Irving's who's
gonna mane? You stop for a shot what they've done.
When you watch these games. They're punching those third quarters
so hard as if with an end of the game,
(23:32):
and they're giving themselves at ten plus point buffer. You
know they're coming back because you know they don't want
to wait until the end of the game. So amazing
strategy from Brad Stevens and guys like Al Horford and
Murk looked been there before, telling the young guys, look,
we gotta go now. We cannot wait. We're not that
good of a team and Lebron so far behind it's
(23:55):
kind of like, you know, there's there's not much he
can do in these first two games. Ryan Hollands joining us,
all right, So um, now we go back to Cleveland,
the home crowd, the ability to be physical. Do we
go back to two when we go to Boston or
is Boston able to get the three one lead in
your mind? No, I think we get too too. They
(24:16):
are different team on the road, they're youth shows. And
I tell you one thing, this is a do or
die type next two games for Cleveland and the hardest
thing that I've ever seen and I've ever been a
part of. And I remember veterans like you know, Paul
Peters and and Dirk and Gardnett telling me, hey, young solids,
this is gonna be a different game because their backs
are against the wall in that fight or flight type
(24:38):
of human instant kicks in either you give up and
you lay down like Toronto did, or you fight with
all your might. And that's what you're gonna see from
Cleveland in a sense of a close out game. So
I see them making this thing too too. And honestly, Doug,
I don't know how you feel about this. I think
this will be Lebron's greatest feat and greatest challenge ever
(24:59):
if he get by this Boston team, even though they
don't have Hayward and Carrie Irving. Is it because they're
down two games to none, and because of how they
looked in one and two, that's how you feel. I
look more at his Cleveland team right now. I look
more at that depleted team. I look more at the
lack of chemistry. I look at more of what they
lost and what they didn't gain, you know, in these trades,
(25:19):
because they brought in young players. They didn't they brought
in some spring chickens. They didn't bring those violet old vets,
and who would be you know, going and getting it off.
You know, I bet they could have used some d
weight now, at least for one game. No, I, I,
it's it. I Actually it's funny you bring up d
Wade because while the trades helped them in the regular season,
it's clearly hurting them in the postseason. I just don't
(25:42):
know if they could have gotten to this point in
the postseason if not for having, you know, considering the
path that they were on and the way in which
Lebron was feeling and playing, and like, look at the
lowest plus minus in the league for seven weeks there
or six weeks there. Obviously he wasn't. But it's crazy
because well though those guys weren't helping him, then they
(26:03):
probably would have helped him more. Now that's that's that's fair, right,
that's what you're getting in very very fair. And what
message Let's let's look a little forward because we gotta
do it. This is part of their job. What message
as a front office if you're Lebron's team, what does
that sense to Lebron that does not care about tomorrow,
that wants to win for the now, that needs a
championship or bust because a good regular season and even
(26:25):
an m v P doesn't mean much at all to
him staying in Cleveland. So I see a message to
Lebron saying we're gearing up with some youth for tomorrow
when you go ahead and bounce because we're expecting you
to leave. But some of that is Lebron. Lebron's done
that right. I mean, Lebron has created this where he
(26:45):
by by allowing the possibility of leaving to be the
story of the season, all he has to do is
come out and say like, I ain't leaving, this is
my home. I'm staying here. You guys fix it. None
of this would have none of this would have happened.
So I'm not disagreed, completely agree with you that Cleveland
is positioning themselves of hey we got some youth, Hey
we still got that draft pick there is the sun
(27:07):
will still rise in the east and said in the
west even if he leaves. But a good portion of
this is created by by the ambiguity that Lebron has
approached the situation with. No. I agree, and and Doug,
We're gonna look back on Lebron's career as this Michael
Jordan documentaries coming out, and we're gonna appreciate Lebron the
businessman behind the scenes. We're gonna appreciate what he learned
(27:29):
from the decision and the strategic way that he leaves
Cleveland this time to where you're almost telling him, oh, Lebron,
you gotta leave. But gods like me and you're speaking
to the process and say, Lebron, do you planted these
seeds of leaving a long time ago? You know? But
to the common eyes, you're gonna say he's gone it
(27:49):
though it just makes sense. There's no reason for him
to be in Cleveland. No, Lebron set this up completely
all the way. Man, it was it was masterful. This
was this waspossibly this isn't a baby you're gonna look
back on. Man, this guy is a business man, not
only be one of the greatest basketball players of all time,
but the greatest we see actually play the game. Does
(28:10):
he come to l A. Yeah, Man, I've I've said
championship for l A and and it's safe to say
that only option right now is looking like the l
A is a Lakers. Ryan, Dude, you're doing a great
job killing it over at ESPN. Really appreciate you coming
on with us. Oh Man, anytime, Doug, I'm a big fan.
When I think you're crazy, I'll just I'll just text
(28:33):
Ryan and tell them, you know, I want to argue
with that a little bit. Man. So Man, I appreciate
your work. Brother, Man, keep aspiring alright, pleasures mind. Fox
Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
Catch all of our shows at Fox sports Radio dot
com and within the I Heart Radio app. The thing
about and I and it's not a big deal with Deck,
(28:55):
but it is a deal with Deck, which is like
you should all right, dude, A couple of things you
should never talk about. Never talked about money, because that
makes people lose their mind. I don't ever say you're underpaid.
We all know you're underpaid. I don't know how good
Dak Prescott is. And this year will be a great
test because there will be an extra guy in the box.
(29:15):
It will be But um, I don't I sit here
and tell you I don't know how good. Do you
know how good Dak Prescott is? Remember when he had
a great rookie season, there was they were still spoon
feeding him. Guys were wide open because he had Zekie Elliott.
(29:37):
Dez Bryant was still more in his prime than he
is now. They played a soft schedule and even then
they came up short in the playoffs. And though he
brought them back against the Green Bay Packers, you couldn't
win one home game. Last year, he failed and struggled
to connect with Dez Bryant. Bryant's gone, Witten is gone.
(30:00):
Like look, I don't think Whitten or Brian are nearly
what they used to be in Whitten and is washed up.
But there becomes a lot more pressure on you when
you're playing for your next paycheck, when you're trying to
prove you belong. I kind of think the last thing
you should talk about is, you know, I like to
be the best Dallas Cowboys quarterback of all time. How
(30:22):
About let's just get back to get in the playoffs.
How About let's just get back to being a guy
you can count on. How About let's just be the
best Dallas Cowboys quarterback in that locker room. Because you
go back two years ago and even when they were
propelling towards the playoffs, there were people like yours truly saying,
(30:46):
you know, you should probably play Romo because Romos give
gives you a much better chance to win. Now, Doc
is three or four years from now. This, by the way,
is three or four years from now. It is this
is that moment, three or four years from So I'm
I'm interested. I don't love what they've done. It's a different,
(31:07):
different way of doing it. I don't particularly. I sit
there and I look at the Dallas Cowboys and like, hmm,
you are dependent upon a team two and look, maybe
they're trying to build the opposite. You know, we talked
about this several times with several different, much smarter than me,
football people, including Sean Payton at the super Bowl. Most teams,
(31:29):
most teams, they're base defense is now in nickel. You
no longer need the traditional middle linebacker. Run stuffing is
not nearly as big a deal as it used to be.
That's because it's seventy in terms of past run league.
It's not that Zeke can't catch you out of the backfield.
(31:50):
But you look at the Cowboys and it feels like
they're a team is gonna go, like, I know everybody
else throws it, We're gonna be the one team that
mainly runs it because otherwise you're going with Alan Hearns,
You're going with uh Terrence Williams, You're going with Blake
Jarwin or Jeff Swain as your tight ends. If Blake Jarwin,
(32:16):
who actually know because he went to Oklahoma State, If
Blake Jarwin or Jeff Swain would walk up to you
and go, hey, I'm I'm Jeff Swain anything, and you go,
I'm Jeff Swain. Dallas Cowboys, you go, sure, you are right.
They got Tavon Austin, who no one's found a way
(32:37):
to use and used effectively in the return game in
the slot like will be fine, but it's the I
like the Rams have as as inventive and offensive mind
as you will find, and they couldn't find a way
to use Tavon Austin effectively. So it's not that I
(32:58):
hate Tavon Austin. By the way, he had fifteen mine
carries last year. You can use them. You're gonna use
them all over the field. But if you think he's
gonna help you in the past game, he he caught
thirteen balls last season. Thirteen. So my guess is that
they're going to be uh. They got a running back
that can run it, they got a wide receiver that
can run it, they got a quarterback that can run it,
(33:19):
and they got some guys that are okay at catching it.
But man, that is not a star studded group at
wide receiver that's gonna be dependent upon a quarterback that
either has an offense that creates openings or you've got
to throw them open. Humn do that. So before you
get into the he man and I and I honestly
don't think he meant anything by it, But let us
(33:44):
talk about, Hey, he's got a chance to be the
best Dallas Cowboy quarterback of all time. How about we
win a playoff game first, just one. Let's let's just
do that, because you're chasing ghosts that aren't yet post
star backing troymen who have a combined five Super Bowl rings.
(34:07):
Let's let's just be viable here. Be sure to catch
live editions of The Doug gott Leap Show weekdays at
three p m. Eastern noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
and the I Heart Radio app. Tom Verducci just wanted Emmy,
didn't he? I have to? I think I have to
introduce him as Emmy Award winning Tom Vrducci, don't I right? Like?
And that's got to be the coolest thing ever to
(34:28):
be recognized by your peers in the industry. Time Emmy
Award winning Tom Verducci joins us in the Doug Gotlip Show.
How are you? I'm really well after that intro, it's
thanks to that that it's earned. Like, I'm all all
I can do is report. I'm just reporting facts here. Um,
what is that? What is that like for you? I mean, like, look,
you've done a lot of things to receive that sort
(34:49):
of acclaim. What's it been like? Crazy? Man? This is
my third Emmy and you're talking to a guy who
when I first started out, all I wanted to do
was right. So the idea of actually winning a an
Emmy that wasn't even on the radar. That wasn't even
a dream. So for this to happen three times now
is is amazing. I had a conversation with a major
(35:12):
league baseball player, uh last night, and it's funny. Samueller
was a writer for ESPN, wrote that that Mike Trout
might be having the best season in the history of baseball. Anyway,
the conversation was having with major league baseball players like, hey,
Mike Trouts unbelievable, but show, hey, Otani has to be
considered the best player of major League baseball considering he's doing.
(35:36):
He's playing like all of us played in high school, right,
pitching and hitting and doing both incredibly. Well, what what
is the sport saying about Otani and how good he
actually is at either or both combined? Yeah, I mean
it's just crazy. I mean typically you have to go
to william Sport to see somebody who can do this, right. Uh.
(35:57):
And it's funny you mentioned that because Logan Morrison wind
did say that he thinks so Tomy's the best player
on the planet because exactly what you said, you can
do both pitch and and hit and listen, it's not
like he's just a journeyman guy. At both of them.
You're talking about a guy on the mound who's fastball
he can thought as hard as Noah's Syndergarden Luis Sevrino
(36:19):
at the plate, when you look at his exit velocity,
it's about the same as Bryce Harper's. So think about that.
A guy who throws as hard as Syndergarten hits as
hard as Harper. That's not supposed to happen on a
ninety foot field. You know. You see that in the
sixty ft field Little League. So you know, everybody, I
think his peers especially more than anybody, because they know
(36:39):
how hard just doing one of those is. I think
everybody has been blown away by the fact that a
He's doing this at all and being he's excelling at it.
What does it say though about the Angels and their
pitching staff bullpen is was depleted because the starting was
so bad start of the year. But the bullpen has
been so bad that you know, they still get swept
by by the Astros even or not. I think whether
(37:00):
it was two or three to the Astros, even though
they have two of arguably the best players on the planet. Yeah,
well you hit it. I mean, it's about their starting
pitching right, and then you have to go to a
six man because you know what Tani did, pitch once
a week over there will be asking him too much,
you know, the pitching a five man rotations. So they're
doing the right thing. But as we said going into
(37:21):
the season, can they hold up in terms of their
bullpen when you're asking the bullpen to work as much
as they have, You know, I don't know the answer that.
Typically the answer is you better have a ton of
inventory to make that plan work. Um, But so far
they've been okay, considering they have had some injuries there.
But for me, Doug, I think the key is the
(37:42):
Angels are gonna have to let off some of the
strings that they're holding down Otani with and let them
loose a little bit. I'll give you an example. The
other day they were playing the Twins and Paul Mollador
managing the game new with travel and third as the
winning run that Artani was not an option for Mike
So as a pinch hitter, so he walked two guys
intentionally to get the Jeffrey Marte. Now, Otani should be
(38:04):
taking that a bet, but because he's pitching the next day,
so she doesn't want to have him hit at all.
He keeps him in the bubble wrap. Right, I'm the
other manager in a dug out. You've made it too
easy on me. You at least have to have this
guy that dug out Fatten's hands helmet on. Make the
other guys think that that guy is an option, because
at some point he should be an option for you.
Off the bench the day before or day after he
pitches justin Turner comes back promptly has three hits. The
(38:27):
Dodgers win seven nothing granted against the Marlins, who, though
Derek Jeter says he wants to be competitive, no one
actually believes him. Um, so we take it with a
grain of salt. But we stare up at the Dodgers
the worst starts since I believe uh is not good
and I understand, like, look, injuries, you take away your
three best players, Seger, uh Kershaw and until this point Turner,
(38:52):
you're not very few teams are going to be good.
How recoverable though is this start? Considering they're not getting
Sager back, I be a little worried about him, for
without doubt. I think Turner obviously, and not just because
he had a big day today. Besides his bat and glove, man,
he is the heart and soul that team. If you're
around that team, you can see how much energy and
passion he brings he does lift other players around him.
(39:14):
I know that sounds sort of like cliche or playing
this guy stuff, but if you round the Dodgers, you
see it, you feel it, and they'll all tell you
that you're a numbers guy and you're going, you're you're
you're giving me feelings. No, believe me, this guy is
a glue guy, and you still need those guys absolutely.
My concern here is their defense. Their defense and terrible.
I mean, they were the best defensive team in baseball
(39:36):
last year. Not a big part of that is you
mentioned seekers out. They haven't had Turner until the last
couple of games. You know, Taylor, to me is a
better center fielder than he has a short stop um.
And you know, a lot of their problems have been
the fact that they're just not catching the ball. They're
not in places where they're getting me out that they
did last year. And let's face it, two, when you
cut fifty three million dollars off your payroll, it's gonna
(39:58):
show up somewhere and so far for me, it's shown
up in the bullpen. It's not as deep, not as
good as it was last year. Uh, ver Landard was
nasty last night in Anaheim and the numbers so far
this year are insane. What what's happened? What's how has
he been able to recalibrate? Because he was it did
not end as well in Detroit as for the most part,
(40:18):
the body of work was what's he done to kind
of fix what held him? You're right, you have to
go back a few years. He had that core muscle
surgery and even though he came back and he didn't
miss a start because he had it over the winter,
he told me he was in pain the whole year.
He just wasn't right. Everything was down, the velocity was down,
spin rates were down. It took him a good eighteen
(40:40):
months to really get back, and by then he has
sort of retrained himself mechanically, so that took another year
and once it clicked in for him and it's really
the second half of the fifteen season. Uh. He meant
he has been locked in. You're talking about a guy
Doug right now. I think he's throwing the ball as
well as he ever has he's talking about a cy
Young winner. He's thrown no hits, but the way the
(41:01):
balls coming out of his hand away, he can just
carve up people with fastballs, carved balls, whatever he wants
to do. He's got that cutter now too. I think
he's pitching at his best right now. It's crazy to
say that, but it's true. And I think also getting
out of Detroit helped him, you know, just as getting
out of Pittsburgh helped Garrett Cole. They've got a great
vibe there in Houston. You know, you don't have to
be the guy the way that those two guys have
(41:23):
been other places. So they got a good thing going,
no question about it. Three time Emmy Award winner Tom
Verducci joining us on the Doug Gottlieb Show here on
Fox Sports Radio. I don't know if you saw this
stat Javier Bias that a hundred and thirty plate appearances
hasn't walked once. Right Like he's in He's the embodiment
of the Chicago Cubs. They will they will swing it
(41:44):
at And I understand baseball now it's about home runs
and and strikeouts aren't that big a thing. But have
the Cubs gone overboard in not paying attention to the
strikeouts a little bit. Considering that team, I mean, they
don't have a lot of athleticism, they don't steal bases.
They do need to hit the ball on the bark
(42:05):
to win games, it seems like. So, you know, I
think it's endemic throughout baseball. As you mentioned, somebody's got
to explain to me why and what. If you're talking
about pictures, it's a great thing to have strikeouts, right,
but if you're talking about hitters, you say it's just
another rout, doesn't really matter. You know, there has to
be a downside to it. And for the Cubs, they
think you're right. I think the last couple of years,
(42:27):
when it came time to moving and runner, especially getting
somebody in the third base, they've not done that well.
So that's that's part of what they signed up for
with the type of hitters they have. Mani Machado, Where's
he play at the end of the season. I still
think there's a chance he could get to the Dodgers
in July. You know, it's not gonna happen before then.
Typically you're not gonna see trade until teams get on
(42:47):
the other side of the amateur draft. Then, Also, because
the Dodgers do want to reset their tax rate, you
know they can do that with Machado if they wait
half of the season. So you're talking the end of July. Um,
if I were the Reels, though I may listen, we
all know they're out of it. I think even they
know they're out of it. I would put them on
the market a lot sooner, see what I could get
in June, maybe early July. Um, they have to catch
(43:10):
that chip in for me. I think I'm rather than
played out, um, just to get a draft pick from
many Machado. But yeah, I mean the guy you can
play short and third difference maker in the lineup. Uh,
he's gonna be dealt. And I still think the Dodgers
are a good possibility. What what is the final number
for Bryce Harper next year? I think it starts with
(43:31):
a four. Yeah, I do, I do. I mean you
can think about the money that Stanton got, you know,
and you're talking about mid thirties per year for a
guy who wasn't even on the free agent market. Now
you put Bryce out there at younger in an auction atmosphere.
The Phillies and the Braves besides your big market teams, Comes, Yankees,
Dodgers will all be in it, so you will have
(43:53):
multiple bidders. You know, Hall of Fame track a six.
You can go twelve years at Brice hard He So yeah,
I think the number is gonna start with a four. Wow. Um,
Robbie Cano, you have a Hall of Fame vote. Robbie
Cando is probably gonna have three thousand hits. He's right now,
he's a career three hitter. Uh. We've seen other guys
(44:15):
who have been popped for p DS, not in the
post steroid era, but I've been popped for PDS become
become Hall of famers. What does this due to his
eventual Hall of Fame candidacy As we sit here today, Doug,
he's not getting in the Hall of Fame. I mean
nobody who's who has tested positive in this testing era?
You know, not that there's been that many, but you
(44:36):
talk about Palmero and Manning Ramirez, they haven't gotten in.
They haven't gotten close. Um. Now I have to offer
your caviat here that he's got five more years on
his contract and then five more years to wait until
he's on a ballot. So you're talking about ten years
down the road, what does the electorate look like ten
years from now? What do they think about guys failing
(44:57):
drug tests when there was rules in place? You know,
that's more difficult to guess where we're at that point,
and who knows who gets in between them? Man, But
as we stand here today, he just caused himself the
Hall of Fame. They probably cost the Mariners a playoff
spot this year. You know, I know it's a twelve
million dollars, but to me, the reputation, he ain't getting
that back. You know, it's interesting, But if the Mariners
(45:17):
are really bad, couldn't they you know, couldn't they try
and avoid the contract? I mean, no one, no one.
Obviously the union would fight it and it would be
wildly unpopular. But wouldn't they have grounds to try and
fight avoid that contract? Yeah? You're right though, I think
knowing that anybody who tries to do that, they'd have
a huge fight in their hands. Remember the Yankees had
some They threatened to do that with Jason Giambie and
(45:39):
that was all it was. It was a threat. Uh,
it's too difficult in case to win. Um, you know
the flip side to that, now, is the Mariners actually
have twelve million dollars in their pocket that they didn't have.
So maybe it's Maddie Machadow, maybe it's somebody else, but
it puts him in a position to get somebody to
replace him this season that they might not have budgeted for. Okay,
(46:00):
so you mentioned Manny and obviously you and you mentioned
Bryce Harper, and we haven't we've talked about we haven't
talked about the Yankees obviously, only I know the A's
beat him one spreadside. It seems like only mother Nature
right now can can stop can stop the New York Yankees.
Find the flaw though? If there's a flaw to this team,
what is it? Uh, this is a really nit picking,
(46:20):
but it's probably the number of strikeouts. Now. I think
that the rookies at the bottom of the lineup and
do Harror and and Torrests have really sort of changing
in dynamic there. But in a playoff atmosphere. You saw
this a little bit last year with Houston, right, you know,
there's just not enough balls in play to create rallies
to get people in that it's the only thing that
(46:40):
you go up against the Houston staff that strikes out
everybody in the world. Maybe there's too many strikeouts in
that lineup. You know, the upside is you make one
mistake and they have multiple guys who don't lose it
now and then you know, Betance is when he's right,
and Robertson when he's right, and obviously raldis Chapman he's right.
It's pretty good at the back end as well. Tom
Ford ch MLB analyst for the MLB Network and Fox
(47:03):
three time Emmy Award winner covering Dodgers Nats tomorrow. Of course,
Nats don't have leaders. He's out. He's out. He just
had surgery. On MLB Network. First pitch is at seven
oh five Eastern time. Congrats on yet another Emmy award.
You want something to hold one, I'll take it for
a spin every now and again, pretend like I wanted
in the meantime. Uh, it's your Your due is well deserved.
(47:24):
Thanks so much for joining us. Thanks for having me anytime,
all right, Tom, for Duci joining us on the Doug
Gotlip Show, Lebron James and Tyrone Lou. They did push
for trades around the trade deadline or when when the
Calves made a trade, but not the trades that were consummated. Now,
according to the Athletic. According to the Athletic, Lebron James
(47:51):
and Tyron lou wanted and tried to make a run
at the Clippers Star Jordan's, um DeAndre Jordan's. Now, we
talked about this yesterday, which is you can tell us
all you want about hey, I wanted DeAndre Jordan. I
wanted DeAndre Jordan. I wanted DeAndre Jordan. But the reality
(48:12):
of it, the reality of wanting DeAndre Jordan's would have
meant that you're going all in to win and win
right now. Whereas the trade that was pulled off with
and what did what did the Clippers want? Remember, the
Clippers wanted that first round pick. The Clippers already had
two lottery picks. We saw Jerry West uncomfortably sitting up
(48:33):
there right, Jerry West sitting on the That's where Elgin
Baylor like Elgin who's I know, they're very close friends.
Elgin Baylor though he's he's had that desk for way
more years Jerry West had with two lottery picture just
feels icky. Then it Jerry West like one titles the Lakers.
(48:55):
One titles the Lakers as a player as the GM
that I want one as an advisor with the Warriors
now with the Clippers, and we're all right, we're rebuilding.
What I found to be fascinating, though, is again, any
of these stories which I have heard to be completely accurate,
(49:16):
Like Lebron a man, I wanted DeAndre Jordan's you don't
you didn't get it, Like, yeah, we probably could have
had we known if you were staying. You know, that's
like a guy showing up late for dinner, Like, Hey,
you guys didn't wait for me, like we didn't know
what you're gonna be here. You didn't call you in
(49:37):
text me and we're supposed to wait for you. Well
you didn't. You didn't order me dinner like you order
out and they get there, there's no dinner, Like we
didn't know you were coming over for dinner. Dude, Lebron
James saying or telling the Calves and I want you
to go get DeAndre Jordans, knowing that that would have
(50:01):
meant getting rid of the lottery pick, the unprotected lottery
pick from the Brooklyn uh Brooklyn Nets. It's completely obtuse
to the fact that Lebron James hindered their ability to
make that trade because they didn't know if he's staying
or going. I do think DeAndre Jordan's a game changing
(50:25):
shop block game changer because so many of these mistakes
defense so you can play closer to your guy, you know. Now, Look,
it would be a completely different series against Toronto. I
still think they win, and it'll be weird, you know.
Now Kevin loves back to the four and DeAndre Jordan
at the five and Lebron at the point or at
(50:46):
the three or whatever. You put two shooters out there,
it's a completely different team. But what but he knows
he didn't want to run around and block shots anymore,
like he needs a rim protection. So Lebron saying or
Lebron wanting DeAndre Jordan's but not wanting to commit to staying.
(51:07):
It's the same thing that hurt them from getting Paul George.
It's the same the same reason that Kyrie Irving was
never They never tried to talk Kyrie Irving out of it. Now,
I again, none of this means I know that he's leaving.
I don't know. I don't know. I suspect it's very
likely that he is leaving, very likely. But more than anything,
(51:33):
if you want to sit there and go like, hey,
I'm gonna give Lebron a pass when he leaves this
time because they didn't put a good enough team around
him last time they did. That's what's missed. Last time
he was there, they went out and had Antoine Jamison
end of his run. They had remember Shack was on
that team, like Shack was yeah, dude, They went out
and got Shock. They were just like trying everything but
(51:53):
everything we can to win and win then and what
happened after he left, I go, was that team m M?
Whereas now they're like, look, we gotta we got a
first round pick, at a lottery pick. We've got some
of these young dudes that are not bad, so they
(52:14):
won't be as awful as they were before. But they
couldn't go for it like they wanted to now
Host
Doug Gottlieb
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