June 6, 2018 • 46 mins
Doug takes a look at game 3 of the NBA Finals and explains when you'll know the Cavaliers have given up on the season. He discusses the Houston Rockets and why their GM Daryl Morey is so obsessed with trying to take down the Warriors. And Doug chats with NBA Insider Chris Broussard to see where he thinks LeBron James will play next season.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the best of the Doug Gottlieb Show on
Fox Sports Radio. Boom Up America, Doug Gottlieb Show, Fox
Sports Radio. I hope you're having a great day, great day,
getting you ready for the NBA Finals. He little day Baseball,
Dan Buyer Top half past the hour will give us
all the scores, as I believe the Indians and just
(00:24):
plated another run. But a little add on baseball in
Cleveland taken on Buyer's Brewers Raise and NAT's other day
baseball games. We'll keep you updated here. We watch all sports.
I'm like the only human on earth that is super
fired up for June because it's Portugal Spain. It's like
(00:45):
the second day of the World Cup, and people like, dude,
America is not in it. Like, look, we weren't gonna
win it anyway. I hate to hate, to hate to
be the bearer of bad tidings. We weren't gonna win anyway.
This is like my team didn't get the n c
A tournament. Don't worry. You weren't gonna win the n
c A tournament anyone. Portugal Spain, that's a rivalry now
big time anyway, that's younift and of course we have
(01:08):
the NBA Finals tonight, to which I don't believe the
series is over yet yet. Can we talk about Lebron
and the wandering eye of Lebron with teams and industry
executives telling people that Lebron's coming to l a Sure
(01:30):
or Adrian war Janowski is saying, hey, end of the season,
Lebron Paul George have to have a conversation about l
a Sure. We can talk about those things, but those
things don't happen until the series is over. And it's
not over. How do I know? Well? I did see
Cleveland fall behind two games done to the Boston Celtics
(01:50):
to night that that happened? How long will that happen?
Two weeks ago? Right? J R. Smith couldn't make a
shot in Boston they he did at home? The Boston
Celtics seemed incredibly dominant and then all of a sudden
seemed feeble in comparison. Right, this did that? Did happen?
(02:12):
That was my life? I'm I'm not remembering misremembering things
like Brian Williams or complating stories. Now that just happened.
This series isn't over. Look, we're gonna talk about Lebron
James response to the reaction of the video from Game one.
Upcoming in the show we Are, Matt Moore is gonna
(02:33):
join us from the Action Network. He he does a
great job covering. We'll ask him if he thinks this
series is over. But you know when things are over, right,
Like you can feel when things are over between couples.
It's just a feeling you have. And I'm not talking
(02:53):
about the feeling you have when they they've both filed
for divorce, Like, yeah, obviously she's dating other dudes, he's
done dating other girls. It's over. But there's sometimes a
there's sometimes a an element to like, you know, when
people are fired when they're not on the email chain, right,
(03:16):
when they stop being asked to show up for meetings.
When I'm not in a plan Why am I not
in a planning meeting? You guys didn't like we're doing
a planning meeting for the fall. You didn't include me?
Oh oh yeah, oh yeah you can, yeah, come on in,
share your ideas. It's great. Right, you know that it's
it's over. They bring in somebody who makes less money
(03:40):
than you, younger than you. They give him all of
your clients and They're like, no, no, you're good. Ah,
take the day off, you know what, Take the week off.
I know we had big planning meetings next week. Just
take that week off too. It's over. He just didn't
know it's over. Some people feel that way about the series.
I don't do you know how you know when it's
(04:01):
over In sports ramas you want to take guess I
was trying to say, with the fat ladies things, but
that's over baseball. It is not over to the fat
ladies thing. Um. I think when the home team loses
at home, yes, which is the the ultimate uh uh
(04:23):
not miss misconception, or it's the opposite of what people
of the of the cliche expression about NBA playoffs, which
is when the series doesn't begin to the road team
wins a game. Actually the series ends if the road
team wins a game. In this series, right, the series
(04:44):
isn't over until the Calves try and start fights, which
the kindest sort of tinkered with the idea of doing
in game one. Right, there's a little bit of that.
Tristan Thompson, don't take a jump shot at the end
of game Like what is what is Sean Livingston supposed
to do? And then Lebron doesn't like that Steph Curry
(05:05):
was was chattering with him. And then there was the
Kendrick Perkins who clearly sticking out his legs even if
he didn't clip Steph Curry Like, look, Steph Curry, pretty
sensitive about somebody coming down underneath him when he jumps.
You wouldn't do it. You wouldn't want anybody underneath Lebron
when he jumps and falls into the bench. Would you
neither do Steph Curry. Let's just be kind of honest
about it. But when when you bring in the goons
(05:29):
and you try and start a fight, that's when the
series is over. That's when we got him, which, by
the way, is was the bait that was taken by
the Warriors going back two years ago. Remember Draymond Green.
Draymond Green. All they were trying to do was get
(05:49):
Draymond Green to fight, to take a to take a swipe,
to do something, to get guys to square off, and
they got Draymond Green suspended and it gave them new life.
I think the Warriors are smarter now, I really do.
And I think the Warriors if Andrea Goodala plays, they're
in much better position even then when they're up three
(06:11):
games to one, up two games to none, but you
know the series is over. You know Cleveland is without
a chance if they start trying to start a fight.
We saw it with the Seahawks this year. Remember that
Seahawks go to the Jaguars and Jaguars are just kicking
their ass up and down the field. What the Seahawks
trying to start a fight? It's what all teams that
(06:32):
are washed that are done. That's when it's over. Detroit
Pistons when they were beaten by the Chicago Bulls, they
tried to start fights and then they walked off the
court before walked off the bench, before the buzzer had expired,
it was over. That's how you know this thing is over.
(06:53):
I actually think that the Calves had some quid in them,
going back to Game seven with the Celtics down twelve
in the second quarter. Had the Celtics taken better shots
gotten that thing up to twenty points, this Calves team
would have quit. But what are the Calves gonna try
and do. They're gonna try and play Rodney Hood, play
Setti Usman, play some other dudes, and they're gonna try
(07:16):
and punk the warriors tonight, push them mallem foul um.
Make the officials call a million fouls to which they
won't call. They won't call half of them. That's the
way it goes. And once they start trying to square off,
once the cheap shots start, that's being like, you know
what this thing is over, it's a wrap. Don't buy
(07:36):
green bananas. We can start planning for free agency in
your work life once you stay, start getting cut out
of of planning meetings, once you get reassigned, you know,
once people start to get your duties and they start
(07:59):
to figure out, it's it's a lot like when you
get old. Like, once they start talking about you in
front of you, what are you gonna do with pop?
We got people coming over, What do you wanna do
with pop? Somebody want to take them somewhere. I don't,
ye know, it's always uncomfortable, and your dad's like, I'm
right here, yeah, I know, you are sort of right.
(08:20):
Once they start talking about you in front of you,
So it's over. Once it's a fight starts, or they
try and start a fight. You know. The Warriors got him,
got him, And the only hope for Cleveland is that
the Warriors are spawned by throwing blows so that suspensions come,
so it reinvigorates him. I think we have a series,
(08:43):
but I will know this series is over if the
Calves start trying to start fights. Tonight, Stuck got the
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jette Farmers dot com. I have so much, I have
(09:06):
so much to discuss um stephen A Smith taking the
bait on Lebron James's camp, and Matt Morris gonna join
his Lupe coming next. Steven A said on First Take
that Lebron James is going to have a conversation with
the Golden State Warriors this offseason. All right, Listen, Lebron
(09:32):
is not going to the Warriors, He's not going to
the Spurs. And stephen A is not misreporting something because
he is reporting what he was told from Lebrons people.
In our business, it's no different than Lebronze business, and
(09:53):
it's no different than your business. The only power you have.
And you know it's Look, we do these true car rds, right,
the true car They understand what the power is is
leverage is power and knowing what other people make, Knowing
(10:14):
what other people paid for something, knowing what the comps are,
knowing what the market is. That's one powerful thing. And
having options is a powerful thing. Now they have to
be options that you would actually explore. You can't go
into your boss and go like, hey man, I'm gonna
(10:36):
go work across the street. Let's you give me a race,
because your boss sits there and looks out his window
and says like they got a going out of business
sign in their front window. Got ahead. You can't walk
into a car dealership and say, you know, I'm gonna
pay six thousand below invoice price for this car like okay.
(11:01):
Stephen A reporting what Lebron's camp told him is simply
another sign that Lebron doesn't think their camp doesn't think
they have great options and the options that they do, like,
they don't have great power in those options. They don't
have great power in those options. And what do I
(11:23):
mean by power? Right? Like Lebron James can say, hey,
I didn't like that they fired the GM David Griffin.
I didn't like that they fired Kyrie Irving. It should
be pointed out he didn't try and save either of
those two. He has his hands on, hands off approach.
Something happens, he'd like I had nothing to do with it.
(11:45):
Something happens, he likes I had all to do with it.
My guess is Lebron really doesn't want to stay in
Cleveland because he looks around and he's like, this is
as good as it gets. I'm working with people who
are not as good as me. We're always going to fight,
uh fight the good fight. The East is getting better
(12:06):
and we're not Would I go to Philadelphia? Sure, it's
not perfect though, Ben Simmons needs the ball and can't shoot.
A bunch of young guys and I'm and no one thinks,
No one knows that Joel Embie can stay healthy. That
team is not that Clube, not not a Lebron James
away from being a super team. Can I go to
l A. Yeah, I gotta get Paul George And then
(12:28):
I got a bunch of guys that have never won before,
and I got to expect them to compete against the
Warriors and the Rockets and whoever else is challenging us.
And oh yeah, by the way, the problem with l
A is I couldn't get Fitsdale to be my coach.
Let me playing for somebody that I'm not sure I
want to play for, and the power structure of that.
I have an agent who we'd be working for another
(12:51):
guy who's a former agent. Like, there's just not great options.
So what do you do if you don't have great options?
In you create leverage? Maybe the Spurs, Spurs don't make
any sense Spurs or check your ego at the door.
Agent can't be around boys, can't travel on the team plane,
gotta move the basketball. It doesn't fit. Jon Murray's their
(13:13):
point guard. He can't shoot mismatched parts for the way
Lebron plays. No thanks, he could do Portland's that makes
sense in terms of having shooters. But you're gonna be
in Portland Golden State, Uh, super super super team. Yeah,
but they got a dust off Clay they got rid
(13:34):
of gotta get rid of Draymond. Like that ain't happening.
But you create this leverage. You only do so because
you don't like the options you have and you're trying
to improve those options. Be sure to catch live editions
of The Doug gott Leaps Show weekdays at three pm
Eastern noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the I
Heart Radio app. Let's welcome to a guy who's awesome
in his job. Saves. Matt Moore, works for the Action Network,
(13:58):
joined us as we get ready for a Game three
NBA Finals. Matt, I'll start because I don't know if
you're listening to me earlier when I said, look, I
don't think the series is over. We saw, you know,
Boston looked dominant in games won in games two, and
I know Golden State's not not not Boston, but you know,
I feel like it's gonna be one of those super
(14:19):
physical games. And you still have Lebron James, you have
some lineup changes. You have guys like Kevin Love that
normally makes shots they've been missing. I don't think the
series is over. The way you know it's over is
if Cleveland starts to start cheap shotting and starting a fight.
What are your thoughts on if this series is done
and buried. I think it's a lot of going into
(14:42):
this game. I'm with you on some of this. I
think that you know role players are gonna shoot better
at home, and it's not just that the role players
are gonna shoot better, but if that happens, then the
Warriors are taking the ball out of the out of
the back, and that's happening. The Cows can get back
on defense and set their defense, which is bad but
not as terrible as their transition defense, and that's been
really what hurt them, as when the Warriors are pushing
(15:02):
the pace, there's just not a whole lot of Cavaliers
can do to stop them. They're getting easy buckets and
transition throwing outlet passes and then getting step in the
open floor. So if you're able to get in front
of them, they at least have a better chance of
slowing them down. You've got Lebron James on your side,
you get a little bit of contribution from j R.
Smith's or Jeff Green or really anybody at this point,
(15:23):
and you're probably within range, given how Golden State has
not been unstoppable. So I agree with the problem. I
think is if we look back to last year in
games where he was really close and Katie hit that
game winner, uh to win that game, but it's the
Cavaliers did have a chance except that was a much
better Warriors team and then this one. But it was
also much better Calves team than this one. And that
I think is a concern is somebody for Cleveland is
(15:44):
going to have to step up, whether that's George Hill
or Jeff Green or I guess j R. Smith, and
they're gonna have to really deliver to I otherwise the
Cavs are gonna be out three. Oh. It's a great
point you make that that let's not let it get
get We all know, no, Kyrie, it's a different and
not as as town. There's only one shot creator on
this team for the for the Cavaliers. But the important
(16:06):
point that you made that so few are willing to
accept is this Warrior's team is not as good as
the previous incarnations of it. How much how much do
you think that changes this offseason? I think that it's
gonna be very interesting to see what happens. I wrote
a big thing on I actually that work about how
the vibe with Kevin Durant and weird. There's still no
expectation around the team, around the league, or on anybody
(16:28):
that he's gonna leave. It's just been a weird kind
of dynamic and maybe it's something they can work through
next year. I mean, the Warriors are pretty adamant that,
well Steph was injured and so they didn't have the
chemistry and all the switches and this, and there's like
a lot of conversations about that there's something that's weird
up with the chemistry, but it's not something that they
can't get through. I think the bigger concerns are, Look,
David West is not playable at this point. Patrick McCaw
(16:50):
has fallen off hard even even before his injury. Sean
Limoston is gonna have another year on him, Andrea Goodala
is gonna have another year on him. The bench is
gonna get worse and worse, and it's gonna get harder
and harder if they have any sort of flipops with
the starting units. They no longer have guys that kind
of bail them out, so what they do the summer
will be interesting. Jordan Bell showing some stuff. Kevin kavan
Looney has been really good in these playoffs. They have
(17:12):
some bigs. They're doing pretty well. Where a team that
defines itself by its small ball, you know, if Bigo
Dolla slides anymore, and Livingston slides anymore, they're in real
trouble in terms of balancing out the rest of it.
They'll still be the favorites by a wide margin, but
they are going to have to figure out some inventive
ways to kind of repool around that core. For Yeah,
I I agree with you. Um I look, I I
(17:33):
think the role players have just have to be They
have to have a better bench. And some of it
is the young guys will get better and the old
guys have proven to be over the hill. But some
of it is also they made some bad choices and
they're gonna have to and they chose not to make
any late editions. You know, No Joe Johnson's of the
world out there, and so they don't have a ton
(17:54):
of help coming off the bench. Doug got the show
Fox Sports Radio. Um, okay, let's let's let's get to
you. You You pointed out j R. Smith they gonna play
Rodney Hood more tonight. Do you think he wasn't playing
because he refused to go in? Do you think why
do you think they weren't using him up until this point?
Basically the story you know he's talking about is who
(18:15):
has been pretty shook. Um he just for whatever reason.
You know, he's a guy that that deals with I think,
with a lot of anxiety about the games, and that
he quite simply wasn't ready for that particular instance. But
that wasn't a one off, that wasn't an outlier, that
wasn't a weird instance. There are real concerns about whether
the phrasing has been if he's ready for this moment,
and there's a lot of feeling that perhaps he's not.
(18:38):
But he's gonna have to be because j R. Smith
has been an absolute abomination in this series and everyone
points to the gap at the end of Game one.
His problems go way beyond that, and that's reflected in
shooting numbers, or in the plus blindness or even just
watching him, you know, doing any sort of review of
the game. He's the one that's getting exploit defensively. He's
the one that's missing assignments. He's the one that's missing
(19:00):
key shots. J R. Smith's been really bad, and they
need Hood to be good. Clarson does not have the
decision making and give them what they need. They need
somebody who can come out and make shots, spread the
floor and play defense. Hood is the perfect remedy for
a lot of their problems, but there's just not a
lot of confidence that he's going to be ready mentally
for how much pressure there is in this momentum. What's
(19:21):
your what's your assessment of the video after the game
one Gas, It was stunning when I saw it. I
mean it was it was just it was really shocking
to see kind of that human emotion pour out in
that way. Um, and I'm sure the cows would much
preferred that didn't get out. I don't just look at
(19:44):
it in that moment, though, I look at Lebron's presser
afterward where he was so short with marsh Howartz, even
though we can debate about the question there. I thought
it was fine. I understand some people don't. But then
his demeanor in game two, his demeanor after game to
his demeanor yesterday at practice, Like what Braun is is
in a pretty dark place right now, and that's pretty evident.
(20:05):
He's doing everything he can to battle, but it is
very much in front of him how much he is
up against and how a little chance he has, even
despite the fact of just making the finals, so having
gone done everything that he did and gotten so closed
and dealt with the frustrating calls that set them on tilt,
and then that instance it just poured out. And for
(20:26):
a guy that that has dealt with so much adversity,
he really let it get to him. I think the
team let it get to them, and that's why they
unraveled in that overtime. They really went on tilt completely
because they had such a great chance. And then Jr.
Of course, at that moment. Does it make you have
any less respect for Lebron how he handled that moment
in that moment, No, just because I don't want to
(20:47):
havever judge anybody on an individual moments um and I
don't you know, but that's what we do that. But
that's what we do, right, like your your judge like
fair unfair, like we judge. How you handle adversity in
the moment is what defines you, isn't it. I think
if he had gone out in that overtime and had
(21:08):
looked off j R. Then that's one thing where we
come out in Game two and looked off JR. But
he didn't. He came out and just played. He reacted
in his own emotional moments. He had that moment, he
moved past it, and just because we happened to capture that.
I'm not in a position to lose, lose respect for
and based off that. Okay. Um stephen A on his
(21:30):
show today said that Lebron will have a conversation with
the Golden State Warriors. When I hear Warriors Celtics Spurs,
I think Kyrie just left that. No thanks, san Antonio,
check your ego at the door. Not happening, Golden State. No, no,
we're all set. Everybody's chasing us. I I hear Maverick,
(21:54):
I hear some desperation from Maverick Carter in that camp.
That's what they're trying to get some sort of leverage
wherever they do want to go or if they do
want to stay. And that's the only reason you float
these completely unlikely scenarios. What's your reaction when you hear
Golden State. I didn't Golden State because of their ownership
(22:14):
group is always changing every opportunity, but there's never gonna
be a situation where that's gonna work. I'm with you
on that, I'm with you on Boston, I'm with you
on san Antonio to a Warters degree, I think, san Antonio,
that might actually be an opening there. Um, I think, really,
what we're looking at is a fact, and this has
kind of been a growing sentiment around the league. Row
doesn't have any good options. He just doesn't. He doesn't.
(22:36):
He don't have any great options. You don't have any
great like Lakers are a good it's still the Lakers.
You can get a start that you can pick. Maybe
you can also get Kauai if they want to move
a bunch pieces to get Kauai. But it's not a
great option. It's not Hey dialed in right and they're
just Philadelphia is a good option, but it's still Philadelphia.
Those guys are still really young. Nobody knows if and
(22:57):
Bead's gonna stay healthy, if Ben Simmons can play without
the ball or ever learn to shoot like it's a
good Staying in Cleveland is a good option because they've
shown they'll spend whatever money and find a way to
put some sort of team around him to which he
can be competitive. Those are good. I would I would
only I would only come back at you say those
are good. There just is no home run options. Yeah,
(23:18):
I mean I did. It's fine to say that. Look
anywhere that has Lebron is a good option. You're gonna
compete because you have Lebron, But what he's looking for
is what he chased his whole whole career, which is
the place that he wants to be, the city that
he wants to live in, whether it was Miami or Cleveland.
The chance that compete for championships, a great team around
him and the most money and making all those things
(23:39):
work is very difficult. Houston is the only one that
might be able to provide something comparable, and there's no
there's no way of knowing how he feels about the city,
or how he feels about the dynamic of playing with
Harden and Paul. All of those things I think are liquids.
So that's why there's kind of growing feeling that he
might return to Cleveland tymically, because there's nowhere that you
go and you go there that that's that home run,
(24:01):
that's that great option, that's that good place, that's that's
the place that he's clearly got to be. And a
lot of that I think goes back to the bar
that the Warrior set and how that changes the dynamic.
I encourage all of our listeners to follow Matt on Twitter,
go to at HP Basketball. We just work at the
Action Network it's it's great Matt Moore. Matt, thanks so
much for joining us. Enjoy the games tonight. We'll talk
(24:21):
to you soon. Pleasures mind. Matt Moore does a super job.
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.
I was just blown away when I watched what uh
(24:41):
Max Scherzer did. I mean he was. He continues to
be spectacular. Here's Max Sure. We talked about this a
little bit yesterday. A little bit yesterday that um sure.
And you know right now that the Nationals are up
tended to anyway, but that Shuser is a first ballot
Hall of Famer first ballot. You know, he's won two
(25:06):
National League Cy Young's I believe, and he's won one
in the American League. Like it ain't close. He had
thirteen strikeouts in eight innings, gave up standard five hits,
didn't throw a hundred pitches. Usually when you're a high
strikeout guy, high pitch count. Now he actually had one
inning in which he threw nine pitches and struck out
three players. Who does that? Max Suser does so? At
(25:28):
first my my tweet last night was Max Scherzer is
one of the few guys who is actually worth the money.
You know, so many times guys get money like no way,
he ain't worth it, and he actually is. And then
I started to think about he was on the Detroit Tigers,
and I'm gonna say the year is two thousand thirteen. Right,
(25:52):
So the two thousand thirteen Detroit Tigers had Prince Fielder
was still healthy, only twenty nine years old, Miguel Cabrera
was thirty hit forty four home runs, had a hundred
and thirty seven RBI. They had Justin Verlander, they had
Max Scherzer. Remember, out of all Sanchez, I'm not sure
if that's the year he threw that what should have
(26:13):
been a perfect game. It wasn't a perfect game. Doug
Fister good solid starter. But I look back and I'm like,
that team didn't win a World Series, didn't win a
hundred games, didn't win a World Series, and Jim Leland's
their manager. Now you can say whatever you want, like
Jim Leland is what one in in my one in
Florida one with Pittsburgh Pirates, right, long time old time
(26:35):
baseball dude manager. So you had Dave Dombrowski. You had
Jim Leland, you had Justin Verlander and Max Scherz or
in in their primes, and you had Prince Fielder, and
you had Carlos Cabrera and you didn't win anything. That
team is to baseball what essentially the Thunder with James Harden,
(27:00):
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are to basketball. It's the
what could have been team, isn't it? Think about that
right now? If you have a roster with Justin verlanderd
and and Max Scherzer, like all you've ever needed in
baseball is two great starters, somebody in the back end
(27:22):
of the bullpen, which is I know, ultimately the flaw
of that team, and don't you need a big batter two?
And you had it? Like it's sheer craziness to me
that that team didn't win anything. And I know the
Thunder got to the finals and probably got to the
finals a little bit too soon, But isn't that the
Detroit Tigers. I watched Max Scherzer and see his utter
(27:44):
insured dominance, and you look, Nationals fans can say the
same thing, like, look, dude, look at the guys that
we have that we're throwing out there and we haven't
won anything fair. That's that's how baseball is so unfair
in how you go to the short seven game series
and you decide who the best is. But when you
have two of the best starters in baseball, shouldn't you
have had something? I continue to just be amazed by amazed.
(28:10):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Doug Gottlieb
Show weekdays at three p m. Eastern noon Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app. When
I hear Darryl Morey talk about his passion for chasing
the Warriors, I love it. I love the idea of, hey,
we're just gonna work, We're going they're the best. We
all admit they're the best, and we have the passion
(28:32):
to catch them and pass them. But there is something
missing with him kind of calling out other teams coming
so close to beating them. Where would you say the
obsession level is right now? I'd say, tam. I mean
I don't understand. I don't understand the teams that aren't
obsessedivating the So when the championship you have to beat
(28:56):
the Warriors, every team should be figuring out how to
beat the Warriors, So that that's all we work on.
And obviously there's other very good, the great teams in
this league, but you know, the Warriors are likely on
the winning three out of the last four chair the title.
So you know we're gonna have to load it up
and knock him off next year. Hopefully, Um, he doesn't
(29:19):
understand it because he's you know what this is. This
is this will happen for the NBA Draft where they'll
be they'll be front office executives will say like, hey,
look if I had the number one pick, you know
what I would do? Like we you don't. You're talking
you're talking about a scenario to which is it impossible
(29:40):
to recreate scenario because you you are not in that position. Well,
we would have taken step Curry number one. Overall, Like, dude,
you're drafting, you have hindsight? Is great that that's kind
of like the opposite of what the Rockets have, which
is the Rockets have Jane is hardened. Once they pull
(30:02):
off the James Hardened trade and started to slowly create
this franchise around what he did best. Once that happened,
you can't compete, you know, like I can't. I can't
believe that more teams aren't. Of course, other teams want
to beat the Warriors, but you know, we gotta do first. First,
(30:23):
we gotta try and win thirty games than forty games.
We got salaries to worry about, we got seats to fill.
I would guess that a lot of these teams, in
their heart of hearts, in their heart of hearts, are
super passionate about winning a title. But you can't win
(30:46):
a title until you can just win enough games to
get the playoffs. And once you get to the playoffs,
you gotta win. You gotta win a playoff series. You
gotta get the coach right, you gotta get the salaries right,
you gotta get teams that There's just so many different
issue shoes, like wow, you know what I would do,
which is that's great, that's great. That's like when you
(31:07):
go in and you know, we're renting a house, looking
to buy a house, and you you go in with
a with a real or like wow, you know what
I would do here is I would just strip that down.
I would clear out the backyard. I would build a
pool right there. And then I do this and I'm like, okay, cool,
where's the money? Trees there's the money tree here that
I'm not aware of. Wow, you know, I just was said, oh,
you're listen, You're not wrong. He's not wrong what he's saying.
(31:31):
But like the Sacument of Kings, like do we can't
even worry about the Golden State Warriors. We were a
laughing stock of the league. Still, let's just get to
where people respect us first. You know, the Utah Jazz, like, oh,
Utah Jazz, they should be passionate about chasing the Warriors.
Who will you know? Sure? But like, look, we just
lost our best player to free agency last year. We
(31:53):
made a big mid season trade, like we have a
top rookie. Let's just continue to get better and grow.
So I'm not saying I'm not calling out Darryl Mourray.
I love that passion. I love that goal. That would
be like me giving a goal to my daughter and saying, like, hey,
(32:13):
you should go get straight a's Like Dad, I'm a
CEE student. You know I missed a month because I
had motto. I just can't It's physically impossible. And the
only reason I gave her that goal was because she's
this close. All right, I said, how much of your
(32:34):
grade is on this last history project. Get an A
on it. You got an A in the in the
in the semester, your three percentage points away. I don't
know how the math works, but ten percent seems like
a lot. Get above and you're good. Fox Sports Radio
has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch
all of our shows at Fox sports radio dot com
(32:54):
and within the I Heart Radio app. He's the one
and only Chris Bruce Hard how likely already have a
competitive game tonight when I picked Golden State in five
to begin the series, and I think tonight will be
the night Cleveland gets it. If they lose tonight, I
think most of us believe they'll get swept, despite what
happened last year when they won Game four. But um,
(33:18):
you know Cleveland. I think, look, I'm trying to read
body language and demeanor and all that. It looked to
me like Lebron James was finally out of the funk
that he was in for. It looked like over time
of Game one and maybe all of Game two. So
(33:38):
I think now he's kind of back to himself, and uh,
I expect a huge game from him. I expect the
role players to play better, maybe even a little bit
of expectation that Golden State could be complacent, although gett
Nick with dollar back properly, you know it's good for
them and could keep them out of that. But I
think Cleveland tonight should be their night. I don't know
(34:00):
if this tonight they win, but I think it's gonna
be a war. Wind's surprise me now if they win,
I think this is gonna be a war, super physical.
I do expect Cleveland to make some of the shots
that they missed, and and they had really really good
looks even though I liked I like Golden States adjustments
from Game one to to to UH to Game two. Um,
what about what was your pick going into the series? Yeah?
(34:23):
I did? What did I did? I did I say
Golden State in five? I think I might have said
in six I think I did say. It's like, look,
I don't think Golden State is great and they're not healthy,
and I think Cleveland does have the right mixture of veterans, physicality,
lebron and three point shooting, to which if you can
get it at your pace, you can beat them. Um,
(34:45):
you can beat them two times in six. I just
don't think they can beat them four times in in seven. Um,
what what are your thoughts on the lineup changes? I mean,
you know, it looks like Cleveland is now going make
some some fairly drastic lineup changes. Is that's what's gonna
sell some stuff? Well, I mean the one that that
(35:09):
Tyler announced first was Rodney Hood. I don't think he
should have uh announced that. I think you just do it, right.
I mean, when Brad Stevens uh stopped playing who was
the rookie he was playing that Corver was matched up with,
he didn't announce it. He just did it and it
through it through Tyer Lewis. Yeah yeah, yeah, so um,
(35:33):
I think that would have been smarter not to announce it,
just do it. Um. I think you'll see more of Corver.
You know, we haven't seen a ton of him in
the first two games. And obviously people they look at
the defense and he's not a great defender. But Corver
was actually a pretty good defender. I thought he did
a pretty decent job on Jaylen Brown in the last
(35:55):
few games of that series against Boston man as as
good as he could do. Here. The problem is with
this series is like who do you put him on? Right? Like,
I guess you put him on you know, you put
him on the fifth guy. If Igodolla plays your guard,
you haveod guard Igodala or I mean, I don't know
if at times you can put him on Draymond. The
(36:15):
problem is that's where Lebron is. So Lebron can help, right,
You're you're doing that to protect Lebron, and so Lebron
can rest on defense. And that if you move him
to one of those positions, now you've got now like, now,
who does Tristan guard? Now? Who? Just like it becomes
a bit of a house of cards into uh, when
you move him around something else becomes a really bad
matchup for him. It's like the It's like the you're
(36:38):
trying to stop up the holes, but the water just
goes elsewhere. But this is who you are, and you know,
I think you gotta go with who you are. Look,
a big key is ken Lebron control tempo? And I
think the answer to that is a resounding yes. I
saw it in Game one. He controlled tempo. That's one
thing he can do that I don't think any other
(36:59):
player in the league can really do like him. And
so if he can control the temple or make it slower,
fewer possessions and have a huge night offensively, and then
you get some contributions from some other guys, then maybe
you make it a game and even can win. One
of the good things, of course, for Cleveland is that
Kevin Love offensively has played well, uh and obviously rebounded
(37:22):
the basketball. So if he you gotta have him keep
up his level of play to really have a good chance.
That's the voice of Christoper Sorry joined us in the
Doug Gottlip Show on Fox Sports Radio. Uh. Stephen A.
Smith said that that Lebron will have a conversation with
the Golden State Warriors. My takeaway has been this, Chris,
(37:42):
is that I don't think that that that Lebron's team
loves his options, and that's why they're throwing out Boston
in San Antonio and floating Golden State knowing none of
those make actual sense. But whatever does happen, it creates
better leverage for Lebron in terms of the terms of
the deal and how much control he gets in who's
(38:04):
around him and who gets to travel with him. Is
it because it's not reasonable to think he would he
would even have a legit conversation with Golden State? Is it?
I think he would just hear them out if they
wanted to meet with him. I don't think he would
seek them out and say, look, you're one of the
teams I want to consider, Like if he was going
to release a list of five or whatever, I don't
(38:25):
think they would be on his list. But if they
want to have a discussion, they want to have a conversation.
Remember Rich Paul is agent, as all agents, they have
players on different teams, so they're talking to all these guys. Um,
if they want to have a discussion, I think Lebron
would just listen to them out of respect for who
they are. Um Boston, you know, and talking to people
(38:49):
around Lebron. I mean I've heard the names of Golden
State in Boston just throughout the year. Not that they
would necessarily go there, but that they'll have a conversation.
Boston would be dressing because it would almost necessitate you
trade in Kyrie Irving, you know, because obviously he doesn't
want to play with Lebron. Um. And remember Kyrie could
(39:12):
be a free agent after next season, and Boston was
not on his original team list of teams he wanted
to go to out of Cleveland. So I think Boston
has to have a conversation with Kyrie anyway and see
are you committed to us long term? And if not,
they may have to move him regardless. But to answer
your question, I don't think it's about leverage, because I
(39:34):
mean Lebron wants the max wherever he goes. Um, I
don't think he's gonna try to pull the you know
console and so travel us on this team will let
him traveling all that. You know, you look at look
at the goal. Um, I'm sorry Philadelphia. Now, whether or not,
we'll see what happens with Brian Colangelo. But Rich Paul
(39:55):
is close with In addition to being close with Colangelo,
he's close with the owners and Philadelphia. And so if
I mean, they could be in a position to maybe
even handpick the next GM there if Colangelo takes bites
to dust. So, um, they have a lot of options.
But I do not put much stock in the Golden
(40:18):
State or even Boston scenario just because those teams, you know,
they got a lot of good going and if you
bring Lebron in it changes everything. You still be great, obviously,
but it certainly changes everything. Did you say san Antonio
yesterday made the most sense? Now? I well, I have said,
you know, early in the season, San Antonio was my team.
(40:41):
Now I've never thought Lebron would go there, just because
I don't think he'll go to US. I think he
wants a glamorous city or a big market. Uh, unless
it's Cleveland, so it's got to be a Miami was glamorous,
not that big, but glamorous. I just don't see him
going to the town. I don't of San Antonio. But
(41:02):
from a basketball standpoint, I think that would make great sense.
In fact, if he went to San Antonio and they
kept Kauai, I would put them right there with Golden
State to win, to win the whole thing, I think
they'd be that good. Um. But assuming he won't go
to that town, then I think Philly makes the most sense.
If he wants to play off the ball, which is
(41:23):
what I've been told. Uh, he does want to play
off the basketball. Well, I've been told because when when
Philadelphia came up, I said, that doesn't I don't want
him taking the ball out of Bens in his hands.
And uh, some people close to Lebron told me, if
Lebrin has that type of playmaker who can make plays
for his teammates he would want to play off the ball. Um.
(41:47):
He They say he's never done it because he's never
had that type of teammate. You know, Kyrie Irving and
Dwyane Wade, as great as they were, they tended to
make plays more for themselves then for their teammates. So
Ben Simmons obviously is a playmaker. And so I've been
told Lebrown will willingly play off the ball. Look, and
you know, Doug, you've seen him moore more this year,
(42:10):
you know, in the elbows, in the post, you know,
moving without the ball. So he can do it. He's
doing it a little bit more, um, and it makes
it easier for him in his in his declining years
if he would do that and take some of that
that heat off of the handling the ball all the time.
He I mean, that's one of those deals where it
(42:30):
sounds good. No, no, I'll play off the ball and
then easier said than done. A lot of these. You're right,
I mean he's been he's been playing. You can't even
say he's been playing this way for fifteen years. It's
his entire life. You know, the four years of high
school he played the same way, and probably before that
so I get it, but I do think it could work.
(42:53):
I think he could play off the ball. His jumper
obviously has gotten a lot better, and I just think
he would you know, it would just make it so
much easier. And then you know, there might be times
where he would handle the bull there certainly would and
Ben Simmons has shown, you know, at times he was
off the ball in Philadelphia. He could do it here
(43:13):
and there. But whereas now Lebrin brings it up what
sixty seventy percent at the time in Philly, I would
want it to be more like tendent at the time,
you know. So we'll see if he can, you know,
make that adjustment. But um, it's gonna be an interest
in summer this I think this summer more than any
(43:36):
at least since in you know, you had a few
different Chicago was in the mix, obviously, Miami, Um, you know,
New York was into there were a few other teams
in the mix. Um, buten you kind of knew he
was either staying in Miami or going to Cleveland. Um,
(43:58):
this year, I think it's going to be it's gonna
be interesting because you could see him in a lot
of different places and um, so it's gonna be something
to keep an eye on for Surett Show Fox Sports Trader.
That's the voice of Chris Bruce Sard who joined us.
What about Golden State, I felt like Durant looked back,
(44:19):
look look more like Kevin Durant last game. Um, but
this could be an interesting offseason for them. Do they
simply rework their bench? What do you think they look
like next year? I think they have to make some
tweets because I think boredom is their biggest opponent right now.
This year it was tough. I mean, you know, that's
(44:39):
why Steve Kerr had Andre Goodoalin. I think Draymond drawn
up plays and coaching at times just to you know,
break up the monotony. And I think it's even can
be tougher to come back year after year after year
when you're winning. You know, when you think about those
Lakers and Celtics teams in the eighties, they weren't winning
(45:01):
it every year. You know, for the first part of
the decade, nobody repeated. You know, it was the Lakers
for the first time in like eighteen years. They repeated
in eighty seven and eight eight. But you know, so
when you're losing every other year or every three years.
You know, you've got that natural motivation to come back
and try to win a championship. But when you win,
(45:25):
you know, this would be three and four years for
the Warriors. Um, you know Jordan Afty won three, he
took a break and then won three more and then
retired for the second time. So I think they are
going to have to mix it up a little. I
don't mess with the core four obviously, but I think
the bench is where you try to bring in some
(45:45):
other guys, maybe one of those center positions, if you
you know, you you get rid of some of those
centers you have and bring in a different big man.
But I think they they're gonna have to make a
few tweaks just to bring in some degree of freshness
to the situation so that you know they're motivated. Completely
agree with you. Great stuff Chris on TV today and
(46:06):
of course joining us on ready to Chris Brusar check
him out, uh tomorrow after this show, So total recap
of what you saw and how it could change the landscape.
Chris Broussard and Rob Parker tomorrow at six and of
course every Sunday at six pm. Eastern time, Chris, thanks
so much for joining us enjoin the game. Thanks that
This is the best of the Doug Gottlieb Show on
Fox Sports Radio. Boom Up America, Doug Gottlieb Show, Fox
Sports Radio. I hope you're having a great day, great day,
getting you ready for the NBA Finals. He little day Baseball,
Dan Buyer Top half past the hour will give us
all the scores, as I believe the Indians and just
(00:24):
plated another run. But a little add on baseball in
Cleveland taken on Buyer's Brewers Raise and NAT's other day
baseball games. We'll keep you updated here. We watch all sports.
I'm like the only human on earth that is super
fired up for June because it's Portugal Spain. It's like
(00:45):
the second day of the World Cup, and people like, dude,
America is not in it. Like, look, we weren't gonna
win it anyway. I hate to hate, to hate to
be the bearer of bad tidings. We weren't gonna win anyway.
This is like my team didn't get the n c
A tournament. Don't worry. You weren't gonna win the n
c A tournament anyone. Portugal Spain, that's a rivalry now
big time anyway, that's younift and of course we have
(01:08):
the NBA Finals tonight, to which I don't believe the
series is over yet yet. Can we talk about Lebron
and the wandering eye of Lebron with teams and industry
executives telling people that Lebron's coming to l a Sure
(01:30):
or Adrian war Janowski is saying, hey, end of the season,
Lebron Paul George have to have a conversation about l
a Sure. We can talk about those things, but those
things don't happen until the series is over. And it's
not over. How do I know? Well? I did see
Cleveland fall behind two games done to the Boston Celtics
(01:50):
to night that that happened? How long will that happen?
Two weeks ago? Right? J R. Smith couldn't make a
shot in Boston they he did at home? The Boston
Celtics seemed incredibly dominant and then all of a sudden
seemed feeble in comparison. Right, this did that? Did happen?
(02:12):
That was my life? I'm I'm not remembering misremembering things
like Brian Williams or complating stories. Now that just happened.
This series isn't over. Look, we're gonna talk about Lebron
James response to the reaction of the video from Game one.
Upcoming in the show we Are, Matt Moore is gonna
(02:33):
join us from the Action Network. He he does a
great job covering. We'll ask him if he thinks this
series is over. But you know when things are over, right,
Like you can feel when things are over between couples.
It's just a feeling you have. And I'm not talking
(02:53):
about the feeling you have when they they've both filed
for divorce, Like, yeah, obviously she's dating other dudes, he's
done dating other girls. It's over. But there's sometimes a
there's sometimes a an element to like, you know, when
people are fired when they're not on the email chain, right,
(03:16):
when they stop being asked to show up for meetings.
When I'm not in a plan Why am I not
in a planning meeting? You guys didn't like we're doing
a planning meeting for the fall. You didn't include me?
Oh oh yeah, oh yeah you can, yeah, come on in,
share your ideas. It's great. Right, you know that it's
it's over. They bring in somebody who makes less money
(03:40):
than you, younger than you. They give him all of
your clients and They're like, no, no, you're good. Ah,
take the day off, you know what, Take the week off.
I know we had big planning meetings next week. Just
take that week off too. It's over. He just didn't
know it's over. Some people feel that way about the series.
I don't do you know how you know when it's
(04:01):
over In sports ramas you want to take guess I
was trying to say, with the fat ladies things, but
that's over baseball. It is not over to the fat
ladies thing. Um. I think when the home team loses
at home, yes, which is the the ultimate uh uh
(04:23):
not miss misconception, or it's the opposite of what people
of the of the cliche expression about NBA playoffs, which
is when the series doesn't begin to the road team
wins a game. Actually the series ends if the road
team wins a game. In this series, right, the series
(04:44):
isn't over until the Calves try and start fights, which
the kindest sort of tinkered with the idea of doing
in game one. Right, there's a little bit of that.
Tristan Thompson, don't take a jump shot at the end
of game Like what is what is Sean Livingston supposed
to do? And then Lebron doesn't like that Steph Curry
(05:05):
was was chattering with him. And then there was the
Kendrick Perkins who clearly sticking out his legs even if
he didn't clip Steph Curry Like, look, Steph Curry, pretty
sensitive about somebody coming down underneath him when he jumps.
You wouldn't do it. You wouldn't want anybody underneath Lebron
when he jumps and falls into the bench. Would you
neither do Steph Curry. Let's just be kind of honest
about it. But when when you bring in the goons
(05:29):
and you try and start a fight, that's when the
series is over. That's when we got him, which, by
the way, is was the bait that was taken by
the Warriors going back two years ago. Remember Draymond Green.
Draymond Green. All they were trying to do was get
(05:49):
Draymond Green to fight, to take a to take a swipe,
to do something, to get guys to square off, and
they got Draymond Green suspended and it gave them new life.
I think the Warriors are smarter now, I really do.
And I think the Warriors if Andrea Goodala plays, they're
in much better position even then when they're up three
(06:11):
games to one, up two games to none, but you
know the series is over. You know Cleveland is without
a chance if they start trying to start a fight.
We saw it with the Seahawks this year. Remember that
Seahawks go to the Jaguars and Jaguars are just kicking
their ass up and down the field. What the Seahawks
trying to start a fight? It's what all teams that
(06:32):
are washed that are done. That's when it's over. Detroit
Pistons when they were beaten by the Chicago Bulls, they
tried to start fights and then they walked off the
court before walked off the bench, before the buzzer had expired,
it was over. That's how you know this thing is over.
(06:53):
I actually think that the Calves had some quid in them,
going back to Game seven with the Celtics down twelve
in the second quarter. Had the Celtics taken better shots
gotten that thing up to twenty points, this Calves team
would have quit. But what are the Calves gonna try
and do. They're gonna try and play Rodney Hood, play
Setti Usman, play some other dudes, and they're gonna try
(07:16):
and punk the warriors tonight, push them mallem foul um.
Make the officials call a million fouls to which they
won't call. They won't call half of them. That's the
way it goes. And once they start trying to square off,
once the cheap shots start, that's being like, you know
what this thing is over, it's a wrap. Don't buy
(07:36):
green bananas. We can start planning for free agency in
your work life once you stay, start getting cut out
of of planning meetings, once you get reassigned, you know,
once people start to get your duties and they start
(07:59):
to figure out, it's it's a lot like when you
get old. Like, once they start talking about you in
front of you, what are you gonna do with pop?
We got people coming over, What do you wanna do
with pop? Somebody want to take them somewhere. I don't,
ye know, it's always uncomfortable, and your dad's like, I'm
right here, yeah, I know, you are sort of right.
(08:20):
Once they start talking about you in front of you,
So it's over. Once it's a fight starts, or they
try and start a fight. You know. The Warriors got him,
got him, And the only hope for Cleveland is that
the Warriors are spawned by throwing blows so that suspensions come,
so it reinvigorates him. I think we have a series,
(08:43):
but I will know this series is over if the
Calves start trying to start fights. Tonight, Stuck got the
show Fox Sports Radio. The Road ahead is bound to
take some unexpected turns. Farmer's Insurance can help you understand
your coverage options with our practical knowledge game more than
ninety years of experience, we know a thing or two
because we've seen a thing or two. Who find a
jette Farmers dot com. I have so much, I have
(09:06):
so much to discuss um stephen A Smith taking the
bait on Lebron James's camp, and Matt Morris gonna join
his Lupe coming next. Steven A said on First Take
that Lebron James is going to have a conversation with
the Golden State Warriors this offseason. All right, Listen, Lebron
(09:32):
is not going to the Warriors, He's not going to
the Spurs. And stephen A is not misreporting something because
he is reporting what he was told from Lebrons people.
In our business, it's no different than Lebronze business, and
(09:53):
it's no different than your business. The only power you have.
And you know it's Look, we do these true car rds, right,
the true car They understand what the power is is
leverage is power and knowing what other people make, Knowing
(10:14):
what other people paid for something, knowing what the comps are,
knowing what the market is. That's one powerful thing. And
having options is a powerful thing. Now they have to
be options that you would actually explore. You can't go
into your boss and go like, hey man, I'm gonna
(10:36):
go work across the street. Let's you give me a race,
because your boss sits there and looks out his window
and says like they got a going out of business
sign in their front window. Got ahead. You can't walk
into a car dealership and say, you know, I'm gonna
pay six thousand below invoice price for this car like okay.
(11:01):
Stephen A reporting what Lebron's camp told him is simply
another sign that Lebron doesn't think their camp doesn't think
they have great options and the options that they do, like,
they don't have great power in those options. They don't
have great power in those options. And what do I
(11:23):
mean by power? Right? Like Lebron James can say, hey,
I didn't like that they fired the GM David Griffin.
I didn't like that they fired Kyrie Irving. It should
be pointed out he didn't try and save either of
those two. He has his hands on, hands off approach.
Something happens, he'd like I had nothing to do with it.
(11:45):
Something happens, he likes I had all to do with it.
My guess is Lebron really doesn't want to stay in
Cleveland because he looks around and he's like, this is
as good as it gets. I'm working with people who
are not as good as me. We're always going to fight,
uh fight the good fight. The East is getting better
(12:06):
and we're not Would I go to Philadelphia? Sure, it's
not perfect though, Ben Simmons needs the ball and can't shoot.
A bunch of young guys and I'm and no one thinks,
No one knows that Joel Embie can stay healthy. That
team is not that Clube, not not a Lebron James
away from being a super team. Can I go to
l A. Yeah, I gotta get Paul George And then
(12:28):
I got a bunch of guys that have never won before,
and I got to expect them to compete against the
Warriors and the Rockets and whoever else is challenging us.
And oh yeah, by the way, the problem with l
A is I couldn't get Fitsdale to be my coach.
Let me playing for somebody that I'm not sure I
want to play for, and the power structure of that.
I have an agent who we'd be working for another
(12:51):
guy who's a former agent. Like, there's just not great options.
So what do you do if you don't have great options?
In you create leverage? Maybe the Spurs, Spurs don't make
any sense Spurs or check your ego at the door.
Agent can't be around boys, can't travel on the team plane,
gotta move the basketball. It doesn't fit. Jon Murray's their
(13:13):
point guard. He can't shoot mismatched parts for the way
Lebron plays. No thanks, he could do Portland's that makes
sense in terms of having shooters. But you're gonna be
in Portland Golden State, Uh, super super super team. Yeah,
but they got a dust off Clay they got rid
(13:34):
of gotta get rid of Draymond. Like that ain't happening.
But you create this leverage. You only do so because
you don't like the options you have and you're trying
to improve those options. Be sure to catch live editions
of The Doug gott Leaps Show weekdays at three pm
Eastern noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the I
Heart Radio app. Let's welcome to a guy who's awesome
in his job. Saves. Matt Moore, works for the Action Network,
(13:58):
joined us as we get ready for a Game three
NBA Finals. Matt, I'll start because I don't know if
you're listening to me earlier when I said, look, I
don't think the series is over. We saw, you know,
Boston looked dominant in games won in games two, and
I know Golden State's not not not Boston, but you know,
I feel like it's gonna be one of those super
(14:19):
physical games. And you still have Lebron James, you have
some lineup changes. You have guys like Kevin Love that
normally makes shots they've been missing. I don't think the
series is over. The way you know it's over is
if Cleveland starts to start cheap shotting and starting a fight.
What are your thoughts on if this series is done
and buried. I think it's a lot of going into
(14:42):
this game. I'm with you on some of this. I
think that you know role players are gonna shoot better
at home, and it's not just that the role players
are gonna shoot better, but if that happens, then the
Warriors are taking the ball out of the out of
the back, and that's happening. The Cows can get back
on defense and set their defense, which is bad but
not as terrible as their transition defense, and that's been
really what hurt them, as when the Warriors are pushing
(15:02):
the pace, there's just not a whole lot of Cavaliers
can do to stop them. They're getting easy buckets and
transition throwing outlet passes and then getting step in the
open floor. So if you're able to get in front
of them, they at least have a better chance of
slowing them down. You've got Lebron James on your side,
you get a little bit of contribution from j R.
Smith's or Jeff Green or really anybody at this point,
(15:23):
and you're probably within range, given how Golden State has
not been unstoppable. So I agree with the problem. I
think is if we look back to last year in
games where he was really close and Katie hit that
game winner, uh to win that game, but it's the
Cavaliers did have a chance except that was a much
better Warriors team and then this one. But it was
also much better Calves team than this one. And that
I think is a concern is somebody for Cleveland is
(15:44):
going to have to step up, whether that's George Hill
or Jeff Green or I guess j R. Smith, and
they're gonna have to really deliver to I otherwise the
Cavs are gonna be out three. Oh. It's a great
point you make that that let's not let it get
get We all know, no, Kyrie, it's a different and
not as as town. There's only one shot creator on
this team for the for the Cavaliers. But the important
(16:06):
point that you made that so few are willing to
accept is this Warrior's team is not as good as
the previous incarnations of it. How much how much do
you think that changes this offseason? I think that it's
gonna be very interesting to see what happens. I wrote
a big thing on I actually that work about how
the vibe with Kevin Durant and weird. There's still no
expectation around the team, around the league, or on anybody
(16:28):
that he's gonna leave. It's just been a weird kind
of dynamic and maybe it's something they can work through
next year. I mean, the Warriors are pretty adamant that,
well Steph was injured and so they didn't have the
chemistry and all the switches and this, and there's like
a lot of conversations about that there's something that's weird
up with the chemistry, but it's not something that they
can't get through. I think the bigger concerns are, Look,
David West is not playable at this point. Patrick McCaw
(16:50):
has fallen off hard even even before his injury. Sean
Limoston is gonna have another year on him, Andrea Goodala
is gonna have another year on him. The bench is
gonna get worse and worse, and it's gonna get harder
and harder if they have any sort of flipops with
the starting units. They no longer have guys that kind
of bail them out, so what they do the summer
will be interesting. Jordan Bell showing some stuff. Kevin kavan
Looney has been really good in these playoffs. They have
(17:12):
some bigs. They're doing pretty well. Where a team that
defines itself by its small ball, you know, if Bigo
Dolla slides anymore, and Livingston slides anymore, they're in real
trouble in terms of balancing out the rest of it.
They'll still be the favorites by a wide margin, but
they are going to have to figure out some inventive
ways to kind of repool around that core. For Yeah,
I I agree with you. Um I look, I I
(17:33):
think the role players have just have to be They
have to have a better bench. And some of it
is the young guys will get better and the old
guys have proven to be over the hill. But some
of it is also they made some bad choices and
they're gonna have to and they chose not to make
any late editions. You know, No Joe Johnson's of the
world out there, and so they don't have a ton
(17:54):
of help coming off the bench. Doug got the show
Fox Sports Radio. Um, okay, let's let's let's get to
you. You You pointed out j R. Smith they gonna play
Rodney Hood more tonight. Do you think he wasn't playing
because he refused to go in? Do you think why
do you think they weren't using him up until this point?
Basically the story you know he's talking about is who
(18:15):
has been pretty shook. Um he just for whatever reason.
You know, he's a guy that that deals with I think,
with a lot of anxiety about the games, and that
he quite simply wasn't ready for that particular instance. But
that wasn't a one off, that wasn't an outlier, that
wasn't a weird instance. There are real concerns about whether
the phrasing has been if he's ready for this moment,
and there's a lot of feeling that perhaps he's not.
(18:38):
But he's gonna have to be because j R. Smith
has been an absolute abomination in this series and everyone
points to the gap at the end of Game one.
His problems go way beyond that, and that's reflected in
shooting numbers, or in the plus blindness or even just
watching him, you know, doing any sort of review of
the game. He's the one that's getting exploit defensively. He's
the one that's missing assignments. He's the one that's missing
(19:00):
key shots. J R. Smith's been really bad, and they
need Hood to be good. Clarson does not have the
decision making and give them what they need. They need
somebody who can come out and make shots, spread the
floor and play defense. Hood is the perfect remedy for
a lot of their problems, but there's just not a
lot of confidence that he's going to be ready mentally
for how much pressure there is in this momentum. What's
(19:21):
your what's your assessment of the video after the game
one Gas, It was stunning when I saw it. I
mean it was it was just it was really shocking
to see kind of that human emotion pour out in
that way. Um, and I'm sure the cows would much
preferred that didn't get out. I don't just look at
(19:44):
it in that moment, though, I look at Lebron's presser
afterward where he was so short with marsh Howartz, even
though we can debate about the question there. I thought
it was fine. I understand some people don't. But then
his demeanor in game two, his demeanor after game to
his demeanor yesterday at practice, Like what Braun is is
in a pretty dark place right now, and that's pretty evident.
(20:05):
He's doing everything he can to battle, but it is
very much in front of him how much he is
up against and how a little chance he has, even
despite the fact of just making the finals, so having
gone done everything that he did and gotten so closed
and dealt with the frustrating calls that set them on tilt,
and then that instance it just poured out. And for
(20:26):
a guy that that has dealt with so much adversity,
he really let it get to him. I think the
team let it get to them, and that's why they
unraveled in that overtime. They really went on tilt completely
because they had such a great chance. And then Jr.
Of course, at that moment. Does it make you have
any less respect for Lebron how he handled that moment
in that moment, No, just because I don't want to
(20:47):
havever judge anybody on an individual moments um and I
don't you know, but that's what we do that. But
that's what we do, right, like your your judge like
fair unfair, like we judge. How you handle adversity in
the moment is what defines you, isn't it. I think
if he had gone out in that overtime and had
(21:08):
looked off j R. Then that's one thing where we
come out in Game two and looked off JR. But
he didn't. He came out and just played. He reacted
in his own emotional moments. He had that moment, he
moved past it, and just because we happened to capture that.
I'm not in a position to lose, lose respect for
and based off that. Okay. Um stephen A on his
(21:30):
show today said that Lebron will have a conversation with
the Golden State Warriors. When I hear Warriors Celtics Spurs,
I think Kyrie just left that. No thanks, san Antonio,
check your ego at the door. Not happening, Golden State. No, no,
we're all set. Everybody's chasing us. I I hear Maverick,
(21:54):
I hear some desperation from Maverick Carter in that camp.
That's what they're trying to get some sort of leverage
wherever they do want to go or if they do
want to stay. And that's the only reason you float
these completely unlikely scenarios. What's your reaction when you hear
Golden State. I didn't Golden State because of their ownership
(22:14):
group is always changing every opportunity, but there's never gonna
be a situation where that's gonna work. I'm with you
on that, I'm with you on Boston, I'm with you
on san Antonio to a Warters degree, I think, san Antonio,
that might actually be an opening there. Um, I think, really,
what we're looking at is a fact, and this has
kind of been a growing sentiment around the league. Row
doesn't have any good options. He just doesn't. He doesn't.
(22:36):
He don't have any great options. You don't have any
great like Lakers are a good it's still the Lakers.
You can get a start that you can pick. Maybe
you can also get Kauai if they want to move
a bunch pieces to get Kauai. But it's not a
great option. It's not Hey dialed in right and they're
just Philadelphia is a good option, but it's still Philadelphia.
Those guys are still really young. Nobody knows if and
(22:57):
Bead's gonna stay healthy, if Ben Simmons can play without
the ball or ever learn to shoot like it's a
good Staying in Cleveland is a good option because they've
shown they'll spend whatever money and find a way to
put some sort of team around him to which he
can be competitive. Those are good. I would I would
only I would only come back at you say those
are good. There just is no home run options. Yeah,
(23:18):
I mean I did. It's fine to say that. Look
anywhere that has Lebron is a good option. You're gonna
compete because you have Lebron, But what he's looking for
is what he chased his whole whole career, which is
the place that he wants to be, the city that
he wants to live in, whether it was Miami or Cleveland.
The chance that compete for championships, a great team around
him and the most money and making all those things
(23:39):
work is very difficult. Houston is the only one that
might be able to provide something comparable, and there's no
there's no way of knowing how he feels about the city,
or how he feels about the dynamic of playing with
Harden and Paul. All of those things I think are liquids.
So that's why there's kind of growing feeling that he
might return to Cleveland tymically, because there's nowhere that you
go and you go there that that's that home run,
(24:01):
that's that great option, that's that good place, that's that's
the place that he's clearly got to be. And a
lot of that I think goes back to the bar
that the Warrior set and how that changes the dynamic.
I encourage all of our listeners to follow Matt on Twitter,
go to at HP Basketball. We just work at the
Action Network it's it's great Matt Moore. Matt, thanks so
much for joining us. Enjoy the games tonight. We'll talk
(24:21):
to you soon. Pleasures mind. Matt Moore does a super job.
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.
I was just blown away when I watched what uh
(24:41):
Max Scherzer did. I mean he was. He continues to
be spectacular. Here's Max Sure. We talked about this a
little bit yesterday. A little bit yesterday that um sure.
And you know right now that the Nationals are up
tended to anyway, but that Shuser is a first ballot
Hall of Famer first ballot. You know, he's won two
(25:06):
National League Cy Young's I believe, and he's won one
in the American League. Like it ain't close. He had
thirteen strikeouts in eight innings, gave up standard five hits,
didn't throw a hundred pitches. Usually when you're a high
strikeout guy, high pitch count. Now he actually had one
inning in which he threw nine pitches and struck out
three players. Who does that? Max Suser does so? At
(25:28):
first my my tweet last night was Max Scherzer is
one of the few guys who is actually worth the money.
You know, so many times guys get money like no way,
he ain't worth it, and he actually is. And then
I started to think about he was on the Detroit Tigers,
and I'm gonna say the year is two thousand thirteen. Right,
(25:52):
So the two thousand thirteen Detroit Tigers had Prince Fielder
was still healthy, only twenty nine years old, Miguel Cabrera
was thirty hit forty four home runs, had a hundred
and thirty seven RBI. They had Justin Verlander, they had
Max Scherzer. Remember, out of all Sanchez, I'm not sure
if that's the year he threw that what should have
(26:13):
been a perfect game. It wasn't a perfect game. Doug
Fister good solid starter. But I look back and I'm like,
that team didn't win a World Series, didn't win a
hundred games, didn't win a World Series, and Jim Leland's
their manager. Now you can say whatever you want, like
Jim Leland is what one in in my one in
Florida one with Pittsburgh Pirates, right, long time old time
(26:35):
baseball dude manager. So you had Dave Dombrowski. You had
Jim Leland, you had Justin Verlander and Max Scherz or
in in their primes, and you had Prince Fielder, and
you had Carlos Cabrera and you didn't win anything. That
team is to baseball what essentially the Thunder with James Harden,
(27:00):
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are to basketball. It's the
what could have been team, isn't it? Think about that
right now? If you have a roster with Justin verlanderd
and and Max Scherzer, like all you've ever needed in
baseball is two great starters, somebody in the back end
(27:22):
of the bullpen, which is I know, ultimately the flaw
of that team, and don't you need a big batter two?
And you had it? Like it's sheer craziness to me
that that team didn't win anything. And I know the
Thunder got to the finals and probably got to the
finals a little bit too soon, But isn't that the
Detroit Tigers. I watched Max Scherzer and see his utter
(27:44):
insured dominance, and you look, Nationals fans can say the
same thing, like, look, dude, look at the guys that
we have that we're throwing out there and we haven't
won anything fair. That's that's how baseball is so unfair
in how you go to the short seven game series
and you decide who the best is. But when you
have two of the best starters in baseball, shouldn't you
have had something? I continue to just be amazed by amazed.
(28:10):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Doug Gottlieb
Show weekdays at three p m. Eastern noon Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app. When
I hear Darryl Morey talk about his passion for chasing
the Warriors, I love it. I love the idea of, hey,
we're just gonna work, We're going they're the best. We
all admit they're the best, and we have the passion
(28:32):
to catch them and pass them. But there is something
missing with him kind of calling out other teams coming
so close to beating them. Where would you say the
obsession level is right now? I'd say, tam. I mean
I don't understand. I don't understand the teams that aren't
obsessedivating the So when the championship you have to beat
(28:56):
the Warriors, every team should be figuring out how to
beat the Warriors, So that that's all we work on.
And obviously there's other very good, the great teams in
this league, but you know, the Warriors are likely on
the winning three out of the last four chair the title.
So you know we're gonna have to load it up
and knock him off next year. Hopefully, Um, he doesn't
(29:19):
understand it because he's you know what this is. This
is this will happen for the NBA Draft where they'll
be they'll be front office executives will say like, hey,
look if I had the number one pick, you know
what I would do? Like we you don't. You're talking
you're talking about a scenario to which is it impossible
(29:40):
to recreate scenario because you you are not in that position. Well,
we would have taken step Curry number one. Overall, Like, dude,
you're drafting, you have hindsight? Is great that that's kind
of like the opposite of what the Rockets have, which
is the Rockets have Jane is hardened. Once they pull
(30:02):
off the James Hardened trade and started to slowly create
this franchise around what he did best. Once that happened,
you can't compete, you know, like I can't. I can't
believe that more teams aren't. Of course, other teams want
to beat the Warriors, but you know, we gotta do first. First,
(30:23):
we gotta try and win thirty games than forty games.
We got salaries to worry about, we got seats to fill.
I would guess that a lot of these teams, in
their heart of hearts, in their heart of hearts, are
super passionate about winning a title. But you can't win
(30:46):
a title until you can just win enough games to
get the playoffs. And once you get to the playoffs,
you gotta win. You gotta win a playoff series. You
gotta get the coach right, you gotta get the salaries right,
you gotta get teams that There's just so many different
issue shoes, like wow, you know what I would do,
which is that's great, that's great. That's like when you
(31:07):
go in and you know, we're renting a house, looking
to buy a house, and you you go in with
a with a real or like wow, you know what
I would do here is I would just strip that down.
I would clear out the backyard. I would build a
pool right there. And then I do this and I'm like, okay, cool,
where's the money? Trees there's the money tree here that
I'm not aware of. Wow, you know, I just was said, oh,
you're listen, You're not wrong. He's not wrong what he's saying.
(31:31):
But like the Sacument of Kings, like do we can't
even worry about the Golden State Warriors. We were a
laughing stock of the league. Still, let's just get to
where people respect us first. You know, the Utah Jazz, like, oh,
Utah Jazz, they should be passionate about chasing the Warriors.
Who will you know? Sure? But like, look, we just
lost our best player to free agency last year. We
(31:53):
made a big mid season trade, like we have a
top rookie. Let's just continue to get better and grow.
So I'm not saying I'm not calling out Darryl Mourray.
I love that passion. I love that goal. That would
be like me giving a goal to my daughter and saying, like, hey,
(32:13):
you should go get straight a's Like Dad, I'm a
CEE student. You know I missed a month because I
had motto. I just can't It's physically impossible. And the
only reason I gave her that goal was because she's
this close. All right, I said, how much of your
(32:34):
grade is on this last history project. Get an A
on it. You got an A in the in the
in the semester, your three percentage points away. I don't
know how the math works, but ten percent seems like
a lot. Get above and you're good. Fox Sports Radio
has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch
all of our shows at Fox sports radio dot com
(32:54):
and within the I Heart Radio app. He's the one
and only Chris Bruce Hard how likely already have a
competitive game tonight when I picked Golden State in five
to begin the series, and I think tonight will be
the night Cleveland gets it. If they lose tonight, I
think most of us believe they'll get swept, despite what
happened last year when they won Game four. But um,
(33:18):
you know Cleveland. I think, look, I'm trying to read
body language and demeanor and all that. It looked to
me like Lebron James was finally out of the funk
that he was in for. It looked like over time
of Game one and maybe all of Game two. So
(33:38):
I think now he's kind of back to himself, and uh,
I expect a huge game from him. I expect the
role players to play better, maybe even a little bit
of expectation that Golden State could be complacent, although gett
Nick with dollar back properly, you know it's good for
them and could keep them out of that. But I
think Cleveland tonight should be their night. I don't know
(34:00):
if this tonight they win, but I think it's gonna
be a war. Wind's surprise me now if they win,
I think this is gonna be a war, super physical.
I do expect Cleveland to make some of the shots
that they missed, and and they had really really good
looks even though I liked I like Golden States adjustments
from Game one to to to UH to Game two. Um,
what about what was your pick going into the series? Yeah?
(34:23):
I did? What did I did? I did I say
Golden State in five? I think I might have said
in six I think I did say. It's like, look,
I don't think Golden State is great and they're not healthy,
and I think Cleveland does have the right mixture of veterans, physicality,
lebron and three point shooting, to which if you can
get it at your pace, you can beat them. Um,
(34:45):
you can beat them two times in six. I just
don't think they can beat them four times in in seven. Um,
what what are your thoughts on the lineup changes? I mean,
you know, it looks like Cleveland is now going make
some some fairly drastic lineup changes. Is that's what's gonna
sell some stuff? Well, I mean the one that that
(35:09):
Tyler announced first was Rodney Hood. I don't think he
should have uh announced that. I think you just do it, right.
I mean, when Brad Stevens uh stopped playing who was
the rookie he was playing that Corver was matched up with,
he didn't announce it. He just did it and it
through it through Tyer Lewis. Yeah yeah, yeah, so um,
(35:33):
I think that would have been smarter not to announce it,
just do it. Um. I think you'll see more of Corver.
You know, we haven't seen a ton of him in
the first two games. And obviously people they look at
the defense and he's not a great defender. But Corver
was actually a pretty good defender. I thought he did
a pretty decent job on Jaylen Brown in the last
(35:55):
few games of that series against Boston man as as
good as he could do. Here. The problem is with
this series is like who do you put him on? Right? Like,
I guess you put him on you know, you put
him on the fifth guy. If Igodolla plays your guard,
you haveod guard Igodala or I mean, I don't know
if at times you can put him on Draymond. The
(36:15):
problem is that's where Lebron is. So Lebron can help, right,
You're you're doing that to protect Lebron, and so Lebron
can rest on defense. And that if you move him
to one of those positions, now you've got now like, now,
who does Tristan guard? Now? Who? Just like it becomes
a bit of a house of cards into uh, when
you move him around something else becomes a really bad
matchup for him. It's like the It's like the you're
(36:38):
trying to stop up the holes, but the water just
goes elsewhere. But this is who you are, and you know,
I think you gotta go with who you are. Look,
a big key is ken Lebron control tempo? And I
think the answer to that is a resounding yes. I
saw it in Game one. He controlled tempo. That's one
thing he can do that I don't think any other
(36:59):
player in the league can really do like him. And
so if he can control the temple or make it slower,
fewer possessions and have a huge night offensively, and then
you get some contributions from some other guys, then maybe
you make it a game and even can win. One
of the good things, of course, for Cleveland is that
Kevin Love offensively has played well, uh and obviously rebounded
(37:22):
the basketball. So if he you gotta have him keep
up his level of play to really have a good chance.
That's the voice of Christoper Sorry joined us in the
Doug Gottlip Show on Fox Sports Radio. Uh. Stephen A.
Smith said that that Lebron will have a conversation with
the Golden State Warriors. My takeaway has been this, Chris,
(37:42):
is that I don't think that that that Lebron's team
loves his options, and that's why they're throwing out Boston
in San Antonio and floating Golden State knowing none of
those make actual sense. But whatever does happen, it creates
better leverage for Lebron in terms of the terms of
the deal and how much control he gets in who's
(38:04):
around him and who gets to travel with him. Is
it because it's not reasonable to think he would he
would even have a legit conversation with Golden State? Is it?
I think he would just hear them out if they
wanted to meet with him. I don't think he would
seek them out and say, look, you're one of the
teams I want to consider, Like if he was going
to release a list of five or whatever, I don't
(38:25):
think they would be on his list. But if they
want to have a discussion, they want to have a conversation.
Remember Rich Paul is agent, as all agents, they have
players on different teams, so they're talking to all these guys. Um,
if they want to have a discussion, I think Lebron
would just listen to them out of respect for who
they are. Um Boston, you know, and talking to people
(38:49):
around Lebron. I mean I've heard the names of Golden
State in Boston just throughout the year. Not that they
would necessarily go there, but that they'll have a conversation.
Boston would be dressing because it would almost necessitate you
trade in Kyrie Irving, you know, because obviously he doesn't
want to play with Lebron. Um. And remember Kyrie could
(39:12):
be a free agent after next season, and Boston was
not on his original team list of teams he wanted
to go to out of Cleveland. So I think Boston
has to have a conversation with Kyrie anyway and see
are you committed to us long term? And if not,
they may have to move him regardless. But to answer
your question, I don't think it's about leverage, because I
(39:34):
mean Lebron wants the max wherever he goes. Um, I
don't think he's gonna try to pull the you know
console and so travel us on this team will let
him traveling all that. You know, you look at look
at the goal. Um, I'm sorry Philadelphia. Now, whether or not,
we'll see what happens with Brian Colangelo. But Rich Paul
(39:55):
is close with In addition to being close with Colangelo,
he's close with the owners and Philadelphia. And so if
I mean, they could be in a position to maybe
even handpick the next GM there if Colangelo takes bites
to dust. So, um, they have a lot of options.
But I do not put much stock in the Golden
(40:18):
State or even Boston scenario just because those teams, you know,
they got a lot of good going and if you
bring Lebron in it changes everything. You still be great, obviously,
but it certainly changes everything. Did you say san Antonio
yesterday made the most sense? Now? I well, I have said,
you know, early in the season, San Antonio was my team.
(40:41):
Now I've never thought Lebron would go there, just because
I don't think he'll go to US. I think he
wants a glamorous city or a big market. Uh, unless
it's Cleveland, so it's got to be a Miami was glamorous,
not that big, but glamorous. I just don't see him
going to the town. I don't of San Antonio. But
(41:02):
from a basketball standpoint, I think that would make great sense.
In fact, if he went to San Antonio and they
kept Kauai, I would put them right there with Golden
State to win, to win the whole thing, I think
they'd be that good. Um. But assuming he won't go
to that town, then I think Philly makes the most sense.
If he wants to play off the ball, which is
(41:23):
what I've been told. Uh, he does want to play
off the basketball. Well, I've been told because when when
Philadelphia came up, I said, that doesn't I don't want
him taking the ball out of Bens in his hands.
And uh, some people close to Lebron told me, if
Lebrin has that type of playmaker who can make plays
for his teammates he would want to play off the ball. Um.
(41:47):
He They say he's never done it because he's never
had that type of teammate. You know, Kyrie Irving and
Dwyane Wade, as great as they were, they tended to
make plays more for themselves then for their teammates. So
Ben Simmons obviously is a playmaker. And so I've been
told Lebrown will willingly play off the ball. Look, and
you know, Doug, you've seen him moore more this year,
(42:10):
you know, in the elbows, in the post, you know,
moving without the ball. So he can do it. He's
doing it a little bit more, um, and it makes
it easier for him in his in his declining years
if he would do that and take some of that
that heat off of the handling the ball all the time.
He I mean, that's one of those deals where it
(42:30):
sounds good. No, no, I'll play off the ball and
then easier said than done. A lot of these. You're right,
I mean he's been he's been playing. You can't even
say he's been playing this way for fifteen years. It's
his entire life. You know, the four years of high
school he played the same way, and probably before that
so I get it, but I do think it could work.
(42:53):
I think he could play off the ball. His jumper
obviously has gotten a lot better, and I just think
he would you know, it would just make it so
much easier. And then you know, there might be times
where he would handle the bull there certainly would and
Ben Simmons has shown, you know, at times he was
off the ball in Philadelphia. He could do it here
(43:13):
and there. But whereas now Lebrin brings it up what
sixty seventy percent at the time in Philly, I would
want it to be more like tendent at the time,
you know. So we'll see if he can, you know,
make that adjustment. But um, it's gonna be an interest
in summer this I think this summer more than any
(43:36):
at least since in you know, you had a few
different Chicago was in the mix, obviously, Miami, Um, you know,
New York was into there were a few other teams
in the mix. Um, buten you kind of knew he
was either staying in Miami or going to Cleveland. Um,
(43:58):
this year, I think it's going to be it's gonna
be interesting because you could see him in a lot
of different places and um, so it's gonna be something
to keep an eye on for Surett Show Fox Sports Trader.
That's the voice of Chris Bruce Sard who joined us.
What about Golden State, I felt like Durant looked back,
(44:19):
look look more like Kevin Durant last game. Um, but
this could be an interesting offseason for them. Do they
simply rework their bench? What do you think they look
like next year? I think they have to make some
tweets because I think boredom is their biggest opponent right now.
This year it was tough. I mean, you know, that's
(44:39):
why Steve Kerr had Andre Goodoalin. I think Draymond drawn
up plays and coaching at times just to you know,
break up the monotony. And I think it's even can
be tougher to come back year after year after year
when you're winning. You know, when you think about those
Lakers and Celtics teams in the eighties, they weren't winning
(45:01):
it every year. You know, for the first part of
the decade, nobody repeated. You know, it was the Lakers
for the first time in like eighteen years. They repeated
in eighty seven and eight eight. But you know, so
when you're losing every other year or every three years.
You know, you've got that natural motivation to come back
and try to win a championship. But when you win,
(45:25):
you know, this would be three and four years for
the Warriors. Um, you know Jordan Afty won three, he
took a break and then won three more and then
retired for the second time. So I think they are
going to have to mix it up a little. I
don't mess with the core four obviously, but I think
the bench is where you try to bring in some
(45:45):
other guys, maybe one of those center positions, if you
you know, you you get rid of some of those
centers you have and bring in a different big man.
But I think they they're gonna have to make a
few tweaks just to bring in some degree of freshness
to the situation so that you know they're motivated. Completely
agree with you. Great stuff Chris on TV today and
(46:06):
of course joining us on ready to Chris Brusar check
him out, uh tomorrow after this show, So total recap
of what you saw and how it could change the landscape.
Chris Broussard and Rob Parker tomorrow at six and of
course every Sunday at six pm. Eastern time, Chris, thanks
so much for joining us enjoin the game. Thanks that
Host
Doug Gottlieb
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