Best of the Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon

Jason and Mike debate if Nikola Jokic deserved his third MVP Award. The Knicks win again. What the heck was Rick Carlisle thinking? And longtime friend of the show Ric Bucher drops in for all things NBA Playoffs!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the best of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Carmon podcast. Be sure to catch us
live every weeknight from ten pm to two am Eastern
seven to eleven pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find
your local station for The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon at Fox Sportsradio dot com, or stream us live
every night on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
This is the.

Speaker 3 (00:22):
Best of The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon on
Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 1 (00:30):
Hello, Welcome inside. Happy Wednesday, The Jason Smith Show with
my best friend Mike Harmon hobo live from the Tirack
dot com studios. Tirec dot com help you get there
an unmaxed selection, fast free shipping, free road hazard protection,
and over ten thousand recommended installers tirack dot com.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
The way tire buying should be well.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
If you close your ears and you listen, and you
strained to listen, you can hear very faintly rattling through
the valley, out through the dell, over expansive glens of land.
You can hear it, and maybe it's just a whisper.

Speaker 2 (01:09):
Go New York, Go New York, goat go New York.
Go New York.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
Go and then it gets louder as it gets closer.
Go New York, Go, New York. Goat, Go New York, Goat,
New York, Goat, and suddenly it envelops you like it envelops.
Mike Harmon right now, who is watching lightning split his
brain and half watching the Knicks on the Pacers in
Game two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Speaker 4 (01:32):
I was enjoying it until about thirty five seconds ago,
because that insipid chant comes up. I gotta ask a
question though, as we get the fourth quarter going in
earnest here Jalen Bruns, who was aware that is over
under We's thirty seven and a half, right, thirty seven,
because that seems to be why he's shooting a lot.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
Uh, yeah, he may be. He's suddenly just.

Speaker 4 (01:54):
Chucking up the ball from wherever. At this point, it's
like it's time to shine. Hey, I missed the entire
second quarter. Okay, I need to make up all the shot.

Speaker 5 (02:02):
Let's go.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
You know, I got the streak of forty plus games
in a row. I gotta have more than that. Right now,
eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Nix and
the Pacers. It is a one point Nick lead, one
oh two, one oh one. TJ McConnell with a lay
in as he wants to bark at the New York crowd. Okay,
that's fine, Still a lot of time left, eight minutes

(02:24):
left to go.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
And look, I know he finished fifth in MVP voting,
all right, but just.

Speaker 1 (02:29):
Just eventually, eventually everyone's gonna come around to how great
a player Jalen Brunson is. And maybe today is that day. Okay,
maybe end of the first quarter Brunson leaves, you can
see when he tweaked his toe during a possession, doesn't
play the entire second quarter. Pacers outscore the Knicks by ten,
They lead by ten at halftime. Third quarter, Jalen Brunson

(02:53):
comes back. Knicks outscore the Pacers by eighteen. They take
the lead. Brunson, Yes, only with old only with eighteen tonight,
but you have all five Knick starters and double figures
the Knicks rally. I mean eventually today, maybe that day,
and depending how this game goes, still a long way
to go, but eventually people are going to finally put

(03:13):
away their bias and their hate for the Knicks, and
they're Jalen Bloodson's not not electric, he's not fast, he
doesn't dunk. So I like the other guys better than him,
and I'm not going to give him credit because I
like Anthony Edwards making threes and making the Jordan shrug
back down the court. I like seeing the big dunks.
I like seeing that they don't understand. Maybe today is
that day. I'm not holding out it's not. Maybe today

(03:34):
is that. Today is not that?

Speaker 2 (03:35):
But maybe not. No, it won't be.

Speaker 4 (03:37):
Oj Onanobi is out with a hamstring injury, so he
will not.

Speaker 5 (03:41):
Return for these final eight plus minutes.

Speaker 1 (03:43):
So that's okay. You Wing has come in. He has
played pretty well so far they have. He has limited
the touches for Miles Turner, so I've been pretty out.

Speaker 4 (03:50):
Okay, nicely done there. As for the brunts and thing,
we've seen this right. You've got to build the story.
You got to build a story arc like you're in Hollywood.
That's the way it works towards MVP. That's why Giannis
and Tana Kopa was still fourth in balloting, which makes
no sense at all. But you know the other three
ahead of him when you talk about Yo Kitchen, Sga

(04:10):
and Luka Donchez. That makes sense, right, We've been building
towards this and now Jalen Brunson. As we've discussed over
the last week or so, how many times in our
business do people really ever say I'm sorry, I got
this wrong. They usually just waited out till a guy
retires or has a career ending injury, and then they
never have to utter those words.

Speaker 5 (04:30):
He's done. See I told you he was fragile here.

Speaker 4 (04:34):
Jalen Brunson's got a bunch of guys that have come
to the to the pulpit that has come to the
rectory to say, all right, I'm going to.

Speaker 5 (04:41):
Have my confession.

Speaker 4 (04:43):
I am going to take my penance because I was
wrong about Jalen Brunson. We've seen it. But now that
that doesn't help for voting for this year, that's done.
That's gone. The Maya culpis came after votes had to
be submitted. Unfortunately, don'ty include playoff runs? Maybe they should by.

Speaker 1 (05:03):
The way they give him guy like the guy wasn't
great going into the playoffs, He's in as great as
he was in the regular seat.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
He's at a new level of the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (05:10):
He's the leading scorer in the playoffs for all the Oh,
Anthony Edwards is so great, you still finish fifth. Jalen
Brunson's the leading scorer in the playoffs.

Speaker 5 (05:18):
Well, but how many highlights do you have?

Speaker 2 (05:20):
Okay?

Speaker 1 (05:21):
Here he is running over McConnelly. Yeah, that's not sexy. No,
I know that's what it is. People don't know. I want.
I want the sexy high lights.

Speaker 2 (05:30):
I want.

Speaker 1 (05:30):
Why am I not a network TV star in prime
time because I don't look quite the part.

Speaker 5 (05:37):
I'm a fire plug.

Speaker 1 (05:38):
Yeah, but I'm walt damned handsome and I yell better
than any of these clients.

Speaker 2 (05:42):
But here I am.

Speaker 1 (05:43):
You can't go to rehearsals and tryouts wearing jaunty fedoras
and purple shorts. They're not gonna I keep telling you
not to do that. They're not gonna take you. Seriously,
go no, but this is who I am. And you
pick a special feather out for the cap, you're gonna
wear it. Sometimes you match the purple hat to your shorts.
I'm like, they're not gonna hire you if you dress
like that, And you say no, I'm still gonna do it.

Speaker 2 (06:04):
Kind of.

Speaker 1 (06:04):
I'll ask a wardrobe once they hire me. Until then
it's pure harm until where whatever I want?

Speaker 5 (06:11):
Where would I want to?

Speaker 2 (06:12):
You realize this is it. This is a.

Speaker 5 (06:14):
Tryout, right, Hey, I'm wearing Fred Sandford.

Speaker 4 (06:16):
Sure, you guys know that none of this matters, right,
none of this matters?

Speaker 2 (06:22):
No, hang on, hang on?

Speaker 1 (06:24):
Do you know frostburg By Now he's had this, He's
had this punchline and his holster for the entire day.

Speaker 2 (06:29):
But I will help you in.

Speaker 1 (06:30):
I was waiting for something good, just saying the Dodger
ones on the Dodgers one. I'm like, yeah, it's Wednesday. Okay, okay,
let's go. Hang on, Okay, justin, Why does none of
this matter.

Speaker 5 (06:40):
Because the Dodgers won? What are you deaf?

Speaker 2 (06:44):
Hit the ball again the air? You're done with it.

Speaker 1 (06:47):
Tom Brady got roasted because that was your line the
other day. There was always something.

Speaker 5 (06:50):
Oh I'm way past that.

Speaker 2 (06:52):
Okay, you're past Okay.

Speaker 4 (06:53):
We can bring that back again. I mean that played.
I'd rather bring back a pace or win.

Speaker 1 (06:59):
H Well, look, I think the NBA would like to
because then it would be a series. If not, it's
two nothing knicks and that's it.

Speaker 5 (07:05):
You know, he's not playing in this game the rest of.

Speaker 1 (07:07):
The work who's not Yeah, no, Look, it's like every
couple of games we lose somebody. Eventually, the Knicks are
gonna finish his playoff with four guys on the court,
and they're gonna say, TIBs, there's guys on the roster
you could put in. No, no, no, I don't trust anybody.
I'm gonna play with these four. Yeah, but TIBs are
not done. Doesn't matter. We're gonna go with these guys.

Speaker 4 (07:26):
I mean the fifth Look, look.

Speaker 1 (07:29):
That's why I always look anunobe. Who's who had a
great game, and look he's in line for a huge
payday the difference he brought to the Knicks when he
came there. But look he's out with a sore left hamstring.
Who knows what his availability is gonna be for the
rest of the playoffs. You don't even know, But like
it to be serious about this with with the Knicks,
I sit here and go, you know what, this is
a magic carpet ride, right. I mean, they have a

(07:49):
phenomenal team and Jalen Brunson is otherworldly. But eventually, you know,
playing these guys and now these guys are gonna have
to play all forty eight minutes of the next game
because Aneronoby Malay, I mean eventually it's gonna it's gonna
run out.

Speaker 2 (08:02):
If I'm the Celtics, I'm going this is unbelievable.

Speaker 1 (08:05):
We don't have to worry about the Bucks because Giannis
was hurt and didn't play. After it, We're rolling through
the playoffs. The Knicks are losing guys every five seconds.
We know we can beat the crap out of the Pacers. Okay,
the Celtics like, pinch me, this isn't this isn't real.
We're rolling through the play We're gonna walz into the
NBA Finals. This is unbelievable. I mean, look, that's that's

(08:26):
how it should go. Because for the Knicks, look, it's
a magic carpet ride. Do I hope they have enough
for Indiana? Of course I do, right, because this is
a series that could go either way. Both teams are
pretty even, especially with the Knicks not being deep, so
I get it. But when it gets to the conference finals, boy,
I'm telling you man like that, the Knicks are playing
with house money at that point. Because it's okay, everybody

(08:46):
expects Botson to win. They're the better team and the
Knicks are playing with an iron five. Who knows they're
down to four by the next time. I have no
idea well out there, Yeah, but that Rimes checked in.

Speaker 2 (08:58):
Yeah, do you not see that?

Speaker 1 (09:00):
And you know, and you know the thing is starting
with foreign having Hartenstein come off the bench.

Speaker 2 (09:05):
Still it's reallyable.

Speaker 5 (09:09):
Right there.

Speaker 1 (09:10):
But since we have begun speaking, the Knicks have taken
a five point lead over the Pacers. Jalen Brunson with
a bucket and a three. It looks like he is
taking his matchup with TJ McConnell person.

Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yea.

Speaker 4 (09:21):
They have off each other a couple of times and
he got a little testy.

Speaker 1 (09:25):
He had one of those buckets a couple of minutes ago,
and and one where he came down the floor. McConnell
was in his hip pocket. McConnell was trying to get
physical with him. And its nothing more than banging up
and down the floor. It's not like there was found,
but it was banging up and down the floor. And
you can tell. And Brunson goes in for the layup
and and he flexes after which he doesn't do a
lot of and you could tell right there it's like, Okay, TJ.

(09:46):
McConnell's walking around like he owns Madison Square Garden, like
suddenly he's great instead of a guy that, Hey, look,
I'm really motivated here, like I play in high school
and coach just told me I'm going to start, So
I'm giving you everything I have. So I get that
that that part of it, but you could just tell
it's a little bit personal. I'm not saying it woke,
brunts it up, but playing at the level he's at,
hitting some of these shots is just is just unbelievable.

(10:07):
Right and it's a two point lead for the Knicks
right now with five and a half. Well, I mean,
look the way that everybody still tries to stop him,
and he's still shorter than everybody on the court, he
weighs less than everybody on the court, and he still
scores points. The way he does strategy, just think about it.
Just just think about it, Manda, strategy phenomenal.

Speaker 2 (10:25):
I'll let him.

Speaker 1 (10:25):
Score so we'll have more on this game coming up again.
Two point lead by the Knicks with five and a
half left to go, Still a lot of time left here.
But as Mike mentioned, MVP vote comes in and Nikola
Jokic once again wins the MVP in the NBA. It's
his third overall MVP. He wins it over Shi Gildes,
Alexander who finishes second, and Luca Donti who finishes third,

(10:49):
Jalen Brunson finishing fifth. And when I see Jokic win,
you know, I think of Mike, this is weird.

Speaker 2 (10:55):
But when I see Jokic win and I go okay.

Speaker 1 (10:58):
Obviously, everybody voting on understands the genius of Nicola Jokicic
and how well he plays and some of the stuff
he does is just it's amazing. It's almost like he's
a bigger Jalen Brunson, where boy, the guy just runs
around and kind of doesn't play really fast and still
makes some unbelievable plays.

Speaker 2 (11:12):
What I think of.

Speaker 1 (11:13):
Here is that, Wow, how did Shaquille O'Neil not have
at least three four MVPs.

Speaker 2 (11:20):
He was more.

Speaker 1 (11:20):
Dominant than Jokic was when he played. Did he have
Jokica's skill set? No, he didn't, And I'm not saying
that they're the same kind of player, but there was
nobody who was more valuable in his heyday with the
Magic with the Lakers than Shaquille O'Neil an. He won one,
and I'm like, really, and even the year where he
should have waltzed away with it unanimously, Fred Hickman votes
for Alan Iverson right, So it wasn't a unanimous MVP

(11:43):
like Shakshak easily should have come away with three or
four MVPs, but the bias against him, there are a
lot of people who didn't like him, didn't take the
game seriously. Just he's very polarizing as a star. Didn't
make his free throws, didn't really expand his game, so
I could see where he was polarizing. But when I
see jokich win, I feel like it's a fate a couple.
It's just gonna give the guy the MVP every year,

(12:03):
no matter what he does, no matter where the Nuggets finished,
no matter what, as long as his numbers are the same,
he winds up winning the MVP. And I feel like
Shack should have had at least three, at least three,
maybe four MVPs in his heyday.

Speaker 2 (12:14):
Wally was playing in the nineties in early two thousand.

Speaker 4 (12:17):
Well, that's the unfortunate part of it, right, you get
to that we're tired of you. And last year there
was the backlash led by Kendrick Perkins and others saying, well,
screw this and called people out and tried to make
it a race thing and whatever else, and look and
Beade had a hell of a year. So he ends
up walking away with the award. So I wonder how

(12:37):
much of YO gets winning this year, as people go, well,
we kind of screwed the guy last year. They didn't
do anything different, So let's make that one right. And
then now you know, we clap our hands and all
bets are off, and we see what happens going forward,
whether it's your guy brunts and the emergence of Victor
Wembin Yama Edwards, whoever it is.

Speaker 5 (12:55):
From there, I mean, because you go back in time,
I mean go back to Jordan.

Speaker 4 (13:00):
All of a sudden, there was a block of years
he didn't win it and was down in the voting
a bit like he's already won a couple, he's winning titles.

Speaker 5 (13:08):
He doesn't need an MVP Award.

Speaker 2 (13:10):
Move on.

Speaker 4 (13:11):
We we certainly saw that right because you had he
won back to back years. Then you go Barkley elijahu
On Robinson, Okay, Jordan out of basketball. Jordan comes back
and then Malone a couple of times. Then you're one
year for Shaquille O'Neal, and then I had.

Speaker 1 (13:29):
No choice but to give it to him that year.
Well we have felt to give it to him this year.

Speaker 4 (13:33):
But you had a couple of years where you know,
you split the vote between he and Kobe.

Speaker 5 (13:38):
So that's part of it.

Speaker 4 (13:40):
And then Tim Duncan wasn't flashy, but you'll the the
big fundamental won people over for MVP Awards. That's the
one I was. I'm always shocked at wait he won
back to back. He didn't do anything at a highlight
reel that what anybody would have seen come on except
for the obvious I call bank jokes. Then you get
into the Steve nash Air and everything else.

Speaker 1 (14:00):
But but everybody liked Tim Duncan. Tim Duncan didn't go
off and do movies in the off season. So where
critics say, oh, if he was about basketball, he'd be
doing it, he'd be doing more. He wouldn't be doing movies,
wouldn't be doing you know, Shazam or whatever it was.
Kauzam Uh.

Speaker 5 (14:17):
I get you alone.

Speaker 1 (14:20):
I disagree with it, but I get it, and it's
a much different landscape uh than than it was now.

Speaker 2 (14:25):
But Duncan was someone that everybody why because Jim Duncan
didn't do.

Speaker 4 (14:27):
Anything essentially the same guy as we've talked about, right,
other than loving harness racing and his horses and his family,
going to clubs and being the seven footer, uh towering
over everybody else and then now dressing up his groove,
there ain't a whole lot.

Speaker 1 (14:43):
I think the only thing k does is he tells
his brothers, Okay, nothing too out of control.

Speaker 5 (14:48):
I can fight a little bit, don't.

Speaker 1 (14:50):
Do nothing to it, all right. I watch what happens
to Mahomes, all right. I don't I don't need that.
I want something else. I don't need that exit out
about a Fresca exit swollen down the Jason Smith Show
with my best friend Mike Carpett Seriesly it should be
three or four MVPs for Shaquille O'Neil. Unbelievable. Right now,
there are three and a half minutes left to go

(15:11):
in the fourth quarter, and the Knicks I feel like
I need to talk like Marv Albert and the next lead.
The Pacers now one seventeen to one ten. Jalen Brunt's
hit a couple of shots, a couple of offensive rebounds
by de Vincenzo. Precious Achua is scoring right now, so
it is a seven point lead for New York. Still
a lot of time left here, three and a half

(15:32):
to go in the fourth quarter. Coming up next, we'll
have more in this game, obviously.

Speaker 2 (15:38):
It is the GETX.

Speaker 1 (15:38):
Why there's only one game tonight, because how do you
top the next? I mean, you just can't. But we
have other big stories out of the NBA coming up next,
including what player suddenly has the most at stake in
the NBA playoffs.

Speaker 2 (15:52):
That's next right here, Jason and Mike Fox.

Speaker 5 (15:55):
But none of that matters.

Speaker 2 (15:57):
Why doesn't it matter? Frostburg.

Speaker 3 (15:59):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.

Speaker 6 (16:11):
Hey, I'm Doug Gottlieb. The podcast is called All Ball.
We usually talk all basketball all the time, but it's
more about the stories about what made these people love
their sport and all the interesting interactions along the way.
We talked to coaches, we talked to players. We tell
you stories. You download it, you listen to it.

Speaker 2 (16:31):
I think you like it.

Speaker 6 (16:32):
Listen to All Ball with Doug Gottlieb on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Speaker 1 (16:40):
Fox Sports Radio, The Jason Smith Show with My best
friend Mike Harmon. Minute and a half left to go,
the Knicks lead the Pacers one twenty four to one eighteen.
The Pacers trying to deny the basketball to Jalen Brunson.
They're able to get it across half court. Dante Vincenzo

(17:00):
hits a huge three to give the Knicks a lead.
But now the Pacers use a little bit of strategy
to kind of get back in the game.

Speaker 2 (17:08):
Here a little bit.

Speaker 1 (17:09):
Uh, you saw a world class flop by Halliburton that
got them.

Speaker 2 (17:13):
To the free throw line. No, no, shivered him in
the stop.

Speaker 1 (17:17):
Come on, don't go back and go back and watch it, Nick,
don't just be opposite me just because you feel like it,
because you sound foolish. He fell down, Yes, he put
his arm up, he fell down. It was a world
class flop. I'm not saying it wasn't a great play.
It was a great play because it put him on
the free throw line. One twenty four to one A.
Now they're just there's a discrepancy at half court. The

(17:37):
referees look like they called a double dribble on Isaiah
Hartenstein as the Knicks are trying to get the ball.

Speaker 2 (17:43):
Across half court.

Speaker 1 (17:44):
Rick Carlisle is screaming at the official because it looks
like they brought the call back.

Speaker 2 (17:48):
Now I'm watching the replay.

Speaker 1 (17:50):
And it looks like he's dribbling again. I don't know
what the call. It looked like it was double dribble.
He tried to make that and tried to make that sign,
but then looked at it and said it wasn't. Carlisle
is upset, but it's still a six point lead for
the Knicks with a minute ten left to go. I mean,
every time the Knicks have the ball, I'm outside my
mind because I'm like, oh my god, they don't have it.

(18:12):
Jalen Brunson. Is he gonna be able to keep hitting
shots like this? Is he gonna keep making it? Can
they keep getting offensive rebounds like they do? And they have,
and they keep getting them, and they keep holding onto
the ball and they keep possession. And I'm just saying
to myself, the Pacers have to be saying Why don't
you just die? No?

Speaker 4 (18:29):
Why hog stick legs like the Energizer Bunny.

Speaker 2 (18:36):
I mean, how can you Why can't you just die?

Speaker 1 (18:40):
They're gonna keep possession on this play because it's off
the Pacers out of bound. Like it's like, we're doing
everything we can. You're losing players. Jalen Brunston had to
sit out an entire quarter. Why won't you die? We
keep doing everything there, this has to do it. No,
the Knicks keep sitting up like Michael Myers at the
end of Halloween. It just keeps happening, is I mean it?

(19:00):
This is such a fun series to watch. It's such
a fun team. And I'll tell you, man, you can
cancel the rest of the players. Just keep giving me
Knicks Pacers games. I don't think anybody else in the
NBA would disagree. I think they would sign up for
like fifteen of these games because they're just so much fun.

Speaker 5 (19:15):
You just included the Pacers in that because it's fun,
because the only team the next can beat Mike.

Speaker 1 (19:20):
Look is that Look it's it's look. It's it's a
case of Look, the Pacers are fun. Reggie Miller's in
the house, The Boogeyman is there. Nicks Pacers brings everybody
back to the nineties. Everybody at least in their forties
who watch basketball remembers us. And it was fun and
I was younger and thinner, and I could run all
day and I could eat whatever I wanted to and
not gain any weight.

Speaker 2 (19:41):
No, it's a big throwback, man, this is what it is.

Speaker 5 (19:45):
You know who's loving this game? Who's more than the
nixt the so.

Speaker 1 (19:49):
Justin well, yeah, listen, look, we talked about that. The
Celtics have to be saying, all right, if we don't
get to the finals and win this year, we're never
gonna do it right. Suddenly there's a ton of pressure
on the celt sho because instead of hey, we're the
best team, we should prove ourselves and win. It's dude,
the door is wide open, not just one door. It's
French doors. French doors that open up to a backyard

(20:11):
filled with a pool and trees and some kind of
there's cricket bats everywhere and you can play lawn bowling.
This isn't the French doors wide open for the Celtics
to get to the finals and win. Because in the
West you can tell for some of these teams. Look,
Minnesota and Oklahoma City is going to be a rock
fight for seven games if they wind up playing. You
see the energy that's expended by some of these squads

(20:33):
getting through and the Celtics. I don't know that any
of them have taken a shower in the last two weeks.
I know they've had to go through and I still
smell pretty good.

Speaker 2 (20:40):
Didn't you sweat? Now we won that game one thirteen
to seventy two. Oh, you're right, I.

Speaker 1 (20:44):
Really I don't think any of them have bathed because
they haven't had to, because only bathe it I'm dirty,
and no, I still smell pretty good. All the pressure
in the world is on the Celtics because they should
get there and they should win, like this is their
year suddenly.

Speaker 4 (20:57):
Well that's the thing, though, It's been there for a while,
right because they ran away with the Eastern Conference, and
it becomes the like the Dodgers every year, we do
the same thing, right, all right, this is great in May,
and we enjoy the moments, right, you enjoy the wins,
the Otani home runs and whatever else.

Speaker 5 (21:13):
It's all great.

Speaker 4 (21:14):
Doesn't matter till you get to October, because that's what you're
playing for with the Celtics after last year, coming into
the season, it was the should they break them up?
Should Missoula have been fired? All of that was coming
off of that playoff run.

Speaker 5 (21:28):
So as you.

Speaker 4 (21:29):
Get into these rounds and you're watching the attrition and
the Knicks falling one by one and whether they're available
or not, and these guys killing themselves for forty eight
minutes then, and with Cleveland made Jared Allen, is he
ever going to be cleared to play?

Speaker 5 (21:46):
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (21:47):
I mean that's a guy that was what sixteen and
eleven or something like that, that isn't there. You don't
have a force in the middle. So yeah, you're walking
through even with poor zingis sidelined. The expectation is that
it's you're at least in the finals and then whatever
comes from there. But yeah, certainly for the Celtics, it's

(22:08):
been that for a long time. As soon as Doc
Rivers got hired and the Bucks started to fall off.

Speaker 5 (22:13):
See what I did there?

Speaker 2 (22:14):
I see, I see what you did.

Speaker 5 (22:15):
I couldn't him off the hook there.

Speaker 2 (22:16):
But it's it's it's.

Speaker 1 (22:17):
Not Doc's fault, right, Remember, No matter what, it is
not Doc's fault.

Speaker 5 (22:21):
And hurt, Lillard gets hurt, all of that stuff.

Speaker 1 (22:24):
But you know, uh, and now we have just seen
a big I wouldn't say a reversal of fortune, because
the Knicks are now up one twenty seven, one point
eighteen with thirty three seconds left. We have seen Brunson
make a floater for an eight point lead, and now
he is shooting technicals because Rick Carlyle has just been ejected.

(22:45):
Rick Carlisle got ejectedsted he was upset over the officials
taking back the double dribble call, which still he was
harping on. He's on the court and he's clapping in
the official's face.

Speaker 2 (22:58):
Now at this.

Speaker 1 (22:58):
Point, look, the Knicks are up by seven, there's thirty
five seconds left to go. But he's sitting there clapping
in the officials face. And I don't care what you
do when you when you clap in the officials face,
you're gonna get ejected.

Speaker 5 (23:09):
That's point you had enough.

Speaker 4 (23:11):
Now his guys had actually hit some prea throws earlier
in the quarter, it might have been a little different game.
They missed their first five in the fourth quarter. But
I think the point he was trying to make was
how come we can review this in real time. But
I can't get this kickball thing overturned. Yeah, I mean,
let's be consistent here, fellas. That's all we're asking for.

Speaker 2 (23:31):
You know what, what do I say the Pacers?

Speaker 1 (23:33):
Look, they focused too much on that after the first game,
and now they're going to focus on the officiating again,
because I'm sure they're gonna sit back and say, oh,
you know, if that, if that was called a double dribble,
which I still don't know what Rick Carlile is yelling.
I'm sure we'll figure it out and in the break
we see more things happen. But I'm like, that's you
saying if you got that call, you don't won the game.
I mean, they're really just just like, if you got

(23:54):
the call in game one, you would have won. If
you had gotten the kickball, you would have won. But
I'm sure they're going to find a way to figure
out a way to say that.

Speaker 5 (24:01):
I think he's just really upset that his his acting
career has gone in the in the tank.

Speaker 4 (24:06):
That is true. He was really good in the Truman Show. Yeah, yeah,
I watched that a little bit earlier here. I mean
he had a good run, No he did.

Speaker 1 (24:15):
I mean, well, you had three hundred million dollar movies
in nineteen ninety four.

Speaker 2 (24:19):
It's really good, you know.

Speaker 1 (24:21):
Josh Hart has just leaned over to talk to Reggie
Miller with twenty seconds left in the game and there's
a timeout on the floor. I have no idea what
he said. Devincenzo is shooting free throws. Uh, but he
leaned over to say something to Reggie Miller.

Speaker 3 (24:35):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (24:36):
Again, we'll find out after the game. But I'll tell
you this has been.

Speaker 1 (24:39):
Some kind of last fourth quarter by run by the
Knicks here because they're gonna win this game and they're
gonna be up two games to none, and the Pacers
are gonna walk away going what the hell else do
we have to do?

Speaker 2 (24:50):
Right?

Speaker 1 (24:50):
Like, that's it. They're not fouling. The countdown is going on,
Knicks are going up to zip. And before we get
into any more analysis, I just want to say.

Speaker 2 (24:58):
Go New York, New York Coat. Co New York, New
York Coat, Go New York, New York Coat. One thirty
one twenty one is the final.

Speaker 1 (25:07):
Look at the next Okay, now we can get back
to basketball analysis of this game.

Speaker 5 (25:14):
Okay, go ahead.

Speaker 2 (25:15):
You feel good, You feel good.

Speaker 5 (25:16):
I feel a wonderful.

Speaker 1 (25:17):
That's what's because don't want to I don't want to
overwhelm you because this is going to be three and
a half hours of go New York, goat New York, coat,
go to yourk go do you.

Speaker 5 (25:25):
We're not on in New York. Let's talk about other things.

Speaker 2 (25:28):
I'm pretty sure we are pretty sure your city.

Speaker 1 (25:30):
I'm pretty sure on Channel Lady three serious XM, we're
on across the company.

Speaker 2 (25:34):
Of course you should check. We're on buddy check and.

Speaker 4 (25:36):
See where else you know we're on on Channel Lady
three serious. You know that you don't want to give
a shout out, you know, because you mean that that
local affiliate as well.

Speaker 2 (25:45):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (25:45):
No, And just im just trying to look at all
the things that are trending on Twitter. At the top
Jalen Brunson, the Knicks are at the top than their
survivor beget Jam O'Connell, Rick Carlile, Shack. I think maybe
we got Shack trending with our conversation a few minutes ago.

Speaker 2 (25:59):
So hey, Congrad, check you out.

Speaker 7 (26:01):
Well.

Speaker 4 (26:01):
He also had that conversation with Jokic, saying I voted
and Shay should have been MVP.

Speaker 5 (26:06):
No offense no offense.

Speaker 1 (26:08):
But I just want to say I didn't vote for him,
but look, this is now a two games to none
lead for the Knicks, and if you are the Pacer,
let's let's think about this in the pacer secing cause
we have a lot to get to with Brunson and
the Knicks and what they're doing.

Speaker 2 (26:25):
Who knows if I don't know he's even gonna be
able to play. I don't even know.

Speaker 1 (26:28):
But if you're if you're the Pace, you're saying, what
do we have to do? You're upset at the refs
speak for whatever the call you wanted on on Hartenstein, right,
but you're like, what do we have to do? Because
this was a game where we came out and we
did again what we wanted to do, especially since we
got a big game from Halliburton.

Speaker 2 (26:47):
What did he say?

Speaker 5 (26:48):
You got a game from him early?

Speaker 1 (26:50):
Right, at least he's still thirty four or nine. He
was huge early. What did I tell you what's gonna happen?
He was going to be out early? And I told
you if if the Pacers get out to like a
ten to twelve two lead, I'll be worried.

Speaker 2 (27:02):
But if it's a game early.

Speaker 1 (27:05):
Then I'm then I'm not gonna be that concerned because
this is where the Pacers have to come out, and
if they're mad and they throw the hammer down to
the Knicks early and make them play from behind, make
them expend a lot of energy, and they didn't, and
the Knicks hung with them. But if you're the Pacers,
you're saying, okay, at halftime, we had everything going the
way we wanted, right, we had Haliburton cooking, we had

(27:25):
our bench was going crazy, Obi topping back in New
York was hitting threes.

Speaker 2 (27:29):
Right.

Speaker 1 (27:29):
TJ McConnell finished with ten and twelve assists, and he's
strutting around like he's Alan iverson.

Speaker 2 (27:34):
Right, like, yeah, this is how good I am. Dude.
You'r TJ McConnell. Take it easy.

Speaker 1 (27:37):
You had everything going, You had everything you needed, and
again in another game where you did what you wanted.
You made Jalen Brunson work as hard as he could,
You made the Knicks make as many shots as they could.
You made the Knicks have to play with five guys,
and then Andrew Noby's out for most of the second half.
You did everything you needed and still you're going home down.

Speaker 5 (27:58):
Do you know what you forgot to do.

Speaker 2 (28:00):
You're going home.

Speaker 4 (28:00):
You forgot to play defense. If you got to play defense,
the nick shot fifty seven percent from the field, fifty
seven percent. I'm kind of seven, Yeah exactly. I'm now
in the the Josh Hart, the the love hate that
America will have with him, like you love how hard
he works. He chirps an awful lot after every rebound. Yeah,

(28:21):
well he gets old after a while. Yeah, suld get
him get back up the court.

Speaker 2 (28:26):
I can see that.

Speaker 1 (28:27):
But still playing forty eight minutes and going to maybe
till Reggie Miller, Hey, Reggie, go blake yourself.

Speaker 2 (28:33):
Well that's exactly what everywhere.

Speaker 4 (28:34):
I'm glad that Spike Lee gave you those frame newspapers.
I'm glad you had your fun talking about coming back
and being this agitator and being on the call. Because
he wasn't originally assigned to this series, but they added
him for special effect. Mike Breen offen.

Speaker 5 (28:51):
Him for ratings because nobody's watching this, are you kidding?

Speaker 1 (28:54):
Come on, man, come on man, you can't. This is
the only series anybody cares about?

Speaker 2 (28:58):
This is it? That's why?

Speaker 1 (28:59):
Really?

Speaker 5 (29:00):
Okay, what kind of poll did you take?

Speaker 1 (29:01):
What dude, what games are you gonna put on the
air better than this? Hey, let's put three other games
that are thirty point blowouts on the air, and people
are gonna watch the whole game.

Speaker 5 (29:10):
You know one's gonna watch thirty point blowouts are gonna
be when you play the Celtics.

Speaker 1 (29:13):
No one's gonna watch the Nuggets unless you're gonna say, baby,
let's see what Jamal Murray throws on the court today.

Speaker 5 (29:17):
How much for Annonoby's hamstring?

Speaker 1 (29:20):
Okay, dude, it doesn't matter. You know he's going to
be out for the playoffs. Come on, man, this is
how it works for the Knicks. You know he's gonna
be out.

Speaker 5 (29:26):
Come on, Why can't I have you had to break them?
Take them.

Speaker 1 (29:35):
I'll tell you there's some audio coming from the end
of this Knicks Pacers gave that is just absolutely outstanding
plus plus. As great as things are right now, I
can see a real dark side for them being serious,
I can see a real dark side for the Knicks
that's coming up right now. We have a huge night
to break down here, NBA and more. Keep it right here,

(29:55):
Jason and Mike Fox.

Speaker 3 (29:58):
Be sure to catch live editions the Jason Smith Show
with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven pm Pacific.

Speaker 1 (30:06):
Jason Smith's Show with My best Friend Mike Harmon, Live
from the Tirac dot Com Studios, where another thriller goes
to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden one twenty one,
the Knicks beat Indiana take a two games non lead
into Friday's Game three. Rick Carlisle's post game I'm sure
will be insane, of course, gets thrown out in the

(30:28):
final minute of the game, which we'll get to that
story coming up in a few minutes. But look, this
is the Knicks winning this game, and in the final
thirty seconds it was just bedlm at Madison Square Garden,
so much so that we're trying to get this edited
because we can't. We can't wait too clean. Yeah, it
is because you can hear Nick fans channing. Is one,

(30:51):
because Reggie Miller was doing the game for TNT.

Speaker 2 (30:54):
Nick fans are screaming.

Speaker 1 (30:55):
Blank, you Reggie, blank, you Reggie. Imagine twenty thousand people
screaming blank, you Reggie.

Speaker 5 (31:04):
This is Jason. There's only two ways we can go
about this.

Speaker 2 (31:07):
Audio, Okay, we can either play it and get fired or.

Speaker 5 (31:10):
Or well, I mean you could get fired.

Speaker 4 (31:13):
I'm good because I was also thinking Josh Hart walked
over to make sure he understood what they were chanting.

Speaker 5 (31:18):
No, understand what they're saying. So it's a package deal.
We're all gone.

Speaker 2 (31:21):
Yeah. Yeah, listen, Reggie, they're not saying lou same Yeah.

Speaker 4 (31:26):
And he was very explicit about it, you know. But
we do welcome in all our our friends, fans and
family in listening in the Greater New York area on
the iHeartRadio app because you know that works everywhere in
the groom.

Speaker 1 (31:38):
Now, look, because the Carlisle stuff is just so crazy,
which we'll get to because he's upset over another call
at the end. Again, in twenty years, the Pacers will
be saying, if.

Speaker 2 (31:46):
We got that kickball call and get out against the Nicks,
we don't want the NBA to cut again.

Speaker 1 (31:50):
In terms of the call itself is not wrong, but
you can't fix saying on it.

Speaker 5 (31:55):
Man, you gotta still coach him up.

Speaker 1 (31:57):
He look, here's that you want to look at a
dark side, cause it's been all go New York, Go,
New York, go for the last four and I get that,
and there's gonna be a lot.

Speaker 2 (32:03):
More of it.

Speaker 1 (32:04):
But here are the Knicks up to zip, right, going
into game three, even though the winners of the if
you win the first two games, you win the series
eighty percent of the time. Right, the Knicks are going
into game three not knowing the status of Ogianonoby, who
left the game today with with a hamstring strain and.

Speaker 2 (32:23):
Who knows when he's gonna be able to play again.

Speaker 1 (32:26):
This is a guy that in three quarters and twenty
eight minutes had twenty eight points.

Speaker 2 (32:29):
He's one of the Iron five.

Speaker 1 (32:30):
Jalen Brunson, as you said after the game, are you
gonna be okay for Game three?

Speaker 2 (32:34):
He says, yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 1 (32:36):
Could I see the Knicks sacrificing game three saying you
know what we're gonna do, Shake Milton's gonna play, and
Alec Burks is gonna play, and Bernard King is gonna play,
and Charlie Ward is gonna play, and whatever happens in
game three happens in game three, and we hope to
get everybody back for game four.

Speaker 2 (32:54):
I can completely see that, right.

Speaker 1 (32:56):
My point is this is that even though this is
too zip, if I'm being completely honest, do I say
to myself this series feels over.

Speaker 2 (33:04):
I don't.

Speaker 1 (33:05):
No, I don't, because I can see the Pacers going home.
They're like a hornet's nest right now. I can see
them coming back to New York going Okay, Pacers protected
home court. It's a three game series, Knicks have home
court advantage. I'm being honest with you. Is all the
go to you? Does this series feel like it's over
or does it feel like the Pacers still have whatever
reserves they have left in the tank and they're gonna

(33:25):
press the NOSS button like in Fast the Theories to
get a little bit more going.

Speaker 2 (33:29):
No, this series is not over.

Speaker 1 (33:31):
I feel like there's still a lot left to go
from the Pacers because I could see the Pacers taking
control because of the Knicks health.

Speaker 2 (33:37):
This is not over.

Speaker 5 (33:38):
Yeah, your guys are dropping like flies.

Speaker 4 (33:41):
And even if Bronson's there, I mean we've been talking
about the many a weary minute and.

Speaker 5 (33:46):
All the hits. I mean that all adds up.

Speaker 4 (33:48):
It's body blow after body blow, which gets us into
that whole NBA versus NHL or NFL conversation that's been
going on that started yesterday. But for the the Pacers,
you got forty six points off your bench. On the road, right,
what it's the old adage that, hey, these guys are
more comfortable and play better at home, So can they

(34:09):
be even better and more integrated to what's going on?
Can you actually get something offensively from Turner? He was
terrible again and Haliburton had a great game, you know,
in the first half. He was huge second half in
particularly in the fourth quarter. Didn't see the ball a ton.
They missed a ton of free throws, and they gave
up once again. I got to point out fifty seven

(34:31):
percent shooting from the fieldsill. Everything else doesn't matter. They're
not playing defense. They're getting wide open looks. Well, the
Knicks are moving the ball really well.

Speaker 1 (34:42):
Because the reason they're getting wide up and looks is
because the Knicks have figured out, Okay, when Brunson brings
it across half court and the Pacers try to double him,
he makes the pass out Heart or Devincenzo comes out
to get the ball, and now suddenly it's four on
three and the Knicks moved the ball quickly.

Speaker 2 (34:59):
That's all thing.

Speaker 1 (35:00):
Don't get out of it and say, okay, let's reset
back to Brunson. No, the Knicks are decisive, and that's
the biggest thing is that when Brunson passes out of
that double team, the Knicks are decisive, and it's Devincenzo
to heart for a three, or heart to Devincenzo for
a three, or a dribble in and you draw the
defender in and it's a pass to Hartenstein for a
dunk or a layup. That's the key to be to
be honest, is that the Knicks get out of that

(35:21):
double team and are decisive.

Speaker 2 (35:23):
So suddenly the.

Speaker 1 (35:24):
We're gonna try to stop Jalen Brunson from from attacking
with the ball. The Knicks have figured it out over
the last couple of games because they closed down the
stretch here they escaped in game one. They closed down
the stretch here. They have figured out that part of
the pacers.

Speaker 4 (35:38):
Oh, you get the physicality, you know. You see how
much energy you're still getting down the stretch. No An
Andobi and we'll keep an eye on what his status is.

Speaker 5 (35:47):
Gone.

Speaker 4 (35:48):
Yeah, your Knicks Fatalism and Prosper coming over the top
says you won't see him again. But you just see
Hartenstein like there's no quit like any ball to the recks,
Like all right, I'm gonna force you to call the
goaltend like we're not conceding anything down low, still diving
on the floor for loose balls.

Speaker 5 (36:05):
All of that.

Speaker 4 (36:06):
It's easy to like and certainly to where they're closing
it out with that extra energy because as you say,
one team's certainly not quitting, and I'm certainly not calling
the Pacers quitters either, but you know, the resiliency, plus
the home crowd, everything else trying to get into your
paces has not been there for the Pacers.

Speaker 1 (36:27):
Exit out about a Fresca exit swollen down the Jason
Smith Show with my best friend Mike Carmon.

Speaker 2 (36:32):
Okay, coming up next the chant at MSG end.

Speaker 1 (36:38):
What Josh Hart said to Retchie Miller right before the
game was over while Devincenza.

Speaker 2 (36:43):
Was shooting free throws. I don't know what's one pirits.
I must listen fox.

Speaker 5 (36:48):
Torch as they call it here.

Speaker 4 (36:49):
But yeah, it's not often that the National Hockey League
cuts through, and here we have that. We had that run.
That's all the way back in twenty fifteen. That's a
long time because the Mets were the next year and
that's it. That's a lot of losing. We've won a
lot of off seasons. You and I since then not
a lot else.

Speaker 1 (37:09):
We're a live from the Tirac dot Com studios, Direct
dot comill Up. You get there at unmatched selection, fast,
free shipping, free road hazard protection, and over ten thousand
recommended installers diirect dot com the way tire buying should be. Now,
there's a big deal with Rick Carlisle to get to
coming up in a couple of minutes, not just about
his ejection, but how really he helped blow this game

(37:29):
for the Pacers down the stretch. But we promised it
and I'm being told we can play it down the stretch.
In the fourth quarter, when the Knicks were pulling away
from the Pacers in the final couple of minutes, the
New York crowd started channing blank you Reggie, And then
Josh Hart went over to Reggie Miller to talk to

(37:50):
him and say something to him. And we're gonna hear
that too. But first we're gonna play the chance. Now, Frostburg,
are you sure we're allowed to play this? Cause this
is a big deal, man, Are you sure we can
play the MSG chan for the Knicks against Reggie Miller.

Speaker 5 (38:05):
I'm not I'm not sure.

Speaker 2 (38:08):
No.

Speaker 1 (38:08):
See, this is supposed to make me feel better and say,
oh yeah, we're good.

Speaker 2 (38:11):
Don't worry about it, man, don't worry.

Speaker 5 (38:13):
I wasn't even supposed to be here today. Great audio.
I think it's okay. So you think I don't think so.
I mean your guys' names on the show, Yeah, sure,
not mine, just his right, Just you know your name's
on it too.

Speaker 2 (38:28):
I'm just thinking about my you know.

Speaker 1 (38:31):
We I'm thinking about my twenty year career here in
sports talk radio too.

Speaker 2 (38:34):
How much I liked it and it could be over.

Speaker 5 (38:36):
But you got a hell of a run.

Speaker 1 (38:38):
But you don't blank at the next one. If this
is how I go out, it's how I go out, Okay, Well,
I mean you gotta save that for a title.

Speaker 4 (38:45):
They gotta get a hunk of metal up if you're
gonna give your career up for not getting in a
series against sacer The.

Speaker 1 (38:52):
New York City is insane right now, and they're up
to Zip in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Speaker 5 (38:58):
I mean, comes Smith two more games to get this in, Mike.

Speaker 1 (39:01):
They have taken over Sties for a postgame Drake put
the Broadway elite. I mean, look, this is the best
NICK season in twenty five years. It's the best Nick
team in twenty five years. It shows you out the
Knicks run the city. I mean, when the Knicks are good.

Speaker 2 (39:15):
Look at this man. Remember when the Nets tried to
make the Nets happen a couple of years ago with
the Red Eye.

Speaker 1 (39:21):
That was really sweet? Yeah, not even close. All right,
So here is the audio again. Frostbury's sold on to
your butts. Okay, here's the MSG crowd chanting at Reggie Miller.

Speaker 5 (39:42):
That's pretty good.

Speaker 1 (39:43):
Okay, good job, buyer squad in the back, boy Bray
getting it done.

Speaker 2 (39:48):
Okay, all right, I feel okay about that. I feel okay,
I feel okay.

Speaker 5 (39:53):
You can, you can relax a little bit.

Speaker 2 (39:54):
I feel okay. Now what about the audio of what
Josh Hart said to Reggie Miller?

Speaker 5 (40:00):
Same thing?

Speaker 2 (40:02):
You think it's okay?

Speaker 5 (40:03):
I don't know. Now, we'll see, okay.

Speaker 2 (40:06):
So let me set this up.

Speaker 1 (40:07):
So while the crowd is channing blank you, Reggie, as
you just heard again, Devin Chanz.

Speaker 5 (40:15):
Is it gonna be like in Hamilton? That's my wife,
you decided to they you woah?

Speaker 1 (40:22):
So uh so Devincenzo shooting free throws. The game's over
at this point, and Reggie Miller is talking. He's doing analysis,
and he's talking about uh, the game and the team
and and and what coaches might be saying to their players.
And Josh Hart walks over to tell Reggie Miller what
the crowd is saying to him, just in case Reggie

(40:42):
doesn't know.

Speaker 2 (40:43):
The next score thirty nine points, no, thirty four winners.
What do you think, Jerry?

Speaker 1 (40:52):
Right, here's my voice, So you're Reggie Miller's saying, what
do you think Jay Wright is saying?

Speaker 2 (41:03):
Right now?

Speaker 1 (41:03):
Oh? By the way, Jay Wright overrated, should have won
at least four titles with Villanova with these guys, right seriously.
But then Josh Hart you here come in and say,
I think they're saying blank you and it goes off. Yeah,
Reggie Miller just kind of laughs, like Reggie's a really
good sports through this whole thing.

Speaker 2 (41:19):
Look he understands. Hey, look we talked about him last night.

Speaker 1 (41:22):
Reggie Miller, Yes, overrated, he owes his entire start him
to his rivalry with the Knicks, and I you know
that's so, that's real.

Speaker 5 (41:28):
But you were far more uh hateful of Reggie Miller's career.

Speaker 1 (41:31):
Because he was like the boogeyman is coming. Oh Boogeyman.
Reggie Miller, that's the worst horror movie ever. Reggie, you
showed up. I'm the Boogeyman, and it's like they killed
the boom five minutes.

Speaker 5 (41:40):
But just because they had a mad uh bad actual movie.

Speaker 4 (41:44):
I mean, the concept of the Boogieman they left five
thousands of years.

Speaker 2 (41:48):
You know what Reggie Miller's Boogeyman movie was. This is
the beginning of the movie.

Speaker 1 (41:52):
The teenagers all walking into the into the uh into
the cabin and it's nighttime, and the and the guys
there and you see the feet of the killer and
here's the Boogeyman. Here's Reggie Miller. He's wearing pacer shoes
and pacer shorts and he's got a big knife or something.
He's gonna walk in. He's gonna walk in, and he
sees the one girl in the window and she's changing.

Speaker 2 (42:12):
You're like, oh, what's going on. He's always going into
killer And he opens up the door.

Speaker 1 (42:16):
The Boogeyman is here, and then fifteen teenagers just jump
up on him with knives and all kinds of web
and all of a sudden it's aw and the killer
is dead. In the first two minutes of the movie
roll the credits. This is the worst Boogeyman movie ever.
That's what happened to the pacers of Reggie Miller tonight.

Speaker 4 (42:33):
By the way, Steph Curry has a production company, right,
How has he not made a movie called The Baby
Face Assassin the lead?

Speaker 2 (42:41):
Well, you know, maybe he wants to save that. Yeah,
I mean maybe maybe one way.

Speaker 4 (42:46):
Man, Eventually, you know, the wrinkles are gonna be there,
the hairline's gonna go.

Speaker 5 (42:50):
No, no, people aren't gonna care anymore.

Speaker 1 (42:52):
Yeah, but dude, come on, man, we have AI now,
we can. We can turn Steph Curry thirty six years
old and Steph Curry.

Speaker 5 (42:57):
Eighteen at their point.

Speaker 2 (42:58):
You know, he's gotta he's got a wait like, that's.

Speaker 5 (43:00):
What never mind. I want him to want Harrison Ford
cast in that role.

Speaker 2 (43:04):
Steph Curry making The Baby Face Assassin is like when when? When? When?
When it stars?

Speaker 1 (43:08):
Is okay, it's been fifteen years since I started a movie. Hey,
that movie, I mean fifteen years ago was a big hit.
Let's do a sequel and I can start in a
movie again.

Speaker 4 (43:18):
Are you making fun of Ben Stiller next fan because
of Zulander two?

Speaker 2 (43:23):
Is that what you're doing?

Speaker 1 (43:24):
There, like, that's when that's gonna happen like that, Like
that's like the Fraser reboot that just came out. Hey,
you know, Fraser's been off the air for twenty years
and Kelsey Grammar's not working. Hey, let's reboot Fraser. And
I all right, that's great.

Speaker 2 (43:37):
That's when.

Speaker 1 (43:37):
Then, So you got to give Steph Curry away. He's
still one of the top scorers in the NBA. He
does not need to do baby Face Assassin yet. He's
got some time.

Speaker 5 (43:44):
He would have been better than Holy moly.

Speaker 1 (43:46):
Now the Nova Knicks movie. You have to kind of
get out right now because you have no choice, like
iron on hundred percent. But let's talk about Rick Carlisle
for a couple of seconds, and we'll get back to
Reggie Miller because that was just so much fun.

Speaker 2 (44:00):
Look one of the things that and look, he gets
thrown out of the game late. He's upset that.

Speaker 1 (44:04):
Uh and a double dribble call was overturned on Isaiah
Hartenstein and there was no double dribble. Carlisle is upset
that the call was overturned. I'm sure he's still upset
about whistling.

Speaker 5 (44:16):
They Inverton whistle.

Speaker 1 (44:18):
Yeah, And I know that he's upset about the call
from the other night and they're losing the game. I
get it he gets thrown out. I understand like that's
something that's just emotion, that that's he's mad, he's seeing
it come down. That's a square garden, is an absolute circus.
So I get him getting thrown out. But what he's
got to own is the fact that his bench controlled play.
When were the Pacers playing great in this game, yes,

(44:41):
when Brunson was on the bench. But TJ McConnell was
phenomenal off the bench, right, he was coming. How many short,
ten twelve foot jumpers did he hit when the Pacers
needed buckets?

Speaker 2 (44:51):
He had ten assists off the bench.

Speaker 1 (44:53):
Obie Toppen hit four threes in the first half, and
the Knicks had no answer for Obie topping The bench
was playing phenomenal and down the stretch. What happened He
went back to all of his starters and it wasn't enough,
and Jalen Brunson absolutely cooked whoever they put on him defensively, right,
it was like, oh, TJ McConnell's been in my hip

(45:13):
pocket and I'm still scoring forty points. Hey, oh oh,
he's out of the game. Oh great, and Brunson was
cooking in the final five minutes. I mean, the Knicks
closed tonight, and Rick Carlo's got to look back and
go I screwed that up, all right, Because it doesn't
matter if this is how you normally do things in
the regular season. I understand, Hey, regular season, the bench
plays well, we go to our guys to come back

(45:35):
and close the game.

Speaker 2 (45:35):
That's how it works.

Speaker 1 (45:36):
This is the final few minutes, the fourth quarter of
a playoff game that you need to win to not
go down to Zip. And you just basically said, yeah,
all the guys that really have carried us tonight, I'm
gonna sit them down. The Pacers starters for the game
were minus seventy nine. Minus seventy nine the five starters,
the four players off the bench collectively plus forty two guys.

Speaker 2 (46:00):
We're dominating the game.

Speaker 1 (46:02):
And Rick Carlisle decided we're going to go back to
this and he's got to own that, Like that's the
big question. Now, you want to be upset about an
inadvertent whistle on a double jed, Hey, you know, knock
yourself out, But this is what he's got to own
because this is the end of the game. This is
where he says, you know what, I either got caught
up in the game and I got caught up in
doing it how we normally do it. When in the playoffs,

(46:23):
every NFL coach will tell you sometimes at halftime, you
throw out whatever has been working for you up until
that point because you're not going to win the game
the way you played that first half, and you see
changes coming on and that's how you win. And Rick
Carlo's got to own that because that was the biggest
part of the game. When I'm I'm I'm taking exhaling breaths,
when McConnell comes out of the game, when Toppin's not

(46:44):
in the game, because the Knicks had no answers for
those guys and they needed more minutes because that was
when the Paces were playing great.

Speaker 4 (46:50):
Well, let's just give it the specificity, right quick, right,
topping went out seven to ten, McConnell went out, and
then Shepherd didn't come until the final three minutes of
the game.

Speaker 5 (47:03):
They accounted for forty one points off the bench.

Speaker 2 (47:06):
Yeah, I mean, he's got he's got to own that.

Speaker 1 (47:08):
Now. I now we're gonna hear from him coming up
later on this hour because he's gonna start speaking in
a couple of moments.

Speaker 2 (47:14):
But I really want to see what he has to say.
I really would like to Does he own that or
does he say the officials are just ruining this guy?

Speaker 1 (47:21):
Let me hear if I hear him talking about the officials, great,
because I know that the Pacers heads aren't where they
need to be. But he's got to own that because
that's on him. I mean, I I don't know if
you'll get the statue whatever it is, but you gotta
own that.

Speaker 4 (47:32):
And and you gotta get him to play defense because
they shot fifty seven percent.

Speaker 5 (47:38):
You just gotta be honest about it. They they were terrible.

Speaker 2 (47:42):
Exit out about a Fresca exit swollen dome.

Speaker 1 (47:44):
The Jason Smith Show with My best friend Mike Carmon
Live and the Tyrack dot Com Studios coming up next.
No better way to continue our coverage of all the
big news of the NBA today than to say hi
to Fox Sports One insider Rick Buker.

Speaker 2 (47:58):
What does he making the knicks and the pay? Just
after tonight?

Speaker 1 (48:00):
What about Yoka twinning his third straight MVP? Fox Sports Radio.
The Jason Smith Show with My bas friend Mike Harmon
live from the tire rack dot Com studios, joining us
now the hotline man, who I am sure had to
do push ups and train like Rocky getting ready for

(48:21):
disappearance with us and is Fox sports one Insider extraordinaire.
Check out us on the Ball podcast, which will be
all about Jalen Brunston and the Knicks. It is Rick Buker, Rick,
what's happening bud Well?

Speaker 7 (48:36):
First of all, I want to apologize. I was supposed
to be on with you guys a little earlier, but
I was I was too busy celebrating the Knicks victory,
So I apologize.

Speaker 2 (48:47):
That's right. I completely understand a couple of refrains of
go New York, Go, New York.

Speaker 3 (48:52):
Go.

Speaker 7 (48:53):
Yeah, Yeah, I actually I watched it. I watched the
game on the plane back from LA to San Francisco,
and and when I got when we got to the airport,
I bought a pair of blue and orange socks.

Speaker 2 (49:13):
There we go that I knew I was going to
bring you around to round to me. Rick. I mean,
now all you have to do.

Speaker 1 (49:18):
Next is, and you're on the Ball podcast, say Yoki
should do the right thing and give the MVP Trophy
to Brunson, Like when they try to give it to him,
say no, no, this is Jalen's award.

Speaker 2 (49:27):
Then they fly and give it to him instead.

Speaker 7 (49:29):
You mean he didn't do that already?

Speaker 2 (49:33):
How dare he?

Speaker 7 (49:33):
I'll dare him? What's up with that?

Speaker 4 (49:39):
I was really thinking, with those socks, Rick, you could
probably give them a couple of minutes at the three
or four because they're gonna need it.

Speaker 7 (49:46):
Well. You know it's funny because I was on with
I was on Undisputed this morning and skipped I think
he asked Byron Scott was on with us, and he asked,
what are the chances that the Tims goes to playing
his starting five all forty eight minutes? And I thought,

(50:07):
you know what, you know what he's What would really
be a Tims move is if one of his starting
five falls out, fouls out, and he looks out of
the bench and then he goes, screw it, We're just
playing with four, all right.

Speaker 1 (50:26):
Rick, So look, let's start here. Let's start here with this.
Rick Carlisle. After the game extreme look, he gets thrown
out of the game. He gets upset that an erroneous
whistle was taken back and the Knicks retained possession of
the basketball. He throws the referees under the bus, saying,
small market teams deserve a chance and we're not getting it.

(50:46):
He's got twenty nine calls they want to send to
the NBA about what's been missed the first couple of
games here with the Pacers in the Knicks.

Speaker 2 (50:53):
You know you've seen these first two games. What do
you make of Rick Carlisle saying that.

Speaker 5 (50:58):
I.

Speaker 7 (51:01):
I think he's frustrated. I do think that the way
the Knicks play uh invites whistles. I mean the way
that Jalen Jalen's just really good. Somebody, somebody uh on
our staff, on the speak staff, said that he's like
Trey Young, And I said, do not say that that

(51:27):
because I think Trey. I think Trey does like he
does extraneous things. Jalen is just very physical and very shifty, uh,
in terms of changing direction and and and and the
way he does it is a little bit different in
terms of he's and he did it, you know down
the streets. I thought he hit a big bucket where

(51:48):
he hit TJ. McConnell twice and then uh, and but
it was it was it was legitimate. It was legal. Uh,
And then Toward got that little separation scored, and then
somebody landed on top of him and he ended up
with an an one and you're you're watching the whole
sequence and you're thinking, God, Jalen, Jalen just beat the
stuffings out of TJ And how now he is going

(52:11):
to the free throw line?

Speaker 2 (52:12):
Life.

Speaker 1 (52:12):
He took that possession personally, Rick, that was one of
those I took that McConnell jumper and him getting it
by face personally, and I'm just walling him down the
floor on that bucket.

Speaker 7 (52:22):
Yeah. Yeah, So I look, I understand I understand Rick
Rick's frustration. I can see where it comes from. But
but the truth of the matter is, and probably the
heart of it, is that his guys are more finesse
players like Pascal Siakam will We'll bang, but he does

(52:43):
it in trying to just he uses his length more
than his his his whip to create space.

Speaker 1 (52:52):
Uh.

Speaker 7 (52:52):
And Haliburton is the same way. Those guys just don't
attack the paint in the same way. And so I
can see why the whistle favors New York. And I
don't think it's the big market versus small market. But
look Rick smart and he's not generally not an emotional guy.
What he's doing is trying to lay the ground work

(53:14):
so that they get a different whistle in Indiana. And
we'll see ultimately if that happens or it works. But
you know, the short of it is, I don't think
they've gotten I don't think Indiana has gotten an egregiously
bad whistle. I think they just Brunson has created a

(53:35):
riddle for them that they cannot solve if they double him.
He's really getting good at getting the ball out of
his hands. And Hardenstein in particular sort of as that
swing guy at the top, that's the guy you're going
to leave leave alone. Well, he's done a good job
of swinging it quickly and finding de Vincenzo or one
of the other open shooters. And they've knocked down the

(53:55):
shots and if they don't double them, and Brunston is
just really good at getting his own shot contested or otherwise.
And I mean that's the shots that he made down
the stretch, considering looked like he was playing on a
bad foot, looked like he was exhausted. I don't I
don't have words for watching Brunt that is giving us

(54:15):
a Jordan like performance. And he is in no way
physically like Michael Jordan's and yet kind of get into
the same spot. Degree of difficulty is much greater, and
and and just hitting every clutch shot that they need.
I it's it's astounding because I still I look at

(54:36):
him and I'm like, how is he doing this over
and over and over again. He looks like he's playing
on one leg. He looks like he's exhausted, and yet
and looks like he's got a hand in his face,
and he drills every shot necessary. It has just been
a remarkable performance.

Speaker 2 (54:54):
You know.

Speaker 7 (54:55):
My only question is and he'd do it two more
times with you know, with which with a diminishing crew
around him, that is going to be the biggest question.

Speaker 4 (55:05):
Well, now you're missing og Uh indefinitely. I mean, the
Bacers did give up fifty seven shooting to the Nicks.
One of the things we banged down a bunch. But
Jason and I were talking about this before Rick the
the substitutions in the fourth court. Rick Carlisle probably kicking
himself too that McConnell and top and didn't see a
lot of action down the stretch as effective as they'd been.

Speaker 7 (55:26):
Yeah, well it's a tricky I don't know. I haven't
seen them play McConnell and Haliburton a whole lot together,
and so yeah, I mean maybe maybe he could. Maybe
we'll see, we'll see a change there. Again, I just

(55:48):
there was there's There was once or twice where I
thought Halliburton needed to need it to go to the
cup and try to score. Instead, he tried to swing
it out and it either ended up they didn't get
a show or it was a turnover. And and those
little moments where he's not as aggressive as Brunson is

(56:08):
really has been the different I thought Brunson was. I
thought Haliburton was so much better than one of us
was obviously in game one. But I think that he
has to be even more aggressive, particularly with now with
Og out of there. I mean, you only have Hertenstein
to defend the rim. If Halliburton is really attacking strong,

(56:31):
scoring and and and attacking the rim, then I think
it's going to open up more for the other guys,
and they just he did more of it this game.
I think it has to go to yet another level
if they're going to combat with Jalen Brunson is doing.

Speaker 1 (56:44):
Look, it's gonna be fine, Rick, because Greg Anthony will
play some more minutes in game five, Bernard King will
play some more minutes in game FLA.

Speaker 5 (56:52):
It's it's gonna be fine, Rick, It's gonna be your
play in the suit.

Speaker 2 (56:55):
We're good.

Speaker 7 (56:56):
I think. I think Don Starks is ready to turn
his hat backward and get out there and let a
couple fly.

Speaker 1 (57:04):
Rick Buker with US Fox Sports One NBA inside of
the Jason Smith Show with Mike Carmon Live from the
tirec dot Com Studios.

Speaker 2 (57:11):
You know we said this last.

Speaker 1 (57:12):
Night and I and you know you mentioned Jordan, And
I feel like when when I when I sit here
and look at the two best players in the playoffs
so far, I don't think I don't think I'm stretching
up by saying it's been Jalen Brunson and Anthony Edwards, Right,
those are probably been the two best players in the
playoffs so far. And yet we see Edwards all the
time gets pushed, Hey, he's the next Jordan, He's this,
he's that. And I feel like the reason Brunson doesn't

(57:36):
get the run is because he doesn't give you that
I don't know that he can dunk, right, he gives
you you know, he's a he's a He's one of
the smartest players in the league, probably one of the
top three smartest players in the league, being able to
do what he can and and that's the brilliance of
his game and hitting the big shots. It's not up
and down and making a big three over two guys,
or or fighting away to the rim and fight.

Speaker 2 (57:56):
We just don't we just don't see.

Speaker 1 (57:58):
It's easy to see the brilliance for Anthony Edwards because
physically he's that guy, but for Brunson it's kind of harder.
I wonder if that's why it's taken so long for
people to come around to the fact that hey, you know, hey,
this Jalen Brunson's a bleeping superstar.

Speaker 7 (58:12):
Yeah. I mean, honestly, I think I think in some
ways I could make a case where that what Jalen
has done and is doing is more Jordan like than
what Anthony Edwards does. But the comparison and nobody should
compare it to should be compared to Jordan's because, as
Michael did, some of what Anthony Edwards is doing and

(58:33):
some of what Jalen Brunson is doing and then doing
a few other things that neither one of those guys do.
And so I just I think the I think that
Anthony Edwards to Michael Jordan's. My problem is people don't
go like they're they're saying he's the next Jordan, or
he does what does he do like Jordan's He's got
it like a turnaround jumper, like Jordan. He's got the

(58:55):
athletic ability to crush it on the rim and go
buy somebody and dunket. But he doesn't manage the game
like Michael did. Like Michael was a maestro. He controlled
everything when he was on the floor. Uh and and
is in no way there yet now he's only twenty two.

(59:16):
But I made this. I made this comparison like everybody's like, well,
what was Michael doing at twenty two? Michael Michael was
barely into the league at age twenty two because of
the time that he spent in North Carolina. If you
compare this will tell you how far Ant has to
go before he gets to Michael Jordan's status. This is

(59:37):
Ant's fourth year in the league. He was not I
didn't check the ballot, but my guess is like, he
wasn't in the top five in MVP voting. I know
he wasn't on my ballot, and people are gonna some
people have just watched him during the playoffs are going
to wonder how that is. Look, he wasn't he wasn't
an m VP during the season. He was a really

(59:58):
good player. He wasn't wasn't empty. And he's a little
bit like Jayson Tatum for me, and he's he's the
best player, the most talented player on a really, really,
really good team, but not everything goes through him. So
that that that's Ant's fourth fourth year. He was an
All Star on one of the best teams in the

(01:00:21):
Western Conference. Michael Jordan in his fourth year was League MVP,
was the Defensive Player of the Year, was winning his
second consecutive scoring title, was All First Team defense and
All NBA First Team, and he took a Chicago Bulls

(01:00:43):
team that had Charles Oakley and Brad Cellars as the
two other maybe the next best players on the team
who the second round of the playoffs. What ann has
done this so far is really great. If we're talking
about what two guys have done and their fourth year

(01:01:04):
in the League, which I think is the most fair comparison.

Speaker 4 (01:01:07):
There is no comparison to that, end Rick and obviously
some good Bulls history when you get Brad Cellars into things.

Speaker 2 (01:01:17):
Dave Corsine, no cousine.

Speaker 4 (01:01:21):
The legend of Dave Corsine, absolutely there you go as
we go through it, I mean, how does Denver get
up off the mat?

Speaker 5 (01:01:27):
Can they?

Speaker 2 (01:01:29):
You know?

Speaker 7 (01:01:30):
I'm I'm really baffled by Denver. I'll be honest, Like,
I thought that the way they played against the Lakers
was out of boredom, not out of its physical or
mental fatigue, because they just looked like they were sleeping,
sleepwalking most of the time. I haven't seen them play
with the Christmas Christmas and energy of last year's championship teams.

(01:01:52):
I don't know. I mean I've seen it here and there,
but only enough to eke out those wins again the Lakers,
And after they lost Game four, I expected to see
it in Game five, I was like, Okay, you know what,
they've beaten the team so many times, they feel like
we don't have to take them seriously until the fourth
quarter and then we'll close them out. And they did

(01:02:14):
that what twelve times? And then they lose one. I'm like, okay,
game five, they're at home, They're gonna let They're gonna
remind everybody, Yeah, you know what, we flipped up. We
lost one. We're going to remind you of just how
good we are.

Speaker 1 (01:02:25):
And they were.

Speaker 7 (01:02:25):
They were basically the same team, and they've basically been
that team against Minnesota and they've had it handed to
him because Minnesota is just that much better than the Lakers.
So I'm not talking around your question. How they get
off the mat is they show me some semblance of
the team that won a championship last year, which means

(01:02:47):
they're going to be aggressive offensively and defensively. Jokic reason
he was my MVP was because when he had a
guy like noz Reed, he didn't wait a round for
the double team. He put nos Reed underneath the baskets
and and and was putting it in the hoop until
they brought somebody quicker or put somebody bigger on him,

(01:03:09):
and then he would then he would he would spray
it around there. They're cuts off the ball are not sharp.
They seem to be disconnected and misreading each other. And
then Jamal Murray in the series in particular, has decided like, no,
I need to prove that I can score on Jaden
Daniels and and Anthony Edwards. And I'm like, dude, why

(01:03:30):
why are you attempting to do this? That's not when
what you guys are at your best.

Speaker 2 (01:03:35):
It's you.

Speaker 7 (01:03:38):
Making a decision getting the ball to Jokis if you
have a bad matchup playing off of him, running off
the ball, getting it and then taking a shot, not
trying to prove that you can go one on one
against these guys because those are two really good defenders
that have greater size on you, and and you're not
scoring at a consistent uh in a consistent way with

(01:03:58):
those match ups. So I just I'm really baffled, Like
what do they have to do to get off the mat?
They need to be the Denver Nuggets. I really haven't
seen the team that that I came to to respect
and admire in the way they played last year. I've
only seen glimpses of that team to this point, and
I think if they are what they were last year,

(01:04:20):
and I think they can be that Minnesota is really
good on the ball, descending one on one, great descendants.
The way you can loosen that up is if you're
making them move and rotate, and they've got to read
and react. Carl Anthony Edwards has got to chase Carl,
and Anthony Towns has to rotate. Now, you're going to

(01:04:40):
get some opportunities. So they just maybe back to playing
Denver Nuggets basketball and and maybe that maybe they can't.
Maybe maybe the mental and physical fatigue of having won
a championship and then battling it out with Minnesota and
Oklahoma City for the best record in the Western Conference.
You know, maybe lost to San Antonio where they could

(01:05:02):
have they could have zipped it up. Maybe that was
a sign of things that this team just doesn't have
as much in the tank as we thought that they did.

Speaker 2 (01:05:14):
He's on Twitter at Rick Buker. That is at Rick Buker.
Check out on the Ball podcast, which will be all
about Josh Hart.

Speaker 1 (01:05:21):
Can he play every minute of every game the rest
of the year. Rick is always buddy appreciated man nixt Show.

Speaker 2 (01:05:27):
Talk to you soon.