May 28, 2025 • 40 mins
Jason Smith reacts to his Knicks losing game 4 and gives you the main reason the Pacers are up 3-1 in the series. And the guys debate if the Knicks need to fire Tom Thibodeau after getting completely out-coached by Rick Carlisle.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
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Speaker 2 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Hello, Welcome in Side hour two The Jason Smith Show
with my best friend Mike Harmon.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Eeha.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Game four of the Eastern Conference Finals in the books,
and it is the Pacers. Thanks to a forty three
point first quarter, they cruise by the Knicks one thirty
to one twenty one to take a three games to
one lead in their playoff series. All I'm seeing is
Pacers have never lost up three to one, teams up
(00:56):
three to one, or you know, five hundred and eighty
four and thirteen all dad, Yes, yes, I know I
know all of this. Everything I know I know. Is
it crushing soul? Are you just kind of shrugging your
shoulders and going, well, what do you do? Here's the thing?
You think I'm gonna be mad? And jumping around and
(01:17):
throwing a tantrum, and no, because what can I say?
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Right?
Speaker 1 (01:22):
What have I said from the beginning of this series
giving away Game one? The Knicks are still mentally trying
to come back from giving away Game one, and the
Pacers are still dining out on the confidence of their
comeback in Game one. There's not a lot I can
say because the biggest thing that's going on right now, Okay,
the biggest thing, Tom Thibodeau is getting completely out coached
(01:44):
by Rick Carlisle. It really reminds me of when I
would watch the Patriots and Bill Belichick's hate. I mean
not at the end when he was awful and you
didn't know what he was doing, but in the heyday
of the Patriots, where I would watch them play different
teams in the AFC East Why and the first time
they not just the Jets, but when they played the
Dolphins or the Bills, and they would have one game
(02:06):
plan that would work right, it was, oh, hey, this
was Stephen Ridley. What a huge game. Twenty carries, one
hundred and five yards. Brady didn't nearly need to throw
the ball a lot. They were able to keep the
Bills offense off the field. Okay, so the second game
the Bills, how do we adjust? What do they do
to us last time? We're ready for this and then
it's a completely different game plan from Belichick where we're
(02:27):
gonna throw the football and suddenly it's a big day
for Wes Welker. Right, fourteen catches for Welker. He had
three catches in the first game. This is what Belichick
used to do to team. Right. This is why I
go back and say, despite Spygate, all of it, he's
the best coach I've seen because he can change game
plans on a dime, even sometimes when you're playing the
team again two weeks after you play them, with those
(02:49):
kind of quirks in the schedule. This is what Belichick
used to do to teams. He used to frustrate the
crap out of me because I go, okay, well, the
Jets be ready for this, but it's gonna be something
else different the second game. And this is what Karl
is doing to the Knicks and doing to Tom Thibodeau
because the first game, the Knicks had no answer for
the comeback in the fourth quarter. Right, they knew that
the Pacers new we can get shots. We know that
(03:10):
Nie Smith can get his own shot because Josh Hart
can't stay with him. Anob we can't stay with him.
The Knicks had no answer, was on roller skates. Yeah,
they lose game one, okay, game two. The Knicks have
to come back mentally from that loss and understand this
is how we have to attack things. Halli Burton has
a big game. We need to make sure that we're
doing X, Y and Z. We're gonna learn our lessons
from game one. What does game two happen? Pascal Siakam
(03:33):
scores the first eleven points because they know we can
take advantage of this this matchup, in this mindset, and
has the game of his life right again, Pete Kevin
Durant is what he bleep and looked like. He looked
like Kevin Durant in his prime. And so the Pacers
take game two. Okay, another one check mark for Rick
Carlisle because the Knicks clearly are you said, you know,
(03:54):
cats on roller skates. I feel like the Knicks defensively,
we're on roller skates. They are able to gut out
of winning game three. But here I watched game four,
and I'm telling you, man, if the Pacers had five
difficult baskets today, I think I'm being generous the Knicks
defense at the top of the key. They kept losing players,
and it doesn't matter. Sometimes it's Brunson, sometimes it's Andrew Noby.
(04:15):
The referees were very generous with the Pacers offensively, but
I can't really blame the official. I can't sit here
and go, oh, they screwed us this because the Knicks
just looked so lost defensively. Like tonight, the Knicks had
no answer for what the Pacers game plan was. The
Pacers played at their own pace. They played at that
fast pace. The Knicks were never able to really dictate
(04:36):
the pace. They were able to close the win in
six late, but it doesn't matter because they were chasing
those six points most of the game. And Halliburton is
going to the Hall of Fame off of this game.
More on him in a couple of minutes. But the
whole thing with the Knicks is that I couldn't get
that excited, that upset because I'm just watching going defensively,
They're just going to find a place in the shot
clock where the Pacers are gonna have some sort of advantage,
(04:56):
whether it's one on one and they're more athletic getting
to the hoop. Or it's an open three and they
open three with a long rebound, they can get that
offensive rebound because they're they're flying in from the sides
to get it. Just on defense, the Knicks looked lost,
and I watched their body language and it's terrible. You know,
they see a play to and they stare at each
other and look in point and it doesn't matter if
it's the same thing down the court. Again, there was
(05:17):
no adjustments overall in this game. There was no uh
changes that Tom Thibadau made. Hey we're gonna do this
in this it was just the same thing. And I
never really had confidence the Knicks are gonna win this
game because eventually you got to get a couple of stops.
On defense, they were just relying on the Pacers missing
and that's not how you win games, right, It's what Oh,
but the Pacers missed some shot, Yeah, they missed some shots.
(05:38):
They still shot fifty percent from the floor. But the
Knicks weren't making them miss. This was, Hey, we had
an open three and we missed. We had it, we
had a jumper and we missed. I mean, there's if
they had five difficult shots where it was one on
two or they're getting bailed out by this incredibly physical play.
That's a lot in this game. They were just too
much easy for the Pacers every time down the floor.
(06:00):
And again the Knicks had no answer to this advantage.
Rick Carlyle, Huge, You could talk about game one and
the comeback for the Ages and Halliburton up one hundred
percent in the choke, but why is this three to
one right now? Because the Pacers have better game plans,
they're executing more and and and Tibbs is just sitting
there with his arms folded. He looks like he looks
like Phil Jackson, not even Phil Jackson with the Lakers
(06:21):
where they had trouble like with the Bulls when they
would just blow through teeth and say, oh we're gonna
if a series is four to two, feel happy you
won those couple of games like this. This is the
legend that Rick Carlyle is being made out to be
in this yea, I did you go back to game
three and there were some movement right Obviously he gets
some minutes from Shammitt and folks that want to stick
up for Tibbs and talk about his acumen and what
(06:43):
he's been able to do with the squad. Game three
was a good one, right in terms of pulling strings,
finding some minutes off the bench, McBride whatever, And that's fine.
It's it was a short lived solution. Today you were
back to some of the same habits that created the
two to zero deficit of standing around. Look, they've had
the unfortunate run of loose ball's finding the waiting hands,
(07:09):
oftentimes beyond the three point arc of the Indiana Basers.
Loose ball fills the aggressiveness and physicality waiting on a
call that never comes right, Ah initiated content. Well, you're
not getting that call. Play the other way right a
number of times where you're going back and you're now
in a fast break opportunity for the pacers because you've
(07:30):
got one or more guys standing back, staring at the
referee and wanting to fight him. It's the call didn't
come get back or the look. They out rebounded him
by eleven. The Knicks win the rebounding margin, They out
offensive rebounded them by eight thirteen total offensive rebounds, and
they had a number of set plays and opportunities off
(07:51):
inbounds plays where you just miss wide open. Looks like
we saw it down the stretch with chances to really
make it a make up sweat in the final two
to three minutes, like you're taking an off balance falling
away three, there's nobody guarding you, set your feet, take
your shot, and then the fights for rebounds. We saw
(08:12):
the tussling. I know you're still I might get you
a T shirt that has the Miles Turner Karl Anthony
Towns hands holding near the top of the key before
he shugged him off. No get off me. It's like
your kid's like, no, no, no, come on, we gotta go. No, no, no,
get your hand, like I'm a big boy, now let
me low. I don't need you, old man. So you
add all that and you're in Indiana, which means you're
(08:33):
gonna get a little bit of the emotion of the
crowd that's gonna come into play. And obviously Haliburton wanted
to show up for his old man who had his
banishment rescinded. And his first quarter is really one of
the things for the ages, right. We've seen it a
couple of times in these playoffs. It was like that
guy's got a whole game's worth of stats by the
(08:54):
end of the first Well, look, and that's the big thing.
You want to say, this is overrated a little bit,
but it's not. And the Pacers go ahead and break
your arm, patting yourself on the back, picking the game
to put Halliburton's dad back in so he could come
see it. Right, What did I say after Game three?
It's a panic move. They want to try to get
some look, blowing that twenty point lead. We don't know
(09:16):
where we are. Are we fragile now, so we don't
want the Knicks to have an advantage. They could have
put Halliburton's dad back in the game for Game three,
but no, let's save it. They needed it for Game four.
And I don't think there's any there's any coincidence that
Halliburton's dad comes back to watch the games and Halliburton
has the greatest game of his career. A stat line
in the NBA playoffs we have never seen in NBA
(09:38):
history thirty two fifteen assists, twelve rebounds, zero turnovers zero.
We have never seen that in any game ever. And
NBA and basketball history like going all the way back
to like the mid nineties, and they first started to
keep a track of stuff like this way. You know,
no one blow a lead like that. It's game one.
I don't think there's any coincidence there. And you say, oh,
(09:59):
how big a deal is that. No, obviously it's a
big deal. They brought him back for a reason. They
brought him back for this game. My dad is back
at the game, and the Pacers just find a way
to get juiced up to play the next man. Right,
But as we talked about it, can you talk about
panic desperation savvy? You know, decide where you're at in
that continuum, but you're you're trying to find an edge,
(10:21):
and that certainly gave a lift. How many shots into
the booth did you have of him tonight? Every other
times like watching Taylor Swift at a football game, there's pops,
there's pops. There is again. Okay, yeah we hit the
over on him. There is a fast. But with that
first quarter, I mean it was a clinic and anything
he did put the ball near the rim. Fine. Uh.
(10:41):
Not often do you have that level of acumen and
accuracy where your teammates are taking care of you when
you're racking up assists that to that level, right, Because
normally on a pass, they're going to fumble it, and
the turnover is gonna get credited to you. That didn't
happen to right sure handedness. But part of that is
also the inability at times for the Knicks to move
(11:03):
their feet and get into position to create that chaos
as opposed to a nice clean look, which we saw
time and time again. We'd be remiss we didn't bring
up the Matherin aspect of this, because he has the
game of his life off the bench, Dave, the pacers
have all had the games of their lives. For his sorties,
he goes for twenty and gave you ten of eleven
(11:25):
free throws, played a total of twelve minutes. Twelve minutes,
that's how big an impact. But he also shook things
up repeatedly where you've got him doing full on takedowns
like he's in Greco Roman wrestling. But think about the
look you say, You say, Matheren Mathern did have a
big night to hare twenty points and twelve minutes. Right,
he was fantastic. Right, you have Halliburton had the game
(11:46):
of his life. Sure, did Siakam have the game of
his life in game two? Yes? Yeah, I might argue
that didn'y Smith have the game of his life and
bring one. Yeah, okay, so now you've had four guys
have the games of their lives in this series. And
Zach Mett went for thirty five and two tonight and
he'd say, hey, I don't even care what, but this
(12:07):
is what your dad didn't get the Knicks defensively, I mean,
this is what a complete and total failure. This is
like the knickser is like you know in football went
when you see a big you see a big collegiate
team playing and also Ren it's like it's a stat
game for us, like we're just you know, this is
a game for our quarterback to throw for two hundred
yards and five touchdowns before he comes out of the game,
like the Nick this is. These are stat games for
(12:29):
the Pacers. Could four different players have the absolute games
of their lives so far in this suite? No, Nie
Smith only needed a quarter to do it. I mean
that's when you play the next telling that it helps
when you play and you play defense like this, but
that's his defense, Like you're talking tired legs and even
here you got thirty six minutes from heart off the bench,
he goes for what twelve and eleven but falls out
(12:53):
shamit gave you eleven minutes he was a plus six
three three points for him. Uh. And then fifteen and
it's from McBride who took three shots. He was minus fourteen.
He was terrible.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
But you know you don't have the depth of bench
to really buy these guys out. They tried you in
the second quarter because Brunson sat for a while right
hanging around to where you could steal him an extra
minute here and there, thinking it would help down the stretch.
But they also did full on raptor defense of don't
I don't know that any of your guys help him out,
Like when he's about to get doubled from the backside
(13:26):
and all of a sudden, like, hey, you got a
second guy that's about to reach in for the ball,
and now you're sprawled out on the floor wishing and
hoping that it rolls to the feet of one of
your teammates. Not a lot of help for him. So,
speaking of help, help, Yannis, can you get here for
the next game? Oh wow? You'll hear from Tom Tibadeau,
who talks about what went wrong for the nick to
night coming up next and everything. Well, let's see, should
(13:49):
Tims be allowed back next year? No, that's next. Jason
to Mike Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
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 Fox.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Sports Radio The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon. Knicks
are down three to one. That's just the way it is. TJ.
Hornsby got paid, right, I would have said, well, yeah,
I mean you got too. This is all so Pacers
beat the Knicks one thirty one twenty one, and a
few minutes ago we talked about the look the defensive
lapses of the Knicks. They can't cover screens, they can't switch,
(14:31):
they just can't do it right. It's it's it's impossible.
Brunson and Towns are liabilities defensively, and there's no answer
that the Knicks have. Right. Tibbs is getting out coached
completely by Rick Carlyle. You gotta find a way. You
just can't have a bunch offensive players on that team.
But that's the point, is that the other three guys
(14:52):
have to be exceptional based on what Cat and Brunson
are defensively right, because brunts, and as much as we
love the heart and he's become the everyman hero, being undersized,
being a little round all those it's the same thing
for Cat, right, for all the talk that we have
of all this other stuff, and man, there are times
(15:12):
that are like, all right, dudes, winded might might need
you know, an extra salad as a guy who's eats
a lot of them these days. But but to that point, right,
they're both defensive liabilities. Offensively, it works. Offensively, you get
your shots, you get your opportunities, and certainly you saw
in this series an awful lot of times where Anthony
Towns looked far more comfortable when it was someone else
(15:35):
giving him the ball than Jalen Brunson. So that's a
whole other thing to be worked out. But when they're
on the court together defensively, you give up a lot.
It's a it's look the Pacers simply that they got
the horses this series, right, they have the horses. Again,
you have four players that have had the games of
their lives, and I'm not exaggerated, they've had the auto
games of their lives. In the first four games of
(15:56):
this series. They have a better bench, right, I know
coming off the bench that McConnell or Mathrin or somebody
is going to have a big They're going to perform.
They're jacked up to play the Knicks, which is part
of the cursoned up. Everybody gets jacked up to play
against you. Right, this is what it is. So I
get all over. Don't forget Obie topping with that big
three pills show. I mean, yeah, of course he plays
(16:17):
like he plays like eight minutes tonight, and he hits
the big three where maybe the Knicks could have cut
it to four in the final forty five. Of course
that happens, right, It's highly important for a lot of
people watching the end of that game. And there's just
so many things. Right, Look, Tibbs is getting completely out coached.
The Pacers also have the better roster. You're seeing it,
all right. I've never seen a team in the Eastern
(16:37):
Conference Finals with more problems than the Knicks. They have
a lot of problems. And still that being said, right,
the game was still somewhat close. But you want to
talk with the two biggest plays of the game, where okay,
I'll give the two biggest plays of the game, because
if they're not plays, then anybody's really going to look
back on. But when I saw it, I said, ah,
this is this is where any sort of momentum was gone,
(16:59):
and and Hope left the building. Near the end of
the first half, Right, I'm standing in front of the
TV and Rob Parker's everybody else, and I go, Okay,
we're up by one. Let's not turn this into a
five point deficit at halftime. What happens the next turn
into a five point deficit at halftime? Right, they missed
a couple of turnovers, paged a couple of shots, are
up by five, and doesn't get the call at the
under the half. There a lot of confusion, a lot
(17:20):
of cursing. His dad goes over and starts, oh yeah, yeah,
his dad, who's actually a team official, folks, just yeah.
And it's not like his dad runs on. It's not
Halliburton's dad r So, like, that was a bad end
of the half. But okay, it's the end of the
first half. You had a one point lead. This should
be a three point lead, maybe a two, maybe even
you have the lead at halftime, but instead, nope, they
(17:41):
biffed the last couple of possessions. They guard Brunson two
tight and he doesn't get a call, and it's a
five point lead. Okay, they come back out of halftime
and the Pacers have the ball out of halftime, and
they hit a shot to go up by seven. And
then these two plays absolutely killed the Knicks. You had
two really horrendous turnovers in a row to start the
(18:03):
second half offensively by the Knicks. Jalen Brunson, I don't
know what he was trying to do. Horrible turnover. Halliburton
goes in for the steal and it's an easy transition
dunk for Pascal Siakam. Then when the Knicks come back out,
it looks like they get another hoop. Mical Bridges has
a bad pass, turns the ball over. The Pacers eventually
get a hoop, and now it's a nine to eleven
(18:23):
point lead, and the Knicks never threatened again. They were
chasing those nine to ten points for the rest of
the game, right. I mean, I know it's two plays
beating to the third quarter, but here is okay, five
point lead, let's get out, let's start, and two turnovers
that were completely avoidable. These were not turnovers that a
These are great plays defensively that the Pacers made. These
were turnovers that were unforced errors, and all of a sudden,
(18:46):
a five point game turns into an eleven point lead
for the Pacers and that was it. I mean, the
Knicks never threatened again. They got it to five or
six a couple of times, but that's it. They never
got They never were able to get that mental lift
of tying the game or bring it back within one point.
Never had never made the Pacers sweat. Those two possessions
that started the second half for the Pacers where they
(19:07):
got buckets and the Knicks turned it over unforced errors,
those are the two biggest possessions because again, the Knicks
never really threatened after that. They had a nice little
run at the end of the fourth quarter where hey, okay,
maybe we cut it to sick but no. But again,
the Pacers aren't going to miss that many in a
row because defensively the Knicks can't stop them. But those
two plays, those are the biggest two plays of the game. Oh,
you have to play perfect basketball thereafter. I mean, you
(19:29):
had a couple of stretches where they did a good
job of keeping the Pacers without a bucket, forcing some
bad possessions, but when you're at that deficit, and that
means offensively, you've got to be perfect. They finished with
seventeen turnovers, most of which were trying to force the
ball into a crowded space down low. You're not getting
that call repeatedly. I mean, we saw bodies flying all
(19:52):
over the place as this game wore on, and yeah,
you had that sequence at the end of the first
that really was disheartening if you were a Knicks fan,
because you'd battled because it was uneven. Right, that first
quarter was again some of the best basketball that we've
gotten to watch in these playoffs. Right, nobody's missing shots.
(20:12):
You're taking care of the basketball for the most part
and moving on. And then it starts getting sloppy. The
extra pass around the wing for the Pacers finds its
intended mark and they hit a big shot, whereas with
the Knicks it would be all right, let's try to
force it inside to where you'd have Siakam or Turner waiting,
(20:33):
and you're not getting an easy look. And if it's Brunson,
you're not necessarily getting the call when he gets bodied
off the ball. Turnover going the other way, the number
of out of bounds plays where it just became a
rugby scrum and bodies flying all over. It's like it's
not conducive to cohesive offensive play and winning basketball. And
(20:56):
to your point, again, if you're trying to play in
a game like this, like the over under was, I
want to say, like two twenty we ended up with
two hundred and fifty one points. Yeah, you're not winning games,
but the fact that it's a nine point game is
is a bit shocking. That means you've got some some
juice down the road. Brunson did finish with thirty one,
but that this is not a game the Nicks win. No,
(21:20):
this this type why I never really looks. That's why
I did. I didn't go crazy about the look. They
won Game three and that was great, But what they
did was I told you they bought themselves a couple
of days. Now you gotta win game four. The series
is over because you see math, right, you know you
don't come back from down three. We got a good statue.
Want to fourteen to fourteen this time around? Yeah, you
know since nineteen ninety five, when teams have had a
(21:41):
nine point lead with fifty one seconds left to go,
teams are fourteen hundred wins and one loss. But you
know that's just crazy. That's got one that's got to
fall them. You gotta stop dancing here, you gotta you
gotta answer the question. Well, let's let's hear from him first.
Do you really want to Yeah, yeah, look, got to
hear from the first. Let's hear from a fight. It
might anger you if I'm gonna say fire tips. I
(22:03):
want to hear from him first. After this game, you
need to hear from him, Yes, I do. I fired
him in the first round just like Look, just like
last night where he said, wow, Anthony Edwards was really terrible,
and boy, this is he just disappears in big games.
You wanted to hear him say at the end of
the game, I don't think I played bad. That was
so good. I played just fine. I made I made
the right basketball play. Oh, by the way, that's really
(22:25):
an example of today's takes. The night before, boy, I
saw that and Edwards take the we had last night
everywhere today, man, congratulations, just send us a check for money.
That's all you have to do. But let's hear from
Nick's head coach Tom Timbadeau talking about what went wrong tonight.
I mean, all he has to do is say everything
and walk away. Okay, we're done dropping the mic. Uh
what went wrong for the Knicks to night and their
(22:47):
loss to the Pacers? What did you see defensively?
Speaker 3 (22:50):
That wasn't We knew it was going to be a
fast game, you know, so that was gonna that was
the priority was, you know, defensive train to get set.
But we hurt ourselves with our turnovers, putting them in
the open floor.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Look, I said this going into the playoffs. If the
Knicks losing the first round, Tibbs needs to go right
and they win the first round, they beat the Celtics, fantastic.
Now here they are getting exposed. And the thing is
Tibbs is getting out coached in the third round in
the in the Eastern Conference finals, he's getting out coached.
(23:28):
And the team and the team and the team has made,
you know, around what Tibbs wants.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
Right.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
So here's a roster that gets to this point and
still you see that it's not quite the roster it
needs to be. And and Tom Thibodaux, whose identity is defense, right,
that's what he's brought the entire time to the NBA
The Knicks don't do that anymore, right, they don't do it.
They play a little bit more physical when they can.
They're more physical than the Celtics, and that's why they
won that series. But like Tibbs's hallmark is is is defense,
(23:58):
and if the team has gone so far away away
from it, like okay, is TIBs really what they need now?
Is he really what they need at this point? If
if what the whole reason you brought him in? This
is why he's The defense has been great. This is
what they do now. They're getting worked constantly, defensively, constantly,
And yes, part of it is because Brunson and Karl
(24:18):
Anthony Towns aren't great players defensively, but you ask a
great defensive players on that team, you got, you got
an All NBA caliber guy and Ogannoobi and he suddenly
can't even can't even stick with with with Nie Smith
in the first quarter, in the fourth quarter of games, Like, dude, again,
this is not Steph Curry running around the court, How
are you falling down? How is this happening?
Speaker 4 (24:37):
Like?
Speaker 1 (24:38):
I mean it, like you have to look in and
the Knicks are gonna make one or two big chance.
I guarantee you coming out of this right, you're ready
for a big take on TIBs in the fut go.
One of two things is going to happen. Okay, one
of two things is gonna happen because the Knicks are
gonna leave this series and say, Okay, what what went wrong?
What do we need for next year? One of two
things is gonna happen. Either Tims is gonna be replaced
(25:01):
or Towns somebody else will go somewhere for Joannis. Something
is going to happen because the core of this team
is not made up to achieve long term postseason success.
The Pacers are running circles around them, right. So we
talked about it a couple of days ago. This is
a really bad failure. But you're seeing the way the
(25:23):
Knicks are constructed, and they don't have a bench. There's
no McConnell's, there's no Matherins, there's no Obi Toppins coming in.
There's nobody. Right, you have you have six guys that
you play that play a bunch of minutes, and Mitchell,
Robinson or Hart, whoever comes off the bench is gonna
give you a lot of those minutes. That's not enough, right,
the Knicks are really top heavy, and and the way
Bridges played earlier in the playoffs. Okay, maybe we're gonna
(25:45):
stick with him, but Towns especially because he's someone who
can bring you back somebody in a trade. Typical Knicks fan. Yeah,
we're in the middle of the Eastern Conference Finals. I'm
talking about next year. Let's tell what we do it
for next year. But that's yeah, we're circling the drain.
But those are That's what's going to happen, because this
this fit of Towns with the Knicks and what's going on,
(26:07):
It's gonna be are we are we a Brunson Towns
team or are we a Tibbs team? One of those
and Brunton's obviously not going anywhere as good as he is,
but there's gonna be some kind of move where it's
either gonna be Tibbs or it's gonna be Towns and
another player to bring in a star like Giannis, and
potentially we're gonna spend some money on a couple of
bench guys because clearly we need some sort of more athleticism,
(26:30):
We need some sort of defensive presence that can help
us out a little bit when the Pacers do things
like this. You're seeing this series where the Knicks are
seeing their rotster. They're saying, yeah, this is not nearly
as competitive as we should be. Well, I'm just gonna
throw this out there. If I'm a Bucks fan, I'm preemptive,
preemptively getting in front of this, and I'm writing all
my writing, my congressman, I'm writing the team two letters
(26:53):
a day, like I'm a handy Dufrain. If they traded
Yannis away for Carl Anthony Towns with anybody, I quit,
I'm not. I'm not putting a deposit down. I'm not
giving you any what. I'm basically putting up a white
down town. Say I'm done towns and Ananobe towns or something.
I mean, you gotta know something, you gotta do something.
(27:16):
You gotta do something. How are you gonna do it?
How you be? What are you gonna get? You saw
what you gotta be able to You saw what the
Lakers had to give up for Luca. See that to
give up for Luca. No, that's that's still a fraudulent trade.
And you can't tell me otherwise. I know it went
down and it's been signed off on and rubber stamped
and moved on. Uh, there there was no open market
(27:38):
for trading Luca donches.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
There was done.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
That was a backdoor deals when they're GM is a idiot, Well,
I mean it helps give take that first off or yes,
like wait, you mean there are actually twenty eight other
teams that might want to get involved with this. I
gotta think there's twenty eight other teams that can come
back with a better package for you, particularly knowing that
(28:02):
Damian Lillard's not gonna play and that's your team is
But if this is where Yannis want. But the thing is,
remember Jannis has talked about my New York my favorite
place to go play. Yeah he never said that, Yeah
he did, he did that chat. It was just a no.
Is Yon have the quote Jannis on a chat whiles
was before New York. No, it's where's your favorite place
(28:23):
to play in the road he said, new York. I
don't I don't think so. Yeah, he said, new York.
You have you have you have a I Nico Harrison
right there, I think on your on your screen. I
think that's what you're looking at. I don't want to
play with any other player except Luca. Right last time
I checked Luca does not play for the next No,
(28:43):
that is Joe. Well, you never know, you never know,
loot Uh time not to find out what's trending in
the wide world of sports. Someone who's been called the
Yannis of Fox Sports Radio. He wants to explore, explore
the room, other places, and he also loves to go
to New York on vacation. It is disinger and the
Mediterranean food. It's fun.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
Sure, thank you triple double for Tyrese. Haliburton and Indiana
beat the Nicks one thirty to one twenty nine in
the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals tonight, three games to one
lead for the Pacers. It was such a rare and
great performance by Halliburton to playoffs or regular season have
a game with at least thirty five points, ten rebounds,
(29:22):
fifteen assists and no turnovers that it only happened twice
before since they started tracking turnovers about forty years ago.
Nikola Jokic had an early season.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
Game like that.
Speaker 4 (29:33):
About a year and a half ago, James Harden had
a regular season game like that. Nobody in the playoffs
have done this, And when you throw in the fact
of those numbers including no turnovers, and to make at
least five to three pointers in the same game. Nobody
had ever done that in NBA history, regular season or
playoffs until Haliburton Tonight, and the three point shots been
(29:55):
around in the NBA for more than forty years. So
the Knicks lose won thirty to one twenty one. They
have allowed at least one thirty two times in the
same playoff series. The Knicks franchise did that only once
before ever, that was nineteen seventy eight and in fact
a great stat from AP If you look at the
Knicks postseason history start in the nineteen ninety during the
(30:16):
nineteen ninety playoffs up until recently, the Knicks went almost
two hundred straight playoff games without allowing one thirty and
now last year's Game seven against the Pacers, they got
one thirty to eliminate New York twice in this series,
one thirty including tonight.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
NBA Finals start June the fifth. Indiana leads this Eastern
Conference Finals three games to one.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Are you happy, NBA? You're gonna get Indiana and Oklahoma City?
Are you happy? Good luck?
Speaker 4 (30:45):
The West Game fives in OKC on Wednesday, Thunder leading
three games to one, already over Minnesota by the way.
In the WNBA, Minnesota five and O Edgcattle eighty two
to seventy seven. New York four and OH beat Expansion
Golden State ninety five sixty seven, and Paige Beckers at
Connecticut had twenty one points. It was a battle of
(31:05):
OH and four Dallas at OH to four Connecticut. Dallas
wins at one OH nine to eighty seven. To the
NHL Playoffs, Edmonton up three games to one in the
West Final after beating Dallas four to one. Coco Goff
swept her first round match at the French Open. American
Jessica Pagoula also advanced to Major League Baseball. The Padres
were down six to nothing in the top of the first.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Inning to Miami.
Speaker 4 (31:27):
It's now Padres seven to six over the Marlins. In
the bottom of the sixth inning, shohe Otani with his
twentieth homer of the year that leads the Majors. Dodgers
won nine to five at Cleveland. Detroit defeated San Francisco
three to one. The loss to Logan Webb despite ten
strikeouts in six innings. The Yankees are leading in Anaheim
three to nothing over the Angels in the bottom of
(31:48):
the seventh inning. It's now Diamondback six' to two over
The pirates in the seventh and we have The Seattle
Washington Game mariners over The Washington nationals seven to one
the top of the eighth.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
Inning that just doesn't sound, Right, Ben, Seattle, washington and
yet that doesn't sound but, yeah that's.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
It oddly it is taking place In, Seattle. Washington Col
roll two Long balls is eighteenth and nineteenth of the.
Year you were talking about how few are.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
So raw is playing In? Seattle, okay very, Good so
we know, that all, right very, good that's. Right And
carolina is playing. Tomorrow, Okay so what's the stat line
For Myrtle beach? Tonight what do we? Have what's?
Speaker 4 (32:27):
That although somebody Named, Myrtle i'm sure it's. Enterttenmans you
were talking about the few RBIs for the leadoff Man
otani of The, dodgers and you're right at the bottom
of the order largely has not been.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Great twice home run and twenty two RBIs this year
for show hamd not quite thirty, five but thank. You
there was a former play by play guy who pointed
out to me That rob deer for the nineteen ninety
Two tigers finished with AND i looked it, up thirty
two home runs and sixty four RBIs, Whoa meaning he.
Speaker 4 (32:58):
Batted himself in as often as he betted in anyone.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Else that's impressive right. There, wow that IS i, like
that's that. Line that's better Than dave king Because i'm
pretty Sure Dave kingman one year for The mets thirty
six home, runs seventy EIGHT rbi and he hit one
ninety eight eight two oh. One, Look i'm pretty sure
that was one of his. Years thirty, six seventy eighty
(33:24):
two oh, one thirty, six eighty, eight thirty, six eighty, eight,
okay any two on one it was two thirty one
oh two. Thirty, wow that's a big year for. Him that's,
like that's like one ninety eight in uh nineteen eighty
three when he returned to The mets a.
Speaker 4 (33:37):
Career hitter of about two.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
Thirty, yeah that was in keeping with the. Career kinglan
hitting two thirty is Like Mookie betts hitting four. Fifty
like that's that's that's the eighty forty two career home
runs and eighty.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
Five stolen base and three and one game against The
dodgers one.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Day that was a. Gummy that was a great performance
he had in that. Game, storm that was a phenomenal.
Performance thank, You, Steve Jason, Smith Mike carmon lot from
The Fox Sports radio studios coming, up and that's got
another BIG nba story coming your. Way how about a
fifty one million dollar story coming your? Way that's, Yes.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
Fox be sure to catch live editions Of The Jason
Smith show With Mike harmon weekdays at ten Pm, eastern
seven Pm, Pacific.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
Fox Sports Radio The Jason Smith show with my best
Friend Mike. Harmon, yeah and we'll get back Into game
four of The Eastern Conference final coming up in a
couple of. Minutes pacers beat The. Knicks let's get ready
for The pacers and The thunder The ultimate. Yet, yes
but another big story out of THE nba, Today according To,
(34:45):
Shamshania Lebron james is going to opt in to the
final year of his cough track with The. Lakers so
he's got to report he's going to make fifty one
million dollars for next. Year file this under the category
of THINGS i could have told you And i'm not
AN nba inside. Insider right, here. Insider, yeah between that
(35:05):
and the ads for our plays And Dick Sporting. GOODS
i MEAN i could have told you to. ADD i
mean like he had a. Choice, okay no. One and
this is and this is the thing About lebron right,
now is that he Isn't. Lebron Mike north is. Here
he's a selfish Bastard Lifetime Achievement award, Right he's Not
(35:26):
Lebron james. Anymore he's still a terrific, player but he's
not the. Answer, NO i mean the answer Like Alan.
Iverson he's not the answer like he was with The
lakers a few years. Ago he is on the outside
looking in with The, lakers who are now building Around
luca for the next seven to eight. Years no one
is going to go crazy for. Him to give him
fifty one million, dollars would there be, Interested i'm, Sure
(35:46):
but to give him fifty one million dollars next? Year,
No and you, Know lebron is never gonna go somewhere
else and not get the maximum amount of money that he.
Can so there was no other. Choice nobody else is
gonna pay. Him he wants fifty one. Million of, course
he's gonna opt in for fifty one million dollars like, That,
again SOMETHING i could have told you without being AN nba.
INSIDE i have it on good authority that Tell Lebron
(36:08):
james will opt in to his contract with The lakers next.
Year but how could you say that anonymous? Sources who are?
They come? On tell me who are? They the voices
in my head common sense and. Logic and the other
part of this report is That sham said that conversations
will happen With lebron and The, Lakers AND i find
(36:30):
it funny that he, said you, Know lebron wants to
make sure that The lakers stay. Competitive so you now
you know Where seaan's is getting his information. From, Oh
lebron wants to make sure The lakers are. Clutched, client isn't?
He they just bleep and traded For. Luca they just
tried to open up the championship window by training for
a guy you wanted to play. With and, REALLY i
want to make sure The lakers are. Competitive i'll tell
(36:52):
you this is the conversation that's gonna. Happen right here's
a Conversation lebron's going to commit and, Say, Hey, lebron
let's not have this let's worry about this, year because
if we don't get further this, year then we did
last we don't get to The Western Conference, finals you're
gonna be finishing your career someplace. Else And i've said
outside of A Western Conference finals appearance for The lakers next,
(37:12):
Year lebron is finishing it because he still has time
left to, play. Right he's still a fantastic, player but
he's not the answer. Anymore he will finish someplace. Else
he'll play the last two or three years of his,
career maybe With, bryce and it'll be In. Cleveland he'll
go home one more time before he finally. Retires he's
done THE la. Thing he's established himself out, here his production,
companies everything. Else but The lakers are gonna, say you know,
(37:34):
what they're they're moving away from The lebron. Era and
if things don't get better THAT i mean to cut
bait on it right now would not be. Smart you
want to give him more than two and a half
months to play again With. Luca let's figure things out
as things. Go but if things don't get better next,
year that's.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
It.
Speaker 1 (37:51):
Man The lakers aren't gonna, Say, Okay, Lebron we're still Gonna,
no it's gonna be we're building Around. Luca they're gonna
go get a rim runner for him this. Year they'll
go get the center that everybody, Says, oh if we
just had an, oh by the way, center The lakers
would still be. Playing they will make, moves but they
will be moves made Around luca and around and they
will take that fifty one million For lebron and they're
gonna spend it other, places and The lakers will they'll,
(38:13):
say thank, You, lebron we won a. Championship wasn't quite
everything we, thought but we did. Win thanks so, Much
good luck the rest of your. Career we are moving
on spending that money someplace, Else Western Conference finals next,
year Or lebron's In cleveland the year after. That, YEAH
i mean they printed, money, Right so fifty, million, fine
you make fifty million plus off his presence here in
terms of all of your your media and advertising and
(38:38):
partnerships and everything. Else there's no question. There and certainly
the last couple of months there's been some verbal slat
fighting in the, media Right lebron taking his shots at roster,
construction his little joke of well the last guy to
say something referring To Anthony, davis you, know got himself traded.
WHATEVER i, mean there's there's certain you're trying to get
to that realization you're not the number one guy. Anymore
(39:00):
and that's, hard, right it's a hard. Thing we've watched
it for. Years take it to THE. Nfl how many
wide receivers like you, know you can have a really
good career if you and extend, things if you're willing
to be a number two and, recognize you, know you're
not the number one. Time and NOW i can't do.
That i'm. Out i'm not becoming a possession guy and
a blue. Guy, no that's not gonna. Happen but For Lebron, james,
(39:22):
YEAH i mean curious to see what this offseason, brings
like moderate rumors of you, Know zubac coming, back you,
know coming from The clippers or whatever big man they
go into the. Market is It connect traded again or
is it you, Know Austin reeves that's gotta. Go and
even with that nice contract he's on now it's not
gonna look the. Same but, yeah you run it back
(39:43):
one more time and then everybody shakes, hands say congratulations
on a job. Done exit out bout A fresco exit swollen,
Dome Jason, Smith Mike. Harmon coming up next Is Tyres
halliburton as great as everybody says he. Is our answer
is gonna surprise Youson Mike Fox Sports radio
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight
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 Foxsports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every night on the
iHeartRadio app by searching fsrle gives us.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Hello, Welcome in Side hour two The Jason Smith Show
with my best friend Mike Harmon.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Eeha.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Game four of the Eastern Conference Finals in the books,
and it is the Pacers. Thanks to a forty three
point first quarter, they cruise by the Knicks one thirty
to one twenty one to take a three games to
one lead in their playoff series. All I'm seeing is
Pacers have never lost up three to one, teams up
(00:56):
three to one, or you know, five hundred and eighty
four and thirteen all dad, Yes, yes, I know I
know all of this. Everything I know I know. Is
it crushing soul? Are you just kind of shrugging your
shoulders and going, well, what do you do? Here's the thing?
You think I'm gonna be mad? And jumping around and
(01:17):
throwing a tantrum, and no, because what can I say?
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Right?
Speaker 1 (01:22):
What have I said from the beginning of this series
giving away Game one? The Knicks are still mentally trying
to come back from giving away Game one, and the
Pacers are still dining out on the confidence of their
comeback in Game one. There's not a lot I can
say because the biggest thing that's going on right now, Okay,
the biggest thing, Tom Thibodeau is getting completely out coached
(01:44):
by Rick Carlisle. It really reminds me of when I
would watch the Patriots and Bill Belichick's hate. I mean
not at the end when he was awful and you
didn't know what he was doing, but in the heyday
of the Patriots, where I would watch them play different
teams in the AFC East Why and the first time
they not just the Jets, but when they played the
Dolphins or the Bills, and they would have one game
(02:06):
plan that would work right, it was, oh, hey, this
was Stephen Ridley. What a huge game. Twenty carries, one
hundred and five yards. Brady didn't nearly need to throw
the ball a lot. They were able to keep the
Bills offense off the field. Okay, so the second game
the Bills, how do we adjust? What do they do
to us last time? We're ready for this and then
it's a completely different game plan from Belichick where we're
(02:27):
gonna throw the football and suddenly it's a big day
for Wes Welker. Right, fourteen catches for Welker. He had
three catches in the first game. This is what Belichick
used to do to team. Right. This is why I
go back and say, despite Spygate, all of it, he's
the best coach I've seen because he can change game
plans on a dime, even sometimes when you're playing the
team again two weeks after you play them, with those
(02:49):
kind of quirks in the schedule. This is what Belichick
used to do to teams. He used to frustrate the
crap out of me because I go, okay, well, the
Jets be ready for this, but it's gonna be something
else different the second game. And this is what Karl
is doing to the Knicks and doing to Tom Thibodeau
because the first game, the Knicks had no answer for
the comeback in the fourth quarter. Right, they knew that
the Pacers new we can get shots. We know that
(03:10):
Nie Smith can get his own shot because Josh Hart
can't stay with him. Anob we can't stay with him.
The Knicks had no answer, was on roller skates. Yeah,
they lose game one, okay, game two. The Knicks have
to come back mentally from that loss and understand this
is how we have to attack things. Halli Burton has
a big game. We need to make sure that we're
doing X, Y and Z. We're gonna learn our lessons
from game one. What does game two happen? Pascal Siakam
(03:33):
scores the first eleven points because they know we can
take advantage of this this matchup, in this mindset, and
has the game of his life right again, Pete Kevin
Durant is what he bleep and looked like. He looked
like Kevin Durant in his prime. And so the Pacers
take game two. Okay, another one check mark for Rick
Carlisle because the Knicks clearly are you said, you know,
(03:54):
cats on roller skates. I feel like the Knicks defensively,
we're on roller skates. They are able to gut out
of winning game three. But here I watched game four,
and I'm telling you, man, if the Pacers had five
difficult baskets today, I think I'm being generous the Knicks
defense at the top of the key. They kept losing players,
and it doesn't matter. Sometimes it's Brunson, sometimes it's Andrew Noby.
(04:15):
The referees were very generous with the Pacers offensively, but
I can't really blame the official. I can't sit here
and go, oh, they screwed us this because the Knicks
just looked so lost defensively. Like tonight, the Knicks had
no answer for what the Pacers game plan was. The
Pacers played at their own pace. They played at that
fast pace. The Knicks were never able to really dictate
(04:36):
the pace. They were able to close the win in
six late, but it doesn't matter because they were chasing
those six points most of the game. And Halliburton is
going to the Hall of Fame off of this game.
More on him in a couple of minutes. But the
whole thing with the Knicks is that I couldn't get
that excited, that upset because I'm just watching going defensively,
They're just going to find a place in the shot
clock where the Pacers are gonna have some sort of advantage,
(04:56):
whether it's one on one and they're more athletic getting
to the hoop. Or it's an open three and they
open three with a long rebound, they can get that
offensive rebound because they're they're flying in from the sides
to get it. Just on defense, the Knicks looked lost,
and I watched their body language and it's terrible. You know,
they see a play to and they stare at each
other and look in point and it doesn't matter if
it's the same thing down the court. Again, there was
(05:17):
no adjustments overall in this game. There was no uh
changes that Tom Thibadau made. Hey we're gonna do this
in this it was just the same thing. And I
never really had confidence the Knicks are gonna win this
game because eventually you got to get a couple of stops.
On defense, they were just relying on the Pacers missing
and that's not how you win games, right, It's what Oh,
but the Pacers missed some shot, Yeah, they missed some shots.
(05:38):
They still shot fifty percent from the floor. But the
Knicks weren't making them miss. This was, Hey, we had
an open three and we missed. We had it, we
had a jumper and we missed. I mean, there's if
they had five difficult shots where it was one on
two or they're getting bailed out by this incredibly physical play.
That's a lot in this game. They were just too
much easy for the Pacers every time down the floor.
(06:00):
And again the Knicks had no answer to this advantage.
Rick Carlyle, Huge, You could talk about game one and
the comeback for the Ages and Halliburton up one hundred
percent in the choke, but why is this three to
one right now? Because the Pacers have better game plans,
they're executing more and and and Tibbs is just sitting
there with his arms folded. He looks like he looks
like Phil Jackson, not even Phil Jackson with the Lakers
(06:21):
where they had trouble like with the Bulls when they
would just blow through teeth and say, oh we're gonna
if a series is four to two, feel happy you
won those couple of games like this. This is the
legend that Rick Carlyle is being made out to be
in this yea, I did you go back to game
three and there were some movement right Obviously he gets
some minutes from Shammitt and folks that want to stick
up for Tibbs and talk about his acumen and what
(06:43):
he's been able to do with the squad. Game three
was a good one, right in terms of pulling strings,
finding some minutes off the bench, McBride whatever, And that's fine.
It's it was a short lived solution. Today you were
back to some of the same habits that created the
two to zero deficit of standing around. Look, they've had
the unfortunate run of loose ball's finding the waiting hands,
(07:09):
oftentimes beyond the three point arc of the Indiana Basers.
Loose ball fills the aggressiveness and physicality waiting on a
call that never comes right, Ah initiated content. Well, you're
not getting that call. Play the other way right a
number of times where you're going back and you're now
in a fast break opportunity for the pacers because you've
(07:30):
got one or more guys standing back, staring at the
referee and wanting to fight him. It's the call didn't
come get back or the look. They out rebounded him
by eleven. The Knicks win the rebounding margin, They out
offensive rebounded them by eight thirteen total offensive rebounds, and
they had a number of set plays and opportunities off
(07:51):
inbounds plays where you just miss wide open. Looks like
we saw it down the stretch with chances to really
make it a make up sweat in the final two
to three minutes, like you're taking an off balance falling
away three, there's nobody guarding you, set your feet, take
your shot, and then the fights for rebounds. We saw
(08:12):
the tussling. I know you're still I might get you
a T shirt that has the Miles Turner Karl Anthony
Towns hands holding near the top of the key before
he shugged him off. No get off me. It's like
your kid's like, no, no, no, come on, we gotta go. No, no, no,
get your hand, like I'm a big boy, now let
me low. I don't need you, old man. So you
add all that and you're in Indiana, which means you're
(08:33):
gonna get a little bit of the emotion of the
crowd that's gonna come into play. And obviously Haliburton wanted
to show up for his old man who had his
banishment rescinded. And his first quarter is really one of
the things for the ages, right. We've seen it a
couple of times in these playoffs. It was like that
guy's got a whole game's worth of stats by the
(08:54):
end of the first Well, look, and that's the big thing.
You want to say, this is overrated a little bit,
but it's not. And the Pacers go ahead and break
your arm, patting yourself on the back, picking the game
to put Halliburton's dad back in so he could come
see it. Right, What did I say after Game three?
It's a panic move. They want to try to get
some look, blowing that twenty point lead. We don't know
(09:16):
where we are. Are we fragile now, so we don't
want the Knicks to have an advantage. They could have
put Halliburton's dad back in the game for Game three,
but no, let's save it. They needed it for Game four.
And I don't think there's any there's any coincidence that
Halliburton's dad comes back to watch the games and Halliburton
has the greatest game of his career. A stat line
in the NBA playoffs we have never seen in NBA
(09:38):
history thirty two fifteen assists, twelve rebounds, zero turnovers zero.
We have never seen that in any game ever. And
NBA and basketball history like going all the way back
to like the mid nineties, and they first started to
keep a track of stuff like this way. You know,
no one blow a lead like that. It's game one.
I don't think there's any coincidence there. And you say, oh,
(09:59):
how big a deal is that. No, obviously it's a
big deal. They brought him back for a reason. They
brought him back for this game. My dad is back
at the game, and the Pacers just find a way
to get juiced up to play the next man. Right,
But as we talked about it, can you talk about
panic desperation savvy? You know, decide where you're at in
that continuum, but you're you're trying to find an edge,
(10:21):
and that certainly gave a lift. How many shots into
the booth did you have of him tonight? Every other
times like watching Taylor Swift at a football game, there's pops,
there's pops. There is again. Okay, yeah we hit the
over on him. There is a fast. But with that
first quarter, I mean it was a clinic and anything
he did put the ball near the rim. Fine. Uh.
(10:41):
Not often do you have that level of acumen and
accuracy where your teammates are taking care of you when
you're racking up assists that to that level, right, Because
normally on a pass, they're going to fumble it, and
the turnover is gonna get credited to you. That didn't
happen to right sure handedness. But part of that is
also the inability at times for the Knicks to move
(11:03):
their feet and get into position to create that chaos
as opposed to a nice clean look, which we saw
time and time again. We'd be remiss we didn't bring
up the Matherin aspect of this, because he has the
game of his life off the bench, Dave, the pacers
have all had the games of their lives. For his sorties,
he goes for twenty and gave you ten of eleven
(11:25):
free throws, played a total of twelve minutes. Twelve minutes,
that's how big an impact. But he also shook things
up repeatedly where you've got him doing full on takedowns
like he's in Greco Roman wrestling. But think about the
look you say, You say, Matheren Mathern did have a
big night to hare twenty points and twelve minutes. Right,
he was fantastic. Right, you have Halliburton had the game
(11:46):
of his life. Sure, did Siakam have the game of
his life in game two? Yes? Yeah, I might argue
that didn'y Smith have the game of his life and
bring one. Yeah, okay, so now you've had four guys
have the games of their lives in this series. And
Zach Mett went for thirty five and two tonight and
he'd say, hey, I don't even care what, but this
(12:07):
is what your dad didn't get the Knicks defensively, I mean,
this is what a complete and total failure. This is
like the knickser is like you know in football went
when you see a big you see a big collegiate
team playing and also Ren it's like it's a stat
game for us, like we're just you know, this is
a game for our quarterback to throw for two hundred
yards and five touchdowns before he comes out of the game,
like the Nick this is. These are stat games for
(12:29):
the Pacers. Could four different players have the absolute games
of their lives so far in this suite? No, Nie
Smith only needed a quarter to do it. I mean
that's when you play the next telling that it helps
when you play and you play defense like this, but
that's his defense, Like you're talking tired legs and even
here you got thirty six minutes from heart off the bench,
he goes for what twelve and eleven but falls out
(12:53):
shamit gave you eleven minutes he was a plus six
three three points for him. Uh. And then fifteen and
it's from McBride who took three shots. He was minus fourteen.
He was terrible.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
But you know you don't have the depth of bench
to really buy these guys out. They tried you in
the second quarter because Brunson sat for a while right
hanging around to where you could steal him an extra
minute here and there, thinking it would help down the stretch.
But they also did full on raptor defense of don't
I don't know that any of your guys help him out,
Like when he's about to get doubled from the backside
(13:26):
and all of a sudden, like, hey, you got a
second guy that's about to reach in for the ball,
and now you're sprawled out on the floor wishing and
hoping that it rolls to the feet of one of
your teammates. Not a lot of help for him. So,
speaking of help, help, Yannis, can you get here for
the next game? Oh wow? You'll hear from Tom Tibadeau,
who talks about what went wrong for the nick to
night coming up next and everything. Well, let's see, should
(13:49):
Tims be allowed back next year? No, that's next. Jason
to Mike Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
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 Fox.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Sports Radio The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon. Knicks
are down three to one. That's just the way it is. TJ.
Hornsby got paid, right, I would have said, well, yeah,
I mean you got too. This is all so Pacers
beat the Knicks one thirty one twenty one, and a
few minutes ago we talked about the look the defensive
lapses of the Knicks. They can't cover screens, they can't switch,
(14:31):
they just can't do it right. It's it's it's impossible.
Brunson and Towns are liabilities defensively, and there's no answer
that the Knicks have. Right. Tibbs is getting out coached
completely by Rick Carlyle. You gotta find a way. You
just can't have a bunch offensive players on that team.
But that's the point, is that the other three guys
(14:52):
have to be exceptional based on what Cat and Brunson
are defensively right, because brunts, and as much as we
love the heart and he's become the everyman hero, being undersized,
being a little round all those it's the same thing
for Cat, right, for all the talk that we have
of all this other stuff, and man, there are times
(15:12):
that are like, all right, dudes, winded might might need
you know, an extra salad as a guy who's eats
a lot of them these days. But but to that point, right,
they're both defensive liabilities. Offensively, it works. Offensively, you get
your shots, you get your opportunities, and certainly you saw
in this series an awful lot of times where Anthony
Towns looked far more comfortable when it was someone else
(15:35):
giving him the ball than Jalen Brunson. So that's a
whole other thing to be worked out. But when they're
on the court together defensively, you give up a lot.
It's a it's look the Pacers simply that they got
the horses this series, right, they have the horses. Again,
you have four players that have had the games of
their lives, and I'm not exaggerated, they've had the auto
games of their lives. In the first four games of
(15:56):
this series. They have a better bench, right, I know
coming off the bench that McConnell or Mathrin or somebody
is going to have a big They're going to perform.
They're jacked up to play the Knicks, which is part
of the cursoned up. Everybody gets jacked up to play
against you. Right, this is what it is. So I
get all over. Don't forget Obie topping with that big
three pills show. I mean, yeah, of course he plays
(16:17):
like he plays like eight minutes tonight, and he hits
the big three where maybe the Knicks could have cut
it to four in the final forty five. Of course
that happens, right, It's highly important for a lot of
people watching the end of that game. And there's just
so many things. Right, Look, Tibbs is getting completely out coached.
The Pacers also have the better roster. You're seeing it,
all right. I've never seen a team in the Eastern
(16:37):
Conference Finals with more problems than the Knicks. They have
a lot of problems. And still that being said, right,
the game was still somewhat close. But you want to
talk with the two biggest plays of the game, where okay,
I'll give the two biggest plays of the game, because
if they're not plays, then anybody's really going to look
back on. But when I saw it, I said, ah,
this is this is where any sort of momentum was gone,
(16:59):
and and Hope left the building. Near the end of
the first half, Right, I'm standing in front of the
TV and Rob Parker's everybody else, and I go, Okay,
we're up by one. Let's not turn this into a
five point deficit at halftime. What happens the next turn
into a five point deficit at halftime? Right, they missed
a couple of turnovers, paged a couple of shots, are
up by five, and doesn't get the call at the
under the half. There a lot of confusion, a lot
(17:20):
of cursing. His dad goes over and starts, oh yeah, yeah,
his dad, who's actually a team official, folks, just yeah.
And it's not like his dad runs on. It's not
Halliburton's dad r So, like, that was a bad end
of the half. But okay, it's the end of the
first half. You had a one point lead. This should
be a three point lead, maybe a two, maybe even
you have the lead at halftime, but instead, nope, they
(17:41):
biffed the last couple of possessions. They guard Brunson two
tight and he doesn't get a call, and it's a
five point lead. Okay, they come back out of halftime
and the Pacers have the ball out of halftime, and
they hit a shot to go up by seven. And
then these two plays absolutely killed the Knicks. You had
two really horrendous turnovers in a row to start the
(18:03):
second half offensively by the Knicks. Jalen Brunson, I don't
know what he was trying to do. Horrible turnover. Halliburton
goes in for the steal and it's an easy transition
dunk for Pascal Siakam. Then when the Knicks come back out,
it looks like they get another hoop. Mical Bridges has
a bad pass, turns the ball over. The Pacers eventually
get a hoop, and now it's a nine to eleven
(18:23):
point lead, and the Knicks never threatened again. They were
chasing those nine to ten points for the rest of
the game, right. I mean, I know it's two plays
beating to the third quarter, but here is okay, five
point lead, let's get out, let's start, and two turnovers
that were completely avoidable. These were not turnovers that a
These are great plays defensively that the Pacers made. These
were turnovers that were unforced errors, and all of a sudden,
(18:46):
a five point game turns into an eleven point lead
for the Pacers and that was it. I mean, the
Knicks never threatened again. They got it to five or
six a couple of times, but that's it. They never
got They never were able to get that mental lift
of tying the game or bring it back within one point.
Never had never made the Pacers sweat. Those two possessions
that started the second half for the Pacers where they
(19:07):
got buckets and the Knicks turned it over unforced errors,
those are the two biggest possessions because again, the Knicks
never really threatened after that. They had a nice little
run at the end of the fourth quarter where hey, okay,
maybe we cut it to sick but no. But again,
the Pacers aren't going to miss that many in a
row because defensively the Knicks can't stop them. But those
two plays, those are the biggest two plays of the game. Oh,
you have to play perfect basketball thereafter. I mean, you
(19:29):
had a couple of stretches where they did a good
job of keeping the Pacers without a bucket, forcing some
bad possessions, but when you're at that deficit, and that
means offensively, you've got to be perfect. They finished with
seventeen turnovers, most of which were trying to force the
ball into a crowded space down low. You're not getting
that call repeatedly. I mean, we saw bodies flying all
(19:52):
over the place as this game wore on, and yeah,
you had that sequence at the end of the first
that really was disheartening if you were a Knicks fan,
because you'd battled because it was uneven. Right, that first
quarter was again some of the best basketball that we've
gotten to watch in these playoffs. Right, nobody's missing shots.
(20:12):
You're taking care of the basketball for the most part
and moving on. And then it starts getting sloppy. The
extra pass around the wing for the Pacers finds its
intended mark and they hit a big shot, whereas with
the Knicks it would be all right, let's try to
force it inside to where you'd have Siakam or Turner waiting,
(20:33):
and you're not getting an easy look. And if it's Brunson,
you're not necessarily getting the call when he gets bodied
off the ball. Turnover going the other way, the number
of out of bounds plays where it just became a
rugby scrum and bodies flying all over. It's like it's
not conducive to cohesive offensive play and winning basketball. And
(20:56):
to your point, again, if you're trying to play in
a game like this, like the over under was, I
want to say, like two twenty we ended up with
two hundred and fifty one points. Yeah, you're not winning games,
but the fact that it's a nine point game is
is a bit shocking. That means you've got some some
juice down the road. Brunson did finish with thirty one,
but that this is not a game the Nicks win. No,
(21:20):
this this type why I never really looks. That's why
I did. I didn't go crazy about the look. They
won Game three and that was great, But what they
did was I told you they bought themselves a couple
of days. Now you gotta win game four. The series
is over because you see math, right, you know you
don't come back from down three. We got a good statue.
Want to fourteen to fourteen this time around? Yeah, you
know since nineteen ninety five, when teams have had a
(21:41):
nine point lead with fifty one seconds left to go,
teams are fourteen hundred wins and one loss. But you
know that's just crazy. That's got one that's got to
fall them. You gotta stop dancing here, you gotta you
gotta answer the question. Well, let's let's hear from him first.
Do you really want to Yeah, yeah, look, got to
hear from the first. Let's hear from a fight. It
might anger you if I'm gonna say fire tips. I
(22:03):
want to hear from him first. After this game, you
need to hear from him, Yes, I do. I fired
him in the first round just like Look, just like
last night where he said, wow, Anthony Edwards was really terrible,
and boy, this is he just disappears in big games.
You wanted to hear him say at the end of
the game, I don't think I played bad. That was
so good. I played just fine. I made I made
the right basketball play. Oh, by the way, that's really
(22:25):
an example of today's takes. The night before, boy, I
saw that and Edwards take the we had last night
everywhere today, man, congratulations, just send us a check for money.
That's all you have to do. But let's hear from
Nick's head coach Tom Timbadeau talking about what went wrong tonight.
I mean, all he has to do is say everything
and walk away. Okay, we're done dropping the mic. Uh
what went wrong for the Knicks to night and their
(22:47):
loss to the Pacers? What did you see defensively?
Speaker 3 (22:50):
That wasn't We knew it was going to be a
fast game, you know, so that was gonna that was
the priority was, you know, defensive train to get set.
But we hurt ourselves with our turnovers, putting them in
the open floor.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Look, I said this going into the playoffs. If the
Knicks losing the first round, Tibbs needs to go right
and they win the first round, they beat the Celtics, fantastic.
Now here they are getting exposed. And the thing is
Tibbs is getting out coached in the third round in
the in the Eastern Conference finals, he's getting out coached.
(23:28):
And the team and the team and the team has made,
you know, around what Tibbs wants.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
Right.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
So here's a roster that gets to this point and
still you see that it's not quite the roster it
needs to be. And and Tom Thibodaux, whose identity is defense, right,
that's what he's brought the entire time to the NBA
The Knicks don't do that anymore, right, they don't do it.
They play a little bit more physical when they can.
They're more physical than the Celtics, and that's why they
won that series. But like Tibbs's hallmark is is is defense,
(23:58):
and if the team has gone so far away away
from it, like okay, is TIBs really what they need now?
Is he really what they need at this point? If
if what the whole reason you brought him in? This
is why he's The defense has been great. This is
what they do now. They're getting worked constantly, defensively, constantly,
And yes, part of it is because Brunson and Karl
(24:18):
Anthony Towns aren't great players defensively, but you ask a
great defensive players on that team, you got, you got
an All NBA caliber guy and Ogannoobi and he suddenly
can't even can't even stick with with with Nie Smith
in the first quarter, in the fourth quarter of games, Like, dude, again,
this is not Steph Curry running around the court, How
are you falling down? How is this happening?
Speaker 4 (24:37):
Like?
Speaker 1 (24:38):
I mean it, like you have to look in and
the Knicks are gonna make one or two big chance.
I guarantee you coming out of this right, you're ready
for a big take on TIBs in the fut go.
One of two things is going to happen. Okay, one
of two things is gonna happen because the Knicks are
gonna leave this series and say, Okay, what what went wrong?
What do we need for next year? One of two
things is gonna happen. Either Tims is gonna be replaced
(25:01):
or Towns somebody else will go somewhere for Joannis. Something
is going to happen because the core of this team
is not made up to achieve long term postseason success.
The Pacers are running circles around them, right. So we
talked about it a couple of days ago. This is
a really bad failure. But you're seeing the way the
(25:23):
Knicks are constructed, and they don't have a bench. There's
no McConnell's, there's no Matherins, there's no Obi Toppins coming in.
There's nobody. Right, you have you have six guys that
you play that play a bunch of minutes, and Mitchell,
Robinson or Hart, whoever comes off the bench is gonna
give you a lot of those minutes. That's not enough, right,
the Knicks are really top heavy, and and the way
Bridges played earlier in the playoffs. Okay, maybe we're gonna
(25:45):
stick with him, but Towns especially because he's someone who
can bring you back somebody in a trade. Typical Knicks fan. Yeah,
we're in the middle of the Eastern Conference Finals. I'm
talking about next year. Let's tell what we do it
for next year. But that's yeah, we're circling the drain.
But those are That's what's going to happen, because this
this fit of Towns with the Knicks and what's going on,
(26:07):
It's gonna be are we are we a Brunson Towns
team or are we a Tibbs team? One of those
and Brunton's obviously not going anywhere as good as he is,
but there's gonna be some kind of move where it's
either gonna be Tibbs or it's gonna be Towns and
another player to bring in a star like Giannis, and
potentially we're gonna spend some money on a couple of
bench guys because clearly we need some sort of more athleticism,
(26:30):
We need some sort of defensive presence that can help
us out a little bit when the Pacers do things
like this. You're seeing this series where the Knicks are
seeing their rotster. They're saying, yeah, this is not nearly
as competitive as we should be. Well, I'm just gonna
throw this out there. If I'm a Bucks fan, I'm preemptive,
preemptively getting in front of this, and I'm writing all
my writing, my congressman, I'm writing the team two letters
(26:53):
a day, like I'm a handy Dufrain. If they traded
Yannis away for Carl Anthony Towns with anybody, I quit,
I'm not. I'm not putting a deposit down. I'm not
giving you any what. I'm basically putting up a white
down town. Say I'm done towns and Ananobe towns or something.
I mean, you gotta know something, you gotta do something.
(27:16):
You gotta do something. How are you gonna do it?
How you be? What are you gonna get? You saw
what you gotta be able to You saw what the
Lakers had to give up for Luca. See that to
give up for Luca. No, that's that's still a fraudulent trade.
And you can't tell me otherwise. I know it went
down and it's been signed off on and rubber stamped
and moved on. Uh, there there was no open market
(27:38):
for trading Luca donches.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
There was done.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
That was a backdoor deals when they're GM is a idiot, Well,
I mean it helps give take that first off or yes,
like wait, you mean there are actually twenty eight other
teams that might want to get involved with this. I
gotta think there's twenty eight other teams that can come
back with a better package for you, particularly knowing that
(28:02):
Damian Lillard's not gonna play and that's your team is
But if this is where Yannis want. But the thing is,
remember Jannis has talked about my New York my favorite
place to go play. Yeah he never said that, Yeah
he did, he did that chat. It was just a no.
Is Yon have the quote Jannis on a chat whiles
was before New York. No, it's where's your favorite place
(28:23):
to play in the road he said, new York. I
don't I don't think so. Yeah, he said, new York.
You have you have you have a I Nico Harrison
right there, I think on your on your screen. I
think that's what you're looking at. I don't want to
play with any other player except Luca. Right last time
I checked Luca does not play for the next No,
(28:43):
that is Joe. Well, you never know, you never know,
loot Uh time not to find out what's trending in
the wide world of sports. Someone who's been called the
Yannis of Fox Sports Radio. He wants to explore, explore
the room, other places, and he also loves to go
to New York on vacation. It is disinger and the
Mediterranean food. It's fun.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
Sure, thank you triple double for Tyrese. Haliburton and Indiana
beat the Nicks one thirty to one twenty nine in
the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals tonight, three games to one
lead for the Pacers. It was such a rare and
great performance by Halliburton to playoffs or regular season have
a game with at least thirty five points, ten rebounds,
(29:22):
fifteen assists and no turnovers that it only happened twice
before since they started tracking turnovers about forty years ago.
Nikola Jokic had an early season.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
Game like that.
Speaker 4 (29:33):
About a year and a half ago, James Harden had
a regular season game like that. Nobody in the playoffs
have done this, And when you throw in the fact
of those numbers including no turnovers, and to make at
least five to three pointers in the same game. Nobody
had ever done that in NBA history, regular season or
playoffs until Haliburton Tonight, and the three point shots been
(29:55):
around in the NBA for more than forty years. So
the Knicks lose won thirty to one twenty one. They
have allowed at least one thirty two times in the
same playoff series. The Knicks franchise did that only once
before ever, that was nineteen seventy eight and in fact
a great stat from AP If you look at the
Knicks postseason history start in the nineteen ninety during the
(30:16):
nineteen ninety playoffs up until recently, the Knicks went almost
two hundred straight playoff games without allowing one thirty and
now last year's Game seven against the Pacers, they got
one thirty to eliminate New York twice in this series,
one thirty including tonight.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
NBA Finals start June the fifth. Indiana leads this Eastern
Conference Finals three games to one.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Are you happy, NBA? You're gonna get Indiana and Oklahoma City?
Are you happy? Good luck?
Speaker 4 (30:45):
The West Game fives in OKC on Wednesday, Thunder leading
three games to one, already over Minnesota by the way.
In the WNBA, Minnesota five and O Edgcattle eighty two
to seventy seven. New York four and OH beat Expansion
Golden State ninety five sixty seven, and Paige Beckers at
Connecticut had twenty one points. It was a battle of
(31:05):
OH and four Dallas at OH to four Connecticut. Dallas
wins at one OH nine to eighty seven. To the
NHL Playoffs, Edmonton up three games to one in the
West Final after beating Dallas four to one. Coco Goff
swept her first round match at the French Open. American
Jessica Pagoula also advanced to Major League Baseball. The Padres
were down six to nothing in the top of the first.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Inning to Miami.
Speaker 4 (31:27):
It's now Padres seven to six over the Marlins. In
the bottom of the sixth inning, shohe Otani with his
twentieth homer of the year that leads the Majors. Dodgers
won nine to five at Cleveland. Detroit defeated San Francisco
three to one. The loss to Logan Webb despite ten
strikeouts in six innings. The Yankees are leading in Anaheim
three to nothing over the Angels in the bottom of
(31:48):
the seventh inning. It's now Diamondback six' to two over
The pirates in the seventh and we have The Seattle
Washington Game mariners over The Washington nationals seven to one
the top of the eighth.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
Inning that just doesn't sound, Right, Ben, Seattle, washington and
yet that doesn't sound but, yeah that's.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
It oddly it is taking place In, Seattle. Washington Col
roll two Long balls is eighteenth and nineteenth of the.
Year you were talking about how few are.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
So raw is playing In? Seattle, okay very, Good so
we know, that all, right very, good that's. Right And
carolina is playing. Tomorrow, Okay so what's the stat line
For Myrtle beach? Tonight what do we? Have what's?
Speaker 4 (32:27):
That although somebody Named, Myrtle i'm sure it's. Enterttenmans you
were talking about the few RBIs for the leadoff Man
otani of The, dodgers and you're right at the bottom
of the order largely has not been.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Great twice home run and twenty two RBIs this year
for show hamd not quite thirty, five but thank. You
there was a former play by play guy who pointed
out to me That rob deer for the nineteen ninety
Two tigers finished with AND i looked it, up thirty
two home runs and sixty four RBIs, Whoa meaning he.
Speaker 4 (32:58):
Batted himself in as often as he betted in anyone.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Else that's impressive right. There, wow that IS i, like
that's that. Line that's better Than dave king Because i'm
pretty Sure Dave kingman one year for The mets thirty
six home, runs seventy EIGHT rbi and he hit one
ninety eight eight two oh. One, Look i'm pretty sure
that was one of his. Years thirty, six seventy eighty
(33:24):
two oh, one thirty, six eighty, eight thirty, six eighty, eight,
okay any two on one it was two thirty one
oh two. Thirty, wow that's a big year for. Him that's,
like that's like one ninety eight in uh nineteen eighty
three when he returned to The mets a.
Speaker 4 (33:37):
Career hitter of about two.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
Thirty, yeah that was in keeping with the. Career kinglan
hitting two thirty is Like Mookie betts hitting four. Fifty
like that's that's that's the eighty forty two career home
runs and eighty.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
Five stolen base and three and one game against The
dodgers one.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Day that was a. Gummy that was a great performance
he had in that. Game, storm that was a phenomenal.
Performance thank, You, Steve Jason, Smith Mike carmon lot from
The Fox Sports radio studios coming, up and that's got
another BIG nba story coming your. Way how about a
fifty one million dollar story coming your? Way that's, Yes.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
Fox be sure to catch live editions Of The Jason
Smith show With Mike harmon weekdays at ten Pm, eastern
seven Pm, Pacific.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
Fox Sports Radio The Jason Smith show with my best
Friend Mike. Harmon, yeah and we'll get back Into game
four of The Eastern Conference final coming up in a
couple of. Minutes pacers beat The. Knicks let's get ready
for The pacers and The thunder The ultimate. Yet, yes
but another big story out of THE nba, Today according To,
(34:45):
Shamshania Lebron james is going to opt in to the
final year of his cough track with The. Lakers so
he's got to report he's going to make fifty one
million dollars for next. Year file this under the category
of THINGS i could have told you And i'm not
AN nba inside. Insider right, here. Insider, yeah between that
(35:05):
and the ads for our plays And Dick Sporting. GOODS
i MEAN i could have told you to. ADD i
mean like he had a. Choice, okay no. One and
this is and this is the thing About lebron right,
now is that he Isn't. Lebron Mike north is. Here
he's a selfish Bastard Lifetime Achievement award, Right he's Not
(35:26):
Lebron james. Anymore he's still a terrific, player but he's
not the. Answer, NO i mean the answer Like Alan.
Iverson he's not the answer like he was with The
lakers a few years. Ago he is on the outside
looking in with The, lakers who are now building Around
luca for the next seven to eight. Years no one
is going to go crazy for. Him to give him
fifty one million, dollars would there be, Interested i'm, Sure
(35:46):
but to give him fifty one million dollars next? Year,
No and you, Know lebron is never gonna go somewhere
else and not get the maximum amount of money that he.
Can so there was no other. Choice nobody else is
gonna pay. Him he wants fifty one. Million of, course
he's gonna opt in for fifty one million dollars like, That,
again SOMETHING i could have told you without being AN nba.
INSIDE i have it on good authority that Tell Lebron
(36:08):
james will opt in to his contract with The lakers next.
Year but how could you say that anonymous? Sources who are?
They come? On tell me who are? They the voices
in my head common sense and. Logic and the other
part of this report is That sham said that conversations
will happen With lebron and The, Lakers AND i find
(36:30):
it funny that he, said you, Know lebron wants to
make sure that The lakers stay. Competitive so you now
you know Where seaan's is getting his information. From, Oh
lebron wants to make sure The lakers are. Clutched, client isn't?
He they just bleep and traded For. Luca they just
tried to open up the championship window by training for
a guy you wanted to play. With and, REALLY i
want to make sure The lakers are. Competitive i'll tell
(36:52):
you this is the conversation that's gonna. Happen right here's
a Conversation lebron's going to commit and, Say, Hey, lebron
let's not have this let's worry about this, year because
if we don't get further this, year then we did
last we don't get to The Western Conference, finals you're
gonna be finishing your career someplace. Else And i've said
outside of A Western Conference finals appearance for The lakers next,
(37:12):
Year lebron is finishing it because he still has time
left to, play. Right he's still a fantastic, player but
he's not the answer. Anymore he will finish someplace. Else
he'll play the last two or three years of his,
career maybe With, bryce and it'll be In. Cleveland he'll
go home one more time before he finally. Retires he's
done THE la. Thing he's established himself out, here his production,
companies everything. Else but The lakers are gonna, say you know,
(37:34):
what they're they're moving away from The lebron. Era and
if things don't get better THAT i mean to cut
bait on it right now would not be. Smart you
want to give him more than two and a half
months to play again With. Luca let's figure things out
as things. Go but if things don't get better next,
year that's.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
It.
Speaker 1 (37:51):
Man The lakers aren't gonna, Say, Okay, Lebron we're still Gonna,
no it's gonna be we're building Around. Luca they're gonna
go get a rim runner for him this. Year they'll
go get the center that everybody, Says, oh if we
just had an, oh by the way, center The lakers
would still be. Playing they will make, moves but they
will be moves made Around luca and around and they
will take that fifty one million For lebron and they're
gonna spend it other, places and The lakers will they'll,
(38:13):
say thank, You, lebron we won a. Championship wasn't quite
everything we, thought but we did. Win thanks so, Much
good luck the rest of your. Career we are moving
on spending that money someplace, Else Western Conference finals next,
year Or lebron's In cleveland the year after. That, YEAH
i mean they printed, money, Right so fifty, million, fine
you make fifty million plus off his presence here in
terms of all of your your media and advertising and
(38:38):
partnerships and everything. Else there's no question. There and certainly
the last couple of months there's been some verbal slat
fighting in the, media Right lebron taking his shots at roster,
construction his little joke of well the last guy to
say something referring To Anthony, davis you, know got himself traded.
WHATEVER i, mean there's there's certain you're trying to get
to that realization you're not the number one guy. Anymore
(39:00):
and that's, hard, right it's a hard. Thing we've watched
it for. Years take it to THE. Nfl how many
wide receivers like you, know you can have a really
good career if you and extend, things if you're willing
to be a number two and, recognize you, know you're
not the number one. Time and NOW i can't do.
That i'm. Out i'm not becoming a possession guy and
a blue. Guy, no that's not gonna. Happen but For Lebron, james,
(39:22):
YEAH i mean curious to see what this offseason, brings
like moderate rumors of you, Know zubac coming, back you,
know coming from The clippers or whatever big man they
go into the. Market is It connect traded again or
is it you, Know Austin reeves that's gotta. Go and
even with that nice contract he's on now it's not
gonna look the. Same but, yeah you run it back
(39:43):
one more time and then everybody shakes, hands say congratulations
on a job. Done exit out bout A fresco exit swollen,
Dome Jason, Smith Mike. Harmon coming up next Is Tyres
halliburton as great as everybody says he. Is our answer
is gonna surprise Youson Mike Fox Sports radio
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Jason Smith
Mike Harmon
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