May 14, 2026 • 41 mins
The big takeaway of LeBron "Game Ball Gate" is this: It's still - and always been - a Lakers v. LeBron power struggle for control of the team and both sides can be petty from time to time.
Plus, a visit from FOX Sports 1 NBA Analyst Ric Bucher!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:23):
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Speaker 1 (00:30):
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Speaker 3 (01:02):
So we got Rick.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Buker coming up in about twenty minutes, all the latest
on the NBA playoffs. What we see, Yeah, good luck
because that we gonna talk about who the next we're
gonna play in the next round.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
But you know, we talked about this a few minutes ago.
We talked about.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Lebron and the the odds are now that he becomes
a Cleveland Cavalier in the off season, with every advancing
win by Cleveland, the odds drop because they're not gonna
think we're Lebron James away from winning anymore. But outside
of that, today was just such a bizarre day revolving
around Lebron James because a couple of insiders break a
(01:39):
story earlier in the day and look, this is a
day after we had Rob Polenka and the Lakers say
they'd love to have Lebron back, and you know, Lebron
needs time to make his decision. We'd love to have
and everything was great, okay, awesome, And now today a
story breaks that allegedly Lebron James was pissed at the
Lakers because they didn't give him the game ball when
(02:03):
he broke the record for most wins by an NBA
player in history. Okay, that they didn't give him the
game ball. Then they gave it to JJ Reddick because
it was his one hundredth win as an NBA coast
and we got to see the video of this. Whole
ceremony is kids. The video of this is insane, and
I want to say, sometimes two things can be true
(02:24):
for a story.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
The video, JJ Reddick is after the win. JJ Reddick
is talking.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
It's just from a few weeks ago, and Reddick says, hey,
we have some big things to announce tonight. Ruey Hachimura
in the same game, all these things happen. Ruy Hachimura
scored his five thousands point in the NBA. Okay, great
by JJ Reddicks's I got some things to say about people.
Everything else here Ruey five thousand NBA points. Everybody claps
for him. Luka Dancic, same game, fifteen thousand NBA points.
(02:54):
Claps for Luca, and then he says, hey, and also
Lebron James. Lebron James, the goat greatest of all time.
Uh sets the record for most wins in NBA history
by a player. Everybody collaps. So, okay, we're we end there.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
We got that.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Polinka comes in and says, hey, we got one more
thing to talk about here.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Let's see it on the video. And I got a feeling.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
JJ Reddick kind of knew this was coming the way
he was reacting. It's video of JJ Reddick's kids congratulating
JJ Reddick because that game was also his one hundredth
win as an NBA head coach. Rob Plinkett talked about, hey,
back to back fifty you know, fifty win seasons are
very difficult the NBA. All of this, and we got
the story today that Lebron was upset that he didn't
get the game ball from that game, that they gave
(03:38):
it to Reddick. There's actually video of the ball with
the tape on it. It's it's the Lion King's Yeah.
Now there there's a couple of things on this, because
both things can be true. Does Lebron if this is true,
does Lebron look petty at this? Okay, well, yeah, a
little bit, a little bit because you had other games, Hey,
(03:59):
you could have They could have given it to Rui,
They could have given it to Luca fifteen thousand points.
They could have done that, right, But Reddick's hundredth winn
is an NBA head coaches kids data video. Yeah, absolutely,
you could say Lebron looks petty. However, did you have
to only give one game ball out?
Speaker 4 (04:17):
No?
Speaker 1 (04:17):
You didn't you use more than one basketball in the game.
You could have given the ball from the game. You
could have said, Okay, hey Lebron, this is Ruey. Congratulations,
five thousand points. You can get a game ball. Hey, Luca,
fifteen thousand, you get a game ball. Hey Lebron, most
winning NBA player in history of the game, you get
a game ball. They could have done a little bit
more like it was a really quick reaction, and I
(04:41):
get that. Okay, the game's over, everybody wants to go home,
but we're gonna celebrate some guys for a couple of
minutes here. Yeah, this is a thing, right, we got
some good stuff to We're not gonna do this all
the time, right, Ruey's not getting another five thousand points
in the NBA. So yeah, they could have done that.
Could they have done something a little bit more special
for Lebron? Yeah they could have you know what I mean?
Could Rob Polinka said, hey, this is a pretty big thing,
(05:03):
you talk about all time, most wins for a player
in NBA history. Yeah, they could have done more for him. Right,
So both things can be true, because the main takeaway
from this is that no matter how good things are
with Lebron how okay he is with being the number
three guy in the team. It's always been Lebron versus
the Lakers for control of the team, for who's more responsible,
(05:26):
just in the power struggle. That's been the way since
he showed up and signed here before the pandemic, right,
that's been That's been the whole Lebron James Laker thing.
We're taking control. Clutch Sports is really running the Lakers.
Me and A d and Rich Paul. We want these players,
the Lakers want to keep Lebron happy. Who's got more power.
We're gonna bring in the players he wants to bring in.
We're gonna draft Brony for him. It's been a power
(05:48):
struggle for the Lakers since Lebron got here. This is
just another part of it, right because Lebron a little
if this is true, Lebron a little petty? Yeah, could
the Lakers have done a little bit.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
More for there? They could have more for Luca, could
have for anybody in there.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
If you're gonna if you know you're putting together a
video for JJ Reddick, you know you could do something
more for the other guys too. And I'm putting all
three players in this you could have done more. Maybe
the Lakers didn't want to do it as well. If
we do it for Ruy and and and Luca, we
gotta do it for Lebron. We don't want to do that. No,
both sides are showing you how petty they are and
that it's still Lebron versus the Lakers when it's all sudden. Yeah,
(06:24):
there's a lot to this to unpack. So it's fun
and exciting because the video comes out and you have
the cheering and you get through. First off, it's not
a little league or a yso where everybody gets trophy
and metal whatever else. So and game balls are expensive,
so you got one and you move on. Lebron, plenty
(06:44):
of folks have He's been bowed to so many times
for every milestone. Every shot he takes at this point
is a record, isn't it? So what are we gonna
do is stop the game after every attempt He's now
set the record for most deployed you know, attempts by
a four prety plus year old guy.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
In NBA history.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Takes another shot, missus, he's now set the record again.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Then is that what we're gonna do? Right? I mean,
because that's where we're at with all of this.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Uh, and you're you're trying to keep it to a
bit of celebration, Reddick, You're you're trying to get him
over because there's still a lot of folks that have
reticence to give him any credit for any of it.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
And even in his.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Finest hours when there's a misstep, what have we done.
I mean, go back and watch a video. We got
some good run off of the final throws of the
Lakers season. Find that wherever it is on Facebook, on Instagram,
on TikTok, you name it, at Fox Sports Radio, at
about a Frescat Swollenome. It's everywhere talking about his failures
(07:49):
as a coach. So when the Lakers have been able
to prop him up, they do everything they can to
prop up.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
We made the right choice. That's our guy.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
We got to stay and this was an opportunity to
do that and throw him some flowers.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Lebron gets plenty of it.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
To your point about Lebron and the continued battle of
us versus them, That's why I still don't buy beyond
maybe a forty mark, which is failing even in the
most generous scoring system. In a classroom is you know
the all he's okay with being the third option, because
if he's pissed at this, man, come on, get over yourself. Man,
(08:27):
this is this is nothing. I mean, they've had pomp
and circumstance and pageantry and stoppages of plays and and long. Hey, everybody,
get on your feet and and let's bow to Lebron.
James so many times I've lost count. So now this
is in the locker room and you decide to show
a little bit of love to.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
To the coach.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
No, but the thing is, you didn't have to pick
one or the other. You could have done them all.
You could have said I said you could have could
You could have given Lebron he could have given the
ball whatever it was.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Then you could have played.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Jason for giving out cars. You get a ball, You
can get a ball. Are you really you're really telling
me They couldn't have done that. They couldn't have said, hey, Ruey,
here's a game ball for you.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Man.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Congratulations, Yachimura, collapse, waste everybody. Maybe he says something, Maybe
he doesn't, Luca congratulate the other. Big moment for you.
Fifteen thousand points. Al Right, that's awesome. Here's a game
ball for you and Lebron saving the biggest for last week.
Lebron here, you could have done that. I'm just saying,
if this is a thing that really miffs him to
this great level, and you can't tell me he doesn't
(09:28):
have someone in that equipment room that got him one
of those balls, Yeah right, I guarantee you he's got
one of those basketballs well as we've seen.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
But if this is the thing that gets him that
salty so.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Thing, I know.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
But but look, but that's you know, but that's the
that's the.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
But that was on the court of that particular ball,
run down to get that ball. He just can you
just get Lebron out of the bucket that we brought
back after the game.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Just get one of those. It'll be okay, slap some
tape on it, it'll be fun. Don't leave with my
game ball, man, this is my game ball.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
But like, if that's the thing that's really setting him
off and it's as big a deal as it was
made today, boy, that is such a fractured relationship. Again,
are you really, like I said to you last night,
are you really surprised the NBA didn't suspend Wemby because
he was basically suspended for the entire last game. Are
you really surprised that Lebron and the Lakers are doing this? No,
(10:28):
this because the Lakers and Lebron. We talk about soap
operas all the time. This is the definition of a
nighttime soap opera, because what's the night time soap opera
or even a daytime soap opera.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
We'll go back to Dallas guy. That's the thing allegiances.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Two people can be as thick as thieves, close as brothers,
but then a couple of months later, something happens and
they're fighting and there's new alliances. But then those sides
wind up fighting, and then they get brought back together
and now they're friends again.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
That's the Lakers and Lebron. And there's an evil twin,
or someone introduces a kid, someone comes back.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
I was dead.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
But that's the whole it's all a dream. It's Hey,
Lebron's kids showed up. Wait what we're writing? Lebron? He
really did? We rode him into the sky. He's you know,
he's actually real. There's no read. We don't have to
that's the that's an actual real thing because all this
stuff right about that this comes down to a basketball.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
We're talking. We're talking about a basketball. What he gave
your kid and guaranteed contract.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
What if we do this? What if we give the star?
What if we give Lebron a kid that plays basketball?
All of a sudden he just shows up. Oh I
like that idea. But we didn't reference him a lot before. No,
it doesn't matter. We'll reference him a little bit in
the first couple episodes. He shows up.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Then he shows up, but that but that's Lebron. Sometimes
the relationship is great, and it seems like they're on
the same page. They say great things about each other,
and then sometimes it's this, and then sometimes it's not.
That's what's a night, Times says. Sometimes they're aligned, sometimes
they're not. Sometimes the power struggle. Sometimes Lebron has the advantage,
sometimes the Lakers have the advantage, and it gets petty.
Both sides have been petty. That's what this is. Or
(11:57):
it is like one of my friends put into his
wedding vows, like water erodes rock. Eventually there's enough water
that that rock separates and you get broken down. In
this case, they were they were trying to get away,
like they were pushing off marriage. They were dating for
a very long time. Yeah, and he finally was convinced.
So that's how he got That was the analogy of
(12:20):
water erodes rock. I mean, now now here I acquiesced. No, see,
I think the way you describe it to me, it
comes across as, hey, no matter how long you get married,
it's gonna end badly.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
And eventually he was gonna well, I mean it could
go that way. That's in this case.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
They were dating and she wanted marriage, so eventually it
was we had to break up. I don't know that
the the that came into play, but they finally they
got there. So he used the water in the rock,
just so you know, everything breaks up eventually. In you too,
Congratulations on your wedding. It may last a month, it
may last a year, but it's gonna no. No. In
(12:55):
this case, it got them to the altar and they're
still happily together. Coming up that Fox Sports one NBA
insider Rick Bucker is always the must listen the latest
on the playoffs tonight, on lebron on the new lottery system.
That big news tonight looks like we know how we're
gonna try to combat tanking.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
That's next Jason and Mike Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
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Speaker 3 (13:32):
Set goats here.
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Speaker 3 (14:21):
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Check all of those out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast,
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Speaker 1 (14:36):
Sports Radio, The Jason Smith Show with my bes friend
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Speaker 3 (14:41):
Jason, did you really talk over this?
Speaker 4 (14:43):
Well?
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Yeah, I did. I've talked joyfully.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
I always thought when Almost Famous came out, I said, Oh,
it's based on Super Tramp because the guys all look
exactly like they're dressed exactly like Super Tramp. I sid,
it's got to be Super Tramp. And then eventually we
did get Super Tramp in a movie, but it was
Into the Wild. Yeah, the Alexander Supertramp, Yes, we did.
How about that big night in the NBA? The Calves
(15:12):
are one went away from a date with the Knicks?
What's next for Lebron? The greatness of Wemby. Nobody better
to talk to than the guy that spent all day
saying I am gearing myself up to talk to Jason
about the Knicks because right now they're the best team
in basketball. It's Fox Sports One Insider Extra on Twitter
(15:33):
at Rick Bucker.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
It is Rick Buker. What's happening, man? How are you?
Speaker 4 (15:37):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (15:40):
Oh hi, Mike, Hi buddy, welcome in.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
Can you and I just do this? Do this segment?
Speaker 3 (15:48):
You want to want to commiserate a little bit and
just avoid that.
Speaker 4 (15:51):
Yeah, I mean the energy that Jason has had for
not only I mean the last two weeks. It's just.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
I don't you wish you could bottle it though and
steal it? What?
Speaker 1 (16:04):
No, No, no, I mean you take it for your own.
I mean that kind of energy because he's over the top.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Because no, because.
Speaker 6 (16:09):
It's crazy energy.
Speaker 7 (16:10):
That's not good energy.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
It's crazy energy.
Speaker 7 (16:13):
I mean it's it's fun energy.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
It's entertaining energy, but it's no, it's crazy energy. Yeah,
it's you know, that kind of energy is like a
sugar rush because you just you know you're gonna come
off of that and you're gonna fall off a cliff.
So no, nope, nope, nope, nope. But I'm gonna I'm here,
I'm here, I'm gonna endure. God bless you, Jason, God
(16:37):
bless you. Just enjoy this, enjoy this. It's a good thing.
Speaker 7 (16:42):
I got to see.
Speaker 6 (16:43):
Here's the here's my problem.
Speaker 7 (16:44):
I got nothing.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
I have no comeback to where the Nicks sit right now,
other than if they don't go to the finals now.
Speaker 6 (16:56):
They never will.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
They should just shut down on the franchise and go,
you know what, we.
Speaker 7 (17:03):
Just let's book, Matt Let's book Madison Square Garden in
in late May and early June, because we're never gonna
need it for any Knicks games.
Speaker 4 (17:14):
If they don't do it this year, then they should
just go ahead, just put Shakira in there for a month.
Speaker 6 (17:20):
Do whatever you need to do, because you're not gonna.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Need it for the Knicks. So, I I mean, as
the stands right now, I have them going to uh To,
to to the finals.
Speaker 6 (17:33):
I want to say, I want to say going to
the Slaughter, but I'm not gonna say that.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
I'm not gonna say that's the final.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Let's let's let's deal with the here and now first. Yeah,
is the proper move. Nice poll by your side, that's
the residency you need. But to be honest, Rick, I'm
I'm not worried about the Eastern Conference finals because the
Knicks matchup great with Cleveland. Karl Anthony Towns is going
to look like Bill Russell and the Pistons look like
(18:00):
they're out of gas. They just look like they are
out of gas at this point. That That's what I
take away from from this game tonight.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
Yeah, it's hard, it's hard to argue. I mean, I
think the Pistons could as they have, they could give
the Knicks the nixt trouble. The matchups are completely different.
I agree with you the Knicks. I don't see them
having an issue taking care of business against the Calves.
And uh, the big surprise. You know, every once in
a while, maybe not once in a while, have her
(18:27):
often anybody wants to put it, put on it. I
get I get enamored with a guy during the regular season,
and I expect big thing.
Speaker 6 (18:35):
I think he's he's going to.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Take off, and then sometimes they do. Sometimes I get
that right, and every now and then I hit a dud.
And I was big on Jaalen Durham this year. Man,
I just I thought he is the perfect second banana
to Kate Cunningham and they could use a little more scoring.
(18:57):
But like he's just he's gonna be that rock next decade.
And many if you watch these games, like they can't
even play him down the stretch. He has been such
a it's been such a disappearing act. He's young enough
that I don't want to close the door on him.
But if you're looking for a reason that the Pistons
(19:19):
have not been able to get it done, is that
down the stretch. They're having to play Paul Reid a
lot of minutes. And Paul Reid's a nice scorer off
the bench, but he's he's not an All Star, and
Jalen Duran is and he simply hasn't played like one
in the series.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Rick, let me go back to the fold, the franchise
option that you gave the Knicks if they were to
lose him.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
The next round.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
Thank you for bringing that up, because I heard you
just a minute ago, like cheering Jason on when he
started to get the rev his engines. If I'm not mistaken, No, no.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
No, all I wanted, no, no, no, all that was
was I wish I had that kind of energy on
a day to day basis, because right now he is
running at that full throttle where a bench it's going
off a cliff. He also has to sit next to
me every night where you're in the comfort of your
own home, and as far as you know, I'm not
coming to your house if you say something bad about
the Knicks. Also true, Yeah, many threats have been made
(20:12):
against my personage and my car. Yeah, but if they
do fail, now not just in the whole okay see thing,
but if they lose to James Harden thirty points to
Night Great down the stretch, when Donovan Mitchell struggles, how
catastrophic would that be?
Speaker 4 (20:33):
I you know what it would be? We'd have to
put an m I A out for Jason. Yes, but
it would That's that's what it would be. I can't
it's so hard to imagine. But yeah, I mean I catastrophic. Yeah,
I'm trying to think of some horror movie where the
entire city gets swallowed. That would be. That would be
(20:56):
equivalent whatever whatever movie the Rock has done in the
last ten years that that that that would be. This
would be the sequel to that.
Speaker 7 (21:06):
Yeah, I mean, I'm telling.
Speaker 4 (21:08):
You, like anybody who's already booking the Knicks in the finals,
they get no argument from me. I'm seeing that way.
It's it's it's so hard to see it go another direction.
And I think that, you know, the one thing that
we haven't talked a lot. I don't know how about
you guys. You talked about it, but like, somebody needs
to give some flowers to Mike Brown, and someone also
(21:31):
has to recognize that with every win that the Knicks
have and every step that they take going forward, that
makes it increasingly hard for Tom Stibodeaux to ever see
another job other than in a in a in a
rebuilding situation, there's there are coaches that are built for
if it's a relay team, there's some coaches that are
(21:54):
good with the first baton, and there's some that are
in that middle distance to get you from we're competing
to now we're kind of we're putting ourselves in position
to win, and then you have the closers. And the
one thing that I appreciate I appreciate about Mike Brown
is Mike Brown. When he started out in Cleveland, he
(22:14):
was he was Tom fibodeaux disciple, not necessarily you know,
in the TIBs circle, but he was an all defensive guy.
And over the years he's evolved and spending time with
the Warriors, he has expanded his game and his approach
and his demeanor, and the knicks are a reflection of that.
(22:39):
So I know that a lot of people were questioning
some of the stuff that was going on during the
course of the year and questioning him and his methods.
But if you look at where the knicks are, I mean,
some of it's the competition, some of it's the path.
But it's also he gets you got to feel good
about how the Knicks are playing and how they seem
to be feeling about themselves. And I just don't know.
(23:02):
And maybe Jason can tell us the last time he
saw a Knicks team that felt this way and had
this sort of optimism about what they might be capable of.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Oh, yeah, nineteen ninety nine when they had Oh, I
thought you were going I thought you were gonna go
back to the OJ and had that miracle run to
the finals where LJ hits the big four point play
and it's look, look at the eight seed all the
way to the finals like it Just the thing is,
it just took longer to come together. It took the
Knicks until the last month of the season to play
defensively how they could because things nobody is saying. No
(23:33):
one's saying you can't play Cat and Brunson on the
floor at the same time defensively. No one's saying Mike
Brown can't get it done. No one's saying you can't
win with Jalen Brunson as your number one guy. All
these things are out the window. But Rick, I'll give you,
I'll give you a happy you know ending to this
because this is fun. Is the biggest thing I could
tell you. The differ between Mike Brown and Tibbs in
all these thirty point blowouts that the Knicks have had,
(23:55):
the forty point blounts they've had the last couple of rounds,
Timms would have Brunson and Towns and and Noble Heart
in the game until there was a minute and a
half left. Instead, they're out of the game in the
fourth quarter and Landry Shaman is playing and.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
These other kids are getting minutes after.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
He'd have those guys in until there was like a
minute and a half left to go, and then he
would take him out.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
Yeah, yeah, And I mean and and for what, Like
I mean, part of this is, you know, don't I
don't know what he was trying to prove in those
those instances, especially since that was the way he approached
things during the regular season too. And and and look,
that's what I mean by if we look at Tibbs,
and we look at the way he coached in Chicago
(24:36):
and the way he coached in New York and the
way he coached in Minnesota, it's he's coached the same
way everywhere, right, And and so I can look at
Mike Brown and I can.
Speaker 6 (24:49):
Go, you know what, different coach than he was in Cleveland.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
Uh, he was a different coach in Sacramento than he
was in Cleveland. He's he's evolved, and I think in
today's game, today's game, aim is evolving. Coaches have to
have to learn to evolve too, And so you know,
and then this is I'm not trying to to tear
down Tibbs, because he is a very good coach at
(25:13):
what he does.
Speaker 7 (25:14):
But I just don't know.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
That his approach in today's game is makes sense. And
we'll see whether you know, here's the thing. We'll see
whether Mike Brown can close the deal.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
We'll see.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
I've always thought Jalen Brunson is a great leader, makes
the most out of what he is. I still don't
know that you can win a championship with Jalen Bunson,
But getting to the finals, I think that's a very
that's a very real possibility.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Fox Sports Radio Jacob Smit Show with Me Mike Garman,
as we welcome our guy Rick Buker each and every
week on the program with us now at RI C
B U, C h E R, Fox.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
Sports One, NBA Analyst podcast.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Check it out, and his book is out Coachable Day
Win and Random out right. You're you've got that up
and going so people can find that wherever they order
their books.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
Bound bookstore now, they're on shelves now.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
And isn't it the Mike Brown story? Coachable? The Mike
Brown Story? Isn't it? Did you retitle it?
Speaker 4 (26:15):
He's gonna be part two?
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Okay, yeah, you know he's in the addendum. That's like
when you buy booster packs of Pokemon or the series
two of a card s Part two right of a
card set. All right, let's get to the elephant in
the room, the the fun and exciting world that is
Lebron James Lakers go out to Okay, see no surprise there.
But in the follow up, now we have questions about
(26:37):
the future and today a big battle over a game
ball Rick, Uh, you want to talk about King Petty?
Speaker 3 (26:45):
This post to the next level.
Speaker 4 (26:48):
It really does. And man, I just for those who
don't know, you guys have laid out so game in
particular games. Can you hear my dogs are are upset
that I'm talking about Lebron James.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
I'm gonna have to I think they're upset that you
said you're not sure if Jylen Brunton can lead the
Knicks to a championship.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
I think that's what got them to the door. Yeah
he could. Oh, I thought they thought they overtook him.
He thought the dogs won, Rick.
Speaker 6 (27:18):
Wells, they actually did.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
I put him outside. Now my neighbors have to deal
with them. Hey, anything for the show.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
I'm just appreciate that. Now, Neighbor of the Year, Rick Buker,
like his neighbor's going.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
You know that Buker guy sometimes puts his dog outside
at nine thirty at night.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
What is he doing that for?
Speaker 4 (27:38):
And I'm gonna be yelling back, I'm going to Jason
Smith show so.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
Broadway.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
Yeah, look, this is oh it hurts my soul things
like this. We have lauded Lebron James for all the
things that he's done and uh and the Lakers have
lauded him for the many things that he did.
Speaker 6 (28:00):
Including the sacrifices that he made this year.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
JJ Redick went out of his way to acknowledge that.
Speaker 6 (28:07):
Everything that he was doing, in spite of the fact
that there was.
Speaker 4 (28:09):
A lot of the things that he wasn't doing and
he didn't necessarily embrace the third wheel right away.
Speaker 6 (28:15):
But this is the heart of it for me. So
the reason we're bringing this up.
Speaker 4 (28:19):
Is because there was a game ball. It was the
night that JJ Reddick won his one hundredth game as
a head coach. Luka Doatsis finished the across the fifteen
thousand point margin, ru had tomorrow across the five thousand
point margin, and Lebron James passed Kareem aldul Dubarre for
(28:41):
most wins by a player combined regular season in playoffs.
And I got to tell you, guys, it is an
impressive accomplishment.
Speaker 6 (28:48):
I didn't know it was a thing.
Speaker 4 (28:50):
I didn't the first time I've ever heard anybody talk
about the number of wins that an individual player got.
I've heard about coaches, I've heard about teams, never heard
it about a particular player. Nonetheless, supposedly Bropolinka came in
gave the game ball to to JJ Reddick for his
one hundred win. Seems like the very diplomatic thing to do,
(29:11):
rather than give it to one of the players, give
it to the coach. I would think, Lebron James, you
your your your trophy case is overflowing. You've gotten every
possible recognition that a player could.
Speaker 7 (29:27):
In this game.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
Do you really need a game ball for this? Can
we get you a duperclet? Like what? But that you
felt like you were being taken for granted? This is
the report because you didn't get the game ball that night.
Is it's just extraordinary?
Speaker 3 (29:45):
Like I.
Speaker 4 (29:47):
The I don't, I don't even this. These means as
befuddled as trying to come up with a way to
dampen Jason's spirit. I how do you? How do you
not look at the situation?
Speaker 6 (30:05):
Or and here's the thing I think this is the
thing that.
Speaker 4 (30:08):
Gets gets me the most is it's not so much
that he had that reaction, but that someone close to
Lebron thought it would be smart to share that with
Dave mcmanhamon and have that reported as if that was
a good thing. Like we all have impulses that we
(30:28):
sometimes have to be saved from by our significant others
or our friends or someone who says, hey, you know what,
maybe that's not such a good idea, or if you're
thinking that, don't say it.
Speaker 6 (30:44):
You know, don't don't let people know.
Speaker 4 (30:45):
That that's that's how you felt, because it's not a
good look.
Speaker 7 (30:49):
And instead you.
Speaker 6 (30:50):
Got somebody close to Lebron who thought.
Speaker 4 (30:52):
Yeah, we should let the world know that this is
you know, this is why Lebron has his question, This
is how the Lakers are treating the Bron and I
just sometimes you need your friends to save you, and
I just in this case, when I look at how.
Speaker 6 (31:08):
This got out, this wasn't Lebron saying it.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
It was somebody close to him giving it to mcmanimon.
Speaker 6 (31:15):
I'm thinking, why would you share that?
Speaker 4 (31:17):
That's not a good look. And the reality is, I
don't know what his options are other than going back
to La going to the Lakers. I can't see him
signing with the Clippers. They do have room. I don't
see the Clippers necessarily doing that or going to Cleveland,
and I'm not convinced that Cleveland is on board with that.
(31:39):
But those are his two options.
Speaker 7 (31:41):
And it's just.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
One more thing where I would hope that Lebron would
go out with a certain amount of.
Speaker 6 (31:47):
Grace, because certainly.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
Everything that he's accomplished, i'd like to see him go
out on the right foot. But then when you have
reports like this, it makes it a lot harder for
people not to say, hey, you know what, I'm just
kind of tired of the drama. We're tired of the
look at me like Lebron. Thanks, thanks for the memories,
thanks for all the entertainment.
Speaker 7 (32:13):
But you know what, it's okay.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
You can go enjoy your wine, go enjoy your family.
We've we've we've had enough of this because because it's
not I don't know about you guys, it just leaves
a bad taste in my mouth.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
He's on Twitter at Rick Buker. That is at Rick
Buker Fox Sports one NBA Analyst Insider. The book Coachable,
How the Greatest Performers Reached their Highest Potential. The link
is at Rick Buker dot com. You get off his
Twitter account as well at Rick Buker. Rick is always buddy,
appreciate it. We'll talk to you next week when we're
talking about the Knicks and the finals.
Speaker 7 (32:46):
Jose Alvarado, Yo.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
See you here.
Speaker 6 (32:51):
Rick.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
Always a great visit with Rick Buker. It's time.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
How to find out what's trending in the wide world
of sports From Martin White, Sam doub What do you got?
Speaker 8 (32:58):
Wild games today, both in hockey and in basketball. Starting
on the hockey side of things, Game five Western Conference
semi finals went to overtime, Colorado with two late goals
to force that extra period. Minnesota had a three to
one lead going in obviously to Colorado scoring that game
winning goal four minutes into the overtime period, taking a
four to three win, advancing to the Western Conference Finals
(33:20):
with a four to one series win over Minnesota. Evan
Mobley had six lay points to force overtime in Game
five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Cleveland stealing a win
in Detroit one to seventeen to one thirteen. James Harden
becoming the first player to score at least thirty points
in a playoff game for six different teams.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
He like that.
Speaker 8 (33:38):
Jason Smith Atlanta gets his thirtieth win of the year
four to one over the Cubs. The White Sox continued
their recent hot streak. They beat the Royals six to five.
Max Freed left his start against the Orioles. I'm so
left his start against the Oriols. The Yankees lost it
seven to nothing. Freed, we'll get an MRI for left
elbow posterior soreness. Show Hail Tony pitched over one hundred
(33:59):
pitches in a run seven inning, no run outing as
the Dodgers beat the Giants Ford and Nothing. Rangers beat
the Diamondbacks six to five, Danny Jansen at a walk
off single extra innings wins for the Nationals squeaking past
the Reds eight to seven, and New York Mets catcher
Francisco Alvarez will need surgery after being diagnosed with a
(34:19):
torn meniscus in the right knee. And in the Battle
of Martin Wiss first, Jason Smith, the Mets beat the
Tigers three to two.
Speaker 3 (34:26):
Back to you tonight, Jason Smith too, Martin Weis zero. Yeah,
thank you. I'm glad, I filled in, Glad, I'm here,
Thanks buddy. Coming up next, Potentially, the NBA has fixed
their biggest problem big news tonight. Wow, But have they
really fixed it? That's next.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Jason Might be sure to catch live editions of The
Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern,
seven pm Pacific, Fox.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Sports Radio The Jason Smith with My babes friend Mike Harmon.
Speaker 3 (35:04):
Yeah. So thanks to Rick Buker for stopping by with us.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Always great stuff with Rick, big NBA headline tonight, We'll
get back into the games and Lebron in a few minutes.
But the NBA feels like they have solved their tanking problem,
Adam Silver saying earlier today that the NBA has landed
on a proposal that they're going to present to the
(35:35):
league's Board of Governors to revamp the draft lottery to
try to stop tanking. And it's going to be the
three to one format that we first heard about about
a week or two ago that gives the three worst
teams a lower percentage chance of winning the lottery than
the team's picking four through tenths. So we want to
stop those teams from dry from bottom the way bottom
(35:56):
out right. Now, here's the thing, and that's why this stinks,
and I gotta be honest, is that the fact that
you have to get to this involved of a way
to combat tanking shows you how out of control you've
allowed the problem to get and that you have nowhere
to go. I don't think the NBA wants to solve
(36:18):
the tanking problems. They just want to solve the optics
of the most public tanking issues. Teams in the bottom
sitting there, guys like those those really bad and.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
They don't want to.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
They don't want to, they don't want to completely fix tanking. No, no,
they just want, like the worst headline of the week
to go away. Those competitive games in the final six
minutes were suddenly the substitution batterns And why is this
guy not playing now? Down a stretch of a game,
as we saw with Indiana and Utah and some other
teams down the street, they think if they make that
(36:51):
go away, it'll make tanking go away. And they're stupid
if they think so, because they have created a system
and a sport now in which it does. Does it
matter if teams don't feel that this is their year?
They're gonna sit there, guys, and they're gonna go for
the lottery and say, we're gonna take our chances.
Speaker 3 (37:09):
We watch it.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
Come up with a point one percent for the Mavericks
and they wound up with Cooper flag. How is this
gonna combat teams who all but by the time you
get past Christmas, it's yeah, not our year where we'll
play for the lottery. It doesn't matter where the ping
pong balls are.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
They really thing teams are.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Gonna go, oh wait a minute, wait a minute, We
just we don't want to be in the bottom three
because our odds are lower. Oh well as you can see,
if you have the highest odds, you're not gonna get
there all the time.
Speaker 3 (37:34):
Yea, and it's three.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
I mean, it's not like, hey, we're going from you
get one hundred versus.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Yeah, two.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
They just want it. They just want to stop the headlines,
which is stupid. They want stot the opposite. But the
tanking is still gonna and trust me, we're gonna go
through next year. It's still gonna be this. We're still
gonna see teams not playing their guys. We're gonna see
rollover games, twenty thirty point games throughout the second half
of the season after the All Star Game because teams
are they should look at the playoffs and go, hey,
(38:02):
maybe it's more why on us? But instead, no, we're
not gonna go for it. And you're still gonna see
teams playing for the lottery. That's not gonna change. But
look at one of the headlines that got buried earlier
this week, the investigation into Milwaukee Bucks and how they
handled Giannis and Tennacumpo's injury. Nothing to see here, there's
no malfeasons, there's no issue. Even though he was shouting
(38:24):
from the rooftop, how he wanted to play, and he
was ready to play. I don't know, they didn't they
didn't do anything wrong. They didn't, no, not at all.
Uh And they finished woefully behind the final slots in
the playoff system. But it's just those kind of things, right,
you'll see the rotations change up. Even earlier guys are now, well,
he's got a little bit of a hammy. So around
(38:46):
Christmas time, right, gotta think of the kids when they're
on break and all. But as soon as we get
back to January, it's like, nah, you know what, you're
gonna miss that that game, you're gonna miss that road trip.
You're gonna stay back. Precautionary, the abundance of caution in
all of those phraseologies we use, uh so so liberally
across any I mean set of circumstances. That's what we're
(39:08):
gonna do here. Yes, you want the most ping pong
balls in right, you will, obviously you want that. But
nobody's saying, hey, if we can't get the most ping
pong balls, we're gonna play no, because what do you
see you see team saying, boy, look how lucky it
turned out for us, How lucky it turned out for
the clippers that the pacers round up with the fifth pick.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
You see luck stories every year. Boy, how lucky this
was they had this percent chance of getting a time eag.
Speaker 6 (39:34):
Man.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
People are still gonna play for the lottery because they
think why it's why people play the lottery in general.
Speaker 3 (39:41):
I don't know that I'm gonna win, you know, five
hundred million dollars, but I'm gonna play the lottery any time.
Speaker 1 (39:45):
Tell me you haven't bought a bunch of shaws scratches
that billboard on the freeway like like I mean, lottery.
Lottery people are still gonna try to play it. Oh,
you know, the odds of winning the lottery are won
in like five hundred billion.
Speaker 3 (39:58):
It doesn't matter. I'm still gonna buy bet bet bet right.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
And you're saying, wait, you're gonna take two ping pong
balls away from so we're still in the lottery.
Speaker 3 (40:07):
We still have that chance.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
And yes, you lower it a little bit on the
grand scheme, but really you're you're not eliminating it altogether
by by saying through your expert panel that we we
came to it that level of egregious behavior of how
we handled our roster and and did our substitutions. Yeah,
we're still in okay, cool right, And that's what we
(40:30):
watched the race to the Bottom this year.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
It was insane.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
It was this is just to get rid of the headlines.
That's all this is. That's all because it's stupid that
you have to get this involved. But it's just that's
all they want to do. They want to stop people
talking about it because Adam Silva would turn the radio,
want and turn the TV on and see instead of
talking about the game, we're talking about tanking the players
not playing, and he thinks it it's gonna get teams
to play their players. News flash, it ain't. They're still
(40:56):
gonna sit them. It's still gonna happen. Oh, that Genie
is sitting outside the bottom. Wait even at you every
damn night. Exit Outbyta Fresca, Exit Swollen Dome. Jason Smith
Mike Carmon Live from the Fox Sports Radio Studios. Coming
up next, We got a big story out of the
NFL on the eve of schedule release day.
Speaker 3 (41:12):
This is Fox.
Speaker 2 (41:14):
Look at that.
Speaker 7 (41:14):
Jason, the
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
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iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Hello, Welcome in side our three, The Jason Smith Show
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(00:52):
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Speaker 3 (01:02):
So we got Rick.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Buker coming up in about twenty minutes, all the latest
on the NBA playoffs. What we see, Yeah, good luck
because that we gonna talk about who the next we're
gonna play in the next round.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
But you know, we talked about this a few minutes ago.
We talked about.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Lebron and the the odds are now that he becomes
a Cleveland Cavalier in the off season, with every advancing
win by Cleveland, the odds drop because they're not gonna
think we're Lebron James away from winning anymore. But outside
of that, today was just such a bizarre day revolving
around Lebron James because a couple of insiders break a
(01:39):
story earlier in the day and look, this is a
day after we had Rob Polenka and the Lakers say
they'd love to have Lebron back, and you know, Lebron
needs time to make his decision. We'd love to have
and everything was great, okay, awesome, And now today a
story breaks that allegedly Lebron James was pissed at the
Lakers because they didn't give him the game ball when
(02:03):
he broke the record for most wins by an NBA
player in history. Okay, that they didn't give him the
game ball. Then they gave it to JJ Reddick because
it was his one hundredth win as an NBA coast
and we got to see the video of this. Whole
ceremony is kids. The video of this is insane, and
I want to say, sometimes two things can be true
(02:24):
for a story.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
The video, JJ Reddick is after the win. JJ Reddick
is talking.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
It's just from a few weeks ago, and Reddick says, hey,
we have some big things to announce tonight. Ruey Hachimura
in the same game, all these things happen. Ruy Hachimura
scored his five thousands point in the NBA. Okay, great
by JJ Reddicks's I got some things to say about people.
Everything else here Ruey five thousand NBA points. Everybody claps
for him. Luka Dancic, same game, fifteen thousand NBA points.
(02:54):
Claps for Luca, and then he says, hey, and also
Lebron James. Lebron James, the goat greatest of all time.
Uh sets the record for most wins in NBA history
by a player. Everybody collaps. So, okay, we're we end there.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
We got that.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Polinka comes in and says, hey, we got one more
thing to talk about here.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Let's see it on the video. And I got a feeling.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
JJ Reddick kind of knew this was coming the way
he was reacting. It's video of JJ Reddick's kids congratulating
JJ Reddick because that game was also his one hundredth
win as an NBA head coach. Rob Plinkett talked about, hey,
back to back fifty you know, fifty win seasons are
very difficult the NBA. All of this, and we got
the story today that Lebron was upset that he didn't
get the game ball from that game, that they gave
(03:38):
it to Reddick. There's actually video of the ball with
the tape on it. It's it's the Lion King's Yeah.
Now there there's a couple of things on this, because
both things can be true. Does Lebron if this is true,
does Lebron look petty at this? Okay, well, yeah, a
little bit, a little bit because you had other games, Hey,
(03:59):
you could have They could have given it to Rui,
They could have given it to Luca fifteen thousand points.
They could have done that, right, But Reddick's hundredth winn
is an NBA head coaches kids data video. Yeah, absolutely,
you could say Lebron looks petty. However, did you have
to only give one game ball out?
Speaker 4 (04:17):
No?
Speaker 1 (04:17):
You didn't you use more than one basketball in the game.
You could have given the ball from the game. You
could have said, Okay, hey Lebron, this is Ruey. Congratulations,
five thousand points. You can get a game ball. Hey, Luca,
fifteen thousand, you get a game ball. Hey Lebron, most
winning NBA player in history of the game, you get
a game ball. They could have done a little bit
more like it was a really quick reaction, and I
(04:41):
get that. Okay, the game's over, everybody wants to go home,
but we're gonna celebrate some guys for a couple of
minutes here. Yeah, this is a thing, right, we got
some good stuff to We're not gonna do this all
the time, right, Ruey's not getting another five thousand points
in the NBA. So yeah, they could have done that.
Could they have done something a little bit more special
for Lebron? Yeah they could have you know what I mean?
Could Rob Polinka said, hey, this is a pretty big thing,
(05:03):
you talk about all time, most wins for a player
in NBA history. Yeah, they could have done more for him. Right,
So both things can be true, because the main takeaway
from this is that no matter how good things are
with Lebron how okay he is with being the number
three guy in the team. It's always been Lebron versus
the Lakers for control of the team, for who's more responsible,
(05:26):
just in the power struggle. That's been the way since
he showed up and signed here before the pandemic, right,
that's been That's been the whole Lebron James Laker thing.
We're taking control. Clutch Sports is really running the Lakers.
Me and A d and Rich Paul. We want these players,
the Lakers want to keep Lebron happy. Who's got more power.
We're gonna bring in the players he wants to bring in.
We're gonna draft Brony for him. It's been a power
(05:48):
struggle for the Lakers since Lebron got here. This is
just another part of it, right because Lebron a little
if this is true, Lebron a little petty? Yeah, could
the Lakers have done a little bit.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
More for there? They could have more for Luca, could
have for anybody in there.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
If you're gonna if you know you're putting together a
video for JJ Reddick, you know you could do something
more for the other guys too. And I'm putting all
three players in this you could have done more. Maybe
the Lakers didn't want to do it as well. If
we do it for Ruy and and and Luca, we
gotta do it for Lebron. We don't want to do that. No,
both sides are showing you how petty they are and
that it's still Lebron versus the Lakers when it's all sudden. Yeah,
(06:24):
there's a lot to this to unpack. So it's fun
and exciting because the video comes out and you have
the cheering and you get through. First off, it's not
a little league or a yso where everybody gets trophy
and metal whatever else. So and game balls are expensive,
so you got one and you move on. Lebron, plenty
(06:44):
of folks have He's been bowed to so many times
for every milestone. Every shot he takes at this point
is a record, isn't it? So what are we gonna
do is stop the game after every attempt He's now
set the record for most deployed you know, attempts by
a four prety plus year old guy.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
In NBA history.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Takes another shot, missus, he's now set the record again.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Then is that what we're gonna do? Right? I mean,
because that's where we're at with all of this.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Uh, and you're you're trying to keep it to a
bit of celebration, Reddick, You're you're trying to get him
over because there's still a lot of folks that have
reticence to give him any credit for any of it.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
And even in his.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Finest hours when there's a misstep, what have we done.
I mean, go back and watch a video. We got
some good run off of the final throws of the
Lakers season. Find that wherever it is on Facebook, on Instagram,
on TikTok, you name it, at Fox Sports Radio, at
about a Frescat Swollenome. It's everywhere talking about his failures
(07:49):
as a coach. So when the Lakers have been able
to prop him up, they do everything they can to
prop up.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
We made the right choice. That's our guy.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
We got to stay and this was an opportunity to
do that and throw him some flowers.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Lebron gets plenty of it.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
To your point about Lebron and the continued battle of
us versus them, That's why I still don't buy beyond
maybe a forty mark, which is failing even in the
most generous scoring system. In a classroom is you know
the all he's okay with being the third option, because
if he's pissed at this, man, come on, get over yourself. Man,
(08:27):
this is this is nothing. I mean, they've had pomp
and circumstance and pageantry and stoppages of plays and and long. Hey, everybody,
get on your feet and and let's bow to Lebron.
James so many times I've lost count. So now this
is in the locker room and you decide to show
a little bit of love to.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
To the coach.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
No, but the thing is, you didn't have to pick
one or the other. You could have done them all.
You could have said I said you could have could
You could have given Lebron he could have given the
ball whatever it was.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Then you could have played.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Jason for giving out cars. You get a ball, You
can get a ball. Are you really you're really telling
me They couldn't have done that. They couldn't have said, hey, Ruey,
here's a game ball for you.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Man.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Congratulations, Yachimura, collapse, waste everybody. Maybe he says something, Maybe
he doesn't, Luca congratulate the other. Big moment for you.
Fifteen thousand points. Al Right, that's awesome. Here's a game
ball for you and Lebron saving the biggest for last week.
Lebron here, you could have done that. I'm just saying,
if this is a thing that really miffs him to
this great level, and you can't tell me he doesn't
(09:28):
have someone in that equipment room that got him one
of those balls, Yeah right, I guarantee you he's got
one of those basketballs well as we've seen.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
But if this is the thing that gets him that
salty so.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Thing, I know.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
But but look, but that's you know, but that's the
that's the.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
But that was on the court of that particular ball,
run down to get that ball. He just can you
just get Lebron out of the bucket that we brought
back after the game.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Just get one of those. It'll be okay, slap some
tape on it, it'll be fun. Don't leave with my
game ball, man, this is my game ball.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
But like, if that's the thing that's really setting him
off and it's as big a deal as it was
made today, boy, that is such a fractured relationship. Again,
are you really, like I said to you last night,
are you really surprised the NBA didn't suspend Wemby because
he was basically suspended for the entire last game. Are
you really surprised that Lebron and the Lakers are doing this? No,
(10:28):
this because the Lakers and Lebron. We talk about soap
operas all the time. This is the definition of a
nighttime soap opera, because what's the night time soap opera
or even a daytime soap opera.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
We'll go back to Dallas guy. That's the thing allegiances.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Two people can be as thick as thieves, close as brothers,
but then a couple of months later, something happens and
they're fighting and there's new alliances. But then those sides
wind up fighting, and then they get brought back together
and now they're friends again.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
That's the Lakers and Lebron. And there's an evil twin,
or someone introduces a kid, someone comes back.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
I was dead.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
But that's the whole it's all a dream. It's Hey,
Lebron's kids showed up. Wait what we're writing? Lebron? He
really did? We rode him into the sky. He's you know,
he's actually real. There's no read. We don't have to
that's the that's an actual real thing because all this
stuff right about that this comes down to a basketball.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
We're talking. We're talking about a basketball. What he gave
your kid and guaranteed contract.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
What if we do this? What if we give the star?
What if we give Lebron a kid that plays basketball?
All of a sudden he just shows up. Oh I
like that idea. But we didn't reference him a lot before. No,
it doesn't matter. We'll reference him a little bit in
the first couple episodes. He shows up.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Then he shows up, but that but that's Lebron. Sometimes
the relationship is great, and it seems like they're on
the same page. They say great things about each other,
and then sometimes it's this, and then sometimes it's not.
That's what's a night, Times says. Sometimes they're aligned, sometimes
they're not. Sometimes the power struggle. Sometimes Lebron has the advantage,
sometimes the Lakers have the advantage, and it gets petty.
Both sides have been petty. That's what this is. Or
(11:57):
it is like one of my friends put into his
wedding vows, like water erodes rock. Eventually there's enough water
that that rock separates and you get broken down. In
this case, they were they were trying to get away,
like they were pushing off marriage. They were dating for
a very long time. Yeah, and he finally was convinced.
So that's how he got That was the analogy of
(12:20):
water erodes rock. I mean, now now here I acquiesced. No, see,
I think the way you describe it to me, it
comes across as, hey, no matter how long you get married,
it's gonna end badly.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
And eventually he was gonna well, I mean it could
go that way. That's in this case.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
They were dating and she wanted marriage, so eventually it
was we had to break up. I don't know that
the the that came into play, but they finally they
got there. So he used the water in the rock,
just so you know, everything breaks up eventually. In you too,
Congratulations on your wedding. It may last a month, it
may last a year, but it's gonna no. No. In
(12:55):
this case, it got them to the altar and they're
still happily together. Coming up that Fox Sports one NBA
insider Rick Bucker is always the must listen the latest
on the playoffs tonight, on lebron on the new lottery system.
That big news tonight looks like we know how we're
gonna try to combat tanking.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
That's next Jason and Mike Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
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 3 (13:32):
Set goats here.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
I have a podcast Empire. It continues to grow, and
I have brought it here to iHeart. I'm also doing
a live radio show from three to five pm Eastern
because my wife wanted to kick me out of the house.
It's called Stegatzi Company Live, which is available in podcast
form right when the show finishes. Every single day. Some
(13:54):
of the biggest names in sports, a lot of phone calls.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
I love you guys the show.
Speaker 4 (13:59):
It's one of my favorite.
Speaker 5 (13:59):
A lot to interact shit guys not taking themselves too seriously.
Those are just some of the things that you could
expect from Stu Gottson Company and ste Gotson Company Live.
So listen to stew Godson Company Live and our original podcast.
Please subscribe, rate and review Stu Gotson Company and God
Bless Football. Taylor's livelihood depends on it.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
You do it today and you can.
Speaker 5 (14:23):
Check all of those out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast,
or wherever you get your podcasts, Fox.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Sports Radio, The Jason Smith Show with my bes friend
Mike Harmon.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Jason, did you really talk over this?
Speaker 4 (14:43):
Well?
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Yeah, I did. I've talked joyfully.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
I always thought when Almost Famous came out, I said, Oh,
it's based on Super Tramp because the guys all look
exactly like they're dressed exactly like Super Tramp. I sid,
it's got to be Super Tramp. And then eventually we
did get Super Tramp in a movie, but it was
Into the Wild. Yeah, the Alexander Supertramp, Yes, we did.
How about that big night in the NBA? The Calves
(15:12):
are one went away from a date with the Knicks?
What's next for Lebron? The greatness of Wemby. Nobody better
to talk to than the guy that spent all day
saying I am gearing myself up to talk to Jason
about the Knicks because right now they're the best team
in basketball. It's Fox Sports One Insider Extra on Twitter
(15:33):
at Rick Bucker.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
It is Rick Buker. What's happening, man? How are you?
Speaker 4 (15:37):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (15:40):
Oh hi, Mike, Hi buddy, welcome in.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
Can you and I just do this? Do this segment?
Speaker 3 (15:48):
You want to want to commiserate a little bit and
just avoid that.
Speaker 4 (15:51):
Yeah, I mean the energy that Jason has had for
not only I mean the last two weeks. It's just.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
I don't you wish you could bottle it though and
steal it? What?
Speaker 1 (16:04):
No, No, no, I mean you take it for your own.
I mean that kind of energy because he's over the top.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Because no, because.
Speaker 6 (16:09):
It's crazy energy.
Speaker 7 (16:10):
That's not good energy.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
It's crazy energy.
Speaker 7 (16:13):
I mean it's it's fun energy.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
It's entertaining energy, but it's no, it's crazy energy. Yeah,
it's you know, that kind of energy is like a
sugar rush because you just you know you're gonna come
off of that and you're gonna fall off a cliff.
So no, nope, nope, nope, nope. But I'm gonna I'm here,
I'm here, I'm gonna endure. God bless you, Jason, God
(16:37):
bless you. Just enjoy this, enjoy this. It's a good thing.
Speaker 7 (16:42):
I got to see.
Speaker 6 (16:43):
Here's the here's my problem.
Speaker 7 (16:44):
I got nothing.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
I have no comeback to where the Nicks sit right now,
other than if they don't go to the finals now.
Speaker 6 (16:56):
They never will.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
They should just shut down on the franchise and go,
you know what, we.
Speaker 7 (17:03):
Just let's book, Matt Let's book Madison Square Garden in
in late May and early June, because we're never gonna
need it for any Knicks games.
Speaker 4 (17:14):
If they don't do it this year, then they should
just go ahead, just put Shakira in there for a month.
Speaker 6 (17:20):
Do whatever you need to do, because you're not gonna.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Need it for the Knicks. So, I I mean, as
the stands right now, I have them going to uh To,
to to the finals.
Speaker 6 (17:33):
I want to say, I want to say going to
the Slaughter, but I'm not gonna say that.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
I'm not gonna say that's the final.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Let's let's let's deal with the here and now first. Yeah,
is the proper move. Nice poll by your side, that's
the residency you need. But to be honest, Rick, I'm
I'm not worried about the Eastern Conference finals because the
Knicks matchup great with Cleveland. Karl Anthony Towns is going
to look like Bill Russell and the Pistons look like
(18:00):
they're out of gas. They just look like they are
out of gas at this point. That That's what I
take away from from this game tonight.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
Yeah, it's hard, it's hard to argue. I mean, I
think the Pistons could as they have, they could give
the Knicks the nixt trouble. The matchups are completely different.
I agree with you the Knicks. I don't see them
having an issue taking care of business against the Calves.
And uh, the big surprise. You know, every once in
a while, maybe not once in a while, have her
(18:27):
often anybody wants to put it, put on it. I
get I get enamored with a guy during the regular season,
and I expect big thing.
Speaker 6 (18:35):
I think he's he's going to.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Take off, and then sometimes they do. Sometimes I get
that right, and every now and then I hit a dud.
And I was big on Jaalen Durham this year. Man,
I just I thought he is the perfect second banana
to Kate Cunningham and they could use a little more scoring.
(18:57):
But like he's just he's gonna be that rock next decade.
And many if you watch these games, like they can't
even play him down the stretch. He has been such
a it's been such a disappearing act. He's young enough
that I don't want to close the door on him.
But if you're looking for a reason that the Pistons
(19:19):
have not been able to get it done, is that
down the stretch. They're having to play Paul Reid a
lot of minutes. And Paul Reid's a nice scorer off
the bench, but he's he's not an All Star, and
Jalen Duran is and he simply hasn't played like one
in the series.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Rick, let me go back to the fold, the franchise
option that you gave the Knicks if they were to
lose him.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
The next round.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
Thank you for bringing that up, because I heard you
just a minute ago, like cheering Jason on when he
started to get the rev his engines. If I'm not mistaken, No, no.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
No, all I wanted, no, no, no, all that was
was I wish I had that kind of energy on
a day to day basis, because right now he is
running at that full throttle where a bench it's going
off a cliff. He also has to sit next to
me every night where you're in the comfort of your
own home, and as far as you know, I'm not
coming to your house if you say something bad about
the Knicks. Also true, Yeah, many threats have been made
(20:12):
against my personage and my car. Yeah, but if they
do fail, now not just in the whole okay see thing,
but if they lose to James Harden thirty points to
Night Great down the stretch, when Donovan Mitchell struggles, how
catastrophic would that be?
Speaker 4 (20:33):
I you know what it would be? We'd have to
put an m I A out for Jason. Yes, but
it would That's that's what it would be. I can't
it's so hard to imagine. But yeah, I mean I catastrophic. Yeah,
I'm trying to think of some horror movie where the
entire city gets swallowed. That would be. That would be
(20:56):
equivalent whatever whatever movie the Rock has done in the
last ten years that that that that would be. This
would be the sequel to that.
Speaker 7 (21:06):
Yeah, I mean, I'm telling.
Speaker 4 (21:08):
You, like anybody who's already booking the Knicks in the finals,
they get no argument from me. I'm seeing that way.
It's it's it's so hard to see it go another direction.
And I think that, you know, the one thing that
we haven't talked a lot. I don't know how about
you guys. You talked about it, but like, somebody needs
to give some flowers to Mike Brown, and someone also
(21:31):
has to recognize that with every win that the Knicks
have and every step that they take going forward, that
makes it increasingly hard for Tom Stibodeaux to ever see
another job other than in a in a in a
rebuilding situation, there's there are coaches that are built for
if it's a relay team, there's some coaches that are
(21:54):
good with the first baton, and there's some that are
in that middle distance to get you from we're competing
to now we're kind of we're putting ourselves in position
to win, and then you have the closers. And the
one thing that I appreciate I appreciate about Mike Brown
is Mike Brown. When he started out in Cleveland, he
(22:14):
was he was Tom fibodeaux disciple, not necessarily you know,
in the TIBs circle, but he was an all defensive guy.
And over the years he's evolved and spending time with
the Warriors, he has expanded his game and his approach
and his demeanor, and the knicks are a reflection of that.
(22:39):
So I know that a lot of people were questioning
some of the stuff that was going on during the
course of the year and questioning him and his methods.
But if you look at where the knicks are, I mean,
some of it's the competition, some of it's the path.
But it's also he gets you got to feel good
about how the Knicks are playing and how they seem
to be feeling about themselves. And I just don't know.
(23:02):
And maybe Jason can tell us the last time he
saw a Knicks team that felt this way and had
this sort of optimism about what they might be capable of.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Oh, yeah, nineteen ninety nine when they had Oh, I
thought you were going I thought you were gonna go
back to the OJ and had that miracle run to
the finals where LJ hits the big four point play
and it's look, look at the eight seed all the
way to the finals like it Just the thing is,
it just took longer to come together. It took the
Knicks until the last month of the season to play
defensively how they could because things nobody is saying. No
(23:33):
one's saying you can't play Cat and Brunson on the
floor at the same time defensively. No one's saying Mike
Brown can't get it done. No one's saying you can't
win with Jalen Brunson as your number one guy. All
these things are out the window. But Rick, I'll give you,
I'll give you a happy you know ending to this
because this is fun. Is the biggest thing I could
tell you. The differ between Mike Brown and Tibbs in
all these thirty point blowouts that the Knicks have had,
(23:55):
the forty point blounts they've had the last couple of rounds,
Timms would have Brunson and Towns and and Noble Heart
in the game until there was a minute and a
half left. Instead, they're out of the game in the
fourth quarter and Landry Shaman is playing and.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
These other kids are getting minutes after.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
He'd have those guys in until there was like a
minute and a half left to go, and then he
would take him out.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
Yeah, yeah, And I mean and and for what, Like
I mean, part of this is, you know, don't I
don't know what he was trying to prove in those
those instances, especially since that was the way he approached
things during the regular season too. And and and look,
that's what I mean by if we look at Tibbs,
and we look at the way he coached in Chicago
(24:36):
and the way he coached in New York and the
way he coached in Minnesota, it's he's coached the same
way everywhere, right, And and so I can look at
Mike Brown and I can.
Speaker 6 (24:49):
Go, you know what, different coach than he was in Cleveland.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
Uh, he was a different coach in Sacramento than he
was in Cleveland. He's he's evolved, and I think in
today's game, today's game, aim is evolving. Coaches have to
have to learn to evolve too, And so you know,
and then this is I'm not trying to to tear
down Tibbs, because he is a very good coach at
(25:13):
what he does.
Speaker 7 (25:14):
But I just don't know.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
That his approach in today's game is makes sense. And
we'll see whether you know, here's the thing. We'll see
whether Mike Brown can close the deal.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
We'll see.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
I've always thought Jalen Brunson is a great leader, makes
the most out of what he is. I still don't
know that you can win a championship with Jalen Bunson,
But getting to the finals, I think that's a very
that's a very real possibility.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Fox Sports Radio Jacob Smit Show with Me Mike Garman,
as we welcome our guy Rick Buker each and every
week on the program with us now at RI C
B U, C h E R, Fox.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
Sports One, NBA Analyst podcast.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Check it out, and his book is out Coachable Day
Win and Random out right. You're you've got that up
and going so people can find that wherever they order
their books.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
Bound bookstore now, they're on shelves now.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
And isn't it the Mike Brown story? Coachable? The Mike
Brown Story? Isn't it? Did you retitle it?
Speaker 4 (26:15):
He's gonna be part two?
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Okay, yeah, you know he's in the addendum. That's like
when you buy booster packs of Pokemon or the series
two of a card s Part two right of a
card set. All right, let's get to the elephant in
the room, the the fun and exciting world that is
Lebron James Lakers go out to Okay, see no surprise there.
But in the follow up, now we have questions about
(26:37):
the future and today a big battle over a game
ball Rick, Uh, you want to talk about King Petty?
Speaker 3 (26:45):
This post to the next level.
Speaker 4 (26:48):
It really does. And man, I just for those who
don't know, you guys have laid out so game in
particular games. Can you hear my dogs are are upset
that I'm talking about Lebron James.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
I'm gonna have to I think they're upset that you
said you're not sure if Jylen Brunton can lead the
Knicks to a championship.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
I think that's what got them to the door. Yeah
he could. Oh, I thought they thought they overtook him.
He thought the dogs won, Rick.
Speaker 6 (27:18):
Wells, they actually did.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
I put him outside. Now my neighbors have to deal
with them. Hey, anything for the show.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
I'm just appreciate that. Now, Neighbor of the Year, Rick Buker,
like his neighbor's going.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
You know that Buker guy sometimes puts his dog outside
at nine thirty at night.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
What is he doing that for?
Speaker 4 (27:38):
And I'm gonna be yelling back, I'm going to Jason
Smith show so.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
Broadway.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
Yeah, look, this is oh it hurts my soul things
like this. We have lauded Lebron James for all the
things that he's done and uh and the Lakers have
lauded him for the many things that he did.
Speaker 6 (28:00):
Including the sacrifices that he made this year.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
JJ Redick went out of his way to acknowledge that.
Speaker 6 (28:07):
Everything that he was doing, in spite of the fact
that there was.
Speaker 4 (28:09):
A lot of the things that he wasn't doing and
he didn't necessarily embrace the third wheel right away.
Speaker 6 (28:15):
But this is the heart of it for me. So
the reason we're bringing this up.
Speaker 4 (28:19):
Is because there was a game ball. It was the
night that JJ Reddick won his one hundredth game as
a head coach. Luka Doatsis finished the across the fifteen
thousand point margin, ru had tomorrow across the five thousand
point margin, and Lebron James passed Kareem aldul Dubarre for
(28:41):
most wins by a player combined regular season in playoffs.
And I got to tell you, guys, it is an
impressive accomplishment.
Speaker 6 (28:48):
I didn't know it was a thing.
Speaker 4 (28:50):
I didn't the first time I've ever heard anybody talk
about the number of wins that an individual player got.
I've heard about coaches, I've heard about teams, never heard
it about a particular player. Nonetheless, supposedly Bropolinka came in
gave the game ball to to JJ Reddick for his
one hundred win. Seems like the very diplomatic thing to do,
(29:11):
rather than give it to one of the players, give
it to the coach. I would think, Lebron James, you
your your your trophy case is overflowing. You've gotten every
possible recognition that a player could.
Speaker 7 (29:27):
In this game.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
Do you really need a game ball for this? Can
we get you a duperclet? Like what? But that you
felt like you were being taken for granted? This is
the report because you didn't get the game ball that night.
Is it's just extraordinary?
Speaker 3 (29:45):
Like I.
Speaker 4 (29:47):
The I don't, I don't even this. These means as
befuddled as trying to come up with a way to
dampen Jason's spirit. I how do you? How do you
not look at the situation?
Speaker 6 (30:05):
Or and here's the thing I think this is the
thing that.
Speaker 4 (30:08):
Gets gets me the most is it's not so much
that he had that reaction, but that someone close to
Lebron thought it would be smart to share that with
Dave mcmanhamon and have that reported as if that was
a good thing. Like we all have impulses that we
(30:28):
sometimes have to be saved from by our significant others
or our friends or someone who says, hey, you know what,
maybe that's not such a good idea, or if you're
thinking that, don't say it.
Speaker 6 (30:44):
You know, don't don't let people know.
Speaker 4 (30:45):
That that's that's how you felt, because it's not a
good look.
Speaker 7 (30:49):
And instead you.
Speaker 6 (30:50):
Got somebody close to Lebron who thought.
Speaker 4 (30:52):
Yeah, we should let the world know that this is
you know, this is why Lebron has his question, This
is how the Lakers are treating the Bron and I
just sometimes you need your friends to save you, and
I just in this case, when I look at how.
Speaker 6 (31:08):
This got out, this wasn't Lebron saying it.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
It was somebody close to him giving it to mcmanimon.
Speaker 6 (31:15):
I'm thinking, why would you share that?
Speaker 4 (31:17):
That's not a good look. And the reality is, I
don't know what his options are other than going back
to La going to the Lakers. I can't see him
signing with the Clippers. They do have room. I don't
see the Clippers necessarily doing that or going to Cleveland,
and I'm not convinced that Cleveland is on board with that.
(31:39):
But those are his two options.
Speaker 7 (31:41):
And it's just.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
One more thing where I would hope that Lebron would
go out with a certain amount of.
Speaker 6 (31:47):
Grace, because certainly.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
Everything that he's accomplished, i'd like to see him go
out on the right foot. But then when you have
reports like this, it makes it a lot harder for
people not to say, hey, you know what, I'm just
kind of tired of the drama. We're tired of the
look at me like Lebron. Thanks, thanks for the memories,
thanks for all the entertainment.
Speaker 7 (32:13):
But you know what, it's okay.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
You can go enjoy your wine, go enjoy your family.
We've we've we've had enough of this because because it's
not I don't know about you guys, it just leaves
a bad taste in my mouth.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
He's on Twitter at Rick Buker. That is at Rick
Buker Fox Sports one NBA Analyst Insider. The book Coachable,
How the Greatest Performers Reached their Highest Potential. The link
is at Rick Buker dot com. You get off his
Twitter account as well at Rick Buker. Rick is always buddy,
appreciate it. We'll talk to you next week when we're
talking about the Knicks and the finals.
Speaker 7 (32:46):
Jose Alvarado, Yo.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
See you here.
Speaker 6 (32:51):
Rick.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
Always a great visit with Rick Buker. It's time.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
How to find out what's trending in the wide world
of sports From Martin White, Sam doub What do you got?
Speaker 8 (32:58):
Wild games today, both in hockey and in basketball. Starting
on the hockey side of things, Game five Western Conference
semi finals went to overtime, Colorado with two late goals
to force that extra period. Minnesota had a three to
one lead going in obviously to Colorado scoring that game
winning goal four minutes into the overtime period, taking a
four to three win, advancing to the Western Conference Finals
(33:20):
with a four to one series win over Minnesota. Evan
Mobley had six lay points to force overtime in Game
five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Cleveland stealing a win
in Detroit one to seventeen to one thirteen. James Harden
becoming the first player to score at least thirty points
in a playoff game for six different teams.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
He like that.
Speaker 8 (33:38):
Jason Smith Atlanta gets his thirtieth win of the year
four to one over the Cubs. The White Sox continued
their recent hot streak. They beat the Royals six to five.
Max Freed left his start against the Orioles. I'm so
left his start against the Oriols. The Yankees lost it
seven to nothing. Freed, we'll get an MRI for left
elbow posterior soreness. Show Hail Tony pitched over one hundred
(33:59):
pitches in a run seven inning, no run outing as
the Dodgers beat the Giants Ford and Nothing. Rangers beat
the Diamondbacks six to five, Danny Jansen at a walk
off single extra innings wins for the Nationals squeaking past
the Reds eight to seven, and New York Mets catcher
Francisco Alvarez will need surgery after being diagnosed with a
(34:19):
torn meniscus in the right knee. And in the Battle
of Martin Wiss first, Jason Smith, the Mets beat the
Tigers three to two.
Speaker 3 (34:26):
Back to you tonight, Jason Smith too, Martin Weis zero. Yeah,
thank you. I'm glad, I filled in, Glad, I'm here,
Thanks buddy. Coming up next, Potentially, the NBA has fixed
their biggest problem big news tonight. Wow, But have they
really fixed it? That's next.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Jason Might be sure to catch live editions of The
Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern,
seven pm Pacific, Fox.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Sports Radio The Jason Smith with My babes friend Mike Harmon.
Speaker 3 (35:04):
Yeah. So thanks to Rick Buker for stopping by with us.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Always great stuff with Rick, big NBA headline tonight, We'll
get back into the games and Lebron in a few minutes.
But the NBA feels like they have solved their tanking problem,
Adam Silver saying earlier today that the NBA has landed
on a proposal that they're going to present to the
(35:35):
league's Board of Governors to revamp the draft lottery to
try to stop tanking. And it's going to be the
three to one format that we first heard about about
a week or two ago that gives the three worst
teams a lower percentage chance of winning the lottery than
the team's picking four through tenths. So we want to
stop those teams from dry from bottom the way bottom
(35:56):
out right. Now, here's the thing, and that's why this stinks,
and I gotta be honest, is that the fact that
you have to get to this involved of a way
to combat tanking shows you how out of control you've
allowed the problem to get and that you have nowhere
to go. I don't think the NBA wants to solve
(36:18):
the tanking problems. They just want to solve the optics
of the most public tanking issues. Teams in the bottom
sitting there, guys like those those really bad and.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
They don't want to.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
They don't want to, they don't want to completely fix tanking. No, no,
they just want, like the worst headline of the week
to go away. Those competitive games in the final six
minutes were suddenly the substitution batterns And why is this
guy not playing now? Down a stretch of a game,
as we saw with Indiana and Utah and some other
teams down the street, they think if they make that
(36:51):
go away, it'll make tanking go away. And they're stupid
if they think so, because they have created a system
and a sport now in which it does. Does it
matter if teams don't feel that this is their year?
They're gonna sit there, guys, and they're gonna go for
the lottery and say, we're gonna take our chances.
Speaker 3 (37:09):
We watch it.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
Come up with a point one percent for the Mavericks
and they wound up with Cooper flag. How is this
gonna combat teams who all but by the time you
get past Christmas, it's yeah, not our year where we'll
play for the lottery. It doesn't matter where the ping
pong balls are.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
They really thing teams are.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Gonna go, oh wait a minute, wait a minute, We
just we don't want to be in the bottom three
because our odds are lower. Oh well as you can see,
if you have the highest odds, you're not gonna get
there all the time.
Speaker 3 (37:34):
Yea, and it's three.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
I mean, it's not like, hey, we're going from you
get one hundred versus.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Yeah, two.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
They just want it. They just want to stop the headlines,
which is stupid. They want stot the opposite. But the
tanking is still gonna and trust me, we're gonna go
through next year. It's still gonna be this. We're still
gonna see teams not playing their guys. We're gonna see
rollover games, twenty thirty point games throughout the second half
of the season after the All Star Game because teams
are they should look at the playoffs and go, hey,
(38:02):
maybe it's more why on us? But instead, no, we're
not gonna go for it. And you're still gonna see
teams playing for the lottery. That's not gonna change. But
look at one of the headlines that got buried earlier
this week, the investigation into Milwaukee Bucks and how they
handled Giannis and Tennacumpo's injury. Nothing to see here, there's
no malfeasons, there's no issue. Even though he was shouting
(38:24):
from the rooftop, how he wanted to play, and he
was ready to play. I don't know, they didn't they
didn't do anything wrong. They didn't, no, not at all.
Uh And they finished woefully behind the final slots in
the playoff system. But it's just those kind of things, right,
you'll see the rotations change up. Even earlier guys are now, well,
he's got a little bit of a hammy. So around
(38:46):
Christmas time, right, gotta think of the kids when they're
on break and all. But as soon as we get
back to January, it's like, nah, you know what, you're
gonna miss that that game, you're gonna miss that road trip.
You're gonna stay back. Precautionary, the abundance of caution in
all of those phraseologies we use, uh so so liberally
across any I mean set of circumstances. That's what we're
(39:08):
gonna do here. Yes, you want the most ping pong
balls in right, you will, obviously you want that. But
nobody's saying, hey, if we can't get the most ping
pong balls, we're gonna play no, because what do you
see you see team saying, boy, look how lucky it
turned out for us, How lucky it turned out for
the clippers that the pacers round up with the fifth pick.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
You see luck stories every year. Boy, how lucky this
was they had this percent chance of getting a time eag.
Speaker 6 (39:34):
Man.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
People are still gonna play for the lottery because they
think why it's why people play the lottery in general.
Speaker 3 (39:41):
I don't know that I'm gonna win, you know, five
hundred million dollars, but I'm gonna play the lottery any time.
Speaker 1 (39:45):
Tell me you haven't bought a bunch of shaws scratches
that billboard on the freeway like like I mean, lottery.
Lottery people are still gonna try to play it. Oh,
you know, the odds of winning the lottery are won
in like five hundred billion.
Speaker 3 (39:58):
It doesn't matter. I'm still gonna buy bet bet bet right.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
And you're saying, wait, you're gonna take two ping pong
balls away from so we're still in the lottery.
Speaker 3 (40:07):
We still have that chance.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
And yes, you lower it a little bit on the
grand scheme, but really you're you're not eliminating it altogether
by by saying through your expert panel that we we
came to it that level of egregious behavior of how
we handled our roster and and did our substitutions. Yeah,
we're still in okay, cool right, And that's what we
(40:30):
watched the race to the Bottom this year.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
It was insane.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
It was this is just to get rid of the headlines.
That's all this is. That's all because it's stupid that
you have to get this involved. But it's just that's
all they want to do. They want to stop people
talking about it because Adam Silva would turn the radio,
want and turn the TV on and see instead of
talking about the game, we're talking about tanking the players
not playing, and he thinks it it's gonna get teams
to play their players. News flash, it ain't. They're still
(40:56):
gonna sit them. It's still gonna happen. Oh, that Genie
is sitting outside the bottom. Wait even at you every
damn night. Exit Outbyta Fresca, Exit Swollen Dome. Jason Smith
Mike Carmon Live from the Fox Sports Radio Studios. Coming
up next, We got a big story out of the
NFL on the eve of schedule release day.
Speaker 3 (41:12):
This is Fox.
Speaker 2 (41:14):
Look at that.
Speaker 7 (41:14):
Jason, the
Hosts And Creators
Jason Smith
Mike Harmon
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