May 4, 2024 • 37 mins
Jason Smith and Ryan Hollins tell you what’s next for the Lakers after they cleaned house and fired their whole coaching staff earlier today.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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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Speaker 2 (00:22):
Give this you're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
That was all me yelling Ryan after uh, let's see,
after Josh Hart's three, after the Myss three by Buddy
Heeled at the end to win the game.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
That was all me yelling.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
That was a fun series.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Man, it was exciting.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
Man, No, come on that.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
You know.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
I talked to one of my best friends today. He goes, Oh,
it's too bad that series didn't go seven. I said, blank,
you man, I didn't want that series go with seven.
Come on, that's too much stress. Think about your friend
for a second. He goes, no, No, but I meant
for basketball fans. I go screw basketball fans. We had
to take that thing in six.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
Man.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
I don't want to sit here look at a collapse
in Game seven tomorrow and just be sweating and biting
my nails between now.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
And tomorrow afternoon. They took care of it, and six
they took care of it.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Sow. It goes unbelievable. Man, we deserve.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Yeah, oh no, no, no, we didn't. Come on, may you kidd?
We did not deserve. It was a series that went
longer than it should. The Nick should have shut it
down after, you know, after five games, and it just
happened to be a series that went a little bit longer.
Embiid being on one leg, it shouldn't have gone six.
It shouldn't have been that tight. Maxi's become a superstar,
(01:33):
which is great, and it's great for the Sixers, But
I mean the Knicks, you know, they found a way
to just you can't just make it easy. You know,
you can't have nice things without having stress. So I
think that's what we saw for the first six games
in that series.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Look, it was a fun series. And here's the thing.
Do you get past Philadelphia if Embiid is healthy? Uh?
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Yeah, no, I think we still do.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
I think we still do. No, you don't you think
we still? Guy? The guy was playing on one leg.
He never looked the same. If I'm not mistaken, it
was that game one where he throws it off the
backboard and dunks all over your team and then he
hurt himself and that you guys going to run and
ended up winning the game. No, it's always possible.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
He came back and played. He missed a couple of minutes.
He came back and played.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
He played. The guy was hurt, he was really played.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
It's not like he was hurting didn't play. He was
hurt and he played. Yes, it was it was very difficult.
That definitely made it easier. But this would have been
you know what it would have been. It would have
been another It would have been another game and the
Knicks probably would have won Game seven, and it would
have been Oh man, look at this matchup between these
two teams. Because if e Beata is healthy, Maxi's not
taking all those shots. If embat his healthy, buddy, heel
(02:48):
is not showing up like it's twenty eighteen.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Hey god, remember me when I was good.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
Look at this.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
I've been good in five years. But look what I'm
doing now.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Like you know I It's one thing to say, okay, yeah,
embiid you know, if he was healthier, they would have won.
But remember there's it's more shots for Embiid. It's it's
more everything for him. It's more involvement for him, and
it's less for the other guys. It's not like, oh,
you could just add more points to the Sixers point total.
It's well, they got to come away from somewhere, like
MAXI had a bad night last night. Well, he had
(03:17):
a bad night, but it doesn't matter because the guys
that were taking the shots on the bench were making them.
So it's like, okay, yeah he missed them, but the guy.
But they had two guys off the bench who were
making a whole bunch of threes that brought him back
in the game. It's only so many points in the game.
I still would have been confident the Knicks would have won.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
And seven.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Well, of course you're a Nick fan, but just be
glad things ended up the way they did. But hats
off to the Knicks. You gotta be happy for him.
You can't take anything away, and they have. This is
one of the more success I mean, this is a while.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
This is this is five years, man, Seriously, this is
this is since the ninety nine two thousand finals against
the Spurs. That this is how this is the most
successful they have been with moving on in the playoffs
and having a chance to get further in the playoffs.
Like last year was hey they won a round, but
(04:07):
how good are they really? You know, they probably need
another piece or two. Hey it was great they won
last year. Awesome, Hey, things look even better this year.
Jalen Brunson's getting better now. It's like, hey, man, this
East is wide open, and the Celtics aren't world beaters
and they don't have Chris tops porzingis, so yeah, the
doors open for this to be a Knicks to the
NBA Finals type season.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
Are the Knicks one of those teams that a free
agent could look at, Paul George could look at and say,
I want to go be a piece of what's going
on over there.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Listen, I'm not saying Donovan Mitchell. I'm not saying anybody
they need to add Donovan Mitchell. I'm not saying any.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Of these guys. But you know, I mean, look, the
thing for the Knicks.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Is gonna be They're gonna get Julius Randall back next year,
and they were playing at a high level. Look when
they got Ogano Noobi, they transformed into one of the
top three teams in the NBA. They instantly became the
best defense a team in the NBA. You can't argue
with the impact he had. Then Julius Randall gets hurt.
Then Anunoby gets hurt, and you say to yourself, boy,
(05:07):
what could we possibly do here?
Speaker 3 (05:09):
What?
Speaker 4 (05:09):
What? What is? What is gonna happen?
Speaker 1 (05:11):
And then Anacnoby comes back and then they shorten their
bench and they figure it out and they rely on
everybody who went.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
To yelling what are you gonna say? God, is Julius
Randall done?
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Listen?
Speaker 1 (05:24):
I mean when the uh no, no, I'm not saying
he's done, But what I'm saying is that, uh if
if Joel Embiid wanted to say, hey, I don't know
that I could win in Philadelphia, and it was hey,
we can make the money work, and you guys could
get Julius Randall. You want to build around diaries MAXI, Hey, okay,
(05:45):
look it's it.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
It didn't work when Randall was the one.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
It works now that he's a little bit of the
one eight of Brunson and they seem to figure that out.
But then he gets hurt. So no, am I going crazy?
And I think Randall's the missing piece. No, but at
least you know, look, they'll get him back next year.
He's other big guy in the rotation because the moves
he made it the deadline this year didn't work out.
Alec Burks can't get in, and Bogdanovitch was just okay
until he got hurt. So you know you need somebody
(06:13):
in there to take up some minutes. You let Obi
Topping go because you're committed to Julius Randall. So yeah,
him coming back will definitively help. But are we gonna
get Julius Randol? It's into it? Is he gonna be
surly because he doesn't get the ball as much like
what's it gonna be for him? I look at Randall
as an asset that eventually can be spun off to
get something else you might need.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
That's kind of what you're saying. You said all that
didn't nicely say.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Oh no no, When you said done, I mean like
done as a player. No no, he's not done as a player.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
No no, no, no, clearly not done as a player, is it?
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Nick?
Speaker 4 (06:44):
Does he? Oh?
Speaker 1 (06:46):
You know I look at him as he hesn't. He's
an asset we can spin off to make money work
for another player.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
That that's where I'm at for him.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
I always get to a point that's all I know.
He's not he's far from done as a player, but yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
You know, but for a long time he was a
good player on a bad team, and then he really
fit with the Knicks and he had an unbelievable twenty twenty.
Then he was down, then he was back, and now
he gets hurt and he couldn't stay up there. But
I get to a point where I understand some of
the guys on my favorite teams where I'm like, okay,
you know what, Emotionally I have detached myself from them,
Like I understand that this is only gonna be for
(07:20):
a little while longer, and at some point they're gonna
move on. Like if Randall comes back next year and
it's just not the same, right, say, the Nicks are
coming off an NBA title, right, they sweep the Nuggets,
they win the title at all. If they come back
next year and Julius Randall's not playing, well, it's gonna
be Okay. We got to move on from Randall, and
we need another piece that can work in this rotation.
And look, clearly, Tom Thibodau is the guy there now
(07:41):
and he is firmly entrenched with what he's been able
to do with this team. So yeah, I mean they're
gonna allow him to do whatever he wants to do.
And as good as Julius Randall was and as big
a part of he was of the team, yeah, he's
now an az that that can be spun off to
bring in something else they need, whether it's another scorer,
whatever they feel they need that can be maybe a
two way player like Annonoby, because that's kind of what
(08:03):
the Knicks are going to be. That's kind of the
next invention of the Knicks because they are clearly Jalen Brunson,
Josh Hart, and Dante DiVincenzo driven, like this is the
team now, this is the big three.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
So you're nicely saying that you want to move on
from Julius Randall.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Yes, that's nice.
Speaker 4 (08:19):
What you're kind saying, You've given the whole scenario, that
break down the why.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Yeah, I'm nicely saying it because I'm happy because we're
in the next round of the playoffs. If we were
getting ready for Game seven, we were out, I would
say we got to get rid of him.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
He stinks.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
We're not doing anything without it. But I'm happy, so
I can happily say we can move on.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
No disrespects. Yeah, just like Pat Bev says, no disrespect
That's how it is.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
Well, what do you get back and return? What do
you want some youth? Uh?
Speaker 1 (08:45):
You probably need a little bit of youth, Yeah, but
you but you want somebody that look, Tibbs is never
going to go for a guy that's not a two
way defender, that's not somebody that can come in and
can score, but is not going to be a liability
on defense. That's why Antonobe fits so well, because he's
a three and D type game, and he's athletic, and
he's not someone you have to run plays for. He
(09:06):
can score and transition like he was the perfect guy.
They had their eye on him for so long, I
mean for so long. Now would you want somebody else
then that can come in and really light it up? Yeah,
because when it comes down to the end of a game, Okay,
Jalen Brunson with the ball is one thing. Do I
get a little nervous if it's Josh Harder Dante DiVincenzo, Yeah,
a little bit, because these have been role players taking
(09:27):
on bigger roles. So I think in the perfect world,
they would be at their best if hey, we had
somebody else that can really fill it up, that can
come in and be that guy. And that's why I
look that Donovan Mitchell. Rumors won't go away. Rumors of
a bunch of other players won't go away. So if
I'm looking at what they need, that that's kind of
where I would go. Someone else, a little bit more
firepower that can come in and they can still run
(09:49):
the kind of team they want to, not get lost defensively,
score and transition and hit a lot of threes.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
That's it. So would you take I think you're you've
already taken Paul George for Julius Randall.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Oh no, come on, man, why do I know.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Don't give me that choice at all, dude, No, man,
because Paul George is like Paul George is like, yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
He's like an almost guy. He's like Julius Randall.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
They're the same guy.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
They're like, Hey, these teams have almost won with these guys.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
You an almost guy. Any of the Knicks have won.
This is all new. That's why it's so exciting.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Yeah, but it's like you know they've they've almost won
with these players being having really big roles on the team,
and I'm like, Eh, okay, do I want another almost guy?
I mean I want I want somebody a little bit
more dynamic than that.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
And everybody but Jason, everybody was an almost guy until
they win, and then then that's why you're excited. That's true.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
No, that is true.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
And now the Knicks have become a destination. I mean
this is now. Now it's like, hey, I want to
go play with it. Why they got MSG.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Series in and you guys are a destination.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
What I want to go?
Speaker 1 (11:02):
I think people saying I want to go to that
game and get flipped off by Tracy Morgan. I want
a high five Ben Stiller when we're going by.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
I don't tell him how much I love him. Night
at the Museum.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
That's what I want. Man, MSG's got that vibe again. Man,
the Knicks are saving the NBA playoffs. Ryan, you look
at this is a series where the second round of
the playoffs for the first time since two thousand and five.
No KD, no Steph, no Lebron. The Knicks are here
to save the playoffs. Nick Celtics, This I fix your
Adam Silver in a room like doctor No, like a
(11:33):
big James bondvilla, like petting a cat, the White cat.
Just going Nick Celtics, Nick Celtics. We need Nick Celtics
because I could be staring at thunder timber Wolves. We
need Nick Celtics, Nick Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Knicks are here to save the playoffs. Big dog there.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
How did you feel about all of the Brunson greatest
Nick ever already?
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Oh no, no, listen, Jalen bro I'll tell you the truth.
Jalen Brunson best nick of the last twenty five years.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
Well, I mean not saying that.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
That's without a doubt better than that.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
Yeah, it's true.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
It's not saying much because Mello's another Melo's the other
great Nick. But really they didn't get anywhere with Mello
and Melo was a great scorer, but that was kind
of it. Brunson affects the game so many more ways
than Melo does. But I mean, look, you can't Patrick
Ewing of my lifetime is the greatest Nick. You can't
argue with NBA Finals appearances, all the All Star appearances,
(12:27):
the most dominant center in the game, you know, between
him and Elijah Wan No, Ewing brought them a long way,
and he was a great player for a long time,
and they probably would have won the title if he
didn't tear his achilles in the Eastern Conference finals in
ninety nine. They go on to play the Spurs and
the finals and is no Ewing because he tore you know,
he tore his achilles and that might have been a
different outcome than losing in five to the Spurs. So
(12:47):
you no, no my lifetime Ewing and then Brunson. See,
that's the thing, Ryan, I just had to wait twenty
five short years between the end of viewing and Jalen Brunson.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Like that said, I had to go from my.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Late twenties to my early fifties before the next great player.
That's all I had to do is wait. That's the
way Jalen Brunson's entire lifespan to get to that point.
That's why we see how quickly he forgets about those
two weeks of insanity.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
Unbelievable. Dudel.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
No, really, if you said, okay, if you said, what
the what are the best the best the best highlights
of the last twenty five years of the Knicks. Honestly, honestly,
I would say I would say this. I would say,
Jalen Brunson this year, the two weeks of insanity and Mellows.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
Sixty point game in the garden.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
That's that, that's it, that's the next, that's the next
they stunck for because people forget the early two thousands
of Sayah Thomas and signing guys that all played the
same position, seven eight, nine guys that are all power forwards,
and how bad it was and how every year, oh
this is different than the Knicks were just up in
an abyss for most of the Austin into the early teams,
(13:59):
and that one year where they won fifty five games,
if they couldn't get out of the second round of
the playoffs because Steve Novak couldn't hit anything, and then
that was it and that was it until this year.
So I mean, the best, the biggest highlights of the
Knicks the last twenty five years, Jalen Brunson this year,
Lyn Sanity, Mellow sixty point game. So you can see
how easy it is when I say Brunson is the
best thing the last twenty five.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
What are your expectations that will make you fat and
happy if if the Knicks don't win this next series,
what what can they do that makes you happy?
Speaker 3 (14:29):
If they take it to seven ers? Oh no, they
got to beat the Pacers.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
If they gotta beat the pay Yeah, we gotta be
good man.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
We get Pacers are good, but we should beat the.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Pacer ry Top and to drop fifty.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Stay from time. Okay, okay, I'll make a deal with you.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
I will not say Doc rivers to the Lakers if
you stop saying Obie Topping.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
No, they got it. They gotta beat this.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
They gotta beat the if they lose to the Celtics
in the Eastern Conference finals, Okay, but they gotta beat.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
The Pens are good.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
I know they're good. But the Knicks are good and
they have home court.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
I say this, and they're gonna lose the first two
games to go back to Indiana down too Sey, But
I mean they should beat the Pacers.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
They should win that.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
They if they win that and they lose to the Celtics, Okay,
I get it.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
I understand this.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Is a Snoop DOGG telling you enough about the Knicks.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Exit out Voda Fresca X at the Ryan Hollins Jason Smith.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
Ryan Hollins in for Mike Harmon tonight.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
So while we are just waiting with anticipation for Nick
Pacers on Monday Night coming up next? What is next
for the Lakers after they fired Darvin hand tonight? Is
there a coach out there that can make a difference
for them?
Speaker 3 (15:38):
That's next? Right here?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
This 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 5 (15:51):
Hey, thanks for listening to The Two Pros and a
Cup of Joe Podcast with Brady Quinn, Jonas Knox, and
myself LeVar Arrington. Make sure you catch us live weekdays
six to nine am Eastern or three am to six
am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. You can find your
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(16:11):
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searching fs R.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Give this you're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Fox Sports Radio The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon.
Ryan Holland's a big dog in for Harmon tonight. We're
gonna get to the latest on the Lakers as they
part ways with Darvin Ham, what is next?
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Is there even a guy out there for them?
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Don't say it.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
I mean, I'll make a deal with you.
Speaker 4 (16:52):
Don't say it.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
I will not say.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
The guy to be the next Lakers head coach, saying
if you stop saying, Obe Toppins gonna score thirty points
against the Knicks in the series of the Pacers.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
Great too, I'll make a deal with you. There, I
said fifty.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Good In tims UH.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Game of the Night, Major League Baseball just ended Dodgers
win on a walk off over the Braves in ten innings.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
It was a thriller and it ended like this.
Speaker 6 (17:29):
Single center fields the game.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
His eleven UH pot has with the game winning hit.
But I gotta tell you one thing that was such
a horrendous effort by brave center fielder Michael Harris. I
mean so much so that if I'm managing the team,
he should be on the bench tomorrow. This is a
first and third UH situation in which if the ball
(17:59):
hits the ground, the game is over and he comes
in and he pulls up short, where if he if
he dove for the ball, he probably would have gotten
because only ended up like a couple of feet in
front of him. But he comes in, he lets it
bounce and the winning run scores, and I'm like, what
the hell is he doing? Like he runs in and
he just stops, like you gotta catch this ball. What
(18:19):
do you think is gonna happen? Do you think the
ball's gonna bounce, the guy's gonna stay at third?
Speaker 4 (18:23):
What the hell is going on?
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Like?
Speaker 1 (18:25):
That was such a horrible effort. And I don't know
if he just had a brain cramp or a brain fart,
but he's a good player.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
But I'll tell you what after that tonight.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
You fight that long through eleven innings and and to
potentially win this game and you just run in and
don't even lay out for it.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
There's no excuse for that. He's on the bench.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Fory tomorrow, you know, and if if I'm managing the Braves,
because that was just inexcusable. This is a big series,
it's a fun series. It's the two best teams in
the National League. It's probably an NLCS preview. And when
he can come in and die for ball and doesn't
do it, yeah, you're sitting on the bench for the
next I need effort, Ryan Hollins, I need effort on
(19:02):
big plays. If I don't get it, you're not gonna play.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
Now You're right and it's winning time. And you know,
from a coach and player, the big question is, you know,
can I trust you? Can I trust you? It is
all about trust. But hey, man, Dodger's getting hot at
the right time. You know that. That's what you want
to see. Good teams they do what they find ways
to win. They find ways to win. Bad teams games closed,
(19:25):
they find ways to lose. You have a question if
you're a good at bad team, just think about those
close games and they tell you everything you need to know.
Hats all to your Knicks and tell.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
You, hey, seriously, just think about this re sect. Because
we've talked about this a little bit the last couple
of nights. We'll get to the Lakers in a second.
Is that The thing about the Knicks and this is,
you know, if it's too bad that it's a bunch
of loud mouths from coast to coast like me who
talking about.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Go New York, Go New York coast.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Because the Knick style of play is such an every
man's style that it's an e team for the average
NBA fan to pick up and root for, because all
they do is bust their ass all the time, every play.
If you're gonna beat them, you're gonna take it from
their cold dead hands, like we are not gonna give
you anything. If you want this game, we are not
(20:16):
gonna roll over. We're not gonna fold. You're not gonna
give the game to you. We're not gonna quit no
matter what the situation is. We are gonna fight to
win this thing. And you saw that in game two
and they came back from down five with twenty seven
seconds left to go, Like that's a that's a huge
style of play. It's almost like like the Knicks were
like in the nineties, you know, they played that hard,
no style that was really fun to watch, and they
(20:37):
were always the darling because they were the the Cinderella
to Michael Jordan's, you know, or the David to Michael
Jordan's Goliath, and they were never able.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
To get through.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
And it was kind of the same style of play
they had, although now they score a few more points,
it's a lot more fun, they shoot more threes. But
that's a style of play that everybody loves man, I
mean everybody loves hard work and busting your ass and
loose balls and and wide open big threes and hitting
it in big emotion like that's a style of people love.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
Man. Yeah, but does it scare you that they're trying
to do that playing forty eight minutes? Do what else
do we have?
Speaker 3 (21:11):
We have nobody else? Everybody else's hurt?
Speaker 4 (21:14):
Can this the whole point the championship? With GEO sides
playing all out everything they have in the tank for
forty eight minutes.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Hey, they cannot walk in the off season. Okay, that's fine.
They can't walk in the off season. They can't walk.
If you could give them a couple of minutes, I'd
see you because you would look great in one of
those nick sweatsuits. Man, I mean you cut a better
imposing figure than Tom Thibodeau and his that's for sure.
But if you could give them a couple of updowns,
I would say, go do it. But what else do
they have?
Speaker 3 (21:44):
They don't have any But everybody else is hurt.
Speaker 4 (21:46):
Everybody else is hurt.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Now a couple of guys, I'm surprised they're kind of
find their way out of the rotation. But what do
you do. You can't sit Brunson for very long. You
can't sit Hart and Devincenzo. I mean, this is a
Big three, man, this is this is like the heat
Big Three when they were the Heatles. Like, you can't
rest any of these guys. It's like the Sixers. You
can sit Joel and Bid. But what happens the nixt
(22:07):
turn of three point deficit into a nine point lead
and Bead's gotta come back.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
In and he's exhausted.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
But what are you gonna do because you can't sit
him because they're gonna give up the lead without him,
So what do you do?
Speaker 4 (22:15):
No? No, My point is that you're guaranteeing this championship
and that seems really tough to play that many minutes
into a championship. I mean, at some points other's got
to give, they need a break.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
It is no, I'm with you, but every year is different.
Every year is different in the NBA, And you know what,
every year players get hurt and it's a war of
attrition and the the team's in shape and could they
do this for four rounds? Probably not, but maybe at
some point the rotation extends a little bit and maybe
precious ache is able to play a few more minutes.
(22:49):
And it's not just hey, uh, we gotta everybody's gotta
belave fifty two minutes and these three guys got to
play fifty two, fifty three and fifty four minutes like
they did last night. But this is kind of what
it is. This is the hand there dealt at this
moment in time. So it gets gonna go as long
as it can, for as long as it can, and
if it gets to the conference finals, I'm pretty happy.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
I mean, okay, hold on, wait, those are those different expectations. Listen,
here's the here's the here's the conflict that you guys
are gonna have. The Pacers play fast, they're deep, they
play a real team game. They come at you in numbers, okay,
(23:31):
and they really shoot the three ball well. And when
you play against them, because their speed, you are scrambling
to run guys off the three point line. And then
you've got a point guard who can go head to head.
He can't. They can't guard each other. But you guys
got with Halliburton Man's.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Deve Vincenzo did a pretty good job on MAXI last night,
follow him everywhere when he did a pretty good job
on him last night.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
Just wait till Regie Millery and Rick Smit's down low.
It's gonna be very difficult. It's gonna be difficult.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
But I will tell you this because I hear what
you're saying on it and I understand that. But at
the same time, I'm like, hmm, I'm trading Joel Embiid
and Tyrese Maxie for Halliburton and a lot of speed.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Okay, I'm fine with that trade. I'm fine.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
I'm fine with I'm fine with trading out of Embiid
in Maxie and what these guys are able to do
in those last six games, I'm okay with that. May
and my answers is gonna change the end of the series,
but right now, I'm okay with that.
Speaker 4 (24:30):
I'm just saying, you're you're strengthen, there's strength in numbers.
Is the biggest problem that you are gonna have.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
I know the problems we're gonna have, man, I know,
but we're gonna overcome them because we're the Knicks, because
we're we're we are destined. We are destined. And it's
the second round of the playoffs. Are we gonna be
utterly exhausted?
Speaker 3 (24:50):
Now? No, that'll be a little bit later.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
Second round.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
We still should be playing at a high level. I feel
really good. I feel good.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
Now.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
If this doesn't go this way, I'm gonna call you
and say it's your full because everything was good until
you put it out there in the universe.
Speaker 6 (25:02):
And ah, nixt enough, so much time, can't keep up
with the painterers. They're so fast up and down the
floor there four and fourth speed on it. No, I'll
blame you to one hundred percent for there are absolutely.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Good.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Now let's get to the Lakers here for a second.
They fired Darvin Haam today and it not anybody surprise.
We thought this was coming because he lost the two
biggest guys in the locker room, right. He lost Lebron James.
He lost Anthony Davis. He lost a d When Anthony
Davis said after Game one against the Nuggets, hey, I
don't know that we're all on the same page. Okay,
that's taking a shot at the coach, Lebron James saying, hey,
(25:38):
how come we didn't challenge.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
That play back in the early part of the third quarter.
It's like what a he is saying.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
But he wanted you to know that he was no
longer on the same page with Darvin Ham. So I
get they had to make a move because when you
lose the locker room, you lose the locker room. There's
nothing you can do about it, and a change has
to be made. But the thing I look at is
that there's nobody realistic who was out there that is
gonna come in and be a difference maker with the Lakers.
(26:04):
There's nobody realistic. You can say, you know, and look,
Brad Stevens, great coach, he's leaving the Celtics to go
coach the Lakers. No, that's not happening. Okay, Tyler's a
great coach. Tyler's gonna wind up re signing with the
Clippers and being their head coach and working on the
contract extension now, So realistically, is there anybody out there
to come in that's gonna take over and suddenly say.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
Oh man, now we got the Lakers. This is gonna
be true.
Speaker 4 (26:26):
No, there's not.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
There's nobody.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
If I'm the Lakers, and honestly, if I can say,
who's the one guy that's probably realistic, I go after
I talked to Lebron and Ad and I say, hey,
we're gonna go out because we think we can get them,
because you know Phoenix is ready to move on. Look,
can we go back and get Frank Vogel? Can we
go back and get him? Because it worked we won
the championship in twenty twenty. Yes, things went sideways after that,
(26:50):
and that's why you have the conversation and it's hey,
was it too difficult at the end? Or can we
let bygones be bygones and go back to a guy
who got us championship? Because the one thing I know
for certain that Lakers will be a better defensive team.
Speaker 4 (27:04):
They're not gonna have any.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Meltdowns like they did at the end of Game three
where somehow Jamal Murray is wide open and Ruey Hotchamoor
is guarding no one and Anthony Davis is guarding no one.
I know they'll be better defensively. And if they're better defensively,
that's a big upgrade you can make if you can't
make a big enough upgrade offensively because you talked about
how about how the roster is constructed and it's very awkward,
and you got you got guys playing different positions that
(27:28):
shouldn't be where they are the one thing you can
do is you can improve defensively. And I know for
a fact if Vogel came in, the Lakers would improve defensively,
and maybe that's where they need to go. So that's
why the guy I would look at it and say, hey,
is there too much? Is too much damage done? Is
it's too difficult?
Speaker 4 (27:43):
Or can we go?
Speaker 3 (27:44):
Because because I know the Sons would part with Frank Vogel.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
Well, apparently you just fired Frank Vogel, but I don't
think it'd be wise just to bring him back to La. Hey,
I'm really intrigued with the JJ Reddick thing. Man, I'd
love for it to be j oh dude. And what
if him and Lebron still run their podcasts turned the season?
The first coach who that reads the podcast? I don't
(28:11):
even know. If it's possible players do it? Why not
a coach?
Speaker 1 (28:14):
If that's the case, you could be the head coach Lakers.
You have a pot, you have the seven foot or podcast.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
You can put it and stop stop putting me in
these positions, man, keep put me everywhere.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
It's so odd to hear JJ Reddick being mentioned as
as a head coach and why Well, here's the thing
I don't doubt his acumen, right, I don't doubt his acumen.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
I I you know, I have no choice but to believe.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
But what everybody has said about him about his basketball
IQ and his acumen and everything else, and I get it.
But this is a guy that's not coached anywhere, that
spent the last couple of years delivering hot takes on television, right,
I mean that that's what he's done. This is what
he thought is his career path was going to be.
And and what does everybody think now and they get
on television. I gotta give you a hot take, even
if it sounds utterly ridiculous. I got to give you
(29:00):
a hot take, because that's gonna make me stand out,
even if it's just people on social media calling me
an idiot for a twelve hour.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
Span, Like this is what he's done.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
He's gonna walk into LA He's gonna walk in and
get Lebron and a d to buy in his philosophy.
I'm not saying he can't work as a head coach,
because are there places we've seen now that you can
come from different backgrounds and do different things and become
head coaches.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
You know, I see that. But LA is not the
place that you start. You don't jump in.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
With no experience and suddenly say hey, handle this pressure
cooker and handle Lebron and Ad are.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
Gonna listen to him.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
They're gona say, hey, we got the guy now today
we're executing JJ Reddick. No or is Lebron gonna say, yeah,
that's great. I'm still gonna do my thing. That's great
you're here, But I'm still really the head coach and
the GM, and AD is my assistant coach and my
assistant GM. So we're still gonna kind of do our thing.
I don't know that JJ Reddick comes in and you
solve any of the problems just because it's such a
big deal to come in for that buy in from
(29:56):
these guys.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
In La Like I.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
I it's it's it's a case of maybe he needs
seasoning first before he jumps into a job like the Lakers,
because I I don't see anything but disaster if he
comes in and tries to coach.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Lakers right away, be very difficult.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
But you, I mean, why do you why do you
think it'll work? If I I just told you why
I don't think it'll work. Why do you think he works?
Speaker 4 (30:19):
Steve Kerr. Steve Kerr win championships. Steve Kurr did great.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
You gonna say Steve Kerr was gonna be the coach,
be the coach.
Speaker 4 (30:28):
Steve Kerr is not leaving where he's at breaking news.
We have seen no.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Coach.
Speaker 4 (30:36):
But why is that gonna work? Steve Kerr? Oh okay.
The point is that you said, where have you seen
someone come from TV and have success in coaching? Steve Kerr?
JJ Reddick has uh, He's got a lot of respect
in the sport. He knows the game. I've played with him.
I think I think it'd be it'd be fun to watch,
be fun to see. Hey, Lebron, that's what you want,
Go ahead and get it, man, Be be happy, enjoy yourself.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
He took over a Warriors team that was underachieving and
at young players and had uh Steph Curry who had
been in the league for six years and was a
borderline All Star player. He came into with a great
system and look at what he's done, right, he's become
But he's not he's not walking into where Hey, I'm
coaching a guy that's won, that's been at nine finals
(31:19):
and one four of the I mean like that, that's
a it's a if he if he if he was
walking into.
Speaker 3 (31:24):
That situation, forget it.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Like if he walked into New York coaching for Phil
Jackson with a team that forget it, he would have
been he would have washed out of New York so easy.
But he went into the right situation. I just don't
know that that's the right situation for JJ. Reddick is
in is in Los Angeles. I mean, unless you get
him on your podcast, then then I'll say great things about.
Speaker 3 (31:42):
Him for you.
Speaker 4 (31:42):
Here, here's the reality. Somebody's got to get the job.
It's gotta be somebody. And at this point Lebron, you
gotta be happy for whatever Lebron's bringing to the table,
whatever he's got left. Man, Well, why not make Lebron happy?
And it seems like that's his guy. They've they've hit
it out off the rapport is there? Why not.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
Exit out about a Fresca X at the Ryan Hollins,
Jason Smith, Ryan Hollins in for Harmon tonight.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
So there's our let hey agree or disagree right there?
Speaker 4 (32:11):
Exit?
Speaker 1 (32:12):
How about a Fresca X at the Ryan Hollins. Ryan
Hollins and I are gonna give you our picks for
the big second round series. It starts tomorrow. The defending
champs back at it. Are they getting out of the
second round? Keep it here Fox.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
Fox Sports Radio The Jason Smith Show with Ryan Hollins
in for Mike Harmon.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
Tonight, it's been a big night in the NBA.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
Cleveland and Orlando The Magic Force Game seven, a series
that nobody is watching. Mavericks beat the Clippers one fourteen
one oh one, Dallas moves on, Clippers go home. Speaking
of the Western Conference playoffs, tomorrow kicks off the second
round timber Wolves and the Nuggets. And here's the thing,
(33:04):
Big Dog, let's take a look at the series here
for a second.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
I understand that it.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Was a tougher series than expected for the Nuggets in
the first round, right, they still didn't show as much
as I thought. It was a little bit more difficult
for them than I expected. But still, the Lakers are
a tough matchup and they were able to win. Am
I feeling nervous about them? Maybe a tiny bit more
(33:33):
than it was in the very beginning of the playoffs.
But this young t Wolves team, this is gonna be
one of those series where it gets out of control
early and the Nuggets at home in the spring heat,
in the Mile High Air win the first two games
by pretty big margins, and suddenly it's whoa, what just
happened to us? And now the Timbers, who are one
(33:54):
of the great young ascending teams in the playoffs, and
Anthony Edwards is getting so much run.
Speaker 4 (33:59):
Now get it. These are still the champs.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
They're still great, and I think the Timberwols get run
out of this series early and it's a couple of
double digit victories for the Nuggets the first two games,
and the Nuggets are gonna wind up moving on to
the Western Conference Finals.
Speaker 4 (34:13):
Yeah, I'm not mad at that, but you got to
take your hat off to the Nuggets what they've been
able to do. And the problem with the Nuggets is
they there are I think they're the best team in
the NBA. Defensively, they can really get after you. They
have a lot a lot of size, man, but at
the end of the day, they struggle to score. And
Rudy Gobert, as great as he is, man, he man,
(34:34):
it is tough for him to guard Yokich. That is
a tough matchup from him. So if they're gonna have
a chance, Karl Anthony Towns has to be spectacular. They
have to consistently score. They can't hit those lulls that
they get, and Rudy Gobert got to kind of put
up a fight, man, But Jokic ends up having a
field day with Rudy, And a lot of times if
Rudy can kind of just sit in the paint and
(34:55):
clog things up and be a force, he ends up
being really good. But now you're asking him to be
a primary defender, man, it ends up being it's a
tough sledding for Rudy Gobert. That's really the big difference
in the series.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
No, And when I look at the Western Conference playoffs, look,
it's murder right. You have seen there are eight good
teams in the playoffs here. I would really be surprised
if we're after they win tonight, if we're not looking
at Denver and Dallas in the Western Conference finals. As
good as the thunder are, as good as as SGA is,
this feels like this is the year for Dallas to
(35:31):
put it together, and Luca and Kyrie have been such
an unbelievable combo. They figured it out. They knock out
the Clippers with easy. Yes, Clippers not playing with Kawhi,
and that's a thing. But I feel like this is
Dallas's year to make noise and they figured out how
it works with Luca, and Kyrie works great off of
what he does. And I think for this Thunder team
who's getting their first real taste of a deeper ish
(35:53):
playoff run, I think the Mavericks were able to get
by in this series, maybe get me six to seven
game series, but I think the Mavericks wind up winning.
Speaker 4 (36:01):
Wow. Problem is, I don't They don't have any God
body guard Yokic. They've been there before, you know, and
there's just the size in Denver.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
They to me er it's gonna be Mavericks Nuggets in
the Western Conference Final. Mavericks are gonna beat the Thunder
and it'll be Mavericks Nuggets in the West Finals.
Speaker 4 (36:20):
Okay, I didn't I didn't know. Okay, I thought you
were putting the the Mavericks over the Nuggets. And I
was saying, oh, I'll slow down and forgive me. I
did look just past Okay. See, I did forgive me.
So who do you like? You like?
Speaker 3 (36:37):
You like Dallas for Oklahoma City?
Speaker 4 (36:39):
No, I like Dallas. Forgive me. I am going to
look past Okay. See I am I. I just jumped
past it. And look the Nuggets are coming out the
West again. Man. They just they they have their system,
they run it, they play hard, and they compete.
Speaker 3 (36:55):
All right. Hey, checks never coming on your podcast, man,
it's not happening.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
No dissenting ju
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 FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Give this you're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
That was all me yelling Ryan after uh, let's see,
after Josh Hart's three, after the Myss three by Buddy
Heeled at the end to win the game.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
That was all me yelling.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
That was a fun series.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Man, it was exciting.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
Man, No, come on that.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
You know.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
I talked to one of my best friends today. He goes, Oh,
it's too bad that series didn't go seven. I said, blank,
you man, I didn't want that series go with seven.
Come on, that's too much stress. Think about your friend
for a second. He goes, no, No, but I meant
for basketball fans. I go screw basketball fans. We had
to take that thing in six.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
Man.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
I don't want to sit here look at a collapse
in Game seven tomorrow and just be sweating and biting
my nails between now.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
And tomorrow afternoon. They took care of it, and six
they took care of it.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Sow. It goes unbelievable. Man, we deserve.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Yeah, oh no, no, no, we didn't. Come on, may you kidd?
We did not deserve. It was a series that went
longer than it should. The Nick should have shut it
down after, you know, after five games, and it just
happened to be a series that went a little bit longer.
Embiid being on one leg, it shouldn't have gone six.
It shouldn't have been that tight. Maxi's become a superstar,
(01:33):
which is great, and it's great for the Sixers, But
I mean the Knicks, you know, they found a way
to just you can't just make it easy. You know,
you can't have nice things without having stress. So I
think that's what we saw for the first six games
in that series.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Look, it was a fun series. And here's the thing.
Do you get past Philadelphia if Embiid is healthy? Uh?
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Yeah, no, I think we still do.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
I think we still do. No, you don't you think
we still? Guy? The guy was playing on one leg.
He never looked the same. If I'm not mistaken, it
was that game one where he throws it off the
backboard and dunks all over your team and then he
hurt himself and that you guys going to run and
ended up winning the game. No, it's always possible.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
He came back and played. He missed a couple of minutes.
He came back and played.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
He played. The guy was hurt, he was really played.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
It's not like he was hurting didn't play. He was
hurt and he played. Yes, it was it was very difficult.
That definitely made it easier. But this would have been
you know what it would have been. It would have
been another It would have been another game and the
Knicks probably would have won Game seven, and it would
have been Oh man, look at this matchup between these
two teams. Because if e Beata is healthy, Maxi's not
taking all those shots. If embat his healthy, buddy, heel
(02:48):
is not showing up like it's twenty eighteen.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Hey god, remember me when I was good.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
Look at this.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
I've been good in five years. But look what I'm
doing now.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Like you know I It's one thing to say, okay, yeah,
embiid you know, if he was healthier, they would have won.
But remember there's it's more shots for Embiid. It's it's
more everything for him. It's more involvement for him, and
it's less for the other guys. It's not like, oh,
you could just add more points to the Sixers point total.
It's well, they got to come away from somewhere, like
MAXI had a bad night last night. Well, he had
(03:17):
a bad night, but it doesn't matter because the guys
that were taking the shots on the bench were making them.
So it's like, okay, yeah he missed them, but the guy.
But they had two guys off the bench who were
making a whole bunch of threes that brought him back
in the game. It's only so many points in the game.
I still would have been confident the Knicks would have won.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
And seven.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Well, of course you're a Nick fan, but just be
glad things ended up the way they did. But hats
off to the Knicks. You gotta be happy for him.
You can't take anything away, and they have. This is
one of the more success I mean, this is a while.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
This is this is five years, man, Seriously, this is
this is since the ninety nine two thousand finals against
the Spurs. That this is how this is the most
successful they have been with moving on in the playoffs
and having a chance to get further in the playoffs.
Like last year was hey they won a round, but
(04:07):
how good are they really? You know, they probably need
another piece or two. Hey it was great they won
last year. Awesome, Hey, things look even better this year.
Jalen Brunson's getting better now. It's like, hey, man, this
East is wide open, and the Celtics aren't world beaters
and they don't have Chris tops porzingis, so yeah, the
doors open for this to be a Knicks to the
NBA Finals type season.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
Are the Knicks one of those teams that a free
agent could look at, Paul George could look at and say,
I want to go be a piece of what's going
on over there.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Listen, I'm not saying Donovan Mitchell. I'm not saying anybody
they need to add Donovan Mitchell. I'm not saying any.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Of these guys. But you know, I mean, look, the
thing for the Knicks.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Is gonna be They're gonna get Julius Randall back next year,
and they were playing at a high level. Look when
they got Ogano Noobi, they transformed into one of the
top three teams in the NBA. They instantly became the
best defense a team in the NBA. You can't argue
with the impact he had. Then Julius Randall gets hurt.
Then Anunoby gets hurt, and you say to yourself, boy,
(05:07):
what could we possibly do here?
Speaker 3 (05:09):
What?
Speaker 4 (05:09):
What? What is? What is gonna happen?
Speaker 1 (05:11):
And then Anacnoby comes back and then they shorten their
bench and they figure it out and they rely on
everybody who went.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
To yelling what are you gonna say? God, is Julius
Randall done?
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Listen?
Speaker 1 (05:24):
I mean when the uh no, no, I'm not saying
he's done, But what I'm saying is that, uh if
if Joel Embiid wanted to say, hey, I don't know
that I could win in Philadelphia, and it was hey,
we can make the money work, and you guys could
get Julius Randall. You want to build around diaries MAXI, Hey, okay,
(05:45):
look it's it.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
It didn't work when Randall was the one.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
It works now that he's a little bit of the
one eight of Brunson and they seem to figure that out.
But then he gets hurt. So no, am I going crazy?
And I think Randall's the missing piece. No, but at
least you know, look, they'll get him back next year.
He's other big guy in the rotation because the moves
he made it the deadline this year didn't work out.
Alec Burks can't get in, and Bogdanovitch was just okay
until he got hurt. So you know you need somebody
(06:13):
in there to take up some minutes. You let Obi
Topping go because you're committed to Julius Randall. So yeah,
him coming back will definitively help. But are we gonna
get Julius Randol? It's into it? Is he gonna be
surly because he doesn't get the ball as much like
what's it gonna be for him? I look at Randall
as an asset that eventually can be spun off to
get something else you might need.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
That's kind of what you're saying. You said all that
didn't nicely say.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Oh no no, When you said done, I mean like
done as a player. No no, he's not done as a player.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
No no, no, no, clearly not done as a player, is it?
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Nick?
Speaker 4 (06:44):
Does he? Oh?
Speaker 1 (06:46):
You know I look at him as he hesn't. He's
an asset we can spin off to make money work
for another player.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
That that's where I'm at for him.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
I always get to a point that's all I know.
He's not he's far from done as a player, but yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
You know, but for a long time he was a
good player on a bad team, and then he really
fit with the Knicks and he had an unbelievable twenty twenty.
Then he was down, then he was back, and now
he gets hurt and he couldn't stay up there. But
I get to a point where I understand some of
the guys on my favorite teams where I'm like, okay,
you know what, Emotionally I have detached myself from them,
Like I understand that this is only gonna be for
(07:20):
a little while longer, and at some point they're gonna
move on. Like if Randall comes back next year and
it's just not the same, right, say, the Nicks are
coming off an NBA title, right, they sweep the Nuggets,
they win the title at all. If they come back
next year and Julius Randall's not playing, well, it's gonna
be Okay. We got to move on from Randall, and
we need another piece that can work in this rotation.
And look, clearly, Tom Thibodau is the guy there now
(07:41):
and he is firmly entrenched with what he's been able
to do with this team. So yeah, I mean they're
gonna allow him to do whatever he wants to do.
And as good as Julius Randall was and as big
a part of he was of the team, yeah, he's
now an az that that can be spun off to
bring in something else they need, whether it's another scorer,
whatever they feel they need that can be maybe a
two way player like Annonoby, because that's kind of what
(08:03):
the Knicks are going to be. That's kind of the
next invention of the Knicks because they are clearly Jalen Brunson,
Josh Hart, and Dante DiVincenzo driven, like this is the
team now, this is the big three.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
So you're nicely saying that you want to move on
from Julius Randall.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Yes, that's nice.
Speaker 4 (08:19):
What you're kind saying, You've given the whole scenario, that
break down the why.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Yeah, I'm nicely saying it because I'm happy because we're
in the next round of the playoffs. If we were
getting ready for Game seven, we were out, I would
say we got to get rid of him.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
He stinks.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
We're not doing anything without it. But I'm happy, so
I can happily say we can move on.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
No disrespects. Yeah, just like Pat Bev says, no disrespect
That's how it is.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
Well, what do you get back and return? What do
you want some youth? Uh?
Speaker 1 (08:45):
You probably need a little bit of youth, Yeah, but
you but you want somebody that look, Tibbs is never
going to go for a guy that's not a two
way defender, that's not somebody that can come in and
can score, but is not going to be a liability
on defense. That's why Antonobe fits so well, because he's
a three and D type game, and he's athletic, and
he's not someone you have to run plays for. He
(09:06):
can score and transition like he was the perfect guy.
They had their eye on him for so long, I
mean for so long. Now would you want somebody else
then that can come in and really light it up? Yeah,
because when it comes down to the end of a game, Okay,
Jalen Brunson with the ball is one thing. Do I
get a little nervous if it's Josh Harder Dante DiVincenzo, Yeah,
a little bit, because these have been role players taking
(09:27):
on bigger roles. So I think in the perfect world,
they would be at their best if hey, we had
somebody else that can really fill it up, that can
come in and be that guy. And that's why I
look that Donovan Mitchell. Rumors won't go away. Rumors of
a bunch of other players won't go away. So if
I'm looking at what they need, that that's kind of
where I would go. Someone else, a little bit more
firepower that can come in and they can still run
(09:49):
the kind of team they want to, not get lost defensively,
score and transition and hit a lot of threes.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
That's it. So would you take I think you're you've
already taken Paul George for Julius Randall.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Oh no, come on, man, why do I know.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Don't give me that choice at all, dude, No, man,
because Paul George is like Paul George is like, yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
He's like an almost guy. He's like Julius Randall.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
They're the same guy.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
They're like, Hey, these teams have almost won with these guys.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
You an almost guy. Any of the Knicks have won.
This is all new. That's why it's so exciting.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Yeah, but it's like you know they've they've almost won
with these players being having really big roles on the team,
and I'm like, Eh, okay, do I want another almost guy?
I mean I want I want somebody a little bit
more dynamic than that.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
And everybody but Jason, everybody was an almost guy until
they win, and then then that's why you're excited. That's true.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
No, that is true.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
And now the Knicks have become a destination. I mean
this is now. Now it's like, hey, I want to
go play with it. Why they got MSG.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Series in and you guys are a destination.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
What I want to go?
Speaker 1 (11:02):
I think people saying I want to go to that
game and get flipped off by Tracy Morgan. I want
a high five Ben Stiller when we're going by.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
I don't tell him how much I love him. Night
at the Museum.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
That's what I want. Man, MSG's got that vibe again. Man,
the Knicks are saving the NBA playoffs. Ryan, you look
at this is a series where the second round of
the playoffs for the first time since two thousand and five.
No KD, no Steph, no Lebron. The Knicks are here
to save the playoffs. Nick Celtics, This I fix your
Adam Silver in a room like doctor No, like a
(11:33):
big James bondvilla, like petting a cat, the White cat.
Just going Nick Celtics, Nick Celtics. We need Nick Celtics
because I could be staring at thunder timber Wolves. We
need Nick Celtics, Nick Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Knicks are here to save the playoffs. Big dog there.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
How did you feel about all of the Brunson greatest
Nick ever already?
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Oh no, no, listen, Jalen bro I'll tell you the truth.
Jalen Brunson best nick of the last twenty five years.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
Well, I mean not saying that.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
That's without a doubt better than that.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
Yeah, it's true.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
It's not saying much because Mello's another Melo's the other
great Nick. But really they didn't get anywhere with Mello
and Melo was a great scorer, but that was kind
of it. Brunson affects the game so many more ways
than Melo does. But I mean, look, you can't Patrick
Ewing of my lifetime is the greatest Nick. You can't
argue with NBA Finals appearances, all the All Star appearances,
(12:27):
the most dominant center in the game, you know, between
him and Elijah Wan No, Ewing brought them a long way,
and he was a great player for a long time,
and they probably would have won the title if he
didn't tear his achilles in the Eastern Conference finals in
ninety nine. They go on to play the Spurs and
the finals and is no Ewing because he tore you know,
he tore his achilles and that might have been a
different outcome than losing in five to the Spurs. So
(12:47):
you no, no my lifetime Ewing and then Brunson. See,
that's the thing, Ryan, I just had to wait twenty
five short years between the end of viewing and Jalen Brunson.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Like that said, I had to go from my.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Late twenties to my early fifties before the next great player.
That's all I had to do is wait. That's the
way Jalen Brunson's entire lifespan to get to that point.
That's why we see how quickly he forgets about those
two weeks of insanity.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
Unbelievable. Dudel.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
No, really, if you said, okay, if you said, what
the what are the best the best the best highlights
of the last twenty five years of the Knicks. Honestly, honestly,
I would say I would say this. I would say,
Jalen Brunson this year, the two weeks of insanity and Mellows.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
Sixty point game in the garden.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
That's that, that's it, that's the next, that's the next
they stunck for because people forget the early two thousands
of Sayah Thomas and signing guys that all played the
same position, seven eight, nine guys that are all power forwards,
and how bad it was and how every year, oh
this is different than the Knicks were just up in
an abyss for most of the Austin into the early teams,
(13:59):
and that one year where they won fifty five games,
if they couldn't get out of the second round of
the playoffs because Steve Novak couldn't hit anything, and then
that was it and that was it until this year.
So I mean, the best, the biggest highlights of the
Knicks the last twenty five years, Jalen Brunson this year,
Lyn Sanity, Mellow sixty point game. So you can see
how easy it is when I say Brunson is the
best thing the last twenty five.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
What are your expectations that will make you fat and
happy if if the Knicks don't win this next series,
what what can they do that makes you happy?
Speaker 3 (14:29):
If they take it to seven ers? Oh no, they
got to beat the Pacers.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
If they gotta beat the pay Yeah, we gotta be
good man.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
We get Pacers are good, but we should beat the.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Pacer ry Top and to drop fifty.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Stay from time. Okay, okay, I'll make a deal with you.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
I will not say Doc rivers to the Lakers if
you stop saying Obie Topping.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
No, they got it. They gotta beat this.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
They gotta beat the if they lose to the Celtics
in the Eastern Conference finals, Okay, but they gotta beat.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
The Pens are good.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
I know they're good. But the Knicks are good and
they have home court.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
I say this, and they're gonna lose the first two
games to go back to Indiana down too Sey, But
I mean they should beat the Pacers.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
They should win that.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
They if they win that and they lose to the Celtics, Okay,
I get it.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
I understand this.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Is a Snoop DOGG telling you enough about the Knicks.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Exit out Voda Fresca X at the Ryan Hollins Jason Smith.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
Ryan Hollins in for Mike Harmon tonight.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
So while we are just waiting with anticipation for Nick
Pacers on Monday Night coming up next? What is next
for the Lakers after they fired Darvin hand tonight? Is
there a coach out there that can make a difference
for them?
Speaker 3 (15:38):
That's next? Right here?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
This 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 5 (15:51):
Hey, thanks for listening to The Two Pros and a
Cup of Joe Podcast with Brady Quinn, Jonas Knox, and
myself LeVar Arrington. Make sure you catch us live weekdays
six to nine am Eastern or three am to six
am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. You can find your
local station for The Two Pros and a Cup of
(16:11):
Joe Show over at Fox Sports Radio dot Com, or
stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by
searching fs R.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Give this you're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Fox Sports Radio The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon.
Ryan Holland's a big dog in for Harmon tonight. We're
gonna get to the latest on the Lakers as they
part ways with Darvin Ham, what is next?
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Is there even a guy out there for them?
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Don't say it.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
I mean, I'll make a deal with you.
Speaker 4 (16:52):
Don't say it.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
I will not say.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
The guy to be the next Lakers head coach, saying
if you stop saying, Obe Toppins gonna score thirty points
against the Knicks in the series of the Pacers.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
Great too, I'll make a deal with you. There, I
said fifty.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Good In tims UH.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Game of the Night, Major League Baseball just ended Dodgers
win on a walk off over the Braves in ten innings.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
It was a thriller and it ended like this.
Speaker 6 (17:29):
Single center fields the game.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
His eleven UH pot has with the game winning hit.
But I gotta tell you one thing that was such
a horrendous effort by brave center fielder Michael Harris. I
mean so much so that if I'm managing the team,
he should be on the bench tomorrow. This is a
first and third UH situation in which if the ball
(17:59):
hits the ground, the game is over and he comes
in and he pulls up short, where if he if
he dove for the ball, he probably would have gotten
because only ended up like a couple of feet in
front of him. But he comes in, he lets it
bounce and the winning run scores, and I'm like, what
the hell is he doing? Like he runs in and
he just stops, like you gotta catch this ball. What
(18:19):
do you think is gonna happen? Do you think the
ball's gonna bounce, the guy's gonna stay at third?
Speaker 4 (18:23):
What the hell is going on?
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Like?
Speaker 1 (18:25):
That was such a horrible effort. And I don't know
if he just had a brain cramp or a brain fart,
but he's a good player.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
But I'll tell you what after that tonight.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
You fight that long through eleven innings and and to
potentially win this game and you just run in and
don't even lay out for it.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
There's no excuse for that. He's on the bench.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Fory tomorrow, you know, and if if I'm managing the Braves,
because that was just inexcusable. This is a big series,
it's a fun series. It's the two best teams in
the National League. It's probably an NLCS preview. And when
he can come in and die for ball and doesn't
do it, yeah, you're sitting on the bench for the
next I need effort, Ryan Hollins, I need effort on
(19:02):
big plays. If I don't get it, you're not gonna play.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
Now You're right and it's winning time. And you know,
from a coach and player, the big question is, you know,
can I trust you? Can I trust you? It is
all about trust. But hey, man, Dodger's getting hot at
the right time. You know that. That's what you want
to see. Good teams they do what they find ways
to win. They find ways to win. Bad teams games closed,
(19:25):
they find ways to lose. You have a question if
you're a good at bad team, just think about those
close games and they tell you everything you need to know.
Hats all to your Knicks and tell.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
You, hey, seriously, just think about this re sect. Because
we've talked about this a little bit the last couple
of nights. We'll get to the Lakers in a second.
Is that The thing about the Knicks and this is,
you know, if it's too bad that it's a bunch
of loud mouths from coast to coast like me who
talking about.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Go New York, Go New York coast.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Because the Knick style of play is such an every
man's style that it's an e team for the average
NBA fan to pick up and root for, because all
they do is bust their ass all the time, every play.
If you're gonna beat them, you're gonna take it from
their cold dead hands, like we are not gonna give
you anything. If you want this game, we are not
(20:16):
gonna roll over. We're not gonna fold. You're not gonna
give the game to you. We're not gonna quit no
matter what the situation is. We are gonna fight to
win this thing. And you saw that in game two
and they came back from down five with twenty seven
seconds left to go, Like that's a that's a huge
style of play. It's almost like like the Knicks were
like in the nineties, you know, they played that hard,
no style that was really fun to watch, and they
(20:37):
were always the darling because they were the the Cinderella
to Michael Jordan's, you know, or the David to Michael
Jordan's Goliath, and they were never able.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
To get through.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
And it was kind of the same style of play
they had, although now they score a few more points,
it's a lot more fun, they shoot more threes. But
that's a style of play that everybody loves man, I
mean everybody loves hard work and busting your ass and
loose balls and and wide open big threes and hitting
it in big emotion like that's a style of people love.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
Man. Yeah, but does it scare you that they're trying
to do that playing forty eight minutes? Do what else
do we have?
Speaker 3 (21:11):
We have nobody else? Everybody else's hurt?
Speaker 4 (21:14):
Can this the whole point the championship? With GEO sides
playing all out everything they have in the tank for
forty eight minutes.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Hey, they cannot walk in the off season. Okay, that's fine.
They can't walk in the off season. They can't walk.
If you could give them a couple of minutes, I'd
see you because you would look great in one of
those nick sweatsuits. Man, I mean you cut a better
imposing figure than Tom Thibodeau and his that's for sure.
But if you could give them a couple of updowns,
I would say, go do it. But what else do
they have?
Speaker 3 (21:44):
They don't have any But everybody else is hurt.
Speaker 4 (21:46):
Everybody else is hurt.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Now a couple of guys, I'm surprised they're kind of
find their way out of the rotation. But what do
you do. You can't sit Brunson for very long. You
can't sit Hart and Devincenzo. I mean, this is a
Big three, man, this is this is like the heat
Big Three when they were the Heatles. Like, you can't
rest any of these guys. It's like the Sixers. You
can sit Joel and Bid. But what happens the nixt
(22:07):
turn of three point deficit into a nine point lead
and Bead's gotta come back.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
In and he's exhausted.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
But what are you gonna do because you can't sit
him because they're gonna give up the lead without him,
So what do you do?
Speaker 4 (22:15):
No? No, My point is that you're guaranteeing this championship
and that seems really tough to play that many minutes
into a championship. I mean, at some points other's got
to give, they need a break.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
It is no, I'm with you, but every year is different.
Every year is different in the NBA, And you know what,
every year players get hurt and it's a war of
attrition and the the team's in shape and could they
do this for four rounds? Probably not, but maybe at
some point the rotation extends a little bit and maybe
precious ache is able to play a few more minutes.
(22:49):
And it's not just hey, uh, we gotta everybody's gotta
belave fifty two minutes and these three guys got to
play fifty two, fifty three and fifty four minutes like
they did last night. But this is kind of what
it is. This is the hand there dealt at this
moment in time. So it gets gonna go as long
as it can, for as long as it can, and
if it gets to the conference finals, I'm pretty happy.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
I mean, okay, hold on, wait, those are those different expectations. Listen,
here's the here's the here's the conflict that you guys
are gonna have. The Pacers play fast, they're deep, they
play a real team game. They come at you in numbers, okay,
(23:31):
and they really shoot the three ball well. And when
you play against them, because their speed, you are scrambling
to run guys off the three point line. And then
you've got a point guard who can go head to head.
He can't. They can't guard each other. But you guys
got with Halliburton Man's.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Deve Vincenzo did a pretty good job on MAXI last night,
follow him everywhere when he did a pretty good job
on him last night.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
Just wait till Regie Millery and Rick Smit's down low.
It's gonna be very difficult. It's gonna be difficult.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
But I will tell you this because I hear what
you're saying on it and I understand that. But at
the same time, I'm like, hmm, I'm trading Joel Embiid
and Tyrese Maxie for Halliburton and a lot of speed.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Okay, I'm fine with that trade. I'm fine.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
I'm fine with I'm fine with trading out of Embiid
in Maxie and what these guys are able to do
in those last six games, I'm okay with that. May
and my answers is gonna change the end of the series,
but right now, I'm okay with that.
Speaker 4 (24:30):
I'm just saying, you're you're strengthen, there's strength in numbers.
Is the biggest problem that you are gonna have.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
I know the problems we're gonna have, man, I know,
but we're gonna overcome them because we're the Knicks, because
we're we're we are destined. We are destined. And it's
the second round of the playoffs. Are we gonna be
utterly exhausted?
Speaker 3 (24:50):
Now? No, that'll be a little bit later.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
Second round.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
We still should be playing at a high level. I feel
really good. I feel good.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
Now.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
If this doesn't go this way, I'm gonna call you
and say it's your full because everything was good until
you put it out there in the universe.
Speaker 6 (25:02):
And ah, nixt enough, so much time, can't keep up
with the painterers. They're so fast up and down the
floor there four and fourth speed on it. No, I'll
blame you to one hundred percent for there are absolutely.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Good.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Now let's get to the Lakers here for a second.
They fired Darvin Haam today and it not anybody surprise.
We thought this was coming because he lost the two
biggest guys in the locker room, right. He lost Lebron James.
He lost Anthony Davis. He lost a d When Anthony
Davis said after Game one against the Nuggets, hey, I
don't know that we're all on the same page. Okay,
that's taking a shot at the coach, Lebron James saying, hey,
(25:38):
how come we didn't challenge.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
That play back in the early part of the third quarter.
It's like what a he is saying.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
But he wanted you to know that he was no
longer on the same page with Darvin Ham. So I
get they had to make a move because when you
lose the locker room, you lose the locker room. There's
nothing you can do about it, and a change has
to be made. But the thing I look at is
that there's nobody realistic who was out there that is
gonna come in and be a difference maker with the Lakers.
(26:04):
There's nobody realistic. You can say, you know, and look,
Brad Stevens, great coach, he's leaving the Celtics to go
coach the Lakers. No, that's not happening. Okay, Tyler's a
great coach. Tyler's gonna wind up re signing with the
Clippers and being their head coach and working on the
contract extension now, So realistically, is there anybody out there
to come in that's gonna take over and suddenly say.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
Oh man, now we got the Lakers. This is gonna
be true.
Speaker 4 (26:26):
No, there's not.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
There's nobody.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
If I'm the Lakers, and honestly, if I can say,
who's the one guy that's probably realistic, I go after
I talked to Lebron and Ad and I say, hey,
we're gonna go out because we think we can get them,
because you know Phoenix is ready to move on. Look,
can we go back and get Frank Vogel? Can we
go back and get him? Because it worked we won
the championship in twenty twenty. Yes, things went sideways after that,
(26:50):
and that's why you have the conversation and it's hey,
was it too difficult at the end? Or can we
let bygones be bygones and go back to a guy
who got us championship? Because the one thing I know
for certain that Lakers will be a better defensive team.
Speaker 4 (27:04):
They're not gonna have any.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Meltdowns like they did at the end of Game three
where somehow Jamal Murray is wide open and Ruey Hotchamoor
is guarding no one and Anthony Davis is guarding no one.
I know they'll be better defensively. And if they're better defensively,
that's a big upgrade you can make if you can't
make a big enough upgrade offensively because you talked about
how about how the roster is constructed and it's very awkward,
and you got you got guys playing different positions that
(27:28):
shouldn't be where they are the one thing you can
do is you can improve defensively. And I know for
a fact if Vogel came in, the Lakers would improve defensively,
and maybe that's where they need to go. So that's
why the guy I would look at it and say, hey,
is there too much? Is too much damage done? Is
it's too difficult?
Speaker 4 (27:43):
Or can we go?
Speaker 3 (27:44):
Because because I know the Sons would part with Frank Vogel.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
Well, apparently you just fired Frank Vogel, but I don't
think it'd be wise just to bring him back to La. Hey,
I'm really intrigued with the JJ Reddick thing. Man, I'd
love for it to be j oh dude. And what
if him and Lebron still run their podcasts turned the season?
The first coach who that reads the podcast? I don't
(28:11):
even know. If it's possible players do it? Why not
a coach?
Speaker 1 (28:14):
If that's the case, you could be the head coach Lakers.
You have a pot, you have the seven foot or podcast.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
You can put it and stop stop putting me in
these positions, man, keep put me everywhere.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
It's so odd to hear JJ Reddick being mentioned as
as a head coach and why Well, here's the thing
I don't doubt his acumen, right, I don't doubt his acumen.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
I I you know, I have no choice but to believe.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
But what everybody has said about him about his basketball
IQ and his acumen and everything else, and I get it.
But this is a guy that's not coached anywhere, that
spent the last couple of years delivering hot takes on television, right,
I mean that that's what he's done. This is what
he thought is his career path was going to be.
And and what does everybody think now and they get
on television. I gotta give you a hot take, even
if it sounds utterly ridiculous. I got to give you
(29:00):
a hot take, because that's gonna make me stand out,
even if it's just people on social media calling me
an idiot for a twelve hour.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
Span, Like this is what he's done.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
He's gonna walk into LA He's gonna walk in and
get Lebron and a d to buy in his philosophy.
I'm not saying he can't work as a head coach,
because are there places we've seen now that you can
come from different backgrounds and do different things and become
head coaches.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
You know, I see that. But LA is not the
place that you start. You don't jump in.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
With no experience and suddenly say hey, handle this pressure
cooker and handle Lebron and Ad are.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
Gonna listen to him.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
They're gona say, hey, we got the guy now today
we're executing JJ Reddick. No or is Lebron gonna say, yeah,
that's great. I'm still gonna do my thing. That's great
you're here, But I'm still really the head coach and
the GM, and AD is my assistant coach and my
assistant GM. So we're still gonna kind of do our thing.
I don't know that JJ Reddick comes in and you
solve any of the problems just because it's such a
big deal to come in for that buy in from
(29:56):
these guys.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
In La Like I.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
I it's it's it's a case of maybe he needs
seasoning first before he jumps into a job like the Lakers,
because I I don't see anything but disaster if he
comes in and tries to coach.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Lakers right away, be very difficult.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
But you, I mean, why do you why do you
think it'll work? If I I just told you why
I don't think it'll work. Why do you think he works?
Speaker 4 (30:19):
Steve Kerr. Steve Kerr win championships. Steve Kurr did great.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
You gonna say Steve Kerr was gonna be the coach,
be the coach.
Speaker 4 (30:28):
Steve Kerr is not leaving where he's at breaking news.
We have seen no.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Coach.
Speaker 4 (30:36):
But why is that gonna work? Steve Kerr? Oh okay.
The point is that you said, where have you seen
someone come from TV and have success in coaching? Steve Kerr?
JJ Reddick has uh, He's got a lot of respect
in the sport. He knows the game. I've played with him.
I think I think it'd be it'd be fun to watch,
be fun to see. Hey, Lebron, that's what you want,
Go ahead and get it, man, Be be happy, enjoy yourself.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
He took over a Warriors team that was underachieving and
at young players and had uh Steph Curry who had
been in the league for six years and was a
borderline All Star player. He came into with a great
system and look at what he's done, right, he's become
But he's not he's not walking into where Hey, I'm
coaching a guy that's won, that's been at nine finals
(31:19):
and one four of the I mean like that, that's
a it's a if he if he if he was
walking into.
Speaker 3 (31:24):
That situation, forget it.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Like if he walked into New York coaching for Phil
Jackson with a team that forget it, he would have
been he would have washed out of New York so easy.
But he went into the right situation. I just don't
know that that's the right situation for JJ. Reddick is
in is in Los Angeles. I mean, unless you get
him on your podcast, then then I'll say great things about.
Speaker 3 (31:42):
Him for you.
Speaker 4 (31:42):
Here, here's the reality. Somebody's got to get the job.
It's gotta be somebody. And at this point Lebron, you
gotta be happy for whatever Lebron's bringing to the table,
whatever he's got left. Man, Well, why not make Lebron happy?
And it seems like that's his guy. They've they've hit
it out off the rapport is there? Why not.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
Exit out about a Fresca X at the Ryan Hollins,
Jason Smith, Ryan Hollins in for Harmon tonight.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
So there's our let hey agree or disagree right there?
Speaker 4 (32:11):
Exit?
Speaker 1 (32:12):
How about a Fresca X at the Ryan Hollins. Ryan
Hollins and I are gonna give you our picks for
the big second round series. It starts tomorrow. The defending
champs back at it. Are they getting out of the
second round? Keep it here Fox.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
Fox Sports Radio The Jason Smith Show with Ryan Hollins
in for Mike Harmon.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
Tonight, it's been a big night in the NBA.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
Cleveland and Orlando The Magic Force Game seven, a series
that nobody is watching. Mavericks beat the Clippers one fourteen
one oh one, Dallas moves on, Clippers go home. Speaking
of the Western Conference playoffs, tomorrow kicks off the second
round timber Wolves and the Nuggets. And here's the thing,
(33:04):
Big Dog, let's take a look at the series here
for a second.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
I understand that it.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Was a tougher series than expected for the Nuggets in
the first round, right, they still didn't show as much
as I thought. It was a little bit more difficult
for them than I expected. But still, the Lakers are
a tough matchup and they were able to win. Am
I feeling nervous about them? Maybe a tiny bit more
(33:33):
than it was in the very beginning of the playoffs.
But this young t Wolves team, this is gonna be
one of those series where it gets out of control
early and the Nuggets at home in the spring heat,
in the Mile High Air win the first two games
by pretty big margins, and suddenly it's whoa, what just
happened to us? And now the Timbers, who are one
(33:54):
of the great young ascending teams in the playoffs, and
Anthony Edwards is getting so much run.
Speaker 4 (33:59):
Now get it. These are still the champs.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
They're still great, and I think the Timberwols get run
out of this series early and it's a couple of
double digit victories for the Nuggets the first two games,
and the Nuggets are gonna wind up moving on to
the Western Conference Finals.
Speaker 4 (34:13):
Yeah, I'm not mad at that, but you got to
take your hat off to the Nuggets what they've been
able to do. And the problem with the Nuggets is
they there are I think they're the best team in
the NBA. Defensively, they can really get after you. They
have a lot a lot of size, man, but at
the end of the day, they struggle to score. And
Rudy Gobert, as great as he is, man, he man,
(34:34):
it is tough for him to guard Yokich. That is
a tough matchup from him. So if they're gonna have
a chance, Karl Anthony Towns has to be spectacular. They
have to consistently score. They can't hit those lulls that
they get, and Rudy Gobert got to kind of put
up a fight, man, But Jokic ends up having a
field day with Rudy, And a lot of times if
Rudy can kind of just sit in the paint and
(34:55):
clog things up and be a force, he ends up
being really good. But now you're asking him to be
a primary defender, man, it ends up being it's a
tough sledding for Rudy Gobert. That's really the big difference
in the series.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
No, And when I look at the Western Conference playoffs, look,
it's murder right. You have seen there are eight good
teams in the playoffs here. I would really be surprised
if we're after they win tonight, if we're not looking
at Denver and Dallas in the Western Conference finals. As
good as the thunder are, as good as as SGA is,
this feels like this is the year for Dallas to
(35:31):
put it together, and Luca and Kyrie have been such
an unbelievable combo. They figured it out. They knock out
the Clippers with easy. Yes, Clippers not playing with Kawhi,
and that's a thing. But I feel like this is
Dallas's year to make noise and they figured out how
it works with Luca, and Kyrie works great off of
what he does. And I think for this Thunder team
who's getting their first real taste of a deeper ish
(35:53):
playoff run, I think the Mavericks were able to get
by in this series, maybe get me six to seven
game series, but I think the Mavericks wind up winning.
Speaker 4 (36:01):
Wow. Problem is, I don't They don't have any God
body guard Yokic. They've been there before, you know, and
there's just the size in Denver.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
They to me er it's gonna be Mavericks Nuggets in
the Western Conference Final. Mavericks are gonna beat the Thunder
and it'll be Mavericks Nuggets in the West Finals.
Speaker 4 (36:20):
Okay, I didn't I didn't know. Okay, I thought you
were putting the the Mavericks over the Nuggets. And I
was saying, oh, I'll slow down and forgive me. I
did look just past Okay. See, I did forgive me.
So who do you like? You like?
Speaker 3 (36:37):
You like Dallas for Oklahoma City?
Speaker 4 (36:39):
No, I like Dallas. Forgive me. I am going to
look past Okay. See I am I. I just jumped
past it. And look the Nuggets are coming out the
West again. Man. They just they they have their system,
they run it, they play hard, and they compete.
Speaker 3 (36:55):
All right. Hey, checks never coming on your podcast, man,
it's not happening.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
No dissenting ju
Hosts And Creators
Jason Smith
Mike Harmon
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