May 21, 2025 • 35 mins
Rob and Kelvin discuss why so many hoops fans have issues with notorious fail merchants like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson, and explain why the pitiful Western Conference Finals Game 1 television ratings are such a bad omen for the NBA. Plus, former AND1 baller and WNBA assistant coach Tim ‘Headache’ Gittens swings by to share his thoughts on the fallout from Caitlin Clark’s hard foul on Angel Reese, whether the WNBA is built to really capitalize on the Clark phenomenon, which stars deserve more attention, and much more!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Odd Couple podcasts.
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Speaker 2 (00:22):
You're listening to the best of the Odd Couple.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Obviously, no surprise one of those.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
Again, We've had this conversation in football and where you
know the best player, but for whatever reasons you know best.
It's not the best player, it's who had the best
season or the best moment or was more valuable to
their team. And so SGA was taking home New War
kind of knew that, and you know my theory just
I think people get fatigued.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
I've been saying it that just right or wrong. I
think I just think that's dumb. I'm not arguing, Like
I get your premise is not what.
Speaker 5 (00:59):
The league, that's not what the award is. Barry Bonds
won seven MVPs. I just like like he was the
best player, Like it would be dumb for a writer
to sit there watch a guy hit all these home
runs Otani's won a couple out now right, three of
the last four whatever it was, Judges won two of
the last three or whatever. It is, like you're gonna
sit there and go, no, we're gonna pick somebody up.
(01:21):
I just I think that set. I hear what you're saying.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
I do wonder, because I've asked you this before, if
baseball only had one MVP, I wonder if it will
be different meaning not the league you'r al, you're n
L meaning what Barry Bonds have won seven just straight
up MVP.
Speaker 5 (01:38):
I think so his numbers were so great. I just
don't know how you would have not voted for him.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Yeah, that would be my only thing. Because he didn't
win every year. I mean, he played for fifteen years.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
So you know what I'm saying, Like, I'm wondering, you
know what I mean, Like, well he's got enough, he's
got four, say it was four at that point.
Speaker 5 (01:53):
But that that whole idea, the premise is you're not
supposed to take anything. It's like going to court like
you have some other stuff they don't bring. No, he
did that one day before this corxactly. That was a
big I like that. It doesn't even make sense. That's
what Otherwise you would just well, we don't need a trial.
He committed a crime four years ago, so he's just
what he does. He gets crying.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
So yeah, I know, but I just think people getting
in ah yokis had enough. Lamar's had enough. He'll get
another one at some point. Give this one to Josh,
you know, I just think Pete the human nature people
do that. But shout out to yes Jay, congrats to him.
Speaker 6 (02:29):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
So we got we're talking about the game, of course,
and last night, and one of the things that come away.
Of course, we already know Oklahoma City Thunder the defense
is great, one of the better defensive teams in quite
some time.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
We knew their death. They go real deep with a
bunch of different guys. We knew that.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
But the other thing that people take away is SGA.
You and I got to see about the first half
before our show ended, uh, and I was like, oh,
he's two for thirteen, he'll come back second half.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
He had twenty three in game seven. Uh, you know
he's done that before.
Speaker 4 (02:59):
He's had slower and part of that is because he
gets to the free throw line, and that, along with
some other players starts the conversation that we're having. Antonio
Daniels joined our show of unethical basketball and the idea
where guys are baiting, where guys are drawing files, where
they're doing whatever they can to draw files and get
(03:19):
on that offen to get on the free throw line.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
And we saw a bunch of that last night.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
And I think what we're seeing rob because guys are
on these massive platforms now, not just a random Tuesday
night in February where you know, you know, if you're
in your local market, you're not watching them. I think
we're seeing these guys start to act more frequently because
we're seeing big games. You're seeing every game for SGA,
You're seeing every game for Jalen Brunson, so much so
(03:46):
that to me, SGA might as well be SAG is
in SAG because the boy is acting out here in
these streets, drawing files, falling all over the place. And
when now we see it because it's been time, prime
time games. And during the first round I was talking
about Jalen Brunton against the Pistons, I was like, man,
(04:07):
he really really bait some files. He really really knows
how to get under the skin and throwing flail his
arms up to the tune of being Broadway Brunson out
there in New York on winning Tony Awards, doing plays
and acting. So I think that's one of the things
that's happening right now to these younger players who are
finally on these big stages, is that everybody is starting
to see them and you go like, oh, those are
(04:29):
his tendencies. Oh, that's what he does, and that happens
with anybody. Lebron was a Bron but then people, oh,
he's a flop Luka Donchez.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Oh, and he's really good.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
But then you start to see him now in playoff series,
you go, oh, man, Luca cries to the reugh, he
does that, and you kind of get exposed. The more
we see you, the more we witness it, the more
the stakes are highing these games, and people start to
call you out about those types of things, and SGA
that becomes the conversation. Is a good basketball meeting. He's
drawing files, he knows how to get to the free throw.
I shot it and falling, I'm two for thirteen. Let
(04:58):
me get some easy buckets at the free throw. And
I think we've always had people who are skilled at
doing that. So now I think we're seeing Broadway Jalen
Brunson sack card holding SGA, and we saw James Harden
and we saw them again Lebrin people called him the flop,
and I'm just starting to see now that they're on
these big platforms, Rob, I think people are seeing it
(05:18):
more prevalent with these two stars and Jalen and SGA.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
I just think it's always been a part of the NBA.
It's not new.
Speaker 5 (05:27):
I think people of guys have been doing this forever.
These aren't the first guys who are doing it. It's
the officials who are allowing them to do it, and
we've seen it. They let James Harden do it during
the regular season and then they don't allow him to
do it in the postseason, and that's where he's had
bad postseasons where he's used to getting fifteen free throws
and now all of a sudden, they're not calling it,
(05:48):
and you got to be consistent, and you also it
takes away from the game and people get frustrated. And
I got a million texas from friends with like to
I just can't even watch this. It's just it's awful.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
And what you have is.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
To me.
Speaker 5 (06:07):
It reminds me of when I got turned off to
boxing because of Floyd Mayweather and his style, Like it
wasn't entertaining. That's not entertaining to see guys flop or
lebron or fall out or act like they got contact
and do all that, and it's just frustrating. And all
they need to do is for officials to stop it,
(06:29):
you know, not allow that, stop making those calls. And
then I think maybe people, you know, you have to
figure it out, and shouldn't it be about basketball. And
I'm not saying that guys don't get fouled. There are
guys who get filed in the NBA and they deserve
to be rewarded for being fouled. But watching this stuff,
(06:50):
it's embarrassing to watch the video afterwards and just see,
you know, what SGA is doing. It just it looks phony,
looks fake, It looks non entertaining, And I think that's
what you want that after a while people will look
at you and be like, ah, you know, like yeah, okay,
(07:12):
he's pretty good, but my god, all of that it's
it's it becomes a thing where you could hold it
against him as far as liking them, because their game
is not attractive, or it's not you know, wow, look
at the shot he made or whatever, it's fouls. No
one's saying that it shouldn't be. And we saw this
in the NBA when Dwayne Wade won the finals WIX
(07:36):
with Miami, where he had like one hundred more free
throws than the Dallas Mavericks or whatever it was. It
was awful to watch, and to this day, if you
ask most people, most people remember that because it was
so out of character. You couldn't touch, you couldn't breathe
on Dwayne Wade and whatever the edict was from the
league at that point was just utterly ridiculous. And I
(07:57):
know he won that championship, but there are people who
will say it's questionable because if you remember Dallas one
of the first two games of that series, and then
Dwayne Wade went to the free throw line a million
times in that game and it just became.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Hard to watch or to enjoy. And that's what I think.
Speaker 5 (08:16):
You gotta be careful that you don't want people to
discount you or think to your to themselves, this is
just phony and he's not, you know, he's just looking
for calls and flopping around and making contact and the
referees or bailing them out. I mean, you get that
with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. There's a lot of
(08:36):
people now who just the game is rigged. Every time
with Patrick Mahomes. There's always some call or something where
they bail them out. He throws a pick, but they
call some some penalty or whatever, you know, yeah, or
something to bail out Patrick Mahomes in different situations, so
it could work against you. I mean, you get you
(08:58):
might get your free throws, but you could also get
people to turn off to you as a you know,
as a as a player.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
I think And for me, if I'm Anthony Edwards who
only shot thirteen shots, which is unacceptable for the best
player in Superstar on a team. And I don't know
what it is about Anthony Edwards in Game ones, that
was his fourth game one of a round where he
shoots only he only gets like twenty points. A game
where he you know, averages more than that, he does
(09:24):
he takes less shots, So I don't know if he's
just like one of those guys I just get a
slow start, and I do believe the defense of the
Thunder threw him off, and one thing, I'll give him
credit for it, Like he's historically said, oh yeah, that
defense threw me off. I hood, I wasn't prepared for that,
or I didn't know they were gonna put four guys here, this,
that and the other. So I absolutely believe he got
tripped up with that thunder defense. My point with him, though,
is you gotta do the same thing. You got to say,
(09:46):
all right, he's their star. Obviously we all knew he's
gonna be the MVP. But let me let me go
start getting to the hole. Let me start putting the
pressure on the refs to call it the same way
for both teams. You know, we kind of saw that
earlier in the playoffs with the Nicks and the Pistons,
where the Pistons were the Knicks were getting files, but
they weren't getting shooting files, and the Pistons were getting
all the shooting files because they were getting to the
(10:07):
whole more. And then the Knicks said, well, let's make
sure we get to the whole more as well and
get some of these calls. So I think at Edwards,
to me, I would say it's incumbent upon him. Hey,
all right, here's a star young star in this league
SGA or aka SAG SAD card holder.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Then I'm gonna need to start getting this deadline as well.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
So I would expect in game two, Anthony Networks to
put his head down and get to the basket a
little bit more and put the onus on the reft
to make sure these calls are going even superstar for superstar.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
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listen live.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
We're joined now by Tim Headache, Getting's former and one baller,
former w NBA assistant coach.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Tim. What's up man, what's happening?
Speaker 6 (10:54):
What's going on? Is going on? Wrong doing?
Speaker 3 (10:57):
We're doing good?
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Man.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Appreciate you joining the show.
Speaker 6 (11:00):
You. I appreciate you having me. Always a pleasure.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
Well, we got to start with this. Obviously we talk
about the m B NBA. I'm gonna just leave this alone.
In this way of saying, I just the thoughts and
think pieces that came from Angel Reese and Kaylyn Clark
got people going through drama all of a sudden, I'm
just gonna leave You've been keeping up with all the
drama from people on social media. Baby people have to
talk about their children and why is all that because
(11:26):
of a hard file? They got baby pictures on Twitter.
Now I'm just saying it's getting crazy. Tim, What the heck?
Speaker 6 (11:33):
You know? Hey, you know when you're competing, feelings, feelings
take you to a whole different level when you give
me keep your feelings involved with it. But you know,
like you said before, like the biggest thing in the
misters session. And I know y'all understand this. Everybody understands
for a long time ago. It started with Magic and
Bird when they was competing. It's always gonna be a
black and white thing. It's unritten rule in basketball. But
(11:54):
like the same thing with Magic, every Bird told everybody
it's respectful to put a white guy on him. So
you know, the competition is competition, right.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
And you saw the foul? My god, I just it
was a hard basketball file. Did did I miss something?
Speaker 6 (12:11):
Well? You know, like they trying to rob you said
this last year was talking like everybody's trying to create
something that's nothing. And if you ain't play the game,
you don't understand what's going on. The biggest thing of
like being a coach and former and been around the
game for twenty twenty years with them NBA, with Teresa
and all of them and all the older veterans. They're
going to play hard, They're going to file each other.
(12:32):
They respect each other because the one thing we all know,
you can be great and I cannot like you, Rob,
but I can always respect you as a player, right right,
you know so, and people forget about that I played
against I play against a lot of McDonald Americans and
I was growing up, and I would file the heck
out of them because I don't want them to beat me.
That's that's called competition.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Yeah, I think most of us.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
Hey, you know what's crazy about it, Timmy, Rob, we
say we want these things, then we get these things,
and then we got to have all these thought pieces,
think pieces been like, no, there's a hard file woman up,
man up, let's go. You know, I'm completely with you
on that. But to stay in the w NBA right now,
Robert and I have had conversations of how you continue
to grow the game. You've been a part of that league,
(13:14):
how do they continue to grow? Yes, Kaylyn Clark is
an absolute superstar in Supernova and Angel Rees draws eyes.
But there's some other good players. Angel Wilson. We don't
talk about her enough. She's the best player in the WNBA.
Speaker 6 (13:25):
Yeah, and you know, and I think I think, like
we're talking about that, me and Robson. But it's the
marketing piece, you know, uh, marketing pieces you got you
gotta show people other than them and then show other
people how good I'll say, it's so many other players
that just are good. They had so many more skills
that can feature. The NBA does a great job of
marking eight different players at times place when games happened.
(13:46):
I think WNBA has to do a better job of that.
When they start doing that, I think it'll show a
license to what other players are and what they do
really well too.
Speaker 5 (13:55):
I'm not gonna paint everybody with a broad brush, but
I just wonder, seriously, women to me seemed they're more
in competition with each other, Like there was there was
really like I couldn't believe how many of the players
who were really down on Caitlin Clark before she even played,
(14:16):
you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
It was really like a like I didn't get it,
you know, like like like they just.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
They were against her, it felt like, at least in
the beginning, and why wouldn't they embrace her? And I'm
not saying you gotta worship somebody, but she has changed
the league. They got private planes now could charter planes.
I mean, you know, things have gotten better and whatnot?
Why why the resistance when this is what you know?
(14:47):
People are watching her, but they're gonna start seeing all
the other players as well, and things are gonna get
better for everybody. Do you do you see that as
a problem in the w NBA, because it just didn't
seem like they were welcoming her to her like they I.
Speaker 6 (15:03):
Think it's I think it's a twofold. I think they
welcome another way you welcome somebody when they come in
as a rookie. You got come, you got to come
get like how you and Robert you walked into the
gym with us and you was the rookie. We're gonna
treat you.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
I got that part. That's fair, you know.
Speaker 6 (15:17):
And then but then the media took a whole different
other way. The girls love what you're doing because somebody
have to pay it away like the ones before them
and that one before them, and now they're gonna pay
it the way for the jujus, noverybody else coming in
to make more money. So that the problem is is
when people take it the wrong direction, like and I
got six sisters, our coach girls in the guys side.
(15:39):
Girls is meeting in guys.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
You ain't saying nothing.
Speaker 6 (15:46):
Wrong. How many time we went in the outphae and
the girl having the same outfit as another girl and
they get mad no outfit? Like, I don't know why
everybody act like girls ay more competitive than us.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Way more competitive? What about?
Speaker 6 (15:59):
Also?
Speaker 3 (16:00):
I think that that's what holds the league back a
little bit.
Speaker 5 (16:02):
And the other thing too is women have to go
to the WNBA games, like there are more women than men.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Whenever I see these six thousand people.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
The league's been around for thirty years, I mean tim
at some point like like the league people can show up,
can't they?
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Other than when she's not playing?
Speaker 6 (16:20):
Yeah, hundred percent. That's one of the biggest things that
I think that they missing right now is that and
the crave pot about when I talked to a whole
bunch of sea things when I was coaching at WNBA,
I'll be like, you need to come out to the game. Yeah,
I can support it. You know, women is getting this
and we're getting that. And they talk and they start
arguing about the pay scale. I'm like, well, pay scale
is gonna get better. I said, but you don't show
(16:41):
up to the games. Oh yeah, I'm gonna support. But
if you don't show up, then I don't want to
hear your complaints. I don't want to hear about I
don't want you to conversation about them getting paid more
money if you can't show up to me one dause,
that's how you get That's how they get paid. Like
I've been on both sides of travel DA teams. The
way they make money is about putting fans people seat
and when you got people complaining, which is a lot
(17:03):
of people, and y'all probably hear the people y'all argue
with they don't go to games. They want free Ticketsbay
can't make money if you don't spend money. So that's
how that's how. That's the end bottle line of that one.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
Tim Headay Gettings is our guest guest, former and one baller,
former w NBA assistant coach. Tim, I want to ask
you stay with Juju Watkins. We were having a conversation
uh wanted to say it was yesterday, could have been
Maye a couple of days ago, Robin I. I was saying,
how you you brought up an example. A lot of
us talk about the Larry Bird magic of the injuries
and Caitlyn Clark, and I was saying, how they did
(17:34):
a great job bringing the NBA to a next level,
but then Michael Jordan just took it off the stratosphere.
And I was wondering, could Juju be that You've seen
her play, you've seen her who you know what she's about,
because she's such a great all around player, like like
Kaitlyn Clark is very very good, but Juju's kind of
on another level as a complete player. Do you think
(17:55):
she can kind of and she's already got that star power,
she's already got that following people love her. Could she
kind of be that following off of what Angel, what Kaitlin,
what Page have done and then take it to that
next level?
Speaker 6 (18:07):
I think I think she really gonna do it, you know,
Juju and Bambi of that that she has that election
like her but a little more social media. President Maya Moore,
like Member Maya Moore came in. I watched Maya Moore
in college and come in. She was at a straight killer,
quiet assassin, do everything good, and if she didn't, she
got better at it. That's Juju Warkins just the he
(18:28):
say two point zero of Maya Moore, like she could
score the ball either hand, right hand, left hand. She
can shoot the ball, she got a great smile. She's
already got a social media behind her. She already come in.
She coming on the back of already been establishing the
new nil stuff. And I think the way she scored
a ball, she's gonna be a problem. And I don't
know if you'll remember Cynthia Cooper when Sudie Coople came
(18:49):
in to the league, when the first start up, she
was a problem. They'd be able to guard and hold.
And I think Juju gonna do that. And I think
that's gonna bring more more of the guy. I to think.
And she does everything that's so smooth and so quiet.
You a quiet assassin.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
See, I'm I'm not positive that's gonna happen. From this standpoint.
Speaker 5 (19:04):
The only reason that Caitlyn Clark has gotten the attention
is guys started to see her shoot from crazy distances
and she was like Stephs and that is what attracted guys.
There have been a ton of great women's basketball players
and you noticed him. You're in the league that people
(19:24):
didn't go to, the games, people didn't watch on team.
I'm talking about great players. You mentioned Cynthia Cooper, Cheryl Swooped.
I even know these names. You know what I mean
of these players busy who were really really good.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
And what Caitlyn did.
Speaker 5 (19:38):
Which is so different and what got people who never
cared too you know two dimes about women's basketball is
guys got intrigued because she was doing something that other
women were doing.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Do you get my point on Caitlyn?
Speaker 6 (19:54):
Yes, you know she she was you know the old
saying like remember commercial back in the day, what you
can do, I can do better? And I think I
think that that's what happened with with with Kaylen Clark
and the step the step effect. Everybody like, oh, you
can't shoot like Steph. And then it comes to a
young lady who shoots just his dizzy because I watched
it in college. In college, you know she she take
(20:15):
them all the time. It's like a normal shot for
so that that that I would say, trickery, glow chatter
is kind of with her doing it made it even
better for her to be Now now they now they
now the people that didn't really watch college now I
watch it. W be like okay, let me see can
you do it now? And she's still doing it. So
and that's that's the dope part by it. But hopefully
(20:36):
that it ain't ain't a one trick pony and to
continue to draw more people to the game.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
That's what I'm open.
Speaker 5 (20:42):
That's what I'm talking about, like like that's not the
only reason that they're watching, that they actually want to
watch these women play basketball.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Yeah, and not just her games, not just what she
comes in. That's what we are. We got to get past.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
We're there now we're And I went to uh the
Sparks game last year, took my daughters tim and they
was I mean, it was mayhem. It was sold out
and I haven't been crazy and because she was there
and it was amazing to see. Uh So I got
obviously living. I have three dollars, so I want to
take them again. But it was amazing to see she
was just kind of a the Beatles or the Jackson five.
Wherever she went. It was like that real quick for
(21:16):
me watching this game right now. We got Pacers down
to Nix up too in this or tie game? Now, Actually,
what are you making a series? What do you got
in this Eastern Conference finals?
Speaker 6 (21:25):
Hey, you know, you know New York. I know the
way I'm making. I'm excited about this.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
I see you watching it right now. You half listening
to us. You're watching it. I got on mute.
Speaker 6 (21:37):
I'm watching it. Look, look, look I took all my
little boss and fans. It was upset. I told my
thats what happened when you shoot a whole bunch of.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
Jump shots and all those three pointers.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
You know. Now, now this game right here in Indiana
versus Pacer, this is a really guard for guard game
because both sides. Both sides played a whole bunch of
guards that can really go with the fan to shoot
the ball. So it's gonna be a real physical game.
I can see this going six, but you know, but
it might go seven. But I me, you know, I'm
with my knicks to take it a six. But I
(22:10):
just don't want them to get in. I want Tim
to stop using them guys in all the minutes and
use everybody so that way they can come be fresh
when it goes to the fourth quarter, no.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Doubt about it. Brought that up earlier. Yeah, all right, man,
appreciate you. Always a pleasure, my man. Thank you.
Speaker 6 (22:27):
Hey, when you get a chance, try to try to
catch the game with the Dallas Wing. Like pay Page
to really impressed her daughter. She's really really good.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
Yeah, Pages, Pages lick. We don't only have to you
don't have to convince me of that. All they gotta
do is.
Speaker 5 (22:40):
Have when they have free chicken wing night, then I'm
coming to the Dallas Wing.
Speaker 6 (22:46):
And since its wings, hey, bro, do that wing.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
And you know I'll be there.
Speaker 6 (22:59):
I'll be with you. Osinally had a shut up.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
There you go, and don't go climbing on no buildings
at the nixt win. Y'all got to relax. Man, y'all
doing too much out there.
Speaker 6 (23:07):
Hey, we ain't been here forty to thee. That's how
we went to. Somebody lifted to save us.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
My goodness.
Speaker 6 (23:14):
All right, man, appreciate you, Tim, All right, thank you man.
I love you all you have to say.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 7 (23:31):
This news broke just before the show started. Game one,
of course, was last night. It was a close game
up until the fourth quarter. Oklahoma City put the clamps
down and ended up pulling weight, winning by twenty six
points in Game one over Minnesota.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Well, surprise, surprise.
Speaker 7 (23:46):
Usually when the ratings come out this soon, it's because
it's a positive thing, right, It's because, Hey, we had
the biggest ratings that we've seen in ten years, so
we're gonna put it out immediately. We want to make
sure we had the good pr out there. Not so
fast on this one, Okay, Sports Media Watch put this out.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
Game one of.
Speaker 7 (24:05):
Wolves Thunder Western Conference Finals down twenty four percent year
over year from last year's Game one, which was Dallas
and Minnesota. And it was also, this is the worst part,
the least watch Conference final game one since twenty twenty one.
That was the COVID short year. If you remove the
(24:26):
COVID years where everything was down, twenty twenty twenty twenty one,
it was the lowest rated Game one since twenty thirteen.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
Spurs Grizzlies.
Speaker 7 (24:37):
That's a terrible number, guys, when you consider the runaway
MVP on arguably statistically one of the greatest teams of
all time, going against what many are calling the next
face of the league.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
The ratings proved that neither is going to be the
face of the league, or at least at this point.
The less things changed, because that should have been an
anticipated matchup where people should have been interested.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
The idea that people tuned out of this is incredible.
Speaker 5 (25:09):
It really is man after last year, right right like
like he was in the conference finals last year, people
talking about him in the same breath as Michael Jordan
and An SGA. I thought it was about SGA. No,
it wasn't it about SGA and the MVP. Everybody knew
he was gonna win the award, it was coming up,
(25:30):
and they tune out.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
I get it.
Speaker 5 (25:32):
It was a blowed in the fourth quarter, But that
number reflects more than just people turning off the TV
sets in the fourth quarter. It's such a huge drop
to go back to twenty thirteen, really taking out the
COVID year. I mean, that's a long time for this
matchup with these two young players and two young stars
(25:57):
not to get if I'm Adam so I was expecting,
all right, we don't have Steph and Lebron and those guys.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
But man, our next act, look at what we got.
Speaker 5 (26:08):
If they had big numbers on that, don't tell me
that they wouldn't have been bragging about the future is
bright and look at these guys and people have adapted
and they already know SGA not like it's the thunder
with nobody playing.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
This is the MVP's on that team. Yeah, but I
think the MVP has to be envy scene more. And
I think that's one of the troubles of Like, this
is his first Western Conference Final appearance, so now it's
like he's on this stage and you kind of gotta
get there. You gotta build it up. We gotta have,
like I said, you gotta have the drama.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
You gotta have something where it makes people go oh.
Speaker 4 (26:41):
And this is like this is another great as he
just hit a big shot for Tyree's Heliburton right stepping
out on that stage. Now everybody gets to see me
when it matters. This is a musty game. Everybody's watching.
You kind of need those to build them up. And
this goes back to a conversation we were having, I
believe it was last week, and one of the things
that I think is everybody like wants parody, we want
the young stars, and I'm like, we really don't. If
(27:03):
you just look at the history of the league. You
want a good mixture, right, You want to have this
young guy Michael Jordan flying through the air like, man,
this kid's gonna be the one.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
He's neck whoa you see him.
Speaker 4 (27:13):
But you have Isaiah Thomas battling the magics, battling the birds,
Bird and Magic.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
You have this Doctor j because if you look at
that whole time, it was the guys you knew.
Speaker 4 (27:24):
Back in the eighties, it was Doctor j snuck in
a couple of finals and it was either Magic and
uh of course Bird. If you go through the nineties,
it literally was just Jordan and then he went away
and it was a cane for a couple of years.
And my point is you kind of need at Western
Conwence finals that consisted of Steph versus ok see Lebron
(27:44):
versus Anthony Edwards, meaning where you got somebody you know, Luca.
Speaker 5 (27:49):
I think you're selling these guys short. You're just saying
this is not the old days. Every game is on
television now you could get if you could get any
game you want, and the old days. I agree, you
couldn't see SGA normally, you know what I mean, on
normal situations or unless it was on a primetime game.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
But any fan.
Speaker 5 (28:07):
That's why fans aren't fans in a particular city anymore.
You could be a fan of a player because I
could watch every game with League pass if I'm an
SGA fan. And then Ant, the argument doesn't hold up
because he was in the last year, he was in
the conference finals with a chance to go to the finals.
People know who he is, right, and he should say that,
but he shouldn't be in anything that should have lower
(28:31):
ratings since twenty thirteen.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
Ant the ANT man, like seriously, like I get that.
He's surprising to me.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
Here's why another point I was gonna get you that,
this is why having those guys when I have a
KD and his Steph, Right, I have a Lebron and
a Kyrie, when you have just Ant SGA.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
He was an MVP.
Speaker 4 (28:53):
But that's it and you look at Okay, see they're
kind of a college type of a team, meaning it's
just a bunch of guys that come and line changes.
It's just to throwing them at you. And they're good
and they're hungry and they're young. But I don't know,
and I don't literally mean me, but you know, the
average there's no sex appeal. They're throwing in a bunch
of players that go ten, eleven, twelve deep, and it's
great basketball. And it says that they play hard, they
(29:13):
play the defense, but there's no star power. But when
I have cast Stephan k D, when I got Jordan
and Pippen, when I got.
Speaker 5 (29:19):
Those guys aren't going to be around forever, and even
Stephan them, they had to at some point get on
that stage and start to win.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
They didn't win automatically on the beginning, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
Like what you say about Kaitlyn, Steph was doing something
we'd never seen, so he became a super Novaya.
Speaker 5 (29:35):
But clay On man all the hooplab about him, and
you talked about it the national commercials with Sprite and
all that, like like, he can't be a part of
this if you want to say, SGA. But and to
be in a in a game where people don't know
who he is or doesn't want to see him play.
(29:56):
And it's the lowest rating since twenty thirteen, not two
years ago or twenty thirteen.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
I'm I don't think we're sitting here Rob.
Speaker 4 (30:06):
If you had Luca, Lebron and Ant in the Western
Confers finals, we're not having this conversation.
Speaker 5 (30:11):
Yeah, but they're not gonna be here. My point is
at some point you're going to have younger players come on.
Those guys aren't gonna play forever. And my only point
is it's amazing that with all the talk about aunt
Man and Michael Jordan and all that other stuff, and
him being on this stage last year, that they could
lay such an egg on Game one. That that's all
(30:35):
I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
I got here.
Speaker 4 (30:36):
That's a that's a huge, twenty a massive. But that's
why to me, you wanted to be a perfect you
want it to be. Give you a perfect example you
want it to be. How the Celtics handed it off
to the Pistons. So I got the old Guard, a
bunch of championships, Larry Bird MVPs, we all know him,
and then Kevin mccal roy, press, the whole gang. It's
(30:58):
a brand, the Celtics beating these upstar Pistons for a
couple of years and finally the Pistons beatle. But that's compelling.
I've seen him go out of it a couple times.
Plus I see the star Parwer of the Celtics and
I have this Pistons team. Then the Pistons do the
same thing with the young flying through their Jordan and Pippen,
and now it's like changing of the guard. So we
almost had it too early. Meaning if Steph and the
(31:21):
Warriors are in the Western Confergce final and it's a
changing of the guard, Ant's going crazy.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
He wins.
Speaker 4 (31:26):
It's like a passing of the torch. Or if the Lebron,
you know, and he passes the torch down the Ant.
We just kind of had it where it's just four
young stars. Brunton, Halliburton, Sga ant Man.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
You never have this.
Speaker 4 (31:39):
You got somebody, you know. I got a Kobe, I
got a Dirk, I gotta Dwayne Wade, I got a Lebron.
This is four new guys in this big you gee
what I mean? You usually if you look at the history,
you have a two at least two are staple.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (31:52):
But but the only thing is I hear your point.
But the MVP and a guy who was there last
year who we're talking about, Michael Jordan with for that
to be not to be attractive. And I'm not saying
they had to be better than last year or whatever.
Twenty four it can't be that number. And you can't
take out COVID and say it's the worst number in
(32:15):
more than a decade, more than a more than a decade.
Can't tell me every matchup was great, you know what
I mean that there had to be some other matchup
that wasn't exactly what people wanted.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
It's just stunning to me.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
You're about to here's the problem, Rob, you get Pacers Thunder,
were gonna be right back here with Rob ze Yo
breaking news right before the show.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
Can you believe it?
Speaker 4 (32:37):
They're down twenty two percent for the first game of
the NBA Finals Nicks and timber Wolves. Because you mentioned
it and you got New York and wow, this is amazing,
and everybody, even if you are a Nick fan, you're
just happy. Why this is kind of cool to see that,
you know, New York. Not to mention this, we always
talk about New York has a gazillion people there. I
(32:57):
think you're gonna have something different. But if you get
Pacers Thunder now basketball, it's probably gonna be some good
basketball being played. The actual gameplay, but I think that
might be a snooze face ratings wise. So I'm just
thinking I think we're heading towards that right now. Again,
because usually, just to reiterate this last point, usually you
(33:18):
have some main stays, right You had, like I said,
Shaq and Kobe for so many years, so no matter
who they are playing all this new two thousand and
four Pistons, but your new shacking Kobe, you had Dirt
went to a couple, You had these main states, Steph
went to what five to six of them. Now you
have these main stays for so long, even historically in
the NBA, where there's always a new upstart that gets
the baton pass to them. Right now, ain't no baton
(33:41):
passing seventh year in a row with a new champion
gonna be and four young upstart stars.
Speaker 5 (33:48):
But even then, to your point, I just I just
think people haven't bought into Celtics ruin. People haven't bought
into that these guys or the next guys. Maybe it
is Wimby, maybe it is you know. That's the way
I look at it. I look at it as that
they're not the ones, because you know, like I saw
(34:11):
Kobe in his first playoff game Shoot air Balls.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
I mean I watched it. I wanted to see Kobe
in the playoffs, do you know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (34:19):
I know he had star other star players, but the
idea that a chance for ant man in particular, who
didn't get there last year.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
This is the progress, right and you just talk about it.
Speaker 5 (34:32):
One year you're there and then you know you don't win,
and then the next year you come back, and then
you finally get over the hump. And he could get
there if he gets to the finals, you know what
I mean, especially after the big trade of Cat being
traded away.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
You know, you look at his natural progression. That should
be an interesting story for people to want to see.
And it's surprising that it's that bad.
Speaker 4 (34:52):
There's no star part in that Thunder team. I mean,
Sga is a very wonderful, sweet young man, very unassuming.
There is no star power in that Thunder team. I
mean none. Jaylen Williams an All Star. Just call him
an all because he ain't a star. He ain't All
Star by way of good player and all that. The
(35:14):
team was the number one seed in the NBA.
Speaker 6 (35:16):
I get that.
Speaker 4 (35:17):
That's why I usually get some extra votes. But they
have no star power. Just call him an all He
ain't an all star.
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Odd Couple podcasts.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday from seven
pm to ten pm Eastern four to seven Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for The Odd
Couple at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us
live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You're listening to the best of the Odd Couple.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Obviously, no surprise one of those.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
Again, We've had this conversation in football and where you
know the best player, but for whatever reasons you know best.
It's not the best player, it's who had the best
season or the best moment or was more valuable to
their team. And so SGA was taking home New War
kind of knew that, and you know my theory just
I think people get fatigued.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
I've been saying it that just right or wrong. I
think I just think that's dumb. I'm not arguing, Like
I get your premise is not what.
Speaker 5 (00:59):
The league, that's not what the award is. Barry Bonds
won seven MVPs. I just like like he was the
best player, Like it would be dumb for a writer
to sit there watch a guy hit all these home
runs Otani's won a couple out now right, three of
the last four whatever it was, Judges won two of
the last three or whatever. It is, like you're gonna
sit there and go, no, we're gonna pick somebody up.
(01:21):
I just I think that set. I hear what you're saying.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
I do wonder, because I've asked you this before, if
baseball only had one MVP, I wonder if it will
be different meaning not the league you'r al, you're n
L meaning what Barry Bonds have won seven just straight
up MVP.
Speaker 5 (01:38):
I think so his numbers were so great. I just
don't know how you would have not voted for him.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Yeah, that would be my only thing. Because he didn't
win every year. I mean, he played for fifteen years.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
So you know what I'm saying, Like, I'm wondering, you
know what I mean, Like, well he's got enough, he's
got four, say it was four at that point.
Speaker 5 (01:53):
But that that whole idea, the premise is you're not
supposed to take anything. It's like going to court like
you have some other stuff they don't bring. No, he
did that one day before this corxactly. That was a
big I like that. It doesn't even make sense. That's
what Otherwise you would just well, we don't need a trial.
He committed a crime four years ago, so he's just
what he does. He gets crying.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
So yeah, I know, but I just think people getting
in ah yokis had enough. Lamar's had enough. He'll get
another one at some point. Give this one to Josh,
you know, I just think Pete the human nature people
do that. But shout out to yes Jay, congrats to him.
Speaker 6 (02:29):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
So we got we're talking about the game, of course,
and last night, and one of the things that come away.
Of course, we already know Oklahoma City Thunder the defense
is great, one of the better defensive teams in quite
some time.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
We knew their death. They go real deep with a
bunch of different guys. We knew that.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
But the other thing that people take away is SGA.
You and I got to see about the first half
before our show ended, uh, and I was like, oh,
he's two for thirteen, he'll come back second half.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
He had twenty three in game seven. Uh, you know
he's done that before.
Speaker 4 (02:59):
He's had slower and part of that is because he
gets to the free throw line, and that, along with
some other players starts the conversation that we're having. Antonio
Daniels joined our show of unethical basketball and the idea
where guys are baiting, where guys are drawing files, where
they're doing whatever they can to draw files and get
(03:19):
on that offen to get on the free throw line.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
And we saw a bunch of that last night.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
And I think what we're seeing rob because guys are
on these massive platforms now, not just a random Tuesday
night in February where you know, you know, if you're
in your local market, you're not watching them. I think
we're seeing these guys start to act more frequently because
we're seeing big games. You're seeing every game for SGA,
You're seeing every game for Jalen Brunson, so much so
(03:46):
that to me, SGA might as well be SAG is
in SAG because the boy is acting out here in
these streets, drawing files, falling all over the place. And
when now we see it because it's been time, prime
time games. And during the first round I was talking
about Jalen Brunton against the Pistons, I was like, man,
(04:07):
he really really bait some files. He really really knows
how to get under the skin and throwing flail his
arms up to the tune of being Broadway Brunson out
there in New York on winning Tony Awards, doing plays
and acting. So I think that's one of the things
that's happening right now to these younger players who are
finally on these big stages, is that everybody is starting
to see them and you go like, oh, those are
(04:29):
his tendencies. Oh, that's what he does, and that happens
with anybody. Lebron was a Bron but then people, oh,
he's a flop Luka Donchez.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Oh, and he's really good.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
But then you start to see him now in playoff series,
you go, oh, man, Luca cries to the reugh, he
does that, and you kind of get exposed. The more
we see you, the more we witness it, the more
the stakes are highing these games, and people start to
call you out about those types of things, and SGA
that becomes the conversation. Is a good basketball meeting. He's
drawing files, he knows how to get to the free throw.
I shot it and falling, I'm two for thirteen. Let
(04:58):
me get some easy buckets at the free throw. And
I think we've always had people who are skilled at
doing that. So now I think we're seeing Broadway Jalen
Brunson sack card holding SGA, and we saw James Harden
and we saw them again Lebrin people called him the flop,
and I'm just starting to see now that they're on
these big platforms, Rob, I think people are seeing it
(05:18):
more prevalent with these two stars and Jalen and SGA.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
I just think it's always been a part of the NBA.
It's not new.
Speaker 5 (05:27):
I think people of guys have been doing this forever.
These aren't the first guys who are doing it. It's
the officials who are allowing them to do it, and
we've seen it. They let James Harden do it during
the regular season and then they don't allow him to
do it in the postseason, and that's where he's had
bad postseasons where he's used to getting fifteen free throws
and now all of a sudden, they're not calling it,
(05:48):
and you got to be consistent, and you also it
takes away from the game and people get frustrated. And
I got a million texas from friends with like to
I just can't even watch this. It's just it's awful.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
And what you have is.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
To me.
Speaker 5 (06:07):
It reminds me of when I got turned off to
boxing because of Floyd Mayweather and his style, Like it
wasn't entertaining. That's not entertaining to see guys flop or
lebron or fall out or act like they got contact
and do all that, and it's just frustrating. And all
they need to do is for officials to stop it,
(06:29):
you know, not allow that, stop making those calls. And
then I think maybe people, you know, you have to
figure it out, and shouldn't it be about basketball. And
I'm not saying that guys don't get fouled. There are
guys who get filed in the NBA and they deserve
to be rewarded for being fouled. But watching this stuff,
(06:50):
it's embarrassing to watch the video afterwards and just see,
you know, what SGA is doing. It just it looks phony,
looks fake, It looks non entertaining, And I think that's
what you want that after a while people will look
at you and be like, ah, you know, like yeah, okay,
(07:12):
he's pretty good, but my god, all of that it's
it's it becomes a thing where you could hold it
against him as far as liking them, because their game
is not attractive, or it's not you know, wow, look
at the shot he made or whatever, it's fouls. No
one's saying that it shouldn't be. And we saw this
in the NBA when Dwayne Wade won the finals WIX
(07:36):
with Miami, where he had like one hundred more free
throws than the Dallas Mavericks or whatever it was. It
was awful to watch, and to this day, if you
ask most people, most people remember that because it was
so out of character. You couldn't touch, you couldn't breathe
on Dwayne Wade and whatever the edict was from the
league at that point was just utterly ridiculous. And I
(07:57):
know he won that championship, but there are people who
will say it's questionable because if you remember Dallas one
of the first two games of that series, and then
Dwayne Wade went to the free throw line a million
times in that game and it just became.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Hard to watch or to enjoy. And that's what I think.
Speaker 5 (08:16):
You gotta be careful that you don't want people to
discount you or think to your to themselves, this is
just phony and he's not, you know, he's just looking
for calls and flopping around and making contact and the
referees or bailing them out. I mean, you get that
with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. There's a lot of
(08:36):
people now who just the game is rigged. Every time
with Patrick Mahomes. There's always some call or something where
they bail them out. He throws a pick, but they
call some some penalty or whatever, you know, yeah, or
something to bail out Patrick Mahomes in different situations, so
it could work against you. I mean, you get you
(08:58):
might get your free throws, but you could also get
people to turn off to you as a you know,
as a as a player.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
I think And for me, if I'm Anthony Edwards who
only shot thirteen shots, which is unacceptable for the best
player in Superstar on a team. And I don't know
what it is about Anthony Edwards in Game ones, that
was his fourth game one of a round where he
shoots only he only gets like twenty points. A game
where he you know, averages more than that, he does
(09:24):
he takes less shots, So I don't know if he's
just like one of those guys I just get a
slow start, and I do believe the defense of the
Thunder threw him off, and one thing, I'll give him
credit for it, Like he's historically said, oh yeah, that
defense threw me off. I hood, I wasn't prepared for that,
or I didn't know they were gonna put four guys here, this,
that and the other. So I absolutely believe he got
tripped up with that thunder defense. My point with him, though,
is you gotta do the same thing. You got to say,
(09:46):
all right, he's their star. Obviously we all knew he's
gonna be the MVP. But let me let me go
start getting to the hole. Let me start putting the
pressure on the refs to call it the same way
for both teams. You know, we kind of saw that
earlier in the playoffs with the Nicks and the Pistons,
where the Pistons were the Knicks were getting files, but
they weren't getting shooting files, and the Pistons were getting
all the shooting files because they were getting to the
(10:07):
whole more. And then the Knicks said, well, let's make
sure we get to the whole more as well and
get some of these calls. So I think at Edwards,
to me, I would say it's incumbent upon him. Hey,
all right, here's a star young star in this league
SGA or aka SAG SAD card holder.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Then I'm gonna need to start getting this deadline as well.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
So I would expect in game two, Anthony Networks to
put his head down and get to the basket a
little bit more and put the onus on the reft
to make sure these calls are going even superstar for superstar.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
We're joined now by Tim Headache, Getting's former and one baller,
former w NBA assistant coach.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Tim. What's up man, what's happening?
Speaker 6 (10:54):
What's going on? Is going on? Wrong doing?
Speaker 3 (10:57):
We're doing good?
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Man.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Appreciate you joining the show.
Speaker 6 (11:00):
You. I appreciate you having me. Always a pleasure.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
Well, we got to start with this. Obviously we talk
about the m B NBA. I'm gonna just leave this alone.
In this way of saying, I just the thoughts and
think pieces that came from Angel Reese and Kaylyn Clark
got people going through drama all of a sudden, I'm
just gonna leave You've been keeping up with all the
drama from people on social media. Baby people have to
talk about their children and why is all that because
(11:26):
of a hard file? They got baby pictures on Twitter.
Now I'm just saying it's getting crazy. Tim, What the heck?
Speaker 6 (11:33):
You know? Hey, you know when you're competing, feelings, feelings
take you to a whole different level when you give
me keep your feelings involved with it. But you know,
like you said before, like the biggest thing in the
misters session. And I know y'all understand this. Everybody understands
for a long time ago. It started with Magic and
Bird when they was competing. It's always gonna be a
black and white thing. It's unritten rule in basketball. But
(11:54):
like the same thing with Magic, every Bird told everybody
it's respectful to put a white guy on him. So
you know, the competition is competition, right.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
And you saw the foul? My god, I just it
was a hard basketball file. Did did I miss something?
Speaker 6 (12:11):
Well? You know, like they trying to rob you said
this last year was talking like everybody's trying to create
something that's nothing. And if you ain't play the game,
you don't understand what's going on. The biggest thing of
like being a coach and former and been around the
game for twenty twenty years with them NBA, with Teresa
and all of them and all the older veterans. They're
going to play hard, They're going to file each other.
(12:32):
They respect each other because the one thing we all know,
you can be great and I cannot like you, Rob,
but I can always respect you as a player, right right,
you know so, and people forget about that I played
against I play against a lot of McDonald Americans and
I was growing up, and I would file the heck
out of them because I don't want them to beat me.
That's that's called competition.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Yeah, I think most of us.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
Hey, you know what's crazy about it, Timmy, Rob, we
say we want these things, then we get these things,
and then we got to have all these thought pieces,
think pieces been like, no, there's a hard file woman up,
man up, let's go. You know, I'm completely with you
on that. But to stay in the w NBA right now,
Robert and I have had conversations of how you continue
to grow the game. You've been a part of that league,
(13:14):
how do they continue to grow? Yes, Kaylyn Clark is
an absolute superstar in Supernova and Angel Rees draws eyes.
But there's some other good players. Angel Wilson. We don't
talk about her enough. She's the best player in the WNBA.
Speaker 6 (13:25):
Yeah, and you know, and I think I think, like
we're talking about that, me and Robson. But it's the
marketing piece, you know, uh, marketing pieces you got you
gotta show people other than them and then show other
people how good I'll say, it's so many other players
that just are good. They had so many more skills
that can feature. The NBA does a great job of
marking eight different players at times place when games happened.
(13:46):
I think WNBA has to do a better job of that.
When they start doing that, I think it'll show a
license to what other players are and what they do
really well too.
Speaker 5 (13:55):
I'm not gonna paint everybody with a broad brush, but
I just wonder, seriously, women to me seemed they're more
in competition with each other, Like there was there was
really like I couldn't believe how many of the players
who were really down on Caitlin Clark before she even played,
(14:16):
you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
It was really like a like I didn't get it,
you know, like like like they just.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
They were against her, it felt like, at least in
the beginning, and why wouldn't they embrace her? And I'm
not saying you gotta worship somebody, but she has changed
the league. They got private planes now could charter planes.
I mean, you know, things have gotten better and whatnot?
Why why the resistance when this is what you know?
(14:47):
People are watching her, but they're gonna start seeing all
the other players as well, and things are gonna get
better for everybody. Do you do you see that as
a problem in the w NBA, because it just didn't
seem like they were welcoming her to her like they I.
Speaker 6 (15:03):
Think it's I think it's a twofold. I think they
welcome another way you welcome somebody when they come in
as a rookie. You got come, you got to come
get like how you and Robert you walked into the
gym with us and you was the rookie. We're gonna
treat you.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
I got that part. That's fair, you know.
Speaker 6 (15:17):
And then but then the media took a whole different
other way. The girls love what you're doing because somebody
have to pay it away like the ones before them
and that one before them, and now they're gonna pay
it the way for the jujus, noverybody else coming in
to make more money. So that the problem is is
when people take it the wrong direction, like and I
got six sisters, our coach girls in the guys side.
(15:39):
Girls is meeting in guys.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
You ain't saying nothing.
Speaker 6 (15:46):
Wrong. How many time we went in the outphae and
the girl having the same outfit as another girl and
they get mad no outfit? Like, I don't know why
everybody act like girls ay more competitive than us.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Way more competitive? What about?
Speaker 6 (15:59):
Also?
Speaker 3 (16:00):
I think that that's what holds the league back a
little bit.
Speaker 5 (16:02):
And the other thing too is women have to go
to the WNBA games, like there are more women than men.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Whenever I see these six thousand people.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
The league's been around for thirty years, I mean tim
at some point like like the league people can show up,
can't they?
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Other than when she's not playing?
Speaker 6 (16:20):
Yeah, hundred percent. That's one of the biggest things that
I think that they missing right now is that and
the crave pot about when I talked to a whole
bunch of sea things when I was coaching at WNBA,
I'll be like, you need to come out to the game. Yeah,
I can support it. You know, women is getting this
and we're getting that. And they talk and they start
arguing about the pay scale. I'm like, well, pay scale
is gonna get better. I said, but you don't show
(16:41):
up to the games. Oh yeah, I'm gonna support. But
if you don't show up, then I don't want to
hear your complaints. I don't want to hear about I
don't want you to conversation about them getting paid more
money if you can't show up to me one dause,
that's how you get That's how they get paid. Like
I've been on both sides of travel DA teams. The
way they make money is about putting fans people seat
and when you got people complaining, which is a lot
(17:03):
of people, and y'all probably hear the people y'all argue
with they don't go to games. They want free Ticketsbay
can't make money if you don't spend money. So that's
how that's how. That's the end bottle line of that one.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
Tim Headay Gettings is our guest guest, former and one baller,
former w NBA assistant coach. Tim, I want to ask
you stay with Juju Watkins. We were having a conversation
uh wanted to say it was yesterday, could have been
Maye a couple of days ago, Robin I. I was saying,
how you you brought up an example. A lot of
us talk about the Larry Bird magic of the injuries
and Caitlyn Clark, and I was saying, how they did
(17:34):
a great job bringing the NBA to a next level,
but then Michael Jordan just took it off the stratosphere.
And I was wondering, could Juju be that You've seen
her play, you've seen her who you know what she's about,
because she's such a great all around player, like like
Kaitlyn Clark is very very good, but Juju's kind of
on another level as a complete player. Do you think
(17:55):
she can kind of and she's already got that star power,
she's already got that following people love her. Could she
kind of be that following off of what Angel, what Kaitlin,
what Page have done and then take it to that
next level?
Speaker 6 (18:07):
I think I think she really gonna do it, you know,
Juju and Bambi of that that she has that election
like her but a little more social media. President Maya Moore,
like Member Maya Moore came in. I watched Maya Moore
in college and come in. She was at a straight killer,
quiet assassin, do everything good, and if she didn't, she
got better at it. That's Juju Warkins just the he
(18:28):
say two point zero of Maya Moore, like she could
score the ball either hand, right hand, left hand. She
can shoot the ball, she got a great smile. She's
already got a social media behind her. She already come in.
She coming on the back of already been establishing the
new nil stuff. And I think the way she scored
a ball, she's gonna be a problem. And I don't
know if you'll remember Cynthia Cooper when Sudie Coople came
(18:49):
in to the league, when the first start up, she
was a problem. They'd be able to guard and hold.
And I think Juju gonna do that. And I think
that's gonna bring more more of the guy. I to think.
And she does everything that's so smooth and so quiet.
You a quiet assassin.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
See, I'm I'm not positive that's gonna happen. From this standpoint.
Speaker 5 (19:04):
The only reason that Caitlyn Clark has gotten the attention
is guys started to see her shoot from crazy distances
and she was like Stephs and that is what attracted guys.
There have been a ton of great women's basketball players
and you noticed him. You're in the league that people
(19:24):
didn't go to, the games, people didn't watch on team.
I'm talking about great players. You mentioned Cynthia Cooper, Cheryl Swooped.
I even know these names. You know what I mean
of these players busy who were really really good.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
And what Caitlyn did.
Speaker 5 (19:38):
Which is so different and what got people who never
cared too you know two dimes about women's basketball is
guys got intrigued because she was doing something that other
women were doing.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Do you get my point on Caitlyn?
Speaker 6 (19:54):
Yes, you know she she was you know the old
saying like remember commercial back in the day, what you
can do, I can do better? And I think I
think that that's what happened with with with Kaylen Clark
and the step the step effect. Everybody like, oh, you
can't shoot like Steph. And then it comes to a
young lady who shoots just his dizzy because I watched
it in college. In college, you know she she take
(20:15):
them all the time. It's like a normal shot for
so that that that I would say, trickery, glow chatter
is kind of with her doing it made it even
better for her to be Now now they now they
now the people that didn't really watch college now I
watch it. W be like okay, let me see can
you do it now? And she's still doing it. So
and that's that's the dope part by it. But hopefully
(20:36):
that it ain't ain't a one trick pony and to
continue to draw more people to the game.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
That's what I'm open.
Speaker 5 (20:42):
That's what I'm talking about, like like that's not the
only reason that they're watching, that they actually want to
watch these women play basketball.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Yeah, and not just her games, not just what she
comes in. That's what we are. We got to get past.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
We're there now we're And I went to uh the
Sparks game last year, took my daughters tim and they
was I mean, it was mayhem. It was sold out
and I haven't been crazy and because she was there
and it was amazing to see. Uh So I got
obviously living. I have three dollars, so I want to
take them again. But it was amazing to see she
was just kind of a the Beatles or the Jackson five.
Wherever she went. It was like that real quick for
(21:16):
me watching this game right now. We got Pacers down
to Nix up too in this or tie game? Now, Actually,
what are you making a series? What do you got
in this Eastern Conference finals?
Speaker 6 (21:25):
Hey, you know, you know New York. I know the
way I'm making. I'm excited about this.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
I see you watching it right now. You half listening
to us. You're watching it. I got on mute.
Speaker 6 (21:37):
I'm watching it. Look, look, look I took all my
little boss and fans. It was upset. I told my
thats what happened when you shoot a whole bunch of.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
Jump shots and all those three pointers.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
You know. Now, now this game right here in Indiana
versus Pacer, this is a really guard for guard game
because both sides. Both sides played a whole bunch of
guards that can really go with the fan to shoot
the ball. So it's gonna be a real physical game.
I can see this going six, but you know, but
it might go seven. But I me, you know, I'm
with my knicks to take it a six. But I
(22:10):
just don't want them to get in. I want Tim
to stop using them guys in all the minutes and
use everybody so that way they can come be fresh
when it goes to the fourth quarter, no.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Doubt about it. Brought that up earlier. Yeah, all right, man,
appreciate you. Always a pleasure, my man. Thank you.
Speaker 6 (22:27):
Hey, when you get a chance, try to try to
catch the game with the Dallas Wing. Like pay Page
to really impressed her daughter. She's really really good.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
Yeah, Pages, Pages lick. We don't only have to you
don't have to convince me of that. All they gotta
do is.
Speaker 5 (22:40):
Have when they have free chicken wing night, then I'm
coming to the Dallas Wing.
Speaker 6 (22:46):
And since its wings, hey, bro, do that wing.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
And you know I'll be there.
Speaker 6 (22:59):
I'll be with you. Osinally had a shut up.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
There you go, and don't go climbing on no buildings
at the nixt win. Y'all got to relax. Man, y'all
doing too much out there.
Speaker 6 (23:07):
Hey, we ain't been here forty to thee. That's how
we went to. Somebody lifted to save us.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
My goodness.
Speaker 6 (23:14):
All right, man, appreciate you, Tim, All right, thank you man.
I love you all you have to say.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 7 (23:31):
This news broke just before the show started. Game one,
of course, was last night. It was a close game
up until the fourth quarter. Oklahoma City put the clamps
down and ended up pulling weight, winning by twenty six
points in Game one over Minnesota.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Well, surprise, surprise.
Speaker 7 (23:46):
Usually when the ratings come out this soon, it's because
it's a positive thing, right, It's because, Hey, we had
the biggest ratings that we've seen in ten years, so
we're gonna put it out immediately. We want to make
sure we had the good pr out there. Not so
fast on this one, Okay, Sports Media Watch put this out.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
Game one of.
Speaker 7 (24:05):
Wolves Thunder Western Conference Finals down twenty four percent year
over year from last year's Game one, which was Dallas
and Minnesota. And it was also, this is the worst part,
the least watch Conference final game one since twenty twenty one.
That was the COVID short year. If you remove the
(24:26):
COVID years where everything was down, twenty twenty twenty twenty one,
it was the lowest rated Game one since twenty thirteen.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
Spurs Grizzlies.
Speaker 7 (24:37):
That's a terrible number, guys, when you consider the runaway
MVP on arguably statistically one of the greatest teams of
all time, going against what many are calling the next
face of the league.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
The ratings proved that neither is going to be the
face of the league, or at least at this point.
The less things changed, because that should have been an
anticipated matchup where people should have been interested.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
The idea that people tuned out of this is incredible.
Speaker 5 (25:09):
It really is man after last year, right right like
like he was in the conference finals last year, people
talking about him in the same breath as Michael Jordan
and An SGA. I thought it was about SGA. No,
it wasn't it about SGA and the MVP. Everybody knew
he was gonna win the award, it was coming up,
(25:30):
and they tune out.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
I get it.
Speaker 5 (25:32):
It was a blowed in the fourth quarter, But that
number reflects more than just people turning off the TV
sets in the fourth quarter. It's such a huge drop
to go back to twenty thirteen, really taking out the
COVID year. I mean, that's a long time for this
matchup with these two young players and two young stars
(25:57):
not to get if I'm Adam so I was expecting,
all right, we don't have Steph and Lebron and those guys.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
But man, our next act, look at what we got.
Speaker 5 (26:08):
If they had big numbers on that, don't tell me
that they wouldn't have been bragging about the future is
bright and look at these guys and people have adapted
and they already know SGA not like it's the thunder
with nobody playing.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
This is the MVP's on that team. Yeah, but I
think the MVP has to be envy scene more. And
I think that's one of the troubles of Like, this
is his first Western Conference Final appearance, so now it's
like he's on this stage and you kind of gotta
get there. You gotta build it up. We gotta have,
like I said, you gotta have the drama.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
You gotta have something where it makes people go oh.
Speaker 4 (26:41):
And this is like this is another great as he
just hit a big shot for Tyree's Heliburton right stepping
out on that stage. Now everybody gets to see me
when it matters. This is a musty game. Everybody's watching.
You kind of need those to build them up. And
this goes back to a conversation we were having, I
believe it was last week, and one of the things
that I think is everybody like wants parody, we want
the young stars, and I'm like, we really don't. If
(27:03):
you just look at the history of the league. You
want a good mixture, right, You want to have this
young guy Michael Jordan flying through the air like, man,
this kid's gonna be the one.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
He's neck whoa you see him.
Speaker 4 (27:13):
But you have Isaiah Thomas battling the magics, battling the birds,
Bird and Magic.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
You have this Doctor j because if you look at
that whole time, it was the guys you knew.
Speaker 4 (27:24):
Back in the eighties, it was Doctor j snuck in
a couple of finals and it was either Magic and
uh of course Bird. If you go through the nineties,
it literally was just Jordan and then he went away
and it was a cane for a couple of years.
And my point is you kind of need at Western
Conwence finals that consisted of Steph versus ok see Lebron
(27:44):
versus Anthony Edwards, meaning where you got somebody you know, Luca.
Speaker 5 (27:49):
I think you're selling these guys short. You're just saying
this is not the old days. Every game is on
television now you could get if you could get any
game you want, and the old days. I agree, you
couldn't see SGA normally, you know what I mean, on
normal situations or unless it was on a primetime game.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
But any fan.
Speaker 5 (28:07):
That's why fans aren't fans in a particular city anymore.
You could be a fan of a player because I
could watch every game with League pass if I'm an
SGA fan. And then Ant, the argument doesn't hold up
because he was in the last year, he was in
the conference finals with a chance to go to the finals.
People know who he is, right, and he should say that,
but he shouldn't be in anything that should have lower
(28:31):
ratings since twenty thirteen.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
Ant the ANT man, like seriously, like I get that.
He's surprising to me.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
Here's why another point I was gonna get you that,
this is why having those guys when I have a
KD and his Steph, Right, I have a Lebron and
a Kyrie, when you have just Ant SGA.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
He was an MVP.
Speaker 4 (28:53):
But that's it and you look at Okay, see they're
kind of a college type of a team, meaning it's
just a bunch of guys that come and line changes.
It's just to throwing them at you. And they're good
and they're hungry and they're young. But I don't know,
and I don't literally mean me, but you know, the
average there's no sex appeal. They're throwing in a bunch
of players that go ten, eleven, twelve deep, and it's
great basketball. And it says that they play hard, they
(29:13):
play the defense, but there's no star power. But when
I have cast Stephan k D, when I got Jordan
and Pippen, when I got.
Speaker 5 (29:19):
Those guys aren't going to be around forever, and even
Stephan them, they had to at some point get on
that stage and start to win.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
They didn't win automatically on the beginning, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
Like what you say about Kaitlyn, Steph was doing something
we'd never seen, so he became a super Novaya.
Speaker 5 (29:35):
But clay On man all the hooplab about him, and
you talked about it the national commercials with Sprite and
all that, like like, he can't be a part of
this if you want to say, SGA. But and to
be in a in a game where people don't know
who he is or doesn't want to see him play.
(29:56):
And it's the lowest rating since twenty thirteen, not two
years ago or twenty thirteen.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
I'm I don't think we're sitting here Rob.
Speaker 4 (30:06):
If you had Luca, Lebron and Ant in the Western
Confers finals, we're not having this conversation.
Speaker 5 (30:11):
Yeah, but they're not gonna be here. My point is
at some point you're going to have younger players come on.
Those guys aren't gonna play forever. And my only point
is it's amazing that with all the talk about aunt
Man and Michael Jordan and all that other stuff, and
him being on this stage last year, that they could
lay such an egg on Game one. That that's all
(30:35):
I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
I got here.
Speaker 4 (30:36):
That's a that's a huge, twenty a massive. But that's
why to me, you wanted to be a perfect you
want it to be. Give you a perfect example you
want it to be. How the Celtics handed it off
to the Pistons. So I got the old Guard, a
bunch of championships, Larry Bird MVPs, we all know him,
and then Kevin mccal roy, press, the whole gang. It's
(30:58):
a brand, the Celtics beating these upstar Pistons for a
couple of years and finally the Pistons beatle. But that's compelling.
I've seen him go out of it a couple times.
Plus I see the star Parwer of the Celtics and
I have this Pistons team. Then the Pistons do the
same thing with the young flying through their Jordan and Pippen,
and now it's like changing of the guard. So we
almost had it too early. Meaning if Steph and the
(31:21):
Warriors are in the Western Confergce final and it's a
changing of the guard, Ant's going crazy.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
He wins.
Speaker 4 (31:26):
It's like a passing of the torch. Or if the Lebron,
you know, and he passes the torch down the Ant.
We just kind of had it where it's just four
young stars. Brunton, Halliburton, Sga ant Man.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
You never have this.
Speaker 4 (31:39):
You got somebody, you know. I got a Kobe, I
got a Dirk, I gotta Dwayne Wade, I got a Lebron.
This is four new guys in this big you gee
what I mean? You usually if you look at the history,
you have a two at least two are staple.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (31:52):
But but the only thing is I hear your point.
But the MVP and a guy who was there last
year who we're talking about, Michael Jordan with for that
to be not to be attractive. And I'm not saying
they had to be better than last year or whatever.
Twenty four it can't be that number. And you can't
take out COVID and say it's the worst number in
(32:15):
more than a decade, more than a more than a decade.
Can't tell me every matchup was great, you know what
I mean that there had to be some other matchup
that wasn't exactly what people wanted.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
It's just stunning to me.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
You're about to here's the problem, Rob, you get Pacers Thunder,
were gonna be right back here with Rob ze Yo
breaking news right before the show.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
Can you believe it?
Speaker 4 (32:37):
They're down twenty two percent for the first game of
the NBA Finals Nicks and timber Wolves. Because you mentioned
it and you got New York and wow, this is amazing,
and everybody, even if you are a Nick fan, you're
just happy. Why this is kind of cool to see that,
you know, New York. Not to mention this, we always
talk about New York has a gazillion people there. I
(32:57):
think you're gonna have something different. But if you get
Pacers Thunder now basketball, it's probably gonna be some good
basketball being played. The actual gameplay, but I think that
might be a snooze face ratings wise. So I'm just
thinking I think we're heading towards that right now. Again,
because usually, just to reiterate this last point, usually you
(33:18):
have some main stays, right You had, like I said,
Shaq and Kobe for so many years, so no matter
who they are playing all this new two thousand and
four Pistons, but your new shacking Kobe, you had Dirt
went to a couple, You had these main states, Steph
went to what five to six of them. Now you
have these main stays for so long, even historically in
the NBA, where there's always a new upstart that gets
the baton pass to them. Right now, ain't no baton
(33:41):
passing seventh year in a row with a new champion
gonna be and four young upstart stars.
Speaker 5 (33:48):
But even then, to your point, I just I just
think people haven't bought into Celtics ruin. People haven't bought
into that these guys or the next guys. Maybe it
is Wimby, maybe it is you know. That's the way
I look at it. I look at it as that
they're not the ones, because you know, like I saw
(34:11):
Kobe in his first playoff game Shoot air Balls.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
I mean I watched it. I wanted to see Kobe
in the playoffs, do you know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (34:19):
I know he had star other star players, but the
idea that a chance for ant man in particular, who
didn't get there last year.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
This is the progress, right and you just talk about it.
Speaker 5 (34:32):
One year you're there and then you know you don't win,
and then the next year you come back, and then
you finally get over the hump. And he could get
there if he gets to the finals, you know what
I mean, especially after the big trade of Cat being
traded away.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
You know, you look at his natural progression. That should
be an interesting story for people to want to see.
And it's surprising that it's that bad.
Speaker 4 (34:52):
There's no star part in that Thunder team. I mean,
Sga is a very wonderful, sweet young man, very unassuming.
There is no star power in that Thunder team. I
mean none. Jaylen Williams an All Star. Just call him
an all because he ain't a star. He ain't All
Star by way of good player and all that. The
(35:14):
team was the number one seed in the NBA.
Speaker 6 (35:16):
I get that.
Speaker 4 (35:17):
That's why I usually get some extra votes. But they
have no star power. Just call him an all He
ain't an all star.
Hosts And Creators
kelvin washington
Rob Parker
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